[marshray]

the vast majority of consumers do not use their computer in the way in which IBM intentioned to speak, as a calculator or database

The lesson being that this technology, like computers, holds nearly unlimited potential and yet it's still too early for us to predict quite how its going to be used.

If you ask someone thoroughly steeped in the status quo what it's good for, he's very likely to think of it as an extension of current economic properties. (faster, cheaper, sooner, more custom, etc.) He might even realize its potential to be "disruptive". That's where the Economist article is.

Once you start publicly speculating where the post-disruptive state might settle, then you become a science fiction author.

Will there ever be a point at which an average consumer will need such a steady stream of durable goods that a dedicated 3D printer will become a necessity?

Hang out outside a busy WalMart or Target some Saturday afternoon. There's your steady stream.