Is that to stay or go? July 10, 2007 by Dave HaynesA Toronto company has put together prototypes for a very different spin on digital signage for the fast food industry. Forget menu boards and seating area plasmas. Mediox wants to embed a small LCD screen in each tray, according to its press release. “The market for multimedia advertising in fast food outlets is expected to reach $10 …
Is using broadcast TV signals subject to licensing? July 9, 2007 by Dave HaynesA few years back, I pulled together a network that had the partnership backing of a very large Japanese electronics firm. It was a great deal because, among other things, they wanted things lawyered every which way they could think of … on their nickel. Being a start-up, me and my partner couldn’t afford to even …
Wireless power closer to reality July 3, 2007 by Dave Haynes James Bickers has a piece up on Digital Signage Today looking deeper into word from the propeller-heads at MIT that they have figured out a way to spark up a 60 watt lightbulb from 7 feet away — with no cord in between. The concept is called WiTricity and involves sending power through the air …
Measuring audiences with gadgets July 3, 2007 by Dave HaynesAfter a slightly noxious foray into advertorial (the president of a company that uses Windows and sponsors the site examining the merits of Windows versus Linux — guess which OS won!!!), AKA seems to have its legs under it again and is pushing out some good, unbiased stuff. There’s a piece just up about measurement technology, …
Data on retail dwell times June 29, 2007 by Dave HaynesI came across research this morning from the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, a trade organization for all those companies that send people into stores looking at things like pricing and service quality. The group has done a survey that breaks down wait times at cash in several categories, across the major cities in the U.S. …
A screen in a newspaper box? Hmmm… June 23, 2007 by Dave HaynesMy irrational fear of electrocuting myself, coupled with my limited IQ, has kept me from joining the community of propeller-heads who like to stick computers and screens into weird places. The gadget blog Gizmodo shows them the odd time, and today there was one on there that saw a guy stick a flat panel and a …
Experiential media at InfoComm June 22, 2007 by Dave Haynes I ran into Shaun and Vita from Vancouver’s 2C Visual Communications as my stint at InfoComm was winding down. The couple has been in the digital signage space for several years, making a go of it in a market that still seems fairly sleepy compared to the rest of the continent. They were demo’ing a …
Finally … a company that makes screen covers June 21, 2007 by Dave Haynes I am sitting in LAX waiting for my flight. Bad news is I have a middle seat. The good news is I have a seat. They’re bumping people. The other good news is the ever-hapless folks at Northwest Airlines (I’m not flying them) have not locked down their wireless, so I am sitting out with …
InfoComm Report June 21, 2007 by Dave Haynes So as planned, I spent much of the day hoofing around the Anaheim Convention Center, checking out InfoComm 2007. For the unitiated, this show is aimed at the sytems integrator world and attracts throngs of people from companies who stick screens, speakers, cable, video conferencing systems, custom lighting and on and on into offices and …
Arrrrr, ye scurvy Flash-pirating dogs!!! June 12, 2007 by Dave HaynesIf you’re reading this, you’re probably in the digital signage industry. And you’re probably a pirate. You probably didn’t even know it, probably don’t even have a good “Arrrr Matey!” in you, but you’re a pirate. The great, great majority of the industry’s software solutions providers use Adobe’s Flash player to put out slick, vector-graphic …
