December 31, 2010

2011 Predictions and Trends

Every year new predictions come around and this year we thought we would compile a few of them to try and give them their own context for the whole so to speak. This year we learn about "fabric-based computing". Where...



A look back -- How Did We Do in 2010

Easy enough to come out with predictions and ad hoc musings on the next great thing or place or whatever. But didn't we do that last year? We are pretty demanding on investment returns and we track those but just...



December 29, 2010

2011 : 11 Customer Service Trends to Watch in 2011

Customer service trends for 2011. It's a good list of customer expectations and how customer service becomes a positive channel....



December 28, 2010

CETW: A Bright Present and Promising Future

A look back at the CETW tradeshow by Ron Bowers of Frank Mayer & Associates....



Pennsylvania Shuts Down Wine Venders To Probe Breakdowns

Failure of machines to dispense wine being investigated. Meanwhile we learn that Liquor Control Board did not have to pay for the machines and the vendor is supposed to get paid back by advertising. That is to say machines they...



December 23, 2010

Operating Systems - news from Microsoft

A week after MS releases the H.264 plugin for Firefox, without fanfare the Genuine Advantage System (which has been a thorn to IT) is quietly shut down. And at CES in 2 weeks we get introduced to a "njew" Windows...



December 22, 2010

Pa. closes malfunctioning wine kiosks for fine-tuning

There’s a slight problem with some of the 30 wine kiosks at Giants, Wegmans, Giant Eagles and two other supermarket chains throughout the state: They aren’t dispensing wine.[picture]...



Patent News - Kodak's patent spat threatens photo web sites

The fallout from a patent dispute between Kodak and web photo site Shutterfly could embroil many online image sites, says patent experts....



Microsoft to Reveal New Version of Windows

Microsoft hints at new version of Windows. After all the other "versions" we have already we are not sure a new "version" does much for them. We wish they would throw away the current model and build a completely new...



Blog from Digital Screen Media

Blog for December covering marijuana dispensing kiosks, Net Neutrality and quick comments on CET World show in New York last month....



December 21, 2010

B-cycle and Business Sponsorships

"They're the first Denver company to really build their entire marketing efforts around Denver B-cycle," said Denver marketing maven Steve Sander. "I view this as a true investment in something that is good for them and good for the community."...



December 20, 2010

MCD's info kiosk project hits a roadblock

MCD - Of 2000 information kiosks, which were to be operational by October 2010, only 100 have been installed in the city. Of these, none are functional...



December 17, 2010

DVD Kiosks - Warner Bros. Joins NCR Corp.

NCR Corp.’s aggressive target of 10,000 kiosks by this year-end and the achievement of break even in its Entertainment business by fiscal 2011 are encouraging. -- Zacks...



December 15, 2010

Best Buy Admits To Misleading Customers With Kiosks

Article on Best Buy settlement when they ran dummy pricing on the internet kiosks (pricing on kiosks was higher than the web). We wonder if this was company wide initiative when they did it, or they targeted regions/zip codes....



MOD Cuts Staff By 35%

Digital movie and music kiosk operator MOD Systems has cut its staff by 15 employees, or 35%, bringing its staff down to about 30, company CEO Anthony Bay said Dec. 14....



Outdoor Kiosks Going Green

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Bike sharing, recycling, and other eco-friendly applications are gaining in popularity and familiarity throughout the US. As the manufacturer of these nationwide deployments, KIOSK Information Systems has provided substantial design advances for clients...



December 13, 2010

Patent News -- Judge dismisses Paul Allen's patent suit against Apple, Google, others

Paul Allen suit dismissed as judge found no specifics to the patents, just generalities. e.g. "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest" was one of the patents. Or "browser for use in navigating information represented by audiovisual data"....



December 10, 2010

For Sale - Duraview outdoor kiosks

Company with extra inventory of new equipment looking for resellers/customers for outdoor kiosks....



PR: Blowout Sale on Secure iPad Kiosks from BeyondKiosks.com Help Celebrate the Holidays!

BeyondKiosks press release announcing holiday pricing for the iPad kiosk. The "kiosk" is fixture for securing the iPad for use in unattended mode. Basically a informational kiosk for under $1000. Haven't seen the apps/lockdown framework or if is just an...



December 07, 2010

DVD Kiosks - new "premium" DVD's released

New "premium" DVDs being offered now at select Blockbuster locations. The 28 day headstart deal. It will likely drive some significant traffic and revenues.....



Food Lion founder recalls thinking out of the (big) box

Interesting interview with Food Lion founder Ralph Ketner. Quopte - "I don't need to know what color shirt they were wearing or how much cereal and what brand they bought. All I want to know is they bought it at...



December 06, 2010

Self-Service Technology Center

Nice video on self-service technology center showcase with Meridian and Zebra....



December 03, 2010

Suspects caught on camera breaking into MLGW payment kiosks

Bill Payment kiosks in Tn show robbers breaking into the units to get the cash. The units are for MLGW and are "thru wall" units. Suspects were arrested....



December 02, 2010

Program allows skipping long passport control lines

Global Entry kiosks let passengers bypass long immigration and customs lines....



First-of-its-kind recycling "kiosk" developed by Coca-Cola

A first-of-its-kind recycling "kiosk" was unveiled this morning in Arlington, part of a joint effort by the city, Kroger and Coca-Cola....



Tech Biometrics - Fingerprinting Phones & PCs

Device fingerprinting is a powerful emerging tool in ad trade. It's "the next generation of online advertising," Advertisers no longer want to just buy ads. They want to buy access to specific people....



DVD Kiosk - Redbox Coins New Sales Approach

Investors happy to see same-store sales growth rebounding for Coinstar. How they did it....