Phone-in and transcript cancelled
Stanford/ DaimlerChrysler Team
Start with free-ranging discussion of the future ...
CW: Where is ubiquitous computing going?
Bjoern:
CW: Resistance to media convergence? Bjoern: How you interact with all of this technology is bound up with how our bodies work
Kat – doesn’t agree with no convergence – e.g. the ROKR, even though it has bad reviews, there are plenty of products that originally had bad reviews but got taken up and are now part of our lives
Problems of excessive choice – people don’t have the time to survey all the material – therefore rely on experts – Martha Stewart
Tension between “I want to be my own person” vs. “I don’t have the time”
Ben – what’s actually changed with this? How’s this different from going to a record store and having the top 10 put in front of you
Bjoern and Kat – stuff locked down in one format – problems of narrowness f media format, control by a few companies
Michael – example of old woman complaining that she couldn’t get Tone-Loc
Kat more mobility – total instant access = way that things are going
Josh – What role are cars going to play in our lives?
Environmental concerns?
Bjoern – difference in European and American markets – European cities vs. American cities – people in New York might not even have driving license.
Questions
Purchased modifications vs. tinkering with your car yourself? Increased sophistication of cars – difficulty adaptation
How do we interact with cars?
Bjoern – ideally public transportation in which you don’t have to deal with driving, apart from last parking maneuvers – but impossible – problems of transition, and infrastructure
modularity:
Ben : Hard thing about modularity is getting the architecture right – intel has all sorts of experts in house to keep up with lead companies for peripherals – not just industry standards: cultivate personal contacts, organize conference every year, fly people in etc.
Ralph : Everyone agrees on elegance of design but nobody agrees on hwo to get there …
Bjoern : Trade off; would err on side of letting elegance take a back seat, and let it evolve over a couple of iterations
Ralph: What would you focus on?
Bjoern: Have base and allow other companies to access this, ideo, frog etc. Skinning – applies to hardware just as much as software
Michael: What bothers me is that you no longer need to love your vehicle. The scenario takes away what’s inherent in owning a car.
Josh: can’t foresee a future in the next 10 years in which there’s a mass conversion to mass transport
K: Some kind of system which recognizes you – e.g. ATM which recognizes that you prefer to use English rather than Spanish or Chinese
Michael: Tendency for people to not care about something they don’t own. The car needs to be more durable (mess).
Bjoern: Rented different car for Burning Man and Yosemite.
Kat – Castell’s lit review – people who spend all their time on the road (David Platt: Reminiscent of William Hurt's character in The Accidental tourist?).
Josh – Model opens up a lot of possibilities.
Michael – Would rental/ carshare actually encourage people to use car where they normally wouldn’t?
Eric: Scary? Good? Would only families be into this?
Bjoern: As soon as you have to enter in all your calendar information yourself, the technology would become a massive pain!
Ti-Vo recommendations?
Kat: Not actually very good – people like to feel as though in control.
Bjoern: A possible consideration for the elderly?
Snowboarders?
Bjoern – Sounds great but how is this different from bringing a laptop?
Josh: Keeping track of caravan, communications with other cars in convoy?
Bjoern – Happy to have just power plug in the car, if it’s much cheaper than all the integration.
Eric – Activities that take place on the move?
Kat – Teleconferencing future in which you all to present in San Jose – pick up people on the way to San Jose from San Francisco.
Bjoern – Passenger technologies?
Drvier technologies?
Kat – Would want a back massage for cheap. Josh – Hates being behind the wheel – happy to just drive to Yosemite and just read – more convenience to access things he can’t do in the car safety of control etc.
Michael – Enjoys driving but not having to …