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News Archive |
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Monday, 31 July 2006
NetIndia123.com: Microsoft India launched Project Saksham, which handles public services for the benefit of rural communities. It's expected to increase the rural GDP through IT interventions.
Read more.
Monday, 31 July 2006
Dailybreeze.com: Some things, a person would rather tell a computer. That's one reason the staff at an Orange County hospital has deployed its computerized alcohol screening intervention kiosk.
Read more.
Monday, 31 July 2006
C.H. Robinson Worldwide is one of North America's largest third-party logistics companies. They work with truck, rail, ocean, and air carriers to serve their customers with a single call. Last year, more than 20,000 customers entrusted CHRW with their shipments worldwide.
Friday, 28 July 2006
SUWANEE, Ga. · Pro-Tech Solutions announced the implementation of its Pro-Tech drive-thru kiosk at a Subway restaurant in Mentor, Ohio. The kiosk stands almost 5-feet tall, but is built upon a telescoping pedestal that allows the unit to move up or down to accommodate vehicle size.
The kiosk features an auto-dimming circuit and ambient-light sensors, so the 15-inch touchscreen can adjust to time of day or weather conditions automatically.
Peter Kaszycki, president of Pro-Tech, said the touchscreen is mounted behind a half-inch of safety glass.
"The elements are mounted behind the glass and projected through the screen," he said, making the kiosk resistant not only to the elements but also vandalism.
Since 65 percent of all QSR sales take place at the drive-thru, products like the kiosk will be of interest even to chains like Subway, which traditionally have not offered drive-thru.
"A Subway owner I know tried to open a drive-thru using the standard headset method," said Nick D'Angelo, owner of the Ohio Subway. "It was a disaster. The Subway menu is unique and there's too much guesswork involved. Pro-Tech's touchscreen menu allows me to serve my customers both inside and out. It's like having another store."
Friday, 28 July 2006
TORONTO · ADFLOW Networks announced it is an official anchor sponsor of this year's Self-Service & Kiosk Show in San Antonio. ADFLOW president David Roscoe has been selected as part of the expert speaker roster for the show's Technologies & Trends platform.
In his presentation, Roscoe will highlight successful in-store digital-media network deployments at OfficeMax and other leading North American retailers. He also will discuss new strategies for businesses interested in deploying digital signage and connected kiosks as integral parts of their self-service initiatives. Using real-life customer case studies, Roscoe will demonstrate how more and more retailers are using digital media to deliver their messages.
As founder of ADFLOW, Roscoe oversees the continuous advancement of the company's technology solutions, bringing more than 20 years of business and information-technology experience to the company. Prior to founding ADFLOW in 2000, he worked with leading supply-chain re-engineering companies Webplan and i2 Technologies.
Friday, 28 July 2006
PSP News: U.K. retailers GAME, HMV, Virgin and Gamestation are teaming with Sony to offer PlayStation Spot kiosks in hundreds of store locations. Shoppers will be able to download and try out a selection of playable game demos. Each location will offer anywhere from six to eight different downloads.
Read more
Friday, 28 July 2006
RICHMOND, Va. - Thirty-one state parks are getting interactive visitor kiosks that will offer features on natural attractions as well as high-tech help for hikers.
According to a news release, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has contracted with Imperial Multimedia, a Wisconsin company, to develop the visitor-information system. The system is expected to be installed by next spring and will mirror a program successfully used in Wisconsin state parks.
The visitor kiosks will include global positioning system-based trail information, wildlife guides, in-depth information on park amenities and printable guides and maps. The stations also will provide interactive virtual tours of trails.
The department hopes to cover the project's development costs through advertising and sponsorships.
Friday, 28 July 2006
BOSTON, Mass. · A new study by Mercator Advisory Group finds that walk-in bill payments, through tellers as well as kiosks, represent a significant portion of the recurring bill-payment market in the United States. At the current rate of growth, more than $80 billion in walk-in bill payments will be processed by 2009.
Walk-in bill payments have been traditionally dominated by non-bank providers, including direct billers, money-service businesses and retail outlets. As a result, fee revenues and access to traffic, including a large number of unbanked and underbanked customers, remain out of reach to banks. Furthermore, recent moves to expand the payment services offered to walk-in bill-payment customers threaten to further solidify this customer base in the non-bank sector and away from financial institutions.
"With the introduction of new services like insurance and prepaid, walk-in bill payment is becoming a wedge between the underserved markets and traditional banking relationship," states Michael Friedman, director of Mercator Advisory Group's Emerging Technologies Service and the report's principal analyst. "Banks will want to rethink their walk-in payments strategy to expand their customer base and foster organic growth."
Friday, 28 July 2006
CBC News: A new program from the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver allows viewers to access art via a drive-thru window. Drivers can pull up to the kiosk and select one of six short videos from Vancouver artist Brady Cranfield. Each piece from the series called Day Tripper is modeled after a hypothetical day in the life of a Vancouverite.
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Friday, 28 July 2006
Ellsworth Systems, LLC, (ESI) is a provider of self-service coin and lobby coin machines. ESI is also a supplier for currency, check and coin processing equipment, supplies and service. ESI supplies everything financial including ATMs, coin and currency counters, cash and coin dispensers and Check 21 solutions through their direct sales force and nationwide dealer network.
Ellsworth Systems' field service technicians cover seven states with service at the customer's location. They can work on ATMs; self-service coin-redemption equipment; coin-counting, sorting and packaging equipment; check encoders; check scanners; currency counters; teller systems and more.
The company's depot service department manages a nationwide service depot on all types of desktop money-handling equipment. Their experienced technicians rebuild hundreds of machines a month for some of the biggest retail companies and banks in the country.
Thursday, 27 July 2006
SYDNEY · Australian hardware and software developer 22Moo has begun development on it's iTunes kiosk, PodBuffet.
Currently the prototype will be powered by an Apple Intel based Mac Mini running a 15-inch TFT touchscreen with virtual keyboard software, a wireless Internet connection and a customized application for timed access to iTunes.
The kiosk also will feature multiple dock connectors and a female USB and firewire port for older iPods and Shuffle owners.
Users will be able to download videos and music to their iPods from places such as airports, train stations, hotels and shopping centers
Thursday, 27 July 2006
Australian IT: In a bid to increase in-store sales, pharmacists across Australia are installing computer terminals, kiosks and televisions to help inform customers. Customers can use the terminals to look up illnesses and the best products to treat their symptoms. Melbourne-based iVision has installed more than 150 terminals in pharmacies around the country, with plans to expand to more than 1,500 locations over the next 18 months. Stuart Hayes, managing director of iVision, said the concept follows on from the success of digital signage in pharmacies in Britain, where some advertisers have seen product sales increases of up to 180 percent.
Read more
Thursday, 27 July 2006
PLANO, Texas · Knowlan's Super Markets Inc., an independent grocery chain that operates Festival Foods stores in Minnesota, has tapped StoreNext Retail Technologies LLC to upgrade IT systems at four of its nine stores. Knowlan's operates six Festival Foods and two Knowlan's stores; in recent months Knowlan's has installed StoreNext's Pricer Infrared Electronic Shelf Labeling (ESL) system for pricing management and accuracy at three of its existing Festival Foods stores.
The seventh Festival Foods store will open this fall with the Pricer ESL. The independent retailer also uses StoreNext's ISS45 POS software and Fujitsu TeamPoS 2000 POS hardware.
"We were interested in upgrading our ESL system and wanted to replace it with the most competitive system available," said Ed Doud, director of retail technology for Knowlan's. "We were looking for two things: pricing accuracy and efficiency. We shopped around and StoreNext's Pricer solution impressed us the most. It offered us the best in-store ESL system · with extremely aesthetic display tags, easy-to-use, swift price changes and accurate pricing. As promised, the installation and functioning of the system has been very smooth with quick acceptance by customers and staff."
