After arriving in Dusseldorf without my checked bags, I knew that this trip was maybe not going to be the easiest. We got the cross media demo running with the Canon booth at Drupa, but it wasn’t a cake walk. Challenges have to be expected in a show environment and the team pulled together to make it happen. Canon Europe, Pageflex, and DirectSmile personnel worked together to install and test a complex cross media communications system (including customized email, personalized web, dynamic graphics in print and web, on-demand varible data print, and interactive video messaging) within a changing environment which is typical during set up of a major industry trade show (Drupa is CLEARLY that!).
The biggest issue that we ran into during installation was the compaibility with the audio chip (which we needed for the interactive video message) on the mother board and Windows Server 2003 (which is a requirement for installation of a Pageflex Server). After much discussion, research, and “googling” we determined the audio chip and the Windows Server software was not going to play nice with each other. So be it…brought in a Windows XP machine, set up as client to server (which we should have thought of sooner), and viola…Sound was happening on our interaction video messaging component.
Link for this cross media demo will be posted soon, once we complete installing and testing the server (and application) here at Magicomm. I think that you will enjoy the video component.
Final thoughts….Drupa was good, ink jet was everwhere, On demand apps were “cost of doing business”, worked with many dedicated people, and learned lots about servers and networks. Got a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Had several members of the “Wurst” family of meats during my meals. How could I be so lucky? Inquiring minds would like to know…or maybe not.
