January 18, 2008
Kiosk Case Study: Multiuser Stations for Internet access
 Multistation or Multi-user stations and kiosks are beginning to emerge as significant market particularly with advances in thin client services. Included here is nice picture of multi-user stations installed at Denver International Airport. |
Louisville, CO – January 21, 2008
The Procrastinator’s Dream - Denver International Airport (DIA) Now Offers Self-Service Business Centers in Main Terminal
Waiting to board a flight in Denver has never been so productive. Catering to the stringent time demands of today’s road warriors, Denver International Airport (DIA) is expanding services designed specifically for business travelers. ZOOX Stations, Inc. and RMES Communications, the prime contractor, have recently teamed up on self-service kiosk installations that provide passengers a full complement of office services throughout all concourses and the main terminal.
Armed with nothing more than ideas and a credit card, passengers can now sit down to state of the art office terminals with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications. High-speed laser printers, media drives, USB ports, and laptop charging equipment provide a turnkey self-service business center on the road. The kiosks are designed for comfortable extended use; featuring a seated station, traditional office keyboard & mouse, and a 17” flat panel monitor. The enclosed booth design and privacy filters on the screens provide passengers all the necessary security to confidently tackle even the most confidential content.
In addition to the full application suite, clients can readily access high-speed Internet to efficiently manage email or distribute their work. And for those that really work best under pressure, there are also popular gaming options on these machines. While not as fully loaded at the neighboring ZOOX Stations PC Game Cafes, a complete range of casual user games are available on the business center machines as well.
The business center kiosk (commercially branded as ZOOX WORX) is the creation of ZOOX Stations, a Louisville based division of KIOSK Information Systems, the largest manufacturer of self-serve terminals in the world. ZOOX Stations was incorporated in 2006 as a subsidiary dedicated to development of cutting edge new products in the pay-for-use environment. According to Rick Malone, President of KIOSK and ZOOX Stations, “RMES Communications and DIA have beautifully equipped Denver passengers with a full range of self-service business and entertainment options. It’s consistent with the high-end passenger focus DIA is known for. The profitability and quick adoption of the equipment is a natural extension of a well-developed service offering.”
There are currently 64 ZOOX Stations Game Cafes and four business center kiosks located in the concourses and main terminal. RMES Communications and KIOSK Information Systems are currently evaluating expanding services in other selected airport locations.
About ZOOX Stations, Inc.:
ZOOX Stations manufactures & designs cutting edge business, entertainment and gaming platforms. The library of games includes titles from Microsoft, EA, Valve, Ubisoft and other prime leading developers. The products are completely turnkey, but are available in custom branded configurations. Complete installation, service, remote monitoring and activity tracking is provided. Call 1-888-661-1697 for more information or visit www.zooxstations.com.
ZOOX Stations, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of KIOSK Information Systems. Kiosk is the world leader in design, manufacturing, service and support of indoor and outdoor kiosks, public Internet stations and other electronic self-service informational terminals. KIOSK is the OEM manufacturer of self-service terminals for WalMart, Hewlett Packard, AT&T, Sony Photo, US Transportation Security Administration, and many others. www.kiosk.com.
For more information on multi-user multi-station thin clients visit http://www.thinclient.org
May 10, 2007
New Case Studies Released
Five new case studies released including Amtrak, SITA CUSS, ISI Gaming, Army Internet Gaming, and Vanguard Car Rental check-in.
Case studies published by KIOSK in Colorado and links are here:
- Amtrak Self-Service Ticketing Kiosk
- CUSS SITA Self-service airline check-in kiosk
- ISI Sports Book Betting Kiosk
- Internet Game Kiosk for U.S. Army
- Self-service Check-in Kiosk for Car Rental with Alamo and National
April 18, 2007
Airport Internet Gaming Station kiosks
Passengers with idle time to kill at Denver International Airport can now play one of roughly 19 computer games at individual stations located throughout the concourses.
Traveling video game junkies, rejoice.
Passengers with idle time to kill at Denver International Airport can now play one of roughly 19 computer games at individual stations located throughout the concourses.
Two companies have partnered to replace the "Shibby" Internet kiosks at DIA with new systems featuring 23-inch screens, enhanced graphics cards, sound systems and super-fast online connections, not to mention enclosed booths for privacy.
Users can play the games on their own or against others online, or they can simply access the Internet. The services cost 25 cents per minute.
The booths have been installed on all three concourses and will debut in the main terminal by July.
Zoox Stations and RMES Communications are behind the move.
"The single ingredient needed to make this machine a gamer magnet is idle time," Rick Malone, president of Zoox Stations and its parent, Kiosk Information Systems, said in a release. "Our development team has included the highest caliber gaming technology and a full complement of industry leading title options that appeal to even the most sophisticated gamer."
The new gaming and Internet stations give passengers another entertainment option during long connections or extended delays.