RDS, StoreNext's dealer for Minnesota and North Dakota, is working in tandem with Knowlan's on the technology rollout.
"We are seeing more independent grocers use digital technology to enhance the shopper's experience, as well as store operations," said Ray Carlin, president and chief executive officer at Plano, Texas-based StoreNext. "The Pricer ESL system offers Knowlan's a better label design, longer life and faster wireless technology for quick price changes."
Knowlan's Super Markets Inc. was founded in the early 1900s and has since expanded to nine stores. The privately held regional chain, based in the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, is recognized for outstanding customer service and a wide variety of prepared, natural and organic products.
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
Storefront Backtalk: In what's been called the self-checkout diet plan, retailers are learning the unintended consequences of self-checkout systems as they see sales of candy, Hollywood tabloids, batteries and other checkout-lane impulse items plummet.
"Things like chewing gum and breath mints, chocolate candy, chips and salty snacks, soda and water " we're seeing a tremendous change there, drops of 40 percent overall from people who say they buy it in a standard lane but do not buy it in a self-checkout lane," said Greg Buzek of IHL Consulting. "Retailers have to factor those impulse items in when they do an ROI calculation for self-checkout. They are typically using labor savings or moving labor around in the store as a primary reason for justifying self-checkout but (they) also need to factor in the merchandising sales. There's a fundamental change happening in the front-end of the check-out line when self-checkout is implemented."
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006
Chain Store Age: Burger King's slogan, "Have it Your Way," invites consumers to order their burgers just the way they like them · whether that be with or without tomatoes. But in practice, getting a food order as specified is more like playing the lottery. Sometimes you're lucky; other times you have to pull out that unwanted tomato. Self-service technology could make such consumer headaches a problem of the past, while helping free up staff for better and faster customer service. The era of self-ordering is here, at last.
Read more (Free registration required.)
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
The Associated Press: The U.S. Postal Service is replacing dozens of unconnected human-resources systems nationwide with one that will allow its 700,000 employees to make benefit and payroll changes over the Internet or at the 519 kiosks located at postal facilities around the country.
The PostalPEOPLE system is rolling out in phases to replace a hodgepodge of more than 70 systems used by 3,800 HR managers across the United States. All postal service employees will have access to basic functions by the end of October.
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006
CHARLOTTE, N.C. · Source Technologies, provider of integrated solutions for managing financial transactions and other secure business processes, has named Bob Karr director of international sales.
According to a news release, Karr's hire will help the company expand its coverage in Latin America and other international markets. Karr brings more than 21 years of international and domestic management to Source Technologies, including strategic planning, sales development and customer support.
As director of international sales, Karr is responsible for overall sales activity outside of the United States. Initially he will focus on managing and building customer relationships with Latin American banks, credit unions, utility providers and retailers, as well as develop international sales strategies for the company.
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas · American Airlines has rolled out a new enhancement in its self-service check-in machines, which will now offer travelers the opportunity to purchase one-day passes for Admirals Club lounges as they are checking in.
"Our customers have asked us to make the purchase of one-day passes for American's Admirals Club lounges easier and faster," said Maya Leibman, American's managing director of airport automation. "With the flexibility and the ease of use that we have built into our self-service machines, we are able to deliver a simple solution that allows our customers to take full advantage of our premium services."
One-day passes to American's Admirals Club lounges are available for purchase immediately at domestic airport self-service machines, but may be used at any of the more than 40 lounges on the day of travel.
How it works
Admirals Club One-Day Passes: During the self-service check-in process, customers will be given the opportunity to purchase one-day passes for up to three passengers in the same reservation. The cost of the first pass is $50. Up to two additional passes may be purchased for an additional $25 each, for a maximum of three one-day passes per reservation. Additionally, if a customer purchases an Admirals Club lounge annual membership within 30 days of using a one-day pass, the previously paid pass fees (up to $100) may be applied toward the membership cost. One-day passes are valid only for day of travel.
American has more than 750 self-service machines available throughout its network.
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
TORONTO · Got any spare change? The Royal Canadian Mint hopes so. The Crown corporation partnered with the U.S. company Coinstar, maker of commercial coin machines, a year ago in an effort to recycle loose change that's collecting dust in ashtrays, jars and coffee tins across Canada.
The self-service automated Coinstar kiosks accept all Canadian coins and can count 600 per minute. More than 135 kiosks have been in A&P, Dominion and Loblaws stores in the Toronto area since 1998 and they've been a "big success."
Read more
Monday, 24 July 2006
SAN FRANCISCO — Elo TouchSystems, a division of Tyco Electronics Corporation, has announced the next generation of its AccuTouch five-wire resistive touchscreen technology.
The new touchscreen construction offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improved environmental specifications and a new option for a true flat cable attachment. Previous developments included the change to a Z border electrode pattern for greater edge linearity and the introduction of higher-quality glass substrates for increased durability. Now, Elo is adding a new construction for increased environmental stability.
"Elo invented the resistive touchscreen 35 years ago," said Elo product manager David Chen. "As one of our core touch technologies, we are committed to continuing to refine AccuTouch, a very respected brand in resistive touchscreens."
The latest generation of the product maintains all major components of the touchscreen, including the material construction of the glass, coversheet, fired-on electrode pattern, cable and soldered cable attachment.
"With a new manufacturing process for the attachment of the coversheet, we can now provide a higher temperature and humidity performance range for the resistive product line, all while maintaining our renowned tight coversheet fit, and without lowering any other performance specification," Chen said.
Tops in VSR Magazine's POS Hardware Leaderboard
Elo claimed the No. 1 ranking in the touchscreens category in the recently released POS Hardware Leaderboard. Vertical Systems Reseller Magazine asked value-added resellers to rate vendors in a head-to-head comparison based on five key criteria: product features and functionality, product innovation, product reliability, support and service; and competitive pricing. VSR's research partner, Litchfield Research, conducted the survey.
Saturday, 22 July 2006
Wal-Mart's U.K.-based subsidiary, Asda, fell behind plan last year. Bad news announcements are a rare thing from Wal-Mart, and The Wall Street Journal identified the culprit: competitors' loyalty cards. The paper reported that Tesco PLC, one of the first retailers to adopt a loyalty card program, now holds a 31 percent market share in Britain · nearly twice that of Asda.
But cards alone are not the answer. Many companies invest heavily to gather customer data and still fail to gain an advantage. It's what goes on behind the scenes, the data gathering and mining that brings customers back.
MobileLime CEO Bob Wesley, whose company markets a cell-phone-based loyalty network, knows the value of correctly interpreting customers' information. The first step, he said, is to make sure the data is gathered correctly.
"The quality of your list is very important," Wesley said. "The offer will help the response rate, but getting really good data about people is really hard. People change their addresses. I'm changing my address right now. I could go into Stop and Shop and apply for a new loyalty card and my phone number would change. And I might put down Bob Wesley instead of Robert Wesley and I'd go into the database as a completely different person."
According to Boston University's College of Communication, 86 percent of American shoppers are listed in a loyalty database and a majority of respondents said receiving the card was worth giving up some measure of privacy.
After their information is gathered and customers' spending habits are tracked, the data must be examined to find an in with the customer. That's where Tesco realizes much of its success. In one example, according to The Wall Street Journal, Tesco identified young adult males who bought diapers. With a child to baby sit at home, the company knew these men wouldn't frequent pubs as much, so it sent them coupons for beer.
Wesley said such comparative measures are the best practice for reaching customers with a loyalty program.
