As proof that there’s nothing that can’t be upgraded with a healthy dose of high-tech goodness, there is the new Brother Quattro 6000D sewing machine. With a list price of $600, this sewing-machine-of-the-future features a 32-square-inch Sharp LCD screen. The screen is hooked up to a camera mounted above the needle for precision positioning of fabrics (the sewing area is helpfully illuminated by a cluster of natural-daylight LEDs). The Quattro 6000D can also automatically embroider designs from an onboard library thanks to its built in computer — additional designs can be loaded using one of three USB ports.
Of course, computer technology pretty much began thanks to the textile industry. Still it’s a little disconcerting to find probably more raw onboard computer power than we needed to land a man on the moon in a tool for a craft with such a comforting, low-tech vibe. Some futurists predict that when virtually every human-made object has an embedded, networked computer, it will lead to a new stage in human evolution beyond our current comprehension, when human and machine intelligences merge. Having seen the Quattro 6000D in action, I can tell you that if this occurs, we can at least be assured that neatly hemmed edges will certainly be involved.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:00 am
[...] sewing – Google Blog Search Share and [...]
July 25th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Too bad the computer industry doesn’t take over the sewing machine industry, because they are not getting the message. Embroidery needs to be generic USB drive(s) and the machine needs to recognize the standard graphic formats, especially .jpg so we can make our own designs using our own graphic packages. Tying a sew machine to an operating system that quickly goes out of date and using propriety file extensions is inefficient and costly to the end user. Notice how each company buries the operating system compatibility down deep in their website without mentioning future upgrades. Since the technology has been around since 1990, all the machines should auto thread, auto tension and fabric sense. Big whoop on the zoom function, it is already built in to Vista by using the control plus key or control minus key and is nothing that a magnifying glass does not cure at the machine.
These current price tags are ridiculous and costs more than 10 times my new notebook with a rate of depreciation that is faster than cars. Ladies, wake up and stop buying in order to force the prices down. We do all the hours of work and have to pay for all the materials, so why pay such exorbitant prices in order for them to retire on our nickel. Time to boycott to show them the female race has smartened up.
Just ask yourself how many clothes you could buy with the price of a new sewing machine. Can you go to Walmart, buy the embroidery patch and sew it on by hand? Isn’t this amount of money better invested in a new car or college education than in a sewing machine with a very limited shelf-life.
Built in obsolesce and proprietary software went the way of flood pants. The men just are not listening to our pleas so time to withhold the money in order to get their attention. Spread the word!