{The embedded video is not longer available, so here’s a direct link to the video on Boston.com (Link)}

I’ve just given Kinset, a 3D virtual shopping application, (Link) a spin. Before I offer my opinion, let’s start off with what it’s supposed to be. From the website:

Kinset is for those of us who like to shop. Stroll down an aisle with hundreds of items on display. Pause when something catches your eye. Browse and linger while discovering new things. That’s what real shopping is about, and that’s what makes Kinset the first online shopping that’s truly enjoyable.

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Shortly after all the buzz surrounding rumors concerning Google Earth, I posted a Twitter telling people to watch for news on the Microsoft Virtual Earth front. Sure enough, things started popping up on my screen. And now add what I consider the most interesting news courtesy of C|Net, “Microsoft Virtual Earth offers 3D building capability” (Link). Continue reading →

It wasn’t too long ago I was taking upFront.eZine/WorldCAD Access writer Ralph Grabowski to task (reLink) for what I considered extraordinarily subjective (and, by extension, myopic) comments regarding the potential of Second Life and social applications that, like it, allowed for immersive 3D content creation. Not that Grabowski is alone; from my experience, most people involved with highend CAD – engineers, industrial designers, and application technicians – tend to look down their nose at anything that doesn’t meet a very narrow set of expectations. Their blinders have names like “advanced surfacing”, “construction history”, “simplified rep” and the like. Fortunately it appears some relief is on the way. Design News Magazine (the print edition) will be carrying an article on Second Life which may break through the crusty veneer of the CAD crowd and open their eyes to what may be on the near horizon. Continue reading →

After I first saw the above video on the The Weekly Squeak blog (Link), I immediately did a search on prices for interactive whiteboards. That is a seriously cool combination of technologies. And I’m not the only one who thinks so; Julian Lombardi has been posting rare updates to his blog (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4), so he’s certainly into it.
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There’s an opinion piece over on BusinessWeek penned by Geoff Vuleta that got my attention a few days back. In “One Vision for the Future of Chrysler” (Link), Vuleta discusses how embracing sustainability initiatives could be good for Chrysler. So far so good. It’s easy to buy into cost-reducing initiatives that also happen to promote sustainability, and eliminating (or, at least, thoroughly scrutinizing) the painting processes in vehicle manufacturing is something worth investigating (after all, most designers love bare metal aesthetics; Nick Pugh for example). But what galled me was this comment: Continue reading →