"This one particular grocer wanted to sell more prepared foods to their evening traffic," Wesley said. "So they analyzed and said ‘A lot of my evening traffic is coming in and not going to the salad bar or the hot food bar. What can I do to get them to change their behavior?' So they said, ‘I'm going to get them to change their behavior by offering them something so they'll start to buy it and, over time, they'll change their behavior.'"
For its part, Wal-Mart has been a respected leader in the quest for customer data of a different kind. According to The Joplin Globe, Wal-Mart's 125,000 square foot data mining facility can house twice the data that the Internet holds: 460 terabytes of data. Author John Dicker wrote that Wal-Mart's data processing abilities are at the hub of its logistical controls, which he notes are so advanced they can deliver hurricane supplies for sale in Florida stores as soon as a storm is on the radar.
When asked about the stiff competition from Tesco, company spokeswoman Amy Wyatt dismissed the value of loyalty programs.
"Schemes and special promotions are not something that we do," Wyatt said. "We believe in offering every-day low price. Special deals, ‘only for a limited time,' are not something we do. We prefer to offer low prices over the long term, rather than short-term special offers."
But for the Wal-Mart company as a whole, loyalty programs do show results. Sam's Club's member-based loyalty card program, for example, accounts for 13 percent of Wal-Mart's sales, according to Hoovers.com. And Wesley said their branded credit cards are another source of data · not just about what customers buy in their stores, but in their competition's stores.
The last crucial portion to the loyalty card puzzle, Wesley said, is communicating the reward to the customers. He said many programs fail because customers don't realize what they receive in exchange for using the card. Wesley said most customers he asks don't know the balance of their rewards programs, or the benefit they get from using a card in a store.
"Some leading companies will spend lots of resources to very succinctly print out on a receipt, the value of the card," Wesley said. "The real issue is how to make a loyalty program work harder for you."
Friday, 21 July 2006
The Sydney Morning Herald: In a sprawling downtown Sydney music store, shoppers clutching MP3 players weave through a phalanx of CD racks to line up before what appear to be two sleek new automatic teller machines. They are, in fact, Virgin's answer to Apple's online iTunes Music Store, repositories of vast amounts of music that can be downloaded to the minute, ubiquitous gadgets one in five Australian adults has bought.
Virgin's holding company, Brazin, which also owns HMV Australia and Sanity music stores, has installed 10 Fast Tracks kiosks in five of its largest stores and is expected to install at least another two at Sydney International Airport in the next few weeks.
Read more
Friday, 21 July 2006
Amarillo, Texas - Visitors and residents in Amarillo, Texas, now are preventing identity theft quickly, conveniently and inexpensively with the nation's first self-service shredding kiosk.
RealTime Shredding, developer of the first self-service kiosk to help consumers and businesses fight identity theft, has installed kiosks at a school district and an RV park in Amarillo. These installations represent the first RealTime Shredding kiosks in use at any U.S. educational institution or RV park, says Amanda Verrie, RealTime Shredding president.
At Cal Farley's Boys Ranch Independent School District, administrators are using the kiosk to increase staff productivity and insure compliance with state, federal and internal document destruction regulations. The organization already has reduced the time spent on shredding by at least 75 percent, and anticipates savings in staff cost of $10,000 or more on an annual basis. In addition, the district no longer needs to purchase multiple smaller shredders throughout the year that frequently jam and break, and no longer needs to hire part-time help to keep up with shredding requirements. Business access codes and accompanying reports track and document use by department.
At Fort Amarillo RV Park, Owner Bobby Prescott is offering the RealTime Shredding kiosk as an additional convenience for park visitors. Guests can bring in any material they would like to shred and do so at a cost of $1 per two-minute session. With RealTime Shredding's industrial-quality shredder, that equates to up to four pounds, or about 400 sheets of paper. "Long-term guests, as well as those here for shorter stays, find it very handy," says Prescott. He also is using the self-service shredder to destroy sensitive business documents and other materials.
RealTime Shredding use at RV parks and educational institutions "makes great sense in terms of helping prevent identity theft and achieving these organizations' goals," says Amanda Verrie, RealTime Shredding president. With President Bush's recent executive order creating the nation's first-ever Identity Theft Task Force, Americans' consciousness about protecting their good names is on the rise, she says, and shredding continues to grow in importance. Identity theft is now the fastest-growing crime in the United States, according to the National Crime Prevention Council. More than 9.3 million Americans were the victims of identity theft in 2005, resulting in losses to individuals, businesses, and government of $52.6 billion.
Both Boys Ranch Independent School District and Fort Amarillo RV Park are appreciating the simplicity, safety, and convenience of the shredding kiosk, adds Verrie. Since it cross-cut destroys cardboard, credit cards, paper clips, staples, CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks -— in addition to paper -— users can shred quickly and efficiently. Ability to see the material shredded in real time eliminates worries about personal information being lost or stolen.
RealTime Shredding, Inc. (www.realtimeshredding.com) develops and markets the first self-service shredding kiosk designed specifically for consumers and businesses. RealTime Shredding kiosks provide a fast, convenient, inexpensive way to shred documents and other materials that must be destroyed. Based in Colorado Springs, the woman-owned and-operated company offers multiple kiosk models and options, with purchase, revenue-sharing, and lease plans available.
Friday, 21 July 2006
Reuters: Nationwide Building Society plans to tackle the growing problem of free-to-use cash machine shortages with ATMs built into phone kiosks.
It launched the first highly secure, bullet-proof, cash machines attached to a BT kiosk as part of a pilot project in Northampton, in May. Now the joint venture with BT plans to roll out similar ATMs across the country.
Read more.
Friday, 21 July 2006
Atlanta - The City of Atlanta recently unveiled the first of a series of self-service bill payment kiosks that provide city residents with a convenient way to pay their monthly water and sewer bills. City of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin helped launch the new bill payment kiosks at a televised press event that showcased the kiosks' ease of use.
 The City of Atlanta Watershed Department, which already accepts online bill payments, selected MontegoNet's NeoPay kiosks to handle the demand for in-person check and credit card payments, eliminating the need for Watershed Department employee involvement. In addition to delivering cost savings and allowing employees to focus on other tasks, the NeoPay kiosks expand residents' payment options.
As the Watershed Department's Melinda Langston explains, "These bill payment kiosks underscore our commitment to better serving the needs of city residents. Paying your water or sewer bill has never been so quick and easy."
The new kiosks represent just one facet of a city-wide initiative to bring self-service payment and information options to Atlanta residents and visitors alike.
MontegoNet is a full-service interactive kiosk solutions provider, offering a wide selection of transactional and informational self-service kiosks for government, retail, medical, banking and public utility applications. MontegoNet's clients include District of Columbia, Fidelity Investments, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Raytheon, State of Illinois, US Air Force, The Washington Redskins and more. For further information about MontegoNet's products and services, call (888) MONTEGO or visit us on the Web at www.montegonet.com / www.neopay-kiosk.com
Thursday, 20 July 2006
Computing.co.uk: Self-service is proving to be a win-win situation, benefiting businesses and customers alike. Companies like Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and British Airways are feeling the benefits. The head of IT for British Airways says "customers prefer to do it themselves"; Tesco has traffic of 1.5 million customers every week through its self-checkouts.
Thursday, 20 July 2006
WEST CHESTER, Pa. · MEI announced that its cash acceptors have been integrated into the Hillman Group's Quick-Tag kiosks, installed in more than 3,500 pet specialty and retail outlets across the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Quick-Tag kiosks allow customers to create affordable, custom-engraved personal identification and pet I.D. tags in less than two minutes. The stand-alone system employs a computer-driven engraver, easy-to-use video touchscreen, and cash, credit or token payment options.