"Anytime you can help people pass the time or provide new services, it's a good thing," said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon.
April 03, 2007
KIOSKS Case Study -- WoW and Halo gaming at the Airport
News story on Colorado television station on new kiosk mpog game stations installed at Denver International Airport. Nice video of the kiosk units. Not your usual units as they have large 26 and 22 inch LCD screens and are housed in a payphone type private sitdown. Users can check their favorite portal like MySpace or YouTube or they can log on and play high end games like World of Warcraft, Battlefield, or any number of Steam/Valve. Here's the link to the video. The units are the Zazoox units and their website is here.
repeat -- News story on Colorado television station on new kiosk mpog game stations installed at Denver International Airport. Nice video of the kiosk units. Not your usual units as they have large 26 and 22 inch LCD screens and are housed in a payphone type private sitdown. Users can check their favorite portal like MySpace or YouTube or they can log on and play high end games like World of Warcraft, Battlefield, or any number of Steam/Valve. Here's the link to the video. The units are the Zazoox units and their website is here.
March 09, 2007
KIOSKS & PC Gaming - Can PC Gaming Survive in a Console World
PC Gaming Series -- panel discussion at GDC 2007 explores the viability of PC Gaming. Sales of blockbuster PC games (several by EA) have fallen significantly. The reign of the triple-A boxed title is in jeopardy. One key advantage for PC games is user-generated content (mods) are standard whereas consoles are tightly controlled. The MMO and other social networking games could become the norm. This series on pc gaming is sponsored by Zazoox PC Game Stations
March 8, 2007
Can PC Gaming Survive in a Console World?
By Joel Durham Jr.
Whenever a hot, new console arrives on the market, someone declares the demise of PC gaming. It happened with the PS2, the Xbox, the Dreamcast (well, to some extent), and it's happening now in the era of the "next gen" consoles. Does PC gaming have a future? Of course it does. But is it anything like the hardcore gaming contingent is used to?
In a panel discussion at GDC 2007, a quintet of industry creative types, including David Edery (Xbox Live Arcade), Richard Hilleman (EA), Soren Johnson, (Firaxis), Michael Capps (Epic Games), and Chris Avallone (Obsidian Entertainment), kicked around the idea of PC gaming's viability.
Since 2001, annual sales of PC games have fallen significantly. In 2006, of the top ten PC games, five were in Electronic Arts' Sims franchise. Sports games, simulations, and action games are, according to Edery, in "steep decline." Clearly, the reign of the big, triple-A boxed title is in jeopardy.
How can the PC platform compete with next gen consoles? Hilleman sees gaming gradually turning into a service industry, rather than one of boxed product. "PC gaming is in a state of transition," he said, adding that companies are starting to cater to niches rather than continuing to create wide-ranging blockbuster titles. Gaming, said Hilleman, is "a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people."
"You need to think differently about what types of games can be developed [for the PC]," said Johnson. Indeed, the PC currently has freer and better Internet access. It features keyboards and mice. It's more open to social gaming.
Capps, who has worked on Unreal Tournament titles as well as Gears of War, was bleak: "PC Gaming is really falling apart. It killed us to make Unreal Tournament 3 cross-platform, but Epic had to do it to [recap its investment in the production costs]."
Part of the problem is piracy. Big titles get stolen by cyber thieves, and it hurts revenue. "The market," said Capps, "that would buy a $600 video card knows how Bittorrent works."
Does that mean casual games, which exponentially outsell what PC gaming traditionalists think of as A-list titles, will one day rule? Hilleman made a point: casual is a poor choice of words. The average player on EA's Pogo "casual" game network plays "for 24 hours a week. There's nothing casual about that."
There is some light in the PC gaming world. World of Warcraft, for instance, is a massive hit, and the upcoming Spore looks not only creative and different, but promising. The MMO and other social networking games could become the norm for PC gaming, with big-ticket titles growing rarer with each passing year. Johnson added that MMOs are "successful because you can't pirate WoW. You cannot pirate an MMO. Period." Therefore, he said, "game design on the PC is going to bend toward persistence."
The final feather in the PC's cap is user-generated content, a.k.a. mods. Modding is easier and more open on PCs than it is on consoles (even with XNA), and will continue to be. Console manufacturers tend to wield much more control over their titles. Censorship, said Hilleman, will always be an issue on consoles, but possibly not on PCs.
Pointer Graphic for FingerlinksRead all of our GDC coverage.
Creativity and knowing the market are the keys to saving PC gaming, the panel agreed. For example, the real-time strategy genre could use a serious boost. Johnson said: "Defcon is a great example of that. It's important for people to start making medium-size games for the PC because the PC can do that. The PC is that flexible."
One final thought to consider: Trends are often hard to predict. The A-list title might never die. Capps, almost startled to say it, mentioned, "Shooters are doing well on consoles now. Nobody thought that would ever happen."
This series on pc gaming is sponsored by Zazoox PC Game Stations