The next release of our digital signage solution uses HTML and more importantly HTML5, for Presentation content. No more proprietary file formats for us. But, we also wanted to take it a step further and have the ability to not only create content in HTML but also share it with other Presentations, users and even other web publishing systems – easily. To accomplish this we added full support for an another open source system – Google Gadgets. Which according to Wikipedia are defined as:

Google Gadgets are dynamic web content that can be placed on any page on the web. Gadgets can be games, mini applications, news feeds, maps or any content…

With Google Gadgets anyone who has a free Google account can create and publish them without having to pay for the cost of hosting them like you would with a traditional web page. Other users can add the Gadget to their iGoogle page or altenatively web designers can copy and modify the Gadget and put it on their web site. Gadgets can be hosted directly on the Google directory as well as on the user’s iGoogle home page. Google Gadgets do not need to be published to the public Google directory if the gadget creator doesn’t wish to.

And here is the next best part; you can host your Gadget in the Google cloud and put it on everyone of your displays for absolutely no cost. You don’t need to pay a thing to have that Gadget hosted.

Gadgets can be simple or complex, and anyone can make the simple version. You don’t need to be a programmer, you just need an idea and the Google Gadget Editor, which you can add to your iGoogle Page, preview all your Gadgets there and when you’re ready, save your Gadget to the Google cloud. The best introduction on how to do this that I have found is this one http://www.seoish.com/how-to-make-google-gadgets/. It will take about 20 minutes to go through all 7 steps and by the end of it you will know just about everything that you need to make or manage the development of Gadgets. For the more complex Gadgets, you may want to contract a Professional Gadget Developer, of which there are plenty. Just do a Google search for “Google Gadget Developers” to see what I mean.

To get your Presentations started we are creating what we call Seed Gadgets. These are generic Gadgets that we’re building that anyone can use to add content to their Presentations. The Gadgets have been built with the same Developer API that is available to you and we have released all of them as Open Source under an MIT License on a Google Project here. We want you to take them, use them, modify them, whatever you need to build the amazing content that you want to make. Some of the Gadgets that we have created so far include:

• Single Image and Text Gadget
• Google Presentation Gadget
• RSS Gadget
• Background Gadget
• Google Wave Gadget

• Video Player Gadget
• Veetle IPTV Gadget
• Sliderocket Presentation Gadget
• Picasa Image Slideshow Gadget

And now here is where you come in. I need ideas for more Gadgets. I would like to build and release one or two per month from this point on. Please keep in mind that we don’t want to build niche market specific Gadgets, that is where you, our Operators, come in, but we do want to build and seed an amazing set of core Gadgets. So, what Gadgets would you like me to build? If you have any ideas drop us a note to support@risevision.com.

Product Journey, Software-as-a-Service, Support, Thoughts

Customer Overview
For both hungry students and hard-working staff, the cafeteria at Wayzata Senior High School in Plymouth, Minnesota is a busy place around lunchtime. “We have six different serving lines, two à la carte lines and a multitude of staff behind the different lines,” explained René Maas, technical coordinator of Culinary Express, the Food Service Department of Wayzata Public School. “The menus change daily, and some lines serve the same items and some lines serve different ones. It just depends on the day and menu.”

Project Summary
Until recently, they did not have a very efficient way to communicate the menu to the students and building staff. “We would post a small 8″×10″ sign board on the wall in several spots, with the full week’s menu. The students would have to walk to the sign, check to see what was being served in each line and then go to that line. This caused crowding at the cashier stands and delays in the lines.”

What they needed was a better way to display the menus to the students to avoid crowding. Their solution to this problem was to hang a large digital menu board on the wall where all of the students could see the menus without blocking any of the busy lunchtime traffic. “We needed to convey the daily menu for each of the lunch lines, and we also wanted to be able to reach the students at the Senior High School in a ‘techie’ way that they could relate to.”

The Solution
The department selected Rise Display to supply them with everything that they required to implement their plan. “Rise had what we needed and it didn’t look too complicated to run or set up or change,” said Ms. Maas. “To piece together a solution by myself was just not feasible — time-wise, product-wise or content-wise.” The display solution that Rise provided to Wayzata High School included not only the large LCD screen itself, but also the user-friendly Display Wire software that lets Ms. Maas change the menus herself from day to day.

Results
“We are very pleased with both the sign and its content. The district maintenance staff installed the screens, the district electrician installed the Rise engine and the district carpenter built a box around each screen to match the wood in the rest of the building. The whole setup looks very sharp. One major advantage is that there are no visible buttons. We have received many compliments on the set up.”