"We tested many different bill acceptors because it is a critical component for Quick-Tag's ongoing success and acceptance in new, unattended applications," said Tom Glessner, director of engraving products for the Hillman Group. "The MEI unit proved the most reliable, and easy to implement, as well as the most user-friendly for our consumers."
Hillman anticipates continued growth in its current retail base, with new expansion into novelty trade venues, such as theme parks and zoos. To date, they have installed seven kiosks in Disney World, four at Kennedy Space Center and two at the San Diego Zoo.
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
BEAVERTON, Ore. -- To launch the Company's new strategy to further expand into value-added, high-growth segments of the specialty display marketplace, Planar Systems, Inc. today announced that it has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of privately-held Clarity Visual Systems for approximately $46 million in cash and Planar stock, subject to certain purchase price adjustments to reflect changes in balance sheet items and the number of outstanding shares of Clarity capital stock. Clarity is a leading provider of command and control digital displays and digital signage hardware and software systems for wide-ranging applications.
"Planar's financial strength has provided the flexibility to pursue attractive growth opportunities that integrate our flat panel display technology and go-to-market expertise with the specialized skills and product focus of a company like Clarity," said Gerry Perkel, Planar president and chief executive officer. "This acquisition fits very well with our new strategic direction, focusing on specialized display market segments that allow Planar to deliver more value to our customers and sell higher-margin solutions. Clarity brings these attributes to Planar, and provides us with an excellent group of employees to augment the existing talent at our Company. In addition, we believe the acquisition of Clarity increases Planar's future revenue growth trajectory as well as our future profitability."
Clarity's command and control products include premium display solutions targeted at a wide range of market applications, including transportation and traffic control, security and defense programs, energy, broadcast and telecommunication segments. The company is a leader in market applications where large-screen, multiple integrated displays create a "wall of information." The company's patented information processing hardware and software solutions control the display of information from a wide variety of sources to the display system application. The market for command and control room visual systems was estimated by iSuppli at more than $400 million globally in 2005, and is forecasted to grow more than 15 percent annually.
The digital signage market in which Clarity participates is experiencing rapid growth driven by a number of factors, including broadband delivery of multimedia content, trends in advertising toward targeted marketing campaigns at the point of purchase, and overall reductions in display component costs due, in part, to broad consumer adoption of related product categories. Clarity and its related "Coolsign" brand has sold over 5,000 signage systems including specialized signage monitors and/or networking software to a variety of attractive market segments, including retail banking, indoor public vendor advertising, casino and hospitality. Planar's initiatives in retail signage and kiosk systems will be combined with Clarity's market position in digital signage to address this growing market's need for display network management software and specialty displays. The worldwide market for electronic signage was estimated by iSuppli at $1.3 billion in 2006, growing to more than $2.3 billion by 2008.
"Clarity's competitive advantage is in its ability to create innovative, customer-focused solutions for the delivery and display of networked visual information, as well as the talent and commitment of its workforce," said Paul Gulick, president and chief executive officer of Clarity. "I believe the combination of Clarity's market leadership in networked display solutions with Planar's flat-panel specialized display solutions will allow the combined company to uniquely address growth markets around the world."
Clarity was founded in 1995 and recorded net sales of $59.0 million through the 12 months ending June 30, 2006. Clarity currently employs approximately 200 people, with more than half based at the company's headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon. Upon completion of the acquisition, Mr. Gulick, and senior vice president, sales and marketing, Kris Gorriaran will join Planar's executive team. Mr. Gulick will become Planar's vice president and chief technology officer, and Ms. Gorriaran will become vice president and general manager of the newly acquired business group. Both will report directly to Mr. Perkel.
Planar's purchase of Clarity includes the assumption of a net debt to cash position of approximately $6 million and the assumption of all outstanding options to purchase Clarity capital stock. The acquisition is expected to close late in the fourth quarter or early in the first quarter of fiscal 2007, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, Clarity shareholder approval, and customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be slightly accretive to Planar's internal non-GAAP financial projections in fiscal 2007.
More details relating to the proposed acquisition of Clarity will be discussed in the Company's third quarter earnings conference call today, July 19, 2006, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. The call can be heard via the Internet through a link on Planar's Web site, www.planar.com, or through numerous other investor sites, and will be available for replay beginning July 20 until August 19, 2006. The Company intends to post on its Web site a transcript of the prepared management commentary from the conference call shortly after the conclusion of the call.
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
Computing.co.uk: The value of sales of active radio frequency identification (RFID) systems is expected to soar in the next 10 years from $550 million (£300m) to $ 6.78 billion (£3.7bn).
The report from analyst IDTechEx says Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) and disposable RFID sensor systems such as smart active labels will lead the growth.
Read more.
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
ITBusiness.ca: The Toronto Transit Commission is piloting the use of kiosks that allow customers to purchase their monthly pass using their debit cards.
The TTC signed a $1.4 million dollar contract with IBM Canada Ltd. in September 2003 for the design, development, supply and rollout of 10 Metropass vending machines (called PVM, or pass vending machines for short).
Read more.
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
Daily Advance: First he was a Blockbuster customer. Then Internet DVD rental sites took off, and Rob Reardon switched to Netflix.
But when you're a movie buff watching at least three movies a week, new ways to get them are always alluring and Reardon confesses a new love -- he's fallen for Redbox.
Read more.
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
Bizjournals.com: The city of Albuquerque is betting that its new Downtown parking meters along Central Avenue will help retailers by curbing all-day parking by business employees and freeing up more parking for shoppers.
But business owners disagree over whether the new policy is a boon or a further deterrent to shop in an already struggling economic area.
Read more. (online registration required)
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
The Scotsman: A "smart" trolley, which uses wireless technology to guide shoppers around stores, is on its way to the U.K.
The portable store assistant allows shoppers to scan goods as they go. Payments are made at a kiosk before leaving the store.
Read more.
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
West Chester, Pa., - MEI announces that the MEI CASHFLOWR bill acceptor has been integrated into IBM's next generation self-checkout systems.
One of the advantages of the MEI technology is to provide the ability to easily accept new currency designs, including the US Government's recently redesigned $10 bill. The firmware used on MEI CASHFLOWR SC bill acceptors is designed to be easily upgraded via remote updating capability.
In advance of new bills being issued, MEI and IBM worked closely together to ensure a conversion that was transparent to retail customers. This was accomplished quickly and easily because of some of the unit's unique capabilities.
"The MEI family of cash acceptors provides the ability for IBM or their customers to automatically and remotely update the bill acceptors," according to Andrew Osborne, global marketing manager for MEI.
IBM has worked closely with MEI for many years to optimize the bill acceptor capabilities on its self checkout solutions. The new IBM models, introduced in December, feature improved ergonomic design across the product line. For the first time, all components, including the cash acceptor, are located above the counter and are organized for a more logical, intuitive transaction flow, helping make self checkout even easier and faster to use.
In addition to having the most proven remote update capability, the MEI CASHFLOW SC bill acceptor unit sets the industry standard with the highest bill acceptance rates, lowest jam rates and unsurpassed counterfeit detection technology.
About MEI's Full Line of Cash Acceptors for Self-Service Systems MEI offers the industry's most complete line of note and coin acceptors for the varying needs of retail self-service applications. MEI SODECO (TM) BNA56 note acceptors are designed specifically for use in high-volume, high-value applications with dedicated cash-box collection and a revenue center.
