Archive for October, 2008

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by Nate

Dispelling Rumors about the Demise of the Mac Mini.

Why will the Mac Mini not die? Simple: DIGITAL SIGNAGE applications. Think about it for a second, with parnters such as Helius, Nanonation, and Easy Shadow utilizing the Mac Mini as a digital signage media player, do you think Apple is going to pull the plug that quickly. Heck no!

Currently, both Helius and Nanonation are currently rolling out some major digital signage networks allutilizing the Mac Mini as the media playing device. Why the Mac Mini?

• It’s got a decent price point.
• It’s small
• Apple has great support. Especially compared to some of the digital signage media players that are purchased from overseas.
• The partnership with Apple brings in direct referrals from Apple.

Apple would be moronic to destroy the Mac Mini. In fact, I’m sure that the future of the Mac Mini is very secure and that the components, both hardware and software will continue to evolve and improve as only Apple can do.

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by Nate

Titan and Bus Digital Signage

Imagine a 12 foot LED display on the side of a bus that could target time of day, zip-code, block, and ethnicity. Well, it’s a reality. And since Titan plans to invest $90 million into digital signage in the next six months, I would say this is a fairly good start.

The bus digital signage in this case will be rolled out to over 200 buses in New York, Manhatten, and Chicago by first quarter 2009. In this case, the great part of this story is the integration with GPS. The GPS tracking system integrated into the bus digital signage makes for a great way to specifically target the neighborhood of interest. So, for instance, coffee can be advertised in the morning and beer for after work. Kind of crazy.

The original post on this issue stated the following:

Titan Worldwide, which produced the technology, has a 10-year, $800 million contract to sell ad space on the city’s bus and commuter-train systems. Its digital signage — also available on rail and subway vehicles — will appear in key US markets and London, with Ireland and Canada soon to follow, according to the company.

So, if you’re in New York, Manhatten, and/or Chicago expect to see some dynamic bus digital signage. Be aware: you’re probably being targeted.

Posted on October 21, 2008 - by Nate

2000 WIAA State Championships

I’ve had a lot of people tell me lately that I don’t have
enough personal stuff on my blog. So, I’ve pasted some high school wrestling
stats on here. The 171 weight class should be of interest  

Weight Class : 103
1. 10-JOSH WILLIAMS(KNWK)	KENNEWICK      	6-5
2. 10-TYSON HINTZ(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE
3. 11-LAWRENCE NG(CKIT)	CENTRAL KITSAP 	4-2 OT
4. 10-MIKE ROGGENKAMP(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW
5. 09-B.J. RUSSELL(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE     	inf def
6. 10-JASON KENWAY(TAHO)	TAHOMA
7. 10-KO BRUDVIK(EDWD)	EDMONDS-WOODWAY	7-3
8. 10-LARS TRULSON(SUMN)	SUMNER

Weight Class : 112
1. 12-PRESTON CHADWICK(CKIT)	CENTRAL KITSAP 	5-3 OT
2. 12-JOHN SOMMER(EVSK)	EAST VALLEY (SP
3. 12-JAKE MOTZKUS(BGRD)	BATTLE GROUND  	13-6
4. 12-CHARLIE WRIGHT(PSCO)	PASCO
5. 12-DOUG BAKER(FERR)	FERRIS         	9-5
6. 10-DAMON KAISER(WILS)	WILSON
7. 10-MATT HADREAS(EDWD)	EDMONDS-WOODWAY	FALL 2:12
8. 10-JESSE GETCHELL(HERI)	HERITAGE

Weight Class : 119
1. 12-MICHAEL SATO(JUAN)	JUANITA        	5-2
2. 12-JAIME GARZA(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE
3. 10-FRED FARMER(HERI)	HERITAGE       	7-3
4. 11-ELI GRINDSTAFF(CAPL)	CAPITAL
5. 12-ARWIN SNAY(SKIT)	SOUTH KITSAP   	6-4
6. 12-KARL KREBS(WENA)	WENATCHEE
7. 11-MATT BOYOVICH(KWOD)	KENTWOOD       	22-9
8. 10-CASEY COX(SPAN)	SPANAWAY LAKE

