Tag: PDX

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Cool Tech at PDX

Columbia Sportswear's Interactive Display Window
Columbia Sportswear's Interactive Display Window

On Wednesday I went down to PDX to pick up family vising in Portland for the Thanksgiving holiday. As I waited for them to get off the plane and clear the security checkpoint I played around with the window display at the new Columbia Sportswear store (which is right before the security checkpoint at the A, B and C gates).

The Columbia Sportswear store has an interactive display window. You can touch the various icons on the window itself to get information about Columbia Sportswear and to play videos of their products in use. Most people standing around the window didn’t realize that you could interact with it, but the reception to it was pretty good when my daughter stepped up and started playing Warren Miller snowboarding videos on the full display window.

The opportunities for a rich interactive retail experiences are so vast and it’s nice to see a non-technology company like Columbia Sportswear embrace new technologies for one of their keystone stores. Who knows maybe Microsoft will start promoting this technology as “Windows for Display Windows”.

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Portland

Je T’Aime Mon Portland

iloveportlandIn April of 1993, my wife and I packed up all our belongings, loaded them on to a moving truck and gave the movers our cel phone number in the hopes that we would find a place to live in Portland before they arrived with out stuff.

We knew none, had no jobs or family. Portland became our destination out of sheer luck, happenstance and a gut feeling that this might be THE place to call home. Fifteen years later I can imagine no other place I would like to live. Portland is more home now than anywhere I’ve ever been. I love this town. I love the way you can get from one end of the city to another in a very short time. I love the many destinct neighborhoods and the variety the city has to offer. I love the culture and the way in which people work to live and not live to work. I  love the seasons and the way the weather impacts and interacts with the people who live here. I love all the food and culture options, the ability to eat at a new Thai restaurant every day of the week and still have dozens left to try.

I never thought I’d be so stricken with a city, but Portland has captured my heart. I love Portland. So that love is the reason I’m doing this site. A Portland focused publication has always been a dream for me, and now I’ve decided to make it a reality.