Neil Gershenfeld has been known to make some bold predictions about the future. But even by his standards, this one was a doozy.

"Twenty years from now," he told a 2006 conference in Berkeley, "we'll have Star Trek replicators that can make anything."

You remember the replicator -- the one that provided Captain Picard with his "cup of Earl Grey tea, hot," with a simple verbal prompt? It might sound like jet-age fantasy, but Gershenfeld was absolutely serious with his reference.