Weight Class : 125
1. 10-ARIEL GARZA(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE     	5-4
2. 11-TOMMY OWEN(UNIV)	UNIVERSITY
3. 12-KYLE COEN(AUBN)	AUBURN         	14-1
4. 11-JOHN LUCERO(KRID)	KENTRIDGE
5. 11-DANNY WICHERS(OAKH)	OAK HARBOR     	12-4
6. 12-ERIC BRUGGEMAN(JUAN)	JUANITA
7. 12-BRETT ROBERTS(GONZ)	GONZAGA PREP   	15-1
8. 11-ISMAEL VARNELL(RGSK)	ROGERS (SPOKANE

Weight Class : 130
1. 12-OZZIE SAXON(OLYP)	OLYMPIC        	7-5
2. 12-ERIC SCHWARTZ(SRDG)	SOUTHRIDGE
3. 11-GABRIEL RAMOS(EISN)	EISENHOWER     	6-4 OT
4. 12-MIKE McWATERS(MTVW)	MOUNTAIN VIEW
5. 11-RYAN UNDERWOOD(FDWY)	FEDERAL WAY    	4-3
6. 12-MIKE DEVENERE(EVSK)	EAST VALLEY (SP
7. 10-JEREMY LaRANCE(SUMN)	SUMNER         	10-0
8. 12-ANDY AICHELE(SNOH)	SNOHOMISH

Weight Class : 135
1. 12-CARLOS ADAMY(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE     	5-0
2. 11-STEVE McGETTRICK(CAPL)	CAPITAL
3. 12-RYAN COUTURE(WDNV)	WOODINVILLE    	3-1
4. 12-CAMERON SMYRES(AUBN)	AUBURN
5. 12-WES LONG(MTVW)	MOUNTAIN VIEW  	DISQ
6. 09-QUINTIN JOSIE(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW
7. 12-NOLAN ROGGENKAMP(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW       	5-3 OT
8. 11-MITCH URRUTIA(OLYP)	OLYMPIC

Weight Class : 140
1. 12-DARYL GARDNER(FERR)	FERRIS         	10-8 OT
2. 12-SCOTT MARTIN(CKIT)	CENTRAL KITSAP
3. 12-JASON DEVELA(SUMN)	SUMNER         	10-3
4. 11-KYLE O’MALLEY(PENS)	PENINSULA
5. 12-BRANDON WHISLER(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW       	8-1
6. 11-BRANDON STOVER(SPAN)	SPANAWAY LAKE
7. 12-RICH VIGORITO(FVAN)	FORT VANCOUVER 	13-5
8. 12-WILLIE ROSS(LINC)	LINCOLN

Weight Class : 145
1. 12-JARED WRIGHT(MARN)	MARINER        	5-2
2. 12-ADAM WHEELER(LWAS)	LAKE WASHINGTON
3. 11-BRIAN LANG(OAKH)	OAK HARBOR     	2-1
4. 10-ADAM EATROS(SRDG)	SOUTHRIDGE
5. 12-BRIAN ESPARZA(PSCO)	PASCO          	5-3
6. 09-DERRICK McLAUGHLIN(CAPL)	CAPITAL
7. 12-NICK SISEMORE(SPAN)	SPANAWAY LAKE  	7-2
8. 12-JOSH COLSON(AUBN)	AUBURN

Weight Class : 152
1. 12-JOHN ZAMORA(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE     	12-2
2. 11-LUKE CHASE(HERI)	HERITAGE
3. 11-ADAM HALPIN(CAPL)	CAPITAL        	10-7
4. 12-ISAIAH HANKEL(EVSK)	EAST VALLEY (SP
5. 12-RYAN JONES(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW       	3-2
6. 12-NICK ROSSMAN(WDNV)	WOODINVILLE
7. 12-TYLER TRENDA(EGVN)	EVERGREEN (VANC	3-2
8. 12-GAVEN JONES(WILS)	WILSON

