Presumably the patterns are not easily interchangeable/distributable - different file formats, different scanner resolution, maybe different output options (canonically some materials are more difficult to replicate than others, so might require a specialized replicator). Quark’s replicator, being Ferengi, is probably proprietary and requires purchasing new patterns only from the original manufacturer to increase the variety.
They are, it just takes time to update, since it gets sent over whenever the computer gets updated. That’s why Tom Paris was annoyed that the Voyager’s replicator didn’t have his preferred tomato soup ready. It was scheduled to be loaded onto the computers on Tuesday.
You can write the pattern yourself, but it is easy to get them wrong (Janeway managed to have it consistently produce charcoal).
At some point, though, it seems a little unreasonable, when there’s enough ambiguity that the computer has 37 separate presets for tomato soup.
It’d be like going to a coffee shop and adamantly demanding “coffee”, and then being annoyed that the barista can’t magically intuit what it is that you exactly want.
I mean, you go in and ask for coffee, the barista is going to assume you mean drip. They might ask if you want a light or dark roast. They’re not going to ask you to pick from 37 different beans, then ask whether you want it a light roast, dark roast or decaff, then ask how you want it brewed (steam pressed, drip, pour over. cold brewed. french. perc. cowboy. Turkish. Greek.) then ask how hot you want it (warm. hot, HOT HOT, cold. Frozen.); how strong do you want it, do you want cream (Soy, oat, half/half, full cream, milk. Goat milk. Almond. butter.) how much cream. Sweetener (Sugar, honey, raw sugar. corn syrup… i think you see my point?)
A good barista knows when not to ask, as much as when and what to ask.
though it’s almost blasphemous they didn’t conjure up a grilled cheese to go with it.
They are, it just takes time to update, since it gets sent over whenever the computer gets updated.That’s why Tom Paris was annoyed that the Voyager’s replicator didn’t have his preferred tomato soup ready. It was scheduled to be loaded onto the computers on Tuesday.
Patterns might be portable on storage devices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re cross-platform, especially cross-species/technology, or maybe it would require a technical specialist to convert the pattern between systems.
I can absolutely see this being a thing in Star Trek life. You find specific versions/recipes that you like and save them to a personal data storage device, and then when you transfer to a new command you put in a request with the local IT department to have your recipes loaded into the replicator system, which takes some time because they have to review them for safety (no malicious insiders uploading weapons labeled as “grandma’s chicken soup”) and maybe convert the pattern to work on the local replicators. There’s a support ticket queue for that, submit your files and take a number, we’ll get to you when we can.
You can write the pattern yourself, but it is easy to get them wrong (Janeway managed to have it consistently produce charcoal).
Absolutely, or probably try to arrange a new meal pattern using information on previously scanned & stored items. But yeah, it would require some specific knowledge and skill to get right. In the present, you can download lots of 3D-printable objects from the Internet, or if you know how to model you can design your own - the second is a lot more complicated. Most people would probably just use existing replicator patterns.
Patterns might be portable on storage devices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re cross-platform, especially cross-species/technology, or maybe it would require a technical specialist to convert the pattern between systems.
At least on this front, Star Trek doesn’t tend to have that much of an issue crossing between platforms. The only time problems seem to rear their head is when another completely different computing paradigm comes into play (like using biochemical computers instead of electrical).
Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be anything technically preventing you from hooking up your Federation computers to a Cardassian mining station and have everything work more or less okay.
Oh, disagree, O’Brien complains about trying to get Federation and Cardassian technology to work together all the time. They don’t necessarily show specific scenes of what that means technically, but there are definitely interface problems.
They are, it just takes time to update, since it gets sent over whenever the computer gets updated. That’s why Tom Paris was annoyed that the Voyager’s replicator didn’t have his preferred tomato soup ready. It was scheduled to be loaded onto the computers on Tuesday.
You can write the pattern yourself, but it is easy to get them wrong (Janeway managed to have it consistently produce charcoal).
Tom was annoyed because he didn’t want to sort through 37 varieties of tomato soup. He didn’t care- he just wanted food.
At some point, though, it seems a little unreasonable, when there’s enough ambiguity that the computer has 37 separate presets for tomato soup.
It’d be like going to a coffee shop and adamantly demanding “coffee”, and then being annoyed that the barista can’t magically intuit what it is that you exactly want.
I mean, you go in and ask for coffee, the barista is going to assume you mean drip. They might ask if you want a light or dark roast. They’re not going to ask you to pick from 37 different beans, then ask whether you want it a light roast, dark roast or decaff, then ask how you want it brewed (steam pressed, drip, pour over. cold brewed. french. perc. cowboy. Turkish. Greek.) then ask how hot you want it (warm. hot, HOT HOT, cold. Frozen.); how strong do you want it, do you want cream (Soy, oat, half/half, full cream, milk. Goat milk. Almond. butter.) how much cream. Sweetener (Sugar, honey, raw sugar. corn syrup… i think you see my point?)
A good barista knows when not to ask, as much as when and what to ask.
though it’s almost blasphemous they didn’t conjure up a grilled cheese to go with it.
Patterns might be portable on storage devices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re cross-platform, especially cross-species/technology, or maybe it would require a technical specialist to convert the pattern between systems.
I can absolutely see this being a thing in Star Trek life. You find specific versions/recipes that you like and save them to a personal data storage device, and then when you transfer to a new command you put in a request with the local IT department to have your recipes loaded into the replicator system, which takes some time because they have to review them for safety (no malicious insiders uploading weapons labeled as “grandma’s chicken soup”) and maybe convert the pattern to work on the local replicators. There’s a support ticket queue for that, submit your files and take a number, we’ll get to you when we can.
Absolutely, or probably try to arrange a new meal pattern using information on previously scanned & stored items. But yeah, it would require some specific knowledge and skill to get right. In the present, you can download lots of 3D-printable objects from the Internet, or if you know how to model you can design your own - the second is a lot more complicated. Most people would probably just use existing replicator patterns.
At least on this front, Star Trek doesn’t tend to have that much of an issue crossing between platforms. The only time problems seem to rear their head is when another completely different computing paradigm comes into play (like using biochemical computers instead of electrical).
Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be anything technically preventing you from hooking up your Federation computers to a Cardassian mining station and have everything work more or less okay.
Oh, disagree, O’Brien complains about trying to get Federation and Cardassian technology to work together all the time. They don’t necessarily show specific scenes of what that means technically, but there are definitely interface problems.