The Dreaming Tree

Here we go again...Schneider's been sitting under the tables and dreaming...

Under the Dreaming Tree

Funny, I get on a music theme and just can't get off of it...But the dreaming tree (listen to the Dave Mathews Band) is something I do like to sit under...Because without dreams, reality doesn't come to pass.

Think about it..It really doesn't matter what technological breakthrough you want to mention, somebody dreamt that it would change the world THEN went out and made it happen..

What the heck does this have to do with the CWG you ask?? Go take a look at KarHeinz's blog for a second...

Like KarHeinz, I'm a proud owner of an Android based "smartphone"..And I really like things like Google Goggles and the Sky Map...Layar I'm not quite that happy with, but that's because there aren't that many hip entries for the Grand Rapids area yet...But give it time!!

So, I'm dreaming about the challenge Harald presented...More than one person has asked me for my thoughts, so I figured why not post'em??

For those of you that attended Marco, I got onto this subject just a bit in my presentation...And what was a message??

Textual Configuration is SOOOOO 1980's...!!!

Why has the Iphone\Android taken off? It's all about the pictures and the interface folks...So how could configuration be different?

The Rolls Royce example Harald gave is getting there, but I still don't think it's good enough...Why can't I simply touch the exterior of the car and have a submenu of available finish swatches pop up, then touch it to change the car color?

WHY, oh WHY do I have to interact with TEXTUAL MENU'S before I get to the cool stuff... You know, the PICTURES....

Or better yet...Expand the car and "reach" into the window to change the interior? Oh you think "reaching" into the interior is nuts?? I'm telling you folks, check this out; then tell me I'm nuts...

Combining Augmented Reality and smartphones is the natural next step for configuration in my mind...After that, why not use the smartphone as nothing more than a communication device??? Think about some of my prior posts and where this one is headed and you'll be able to figure it out...

But for now, back to the real world....Got to wake up from my dreaming and get back into the mundane world of convincing people "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades"...

Bonus beer at Marco 2011 (assuming I'm there) for the first person to get an email into my inbox with the band name for those lyrics... :) In case you forgot it here's how to get your beer;

sschneid@steelcase.com

Till the next dream sequence....

Steve