MEI CASHFLOWR SC Series note acceptors are the world's most technically advanced cash acceptor for retail applications. MEI Series 2000 note acceptors provide a lower end alternative for retail applications that do not require premium features or a lockable cash box. MEI Combo Acceptors are the industry's first unit that accepts cash, credit and debit. MEI CASHFLOW 9500 coin acceptors are ideal for kiosks and other unattended retail systems. MEI provides all the technical support that OEMs, professional software developers and systems integrators need to design, integrate, test and deploy their self-service systems.
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
ComputerActive: HP has launched Memory-Spot, a tiny chip for storing electronic data such as photographs, music or audio.
The aim is to use Memory-Spot in stickers to make it easy to apply to photographs or albums. The content can then be read with a special reader held close to the chip.
Read more.
Monday, 17 July 2006
Dr. Jack Goldstein could have just stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The Pawtucket, R.I., orthopedic surgeon has gray hair, suspenders and black plastic glasses with circular frames. And while he has an old-time doctor's demeanor, he has 21st century challenges: rising insurance costs, declining Medicare payments and ever-increasing demands for accurate treatment tracking.
He turned to self-service for help.
Goldstein collaborated with a former patient, a kiosk software developer, and his resulting company, AutomationMed, is an example of how many kiosk companies try to find opportunities while doctors struggle to manage their practices.
With Medicare and Medicaid considering pay-for-performance programs for reimbursing doctors and medical institutions, and some insurance companies already instituting them, Goldstein believes demand will soon grow for a system that tracks the success or failure of medical treatments, patient-by-patient.
"The Orthopedic Academy wanted to do outcomes data collections in the mid 90s," Goldstein said. "You want to know how someone's doing before and after you work on them, so you need a statistically validated measure."
AutomationMed lets patients check in for their appointments using the lobby-side. They enter their symptoms on an interactive chart of the body and complete a standard SF-36 medical questionnaire at a touchscreen connected to a Windows PC.
The next kiosk patients see is in the examination room, where Goldstein keys in his diagnoses and prescribed treatments as he examines patients. In subsequent visits, as Goldstein monitors their progress, patients retake the questionnaires. The differences in their answers allow him to electronically compare rates of improvement by condition and treatment.
The conditions and treatments are compared to his purchasing and billing data. For example, he can compare the payment he receives for a patient to the cost of the treatment, thereby learning which treatments are most profitable.
The net result, Goldstein said, has been a massive reduction in the paperwork and payroll necessary to administer his practice.
"One, you can save money," Goldstein said. "Two, it's the right thing to do. You can see what works and what doesn't to make people better."
Like AutomationMed, Otech is a start-up software developer in the medical kiosk market. The company targets clinics like Goldstein's, where the doctor and his staff need less paperwork but at least as much patient time.
Whereas AutomationMed kiosks use an all-in-one approach, Otech focuses on check-in, including co-pay collection. And, for now, the company is not specifically targeting pay-for-performance needs — though it does have an agreement with another vendor that can track patient histories, which it has not yet implemented.
 "(Pay for performance is) a buzzword but it's not anywhere near being implemented, except for a few HMOs," Otech President Bruce Steinhardt said. "It's going to be a long road before you get somebody comfortable to think that data's accurate enough that they will change something so that they get paid based on it. It's going to take either a real large institution and has the money to burn, or some really major payers to institute payment based on outcomes."
Galvanon, an early entrant in the market, opened for business in 2002. NCR purchased the firm in 2005. Galvanon's software offerings include patient-history tracking, and options for large operations, like wayfinding. The company also offers advanced hardware features, like a branded eClipboard and electronic-signature capture with consent forms. The Galvanon MediKiosk can also be equipped for biometric security.
Galvanon also tracks patient histories in an analytical data warehouse as well as a relational database. It also includes a clinical trials module.
"This module allows research facilities to tailor the clinical intake process for each patient, increase the quality of data collected for use in clinical trials and minimize the need for costly, time-consuming paper forms," Galvanon spokeswoman Cathi Hilpert said.
While different companies have different concentrations, they all agree the market for medical kiosks is expanding, and reducing paperwork is a key attraction.
"Physicians offices in particular, they've struggled with revenues being flat or down on a per-unit basis," Steinhardt said. "It truly has come to a point where they're saying, ‘What area can we automate? And, if we can, we have to save money where we have to.'"
Monday, 17 July 2006
TELeasy Corporation's kiosk solutions have helped many companies realize their kiosk goals.
Monday, 17 July 2006
AUSTIN, Texas · "World's Greatest Hamburgers" maker Fuddruckers is about to become one of the first known restaurant chains to use interactive kiosks in its kitchens. The restaurant chain plans to improve the efficiency of meal preparation and food order delivery with the IBM technology.
According to a news release, Fuddruckers' proprietary recipes and food preparation methods will be distributed to 125 secure, ultra-compact IBM Anyplace Kiosks in all of its corporate-owned restaurants' kitchens. This will replace paper-based procedures and recipe manuals, and will allow the restaurant chain to provide accurate and up-to-date food preparation instructions and recipes at a single source.
Fuddruckers will provide its general managers and cooks with easy access to recipes, via touchscreen panels and Recipeviewer software from Custom Business Solutions Inc. The restaurant chain also is using 125 new IBM SurePOS 500 systems to record customer orders. The new systems will be able to run the entire POSitouch suite that includes point of sale, enterprise reporting, employee scheduling, inventory, food costing and forecasting software applications.
Friday, 14 July 2006
CALGARY, Alberta - SMART Technologies Inc. announces the continued expansion of its Actalyst interactive digital signage product line to include an overlay for 32" (81 cm) flat-panel displays. The overlay fastens securely to LCD or plasma displays to create touch-enabled interactive surfaces. The new 32" overlay, the smallest of the Actalyst interactive overlays, gives purchasers another option when space for digital signage is limited. Actalyst interactive overlays now range in size from 32 to 65" (81 to 165 cm) diagonally and can be oriented in portrait or landscape mode. SMART supports most 32" digital displays, including those from NEC, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Toshiba, with others to follow.
Actalyst interactive digital signage combines with a flat-panel display to provide an increasingly popular way for people to find information in public places. They simply walk up to the product and use a finger to navigate multimedia content to find what they need. The overlay is ideal for interactive information stations in retail stores, office buildings, real-estate developments, museums, hotels and shopping malls, where people often need information, but may not need human assistance.
"SMART added the 32" overlay in response to customer demand," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's president and co-CEO. "The full line of Actalyst interactive overlays allows retailers, facility managers, exhibit designers and others to bring high-impact interactive digital signage to virtually any public place."
Features
Touch system: SMART's DViT® (Digital Vision Touch) technology lets users manipulate the display's content simply by touching the surface of the overlay. DViT technology uses state-of-the-art digital cameras embedded in the overlay's frame to detect contact on the screen. Touch accuracy remains consistent across the entire screen area, and image quality is clear and crisp. DViT technology's durability, reliability and simplicity ensure maximum uptime for interactive stations.
Protective surface: The durable, touch-friendly, anti-glare, scratch and chemical-resistant surface protects displays without compromising image quality.
Mounting brackets: Actalyst interactive overlays feature a universal mounting bracket that fits in between the flat-panel display and the panel's specific mounting plate to allow mounting in a portrait or landscape mode.
Supported flat-panel displays: Actalyst interactive overlays are compatible with large-screen plasma and LCD display screens from more than 15 manufacturers. Sizes range from 32 to 65" (81 to 165 cm) diagonally. SMART supports most 32" digital displays, including those from NEC, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Toshiba. For a complete list of displays supported, visit www.smarttech.com/actalyst/panels.
Software: The driver software provides touch control and is available for most Microsoft® Windows® and Apple Mac OS X operating systems and is compatible with content-development software.
Pricing and availability
The 32" Actalyst interactive overlay is available. For more information, specifications or a list of authorized resellers, visit www.smarttech.com/actalyst or call 1.888.42.SMART.
