So I figured it was time to finally get my ass in gear and start posting again.

In truth, I’m finally getting back to this as a consequence of deciding to post a Q&A on this blog which I’d intended to post on my employer’s blog. That led me to not only updating my WordPress theme but also taking a look at my embarrassingly outdated web site. I still have a ton of work to do on the site but for now I think the blog is ready for some new content.

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A lot has changed since I started this blog back in 2005, and since I effectively stopped posting to it in 2009. Perhaps the biggest change is that the main topics about which I write went from being relatively unknown to being somewhat common, at least to geekdom at large. And while I’ve been happily using Twitter to discuss these things, it no longer feels sufficient to me.

That said, I won’t be posting frequently. I simply don’t have the bandwidth. If I get two or three decent posts in a month, I’ll be impressed with myself. I am, however, hoping to use it for other things which don’t require too much time; like posting work-in-progress images, collections of Twitter comments, re-posts of old blog entries that seem more timely, images from conventions and tradeshows, and other items that may not seem relevant but are probably part of a relatively large narrative I’ve been trying to build for some years now. More on that later.

In any event, thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoy the next post: an interview with an old friend and the Vice President of Design at American Standard, Jean-Jacques L’Henaff, about the 3D printed faucets they developed.

Well, here it is, 2013. Kinda blew the schedule on this series.

There was a Part 23; published privately (note the date). And a Part 24 … and a Part 25.

Mixed in was also a piece intended for my Futurismic column, Future Imperfect. I thought I’d submitted it, but maybe not; I recall that one being a rush job.

They’re all now tucked away on my hard drive.

I may take a look at them; perhaps cull something worth posting.

Part 23 was ready to go, but now seems dated. The Future Imperfect piece was decent, but is probably past its expiration date. And Parts 24 and 25 were and still are a tangle of thoughts and links; too outdated and convoluted to extract something decent at this point.

So. What to do with this blog?

I’ve been giving that some thought. Can’t say I have that question answered, but I do have some ideas.

Now let’s see if I can find the time.

While “mere apprehension of using a 3D application is no longer an issue preventing them from attempting to learn” (reLink), there is still the issue of learning.

So, picking up from where I left off, at this stage one major issue would seem to be educating people in the use of next generation product development tools.

Then again, maybe it’s not as big a hurdle as one might expect.
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The idea for this series originated over a year ago with something I witnessed in Second Life: a mother and daughter collaboratively designing virtual clothes with the help of an in-world, user-created tool. I was astounded simply because I knew them to be unsophisticated computer users.

The motivation to write this series came shortly after, and mostly from what I learned subsequent to writing “A Virtual World-Based PLM for the Fashion Industry” (reLink). How could I not dive into this topic after learning of IBM’s work with FIT and also seeing what Optitex was doing?
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In my last entry I ended with this question: “At what point do non-monetary motivational factors – reputation and empowerment – overwhelm the barriers to entry for average people?” It’s an especially timely question because the interface barriers are dropping so rapidly.

Minority Report technology no longer seems like science fiction; in fact, YouTube is filling with it. And once-daunting 3D application tasks are routinely simplified into “I can do that” activities (e.g. ILoveSketch).

Consequently, it may not be long before increasingly sophisticated users reach the proverbial tipping point where mere apprehension of using a 3D application is no longer an issue preventing them from attempting to learn. And of course, when the barrier to entry lowers, so does the necessary motivation.
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