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.