Friday, 14 July 2006
Indianapolis, Ind.— Champ Car is registering thousands of members a week to its official fan club with touch screen kiosks at race events throughout the 2006 season. Starting with the season opening Long Beach Grand Prix in April, more than 2000 race fans at each event have joined the Champ Car Inner Circle Fan Club using interactive fan club activation kiosks by SeePoint Technology of Redondo Beach, Calif.
The Inner Circle kiosks, which travel with the three-day Festival of Speed that is part of every Champ Car race, allow the league to interact one-on-one with fans during the race weekend and get them into the Fan Club. The fan club activation kiosks provide a unique, low cost form of customer acquisition that capitalizes on the excitement of attending a race.
SeePoint designed the Champ Car Fan Club activation application and kiosks for efficiency and ease of use. To join the Inner Circle at the track, fans need to provide only the most basic contact information, allowing Champ Car to maximize the number of fans that can be added to their database at any event. Once a fan is added to the database, Champ Car can use email to communicate more extensively with members. The freestanding kiosks, manufactured by SeePoint, offer the combination of small footprint, durability and plug and play operation that is necessary for systems that will be packed, shipped and set up again as they travel with Champ Car across the country from race to race.
"The SeePoint kiosks that are in operation at our event streamlines the ability for our fans to get information about our Inner Circle Fan Club," said Vice-President of Marketing and Sales Will Wilson. "It also gives us more ways to reach our fans as well, allowing us to provide greater information flow to those that demand it."
In addition to registering fan club members, the kiosks can also be repurposed to facilitate data collection through surveys and to promote the marketing efforts of Champ Car sponsors. The SeePoint kiosks feature easy to replace overhead and center signage so the systems can be boldly yet almost effortlessly re-branded as the use of the kiosks changes. For Champ Car and its sponsors alike, the fan club activation kiosks provide not only a new grass-roots way of marketing to fans but also valuable information about who their fans are.
About SeePoint & the Champ Car World Series
SeePoint Technology is a leading provider of interactive, Internet-ready, fully integrated self- service kiosk systems. SeePoint designs and manufactures interactive information systems that are ideal for entertainment, marketing and survey applications as well as retail services, ticketing systems, public information terminals and healthcare applications.
SeePoint offers a full line of standard kiosk products with a variety of mounting options, all of which may be customized to maximize branding opportunities and integrated with a full range of peripheral devices. SeePoint also offers full service engineering, design and manufacturing services to create custom developed solutions for customers with unique project specifications.
All of SeePoint's kiosks unite design, durability, reliability, flexibility, customizability and modularity to bring Internet based information, commerce and communication to the public.
SeePoint has provided interactive display solutions to Billabong, Deloitte Consulting, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Fuji, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Constitution Center, Neutrogena, Pfizer, Polaris ATV, the San Francisco International Airport, the States of New Mexico and Wisconsin and the United States Air Force and Army. Contact SeePoint Technology at (310) 725-9660 or visit www.seepoint.com for more information.
The Champ Car World Series features some of the greatest race car drivers in the world competing in the most diverse and exciting series in the world. Champions Sebastien Bourdais, Cristiano da Matta and Canadian Paul Tracy along with 2004 Roshfrans Rookie of the Year A. J. Allmendinger, Bruno Junqueira, Alex Tagliani and Mexican Mario Dominguez are among the drivers who battle for the Vanderbilt Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. The title is contested on oval circuits, temporary street circuits and permanent road courses.
SeePoint is a trademark of SeePoint LLC. Other company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Thursday, 13 July 2006
Video Business: After about a year in limbo, DVDPlay has recommitted to installing rental kiosks in the entire Safeway grocery chain.
The company first moved its machines into Safeway stores in the spring of 2005, but DVDPlay stalled after 60 locations due to a lack of funding. After a $40 million infusion of capital and the appointment of new chief executive Chuck Berger, DVDPlay is set to roll into 1,600 Safeways by the middle of 2007.
Read more
Thursday, 13 July 2006
Derbyshire Evening Telegraph: An information kiosk is being introduced to Derby City General Hospital to teach people about fire safety.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and Derby City Partnership want to reduce the risk of fire in people's homes.
Read more.
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
July 12, 2006 -- The Swedish Reitan Servicehandel, which is part of the Reitan Group has opted to install Wincor Nixdorf's cash management solution iCASH at six of its 7-Eleven stores in order to automate in-store cash processes. System rollout will begin in autumn 2006. After several pilot installations, this contract represents Wincor Nixdorf's first order in the retail cash management area.
Since April, the Reitan Group has been using two of its 7-Eleven stores in Stockholm to test how modern automation technology can be used to optimize cash processes.
Wincor Nixdorf provided its iCASH solution for the pilot project. The delivery comprises the coin module iCASH/15, the banknote module iCASH/50 and the iCASH software. The project's objective is to use this cash management solution to automate cash handling processes, reduce inventory discrepancies and increase in-store security.
In adopting this solution, the Reitan Group is following the recommendations of the Swedish National Board of Occupational Safety, which has called for increased security in stores situated in hazardous locations and those offering extended hours of business. The board had demanded that cash be dealt with in closed cycles with notices posted to the effect that employees were not able to access any cash. These recommendations were made as a response to Sweden's increasing number of robberies.
The coin module iCASH/15 and the banknote module iCASH/50 are integrated into the staff side of the counter and are both operated by the POS personnel. Both modules are recycling units, which means that cash previously paid in can subsequently be used to give change. This makes it possible to optimize the intervals at which the cash on hand needs to be replenished or picked up. POS personnel no longer need to handle any cash except when conducting an actual sale: banknotes are stored in a safe that can be opened only by CiT operatives.
The modules are controlled by the specially-developed iCASH software, with an interface provided to integrate the cash management systems into the POS software.
The closed and automated cash cycle excludes the possibility of employees making careless mistakes, for instance when giving change, and makes deliberate pilfering equally impossible. But the system's primary benefit is the reduction in costs due to process automation — not only for those processes exclusive to POS stations but also for POS handovers and the final cash audit.
As Lothar Wolf, Marketing Manager of the Retail Cash Management Division says, "Cash processes, from the POS station through the cash office right down to the CiT operatives' pick-up and replenishment operations, offer considerable potential for increasing productivity. Our products, which range from process consulting to outsourcing companies' entire cash handling activities, enable us to offer retail enterprises a modular solution portfolio for the entire process chain — from the POS to the bank."
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
EAST EARL, Pa. - In an indication of the growing acceptance of self-checkout technology on the consumer landscape, next month Amish shoppers at community-based independent Shady Maple Farm Market will be able to check out their own groceries before heading home in their buggy.
Read more.
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
July 10, 2006 -- Lucidiom Inc., developer of the APM photo kiosk, unveiled its expanded Luci, a creative photo kiosk program packed with new content and products designed to open new revenue streams for photofinishing, scrapbook and craft retailers.
Read more.
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
The Frontier Post: Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) signed an agreement in a ceremony in Peshawar Tuesday, to facilitate PESCO consumers paying their electricity bills round-the-clock through kiosks installed by NADRA.
Read more.
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
July 11, 2006 -- Planar Systems, a worldwide leader in flat-panel display systems, announced today that it plans to issue its third quarter earnings announcement on July 19, 2006. Results for the quarter are scheduled to be disclosed in a press release on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. EST, followed by a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Chief Executive Officer and President Gerry Perkel and Chief Financial Officer Scott Hildebrandt will conduct the call.
An audio feed of the conference call will be accessible through a link in the investor information section of the company's Web site, www.planar.com, or through numerous investor-oriented Web sites. A replay of the Web cast will be available through August 19, 2006, and a transcript of the management commentary portion of the call will be posted on the Planar Web site.