Weight Class : 160
1. 11-DAN PITSCH(SPAN)	SPANAWAY LAKE  	18-9
2. 12-DOUG SWANSON(SEHO)	SEHOME
3. 12-BEN OSBORNE(UNIV)	UNIVERSITY     	1-0
4. 12-ZAK DEPUE(RGSK)	ROGERS (SPOKANE
5. 11-WAYNE SWARTZ(AUBN)	AUBURN         	10-5
6. 12-KARL MAGNUSSON(CAPL)	CAPITAL
7. 12-DAVID COURCHAINE(UNIV)	UNIVERSITY     	8-5
8. 10-ADAM YOHE(KELS)	KELSO

Weight Class : 171
1. 12-FRANCO SANTIAGO(AURI)	AUBURN-RIVERSID	TFALL 5:47
2. 11-JESSE SMITH(ELAK)	EASTLAKE
3. 12-ANDY CARLILE(BGRD)	BATTLE GROUND  	12-1
4. 11-CHRIS WENTWORTH(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE
5. 12-TYLER BEST(CURT)	CURTIS         	5-3
6. 11-BRENT LANG(OAKH)	OAK HARBOR
7. 12-NATE NEAD(TAHO)	TAHOMA         	3-1
8. 11-EZRA BOCOOK(NCNT)	NORTH CENTRAL

Weight Class : 189
1. 12-TRAVIS PASCOE(GONZ)	GONZAGA PREP   	14-7
2. 12-JOSH BIRT(EVSK)	EAST VALLEY (SP
3. 11-LUKE HETHERINGTON(KWOD)	KENTWOOD       	6-4 OT
4. 12-JERRY MATSON(KAMK)	KAMIAK
5. 12-ROB DeCOU(PANG)	PORT ANGELES   	5-1
6. 11-ANDY TSIORVAS(SEHO)	SEHOME
7. 12-JAKE SHEPPARD(SKIT)	SOUTH KITSAP   	14-4
8. 12-PEDRO AYALA(WALA)	WALLA WALLA

Weight Class : 215
1. 11-KC WALSH(LINC)	LINCOLN        	7-5
2. 12-AARON SEDLER(FERR)	FERRIS
3. 12-SCOTTI ROSS(AURI)	AUBURN-RIVERSID	3-1 OT
4. 12-JOE JOHNSON(PUYL)	PUYALLUP
5. 12-BEN POORT(REDM)	REDMOND        	5-3
6. 12-NICK CRONQUIST(SHEL)	SHELTON
7. 11-CHASE KLEINSCHMIDT(MTVW)	MOUNTAIN VIEW  	6-4 OT
8. 10-TY WATTERSON(ENUM)	ENUMCLAW

Weight Class : 275
1. 11-ISRAEL SILVA(MARY)	MARYSVILLE-PILC	11-7
2. 12-JAMISON HYATT(BOTH)	BOTHELL
3. 11-DAVID SCHMIDT(KLAK)	KENTLAKE       	2-1
4. 11-CORY PROCTER(GHAR)	GIG HARBOR
5. 12-JUSTIN BRECKEL(OLYP)	OLYMPIC        	FALL 3:44
6. 12-BRANDON ROOT(MSLK)	MOSES LAKE
7. 12-JOSH BUEGE(UNIV)	UNIVERSITY     	7-2
8. 11-GABE GUTIERREZ(PSCO)	PASCO

Posted on October 16, 2008 - by Nate

Google Blog and News Alert: “Digital Signage”

It’s been about a year since subscribed to Google Alerts for “digital signage.” It’s a great feature I recommend. My reason for posting is just that of a simple observation regarding the alerts I’ve received following my subscription. My observation of the Google alerts in combination with my current sales experience has led me to this conclusion that just about every Peter, Paul, and Mary will agree with: everybody and their mom wants some piece of the growing digital signage pie.

