Life is different . IBM spelled out their own logo by nudging around 35 individual Xenon atoms with a new invention that can actually see and move matter at the atomic level - a landmark for things to come. M any people think of nanotechnology when they see the tiny etched silicon machines made with chip fabrication techniques. New nanometer ferric powders used for higher density hard drives or DNA sensors on a chip are also called nanotechnology. It is about building whole molecular machine systems, designed on computer, using standard well understood laws of chemistry with something called molecular assemblers.
Computers reproduce information at almost no cost.
A push is well underway to invent devices that manufacture at almost no cost, by manipulating atoms like computers treat bits of information. This would allow automatic construction of consumer goods without traditional labor, like a Xerox machine produces unlimited copies without retyping the original information. Design cost of goods would stay about the same as today, but production cost would drop dramatically. The secret of self-replication whether biological or synthetic, is prefabricated building blocks. They are prefabricated building blocks.