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
July 10, 2006-- Hand Held Products, Inc., the worldwide leader in verification solutions, today announced the immediate availability of the Quick Check 890 verification system for validating the readability and standards compliance of printed linear bar codes.
The Quick Check 890 verifier system consists of the QC890 input device and Quick Check ImageData software, providing an out of the box verification solution ideal for retail, warehouse and distribution, and healthcare - as well as other industries where bar code quality is critical to operations.
The only verifier powered by Adaptus Imaging Technology 5.0, the Quick Check 890 verification system enables companies to easily meet ISO/IEC test parameters for bar code symbol conformance.
Key features and functionality include:
- Hands-free operation for increased test repeatability
- Support for multiple languages
- Easy-to-use menu-based user interface
- Flexible connectivity - RS232 & USB or Bluetooth wireless
- Simple set-up and operation - compatible with Microsoft Windows and Windows Mobile 2003, as well as the Mac OS.
"Bar code quality is critical to productivity and efficiency. Whether you're a manufacturer, distributor or retailer - bar codes that are damaged, incorrect or of poor quality can lead to data errors - negatively impacting operations," said Chuck Biss, VP of verification products, Hand Held Products. "We've designed the Quick Check 890 verification system to be a simple out-of-the-box solution - users get everything they to need to deploy an effective verification program in one convenient hardware and software bundle."
The Quick Check 890 verification system is available by calling Hand Held Products at 1-800-582-4263 or by visiting www.handheld.com.
About Hand Held Products
With headquarters in Central New York, Hand Held Products is a worldwide leading manufacturer of image based data collection systems for mobile, wireless, and transaction processing solutions. Through its proprietary Adaptus(TM) Imaging Technology platform, Hand Held Products is dedicated to delivering innovative imaging solutions, reliability and durability to its customers and partners through more than 30 sales offices and hundreds of resellers. Hand Held Products is a privately held company and is represented in every major market and geographic region of the world. To find out how Hand Held Products can help you at the point-of-sale, on the sales floor, in the warehouse or on the delivery truck, call us at 1-800-582-4263. Or visit us at handheld.com.
This material contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in this publication. While Hand Held Products believes its statements to be reliable, all information/projections/statements/opinions expressed herein are based on information available as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice.
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
MSNBC.com: Paying for a parking spot has just gotten easier in the West End district in downtown Dallas. City-owned lots there will now accept credit cards.
The three lots are located under the Woodall Rogers Freeway. You can park, swipe your credit card at a kiosk and enter your parking space number.
The city is planning the same system for lots in Deep Ellum soon.
Read more.
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Miami Herald: Baseball in Pittsburgh wasn't always about Roberto Clemente, Barry Bonds or Honus Wagner. It also was about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell, too, during an 11-year stretch of championships in the 1930s and 1940s unmatched by any city in the sport.
The Pirates recently unveiled at PNC Park seven statues of former black baseball stars who played in the city, as part of an exhibit about the black game that includes interactive kiosks and educational films.
Read more.
Monday, 10 July 2006
George Clooney and his father, Nick, traveled to Darfur, Sudan, in April to visit refugee camps housing millions of residents displaced during the region's ongoing violence. The two documented their visit with photography and video. Nick, a former news anchor, reported the tragedy. George, the film star, produced it.
"If we turn our heads and look away and hope that it will all disappear then they will — all of them, an entire generation of people," George said at a Save Darfur rally in Washington. "And we will have only history left to judge us."
Nick Clooney, center, meets with refugees in Darfur, Sudan, while his son, George, right, tapes the event.
Nick collaborated with Cincinnati's National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to exhibit the work. The museum staff opted to use kiosks with the exhibit, to offer immediacy and interactivity. They draw foot traffic to the exhibit with a looping five minute video, narrated by Nick.
The exhibit runs June 14 through July 15.
Kiosk use is growing at the center, and at museums around the country, for similar reasons.
"(Kiosks) are very popular," Freedom Center spokesman Paul Bernish said. "We also have kiosks available at the end of the Freedom Center tour in which visitors can access lists of organizations involved in contemporary slavery issues, or to engage in dialogue about difficult moral choices facing people in their everyday lives. In sum, I would say that the Freedom Center believes kiosks, digital signs, et al, are valuable — essential, really, to enable visitors to become fully engaged in the content we offer."
Designer Geoff Gaudreault knows the applications well. He's designed software for more than fifty museums, including the Smithsonian and The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. He said kiosks offer a different perspective , often by relaying the mechanics of past events through simulations.
"The most challenging aspect is to assemble content and assets into a clear, concise purpose for the kiosk," Gaudreault said. "Kiosk software should never be too complex, nor too in-depth. Museum-goers just don't have the time to spend very long at any one exhibit, so your kiosk needs to be simple and to-the-point."
He suggested museum kiosks mix traditional and new media for greatest effect.
"The U505 exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has a U-boat simulator with a realistic control panel and rotating platform. The Edventure museum in South Carolina has a game show interactive exhibit with functioning game show podium buzzers."
The Interactive Media Technology Center at Georgia Tech University also builds kiosk software for museums. They once installed a kiosk at The Atlanta History Center's "Down the Fairway with Bobby Jones" exhibit, with which users simulated playing a hole of golf with Bobby Jones. Though the technology is new, research engineer Brian Jones already sees the hardware being supplanted by newer, portable PDA-like devices filled with similar content.
"One of the biggest drawbacks that I see with kiosks is trying to put too much information on the screen," Jones said. "You don't want to have people hanging out for two hours if you have a lot of people coming through."
The PDA units, Jones said, change that, as people carry them from exhibit to exhibit, and many of them support Flash animations which make their free-standing cousins so attractive.
"Kiosks have a place, but they're quickly being replaced with handhelds if the cost is right, because people can tailor the experience themselves," Jones said.
Monday, 10 July 2006
Times Online: A former investment banker hopes to revolutionize the advertising market by importing cylindrical digital display units that can be viewed from any angle.
Trevor Lawless, of 360 Digital Displays, hopes to import up to 30 of the estimated 100,000 units, which are similar to eight-foot-high digital televisions, over the next 12 months.
Read more.
Monday, 10 July 2006
CBC.ca: It's going to cost the City of Charlottetown $200,000 · $100,000 more than it expected · to get rid of 36 electronic parking kiosks that drivers, apparently, hated.
Charlottetown installed the so-called "pay and display" meters for what was supposed to be a six-month trial basis. That was almost two years ago.
Read more.
Friday, 07 July 2006
Canada.com: Mediaport Entertainment Inc., which deploys unmanned point-of-sale kiosks, called MediaATMs, today announced an agreement to offer consumers music from Sony BMG Music's recorded music library through Mediaport's MediaATM retail kiosks, and website. The MediaATM, with its patent pending digital download technology, is an unmanned kiosk store that sells digital entertainment content like music, games, and videos, to customers in a just in time, user-friendly manner.
Read more.
Friday, 07 July 2006
Hindu Business Line: The Kerala Government is setting up a series of kiosks attached to hospitals to facilitate immediate registration of births and deaths.
The "hospital kiosks," which are coming up at important hospitals in various municipal areas, would also help distribute the birth and death certificates. The registrations would be made electronically at the kiosks.
Read more.
Friday, 07 July 2006
At KlearFlex Kiosks, we manufacture computer kiosks and digital signage for use in retail stores, offices, museums, hospitals, universities, tradeshows, and many other industries and applications. We offer both passive and interactive digital signs using LCD technology. Digital and dynamic signage technology is rapidly replacing traditional "static" signage in many retail and public venues and KlearFlex is leading the way with the most innovative and complete solutions available.