First, let’s go over my email box and the blog alerts. It’s been getting a bit crazy, even a bit annoying. Yes, I’m an information junkie, especially when it comes to the digital signage industry. And I do appreciate the frequent updates regarding what is being written about in the industry. Having made that clear, it’s starting to get out of control. The frequency of the alert updates can almost be tracked by the minute now, “oh, look there’s another one…” And so on, and so forth.

The second interesting note is the frequency at which we see the emergence of companies vying into a growing industry. As I go about my day as “salesman” for digital signage software and hardware services, I’ve noticed a growing trend. People are looking for some sort of digital signage white label available for resell and rebrand. This is an observation I see for about 30% of our English speaking leads. In most instances, the company is a local or regional AV integrator or advertising/marketing firm seeking to add another arrow in their quiver of weapons to toss out at customers. Or, perhaps the draw is even greater now that the economy has slumped. Whatever the reason, it’s been very intriguing to watch things play out.

It may be just the beginning. There’s going to continue to be a barrage of PR, News, and Blogs shoving their content in our faces until we’ll simply have to say, “I’ve had enough.” In my humble opinion, however, there is nothing worse than a crappy blog. On the flip side, there is nothing better than a blog with useful content. But even content is sometimes not good enough to stay out of the red. But at least you’ve got something interesting for people to read.

My advice: Stick to an RSS reader to get your information. That way you can sparse out the stuff you think would be interesting to read from the stuff that is just content for content’s sake.

Posted on October 9, 2008 - by Nate

World’s First 3D Mobile Phone Screen

I found a post on Gizmodo today I found kind of interesting. 3D screen technology has been available for quite sometime now. In fact, its really been a big hit with digital signage networks who’ve been wanting the “out-of-the-box” creative solution for their digital signage projects. Interestingly, I never thought to put it into a mobile phone before. I guess it was only a matter of time before it happened.

I’m struggling to see how a 3D screen in a mobile device would have any practical application. The only thing I can think of is maybe a video conference via the mobile device, but I think that might be a bit too creapy….but so was online dating only a few years ago. You never know what’s going to stick. You might be looking at the next pet rock.

See original post at Gizmodo.

Posted on October 4, 2008 - by Nate

Digital Signage Casualties

Sadly enough, with the drop in the market we’re seeing the resulting wave hit just about every industry, including digital signage. The recent bailouts may help ease the hurt of what surely is coming, but it seems more like a band-aid remedy for a mortal wound. Although the industry is still experiencing phenomenal growth, it would appear the growth is following an 80/20 rule. That is, eighty percent of the sales are being made by twenty percent of the companies. We can see that some companies have seen the result of such stiff competition.

LocalVision, the Olympia, WA based digital signage company, headed by entrepreneur Jim Coran recently shut its doors. As a small company seeking to aggregate networks, gain clients by reselling Broadsign, the LocalVision crew just didn’t have enough revenue to shake the expenses of running a very asset intensive digital signage company.

Others have been more lucky, perhaps due to the size of capital backing their failed signage system. Well, not necessarily failed, but struggling.

Wireless Ronin is seeking for a new CEO, while Planar Digital Signage is looking to sell. It seems like a frantic move on the part of both parties. Are these companies casualties yet? Probably not, but unless some drastic changes and/or sales are made on the part of both companies, investors may seek to cut their losses before they run too deep.

It is also interesting that every trade show I attend, I see several new companies who’ve apparently popped up since the last show I attended. I think it was Andew Carnegie who said, “when my shoe shine boy starts telling me which stocks to purchase, I start selling my shares.” In this instance, that may seem a bit drastic, but it’s a very good stance to take to avoid risk. If you can make it through the fray, then you’ll last forever. The casualties have just begun. Before it’s over, we’ll see a few more.

Nate Nead