Chrome OS and will compete against the almighty Microsoft Enterprise. We believe this is great news for the digital signage community because of the following reasons:

1. It’s Open Source and will be free. Moving towards an open source OS, will provide a significant savings to you and your clients.

2. According to Google, the Chrome O.S is fast and efficient. This is perfect for digital signage.

3. It’s lightweight – you will be able to install this on a netbook and run your digital signage application.

4. Its secure – like the Google Chrome browser, Google has designed the security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. This means spending less time patching!!!

5. Designed for the web – since most companies are now moving towards SaaS then this is a perfect match.

We look forward to testing various digital signage software on the Google Chrome and we can’t wait to get our hands dirty.

And a final note: Thanks google for making our life easier and cheaper for everyone!

© AdvertiseMe.com.au for Digital Signage Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: Chrome, digital signage, digital signage player, Digital Signage Software, Google, Great News, Malware, microsoft, Microsoft Enterprise, Netbook, Open Source Os, Own Os, Perfect Match, Poll Id, SaaS, Secure Browser, Security Architecture, Security Updates, Testing Software, Viruses, Www Google

The current hot topics are:

• Player & Screen resolution compatib…
  I’ve got a player that outputs (via dsub) resolution at most widescreen ratios ie. 1280×720, 1360×768, etc.

  My issue is with most, if not all, LCD TVs nowadays their tech sheets don’t support most widescreen ratios, with a lot of them displaying only 1360×768.

  What will happen if the designers create their templates for 1280×720?
  Will the TV crop it, show scroll bars, flicker?…

• Has anyone used Digital Signage SaaS?
  I was wondering whether anyone has used or is currently using Digital Signage SaaS? Could you please let share your experiences of what you’ve encountered when using this type of a solution…
  
  
• Directional Speakers
  Has anyone integrated directional speakers with their digital signage technology. We are interested to know how these systems work and whether they are worthwhile and cost effective equipment to include in a digital signage solution.

  What are the most common industries using directional speakers?

• Using Blue Ray technology
  Has anyone come across digital signage players with Blue Ray technology?

  Are storage size and HD quality the only advantages of using Blue Ray technology?
  
  

• Wayfinding KIOSKs
  Wayfinding KIOSKs are becoming more popular in shopping centers. Today, I was walking around a major shopping centre and noticed how wayfinding was integrated with digital signage… or is it the other way around?

If you have the time, or is able to help some of the other members with their questions then head over to the digital signage portal forum and start posting (registration is required)!! We hope more members of the digital signage community is able to participate in various discussions and contribute towards helping others.

Have you registered on the digital signage portal? It’s FREE. Click here to register.

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

© AdvertiseMe.com.au for Digital Signage Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: blue ray, forum, kiosks, player, portal, resolution, SaaS, screen, speakers, wayfinding

Wikipedia defines SaaS as:

“a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers across the Internet. By eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer’s own computer, SaaS alleviates the customer’s burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support. Conversely, customers relinquish control over software versions or changing requirements; moreover, costs to use the service become a continuous expense, rather than a single expense at time of purchase. Using SaaS also can conceivably reduce the up-front expense of software purchases, through less costly, on-demand pricing. From the software vendor’s standpoint, SaaS has the attraction of providing stronger protection of its intellectual property and establishing an ongoing revenue stream. The SaaS software vendor may host the application on its own web server, or this function may be handled by a third-party application service provider (ASP). This way, end users may reduce their investment on server hardware too.“

For more information about SaaS visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service

The main benefits of using Digital Signage SaaS are :

• affordable and cost savings – low monthly costs (no maintenance, ongoing operation and support costs) . Some companies are even providing this service for free.
• cut the upfront costs associated with digital signage deployments
• all the digital signage software is centrally hosted and managed by the company which means all software upgraded are performed by the company

Finally, watch out for SaaS as it will be the next model in the digital signage industry.

To discuss this further visit our digital signage portal forum.

© AdvertiseMe.com.au for Digital Signage Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: digital signage, SaaS, software as a service