Return of the homebrew coder (11 Mar 2004)

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Return of the homebrew coder (11 Mar 2004)
Before Henry Ford unleashed the practice of mass production on the world, every little town had a few dozen artisans who made the lives of citizens easier. A cobbler made the shoes, a tailor sewed suits and a carpenter built furniture. Mass production sounded the death knell for many specialist craft jobs, and the rise of computerised supply chains finished off most of the rest. But now, a century later, the trend is reversing itself. The new craftsmen do not stitch leather, cut cloth or saw wood: instead, they write software.

Article URL: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2476892

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