Thursday, 06 July 2006
ShanghaiDaily.com: A frustrated bankcard holder has sued branches of China's three lenders and the country's bankcard operator over a 1.5 Yuan (19 U.S. cents) fee incurred making account inquiries at banks other than her own. She claims her bank promised her a no-fee ATM card.
Thursday, 06 July 2006
ePaynews: DVD rental kiosks are moving out of convenience stores and gas stations and into laundromats, health clubs, pharmacies and office towers as entrepreneurs test the new model. Rental stores such as California-based Valley Home Video are converting store space to DVD kiosks in response to rental-market conditions.
Read more
Thursday, 06 July 2006
Eye for Travel: People and processes, not peanuts and pillows, make a difference when it comes to satisfying airline passengers, according to the JD Power and Associates 2006 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. Among the study's findings: Passengers who check in for flights online or at electronic check-in kiosks have higher satisfaction levels and save more time during the check-in process than those who use the ticket counter or curbside check-in.
Read more
Thursday, 06 July 2006
HotelMarketing.com: Just 10 percent to 25 percent of hotel customers use kiosks to check in or out when they are available. Hoping to increase those numbers (and shorten lines at the front desk), hotels are now letting guests use lobby kiosks to print airline boarding passes.
Read more.
Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Just as retail customers are getting used to self-checkout barcode units, along comes a new technology that points to their eventual obsolescence. Radio frequency identification (RFID) will allow shoppers to check out purchases instantly instead of item-by-item.
Peter Honebein, president of Customer Performance Group and co-author of Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers, imagines that RFID might totally change the retail shopping experience some day.
"The shopper wheels the shopping cart through an archway, and the items in the cart are tallied automatically," he said. "And if that isn't cool enough, the archway also reads your smart card and deducts the cost of your purchase automatically as well. Or perhaps you touch your finger to a reader, which automatically completes the transaction for your purchase."
RFID promises increased efficiency to consumers, retailers and manufacturers. But it is unclear how long it will be before the technology begins to impact the self-checkout devices that customers are just becoming accustomed to.
A matter of trust
Honebein emphasizes trust as a factor in the transition toward RFID. "There is no better way to foster trust than to slowly wean customers off what they know," he said. "EPOS and self-checkout technologies will include an RFID scanner alongside the barcode scanner while products make the transition from UPC barcode to RFID. Customers or clerks will scan the items because that is what they are familiar with. Once customers trust that RFID is not ripping them off (like customers had to trust barcodes) we can obsolete the old method and technology and bring in the new ultra-efficient 'magic archway.'"
Mike Webster, vice president and general manager of NCR Self-Service, believes that self-service customers will actually accelerate the adoption of RFID. They will increase trust in the system, he argues, by scanning items with barcodes and corroborating RFID readouts where both technologies are already working together.
"Self-checkout customers are a potential bridge between current symbology and RFID-enabled products, as (those customers) are already performing itemization and tendering during a transaction," he said. "It's this comfort level with technology and privacy that will support RFID."
Talk of new technology always sends a chill down the spine of those who recently invested in the last great innovation. But John Parsons, marketing programs manager for Fujitsu's U-Scan Self-Checkout, said retailers shouldn't worry about their investments in self-checkout.
"RFID works great in a lab environment, but has many high hurdles to overcome before it can completely replace the current scanning technology," he said. "The revolution that involves going through tunnel portals and whole-basket scanning will be transformational and require new investments. However, it is well in the distance both due to technology capability and consumer acceptance."
Parsons estimates that full transition to RFID self-checkout is 10 to 15 years away. The two key factors he identifies as determining the rate of adoption are cost and privacy.
Bringing down cost
Parsons points out that while retailers are already experimenting with RFID tags on high-ticketed, non-grocery items, the technology "is still too expensive for many low value items found in grocery stores."
Ongoing research is developing promising solutions; one promising front is conductive ink and the emerging field of "printable tags."
Brad Geiger, manager of the RFID lab at University of Wisconsin, agrees that cost is still a problem. "For most organizations, the main barrier to adoption today is lack of ROI. To overcome this, tag costs must come down further, and there must be some very visible examples of companies realizing a significant return on investment across multiple cases."
Privacy and technology
Besides cost, Parsons stresses the importance of privacy, which he said "will still be an issue in the short and medium term." Customers may fear that RFID tags will make it possible for their purchases to be tracked once they have left the store, so the tags have to be "killed" (deactivated) after transactions.
Parsons notes that "tag-killing" at the register still needs to be perfected. "How do you kill certain tags (e.g. on clothing) in a staffed or check-out lane and not kill other tags on other products close by?"
Despite the challenges posed by RFID, manufacturers of self-checkout scanners welcome it. "RFID will eventually have a positive impact on self-checkout technology," said Parsons. "Fujitsu products are designed to accommodate future upgrades that extend the life of the systems."
Fear that current scanners are already obsolete is allayed by the history of UPC scanning, which, as Parsons said, "first hit the supermarkets in 1976, and the industry at large was not fully converted until 1990. RFID will probably not take the same number of years to completely penetrate the industry, but it will be a very long time for all retailers to create and implement their own value proposition for conversion to the new technology."
Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Burnaby BC - TIO Networks Corp., formerly Info Touch Technologies Corp., today announced the launch of the KEY A-D insurance offering to ExxonMobil customers and other TIO convenience retail networks. KEY A-D, which is underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company, will provide an accidental death benefit for $12 a year.
"When I was approached by Stonebridge to sell an insurance product on our bill payment network, I was immediately interested," says Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and CEO of TIO Networks. "We strive to offer products to the cash preferred demographic and this product has been developed specifically for TIO's customer base."
"Our customers have been requesting more financial services be offered on our terminals," says David Taylor, U.S. Category Manager for ExxonMobil. "KEY A-D insurance supports our strategy to provide services to the under-banked consumer."
"We are excited about the opportunity to test a new distribution channel," says Margo K. Lucero, kiosk senior marketing manager for Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company. "TIO Networks and ExxonMobil are ideal partners to determine the effectiveness of insurance offerings in convenience stores."
TIO Networks and Stonebridge will launch initially in Texas and Tennessee in On The Run and Tigermarket locations with a strategic, long-term plan for a nationwide roll out that will encompass multiple offers, markets and retailers.
Wednesday, 05 July 2006
MercuryNews.com: DVDPlay of Los Gatos, Calif. raised more than $20 million in new equity financing from El Dorado Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Palo Alto Venture Partners and Vanguard Ventures, which participated equally in the funding. To date, DVDPlay has raised nearly $40 million.
The new financing will be used to fund DVDPlay's national rollout of its Internet-connected DVD rental kiosks. Each kiosk occupies about 5.5 square feet and has the capacity to hold more than 500 discs. The units are designed to be located in high-traffic locations such as grocery stores, convenience stores, business complexes, gas stations, colleges or even large apartment complexes.
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Wednesday, 05 July 2006
ABCNews.com: SafeTzone uses radio frequency technology which almost instantly pinpoints the location of every member of a family whenever a parent or child swipes their SafeTzone wristband at kiosks in amusement parks.
SafeTzone also eliminates the need to carry cash. Parents authorize a specific spending limit and their kids can make purchases at restaurants and shops flashing their wristband not their wallet.
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Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Peopledaily.com.cn: Singaporeans can plead guilty to minor traffic and parking offenses at the Automated Traffic Offense Management System (ATOMS) kiosks islandwide and the Subordinate courts will offer this online service at its Web site by the end of this year.
Other initiatives include integrating the case management systems from the ministries with the courts' database to facilitate information exchange.
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