And the Display Wire software they use to run the sign? “Once everything was up and running, it all ran smoothly. It has been great. It’s very easy to learn and maintain.”

According to Ms. Maas, their new LCD display is a huge hit with both staff and students. “The staff loved the high school signs. Now the kids don’t crowd around the cashier stands to look at the menus — they can look above the lines and tell very quickly what is being served on each line. Some start looking as they are coming down the hall.”

“And best of all, the kids are constantly commenting on how cool the signs are.”

Software-as-a-Service

LCD Displays, Software-as-a-Service

As we get closer to releasing the next version of our digital signage web service we have decided to do something completely out of the ordinary – we are putting all sales of our Reseller Program on hold.

Yes, I realize on the surface this might seem crazy but we do have a rational explanation – the next release of the Rise Vision application is very different from the Rise Display Network of today. It relies upon open source software, HTML content, API’s that allow our Resellers to target niche applications anyway they please, it can run on practically any operating system that can run Chromium, and, it is a Google App that resides on the Google global network and as such it can be used almost anywhere on the planet and scaled to whatever level of service our users and their displays require from one minute to the next. The strategy behind this application is the creation of a platform, rather than just an application, a platform that integrates and leverages the best of what the web has to offer. Whereas the application of today – Rise Display Network – is very different, and it’s subscription base is growing faster than we anticipated.

Given the pending release, the differences between the two services and the Rise Display Network growth we have decided to only focus on our existing Resellers. We want to make sure that the existing application has enough capacity to service their growth and we don’t want to strain that capacity by adding more Resellers to it, and, we want to make sure that our Resellers are comfortable with the new application and that when their ready, they begin to make use of it for their clients. Only once we have this done will we then accept new Resellers again.

If you would like to watch our progress just follow this Blog which you can have conveniently delivered via RSS, Twitter or Email, by picking the button of your choice from the side menu.

Software-as-a-Service

Customer Overview

The award-winning Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BTFP) is one of the nation’s longest-running technology-based economic development programs. For more than 25 years, BFTP has provided both early-stage and established companies with funding, business and technical expertise and access to a network of innovative, expert resources. BFTP is positioned throughout the state with regional headquarters in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and State College.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania recognizes the extended benefits of digital signage. At its TechVentures facility in Bethlehem, BFTP has installed a network of sixteen 46″ LCD displays throughout the building, with the specific goal of using them to support the center’s role as an incubator community for early-stage technology companies.

Project Summary

The incubator network is an important element in BFTP’s strategy for developing its technology infrastructure.

“Our original business incubator, a one-story building on Lehigh University’s campus, was filled to capacity and we needed to grow,” explained Laura Eppler, BFTP’s director of marketing. “A vacant three-story building across the street on Lehigh’s campus became available, so we renovated and updated it completely and relocated. We didn’t want to lose the camaraderie and sharing of experiences that helped so many firms in the earlier incubator, and we were concerned about that since our new facility is multi-story. We needed a method to encourage a sharing of ideas and synergy among the resident companies in the business incubator. We used digital signage to address that challenge.”

The Solution

BFTP worked with Rise to create a network of digital bulletin boards that are interspersed throughout the facility, including a 2×2 video wall in the front lobby and 12 LCD displays placed in other common areas. All locations were strategically chosen “to facilitate interaction among resident companies, to keep them informed of business news throughout the day, and to provide information to visitors of the facility,” said Ms. Eppler.

Appearances were also important. “The displays present a high-tech image to visitors and resident companies that reflects on the entire facility.” Calling their display network “the best solution to our communication development and brand-building goals,” Ms. Eppler said that digital signage can indeed help to foster community in a large facility. “News travels both electronically and via word-of-mouth. With our displays, we have been able to maintain the synergy that is such an important element in a business incubator.”

The Final Result

As for helping to contribute to their high-tech brand, Ms. Eppler confirmed that the signs at Ben Franklin TechVentures are not only informative, but also impressive. “Both resident companies and visitors have raved about the ingenuity of the solution.” Overall, she said that BFTP is very happy with its sign network at TechVentures.

“Our role is to link companies with experts, universities, funding and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. Communication is key to accomplishing that. The digital displays have helped us facilitate communication and collaboration at Ben Franklin TechVentures.”

Software-as-a-Service

The Wall Street Journal just partnered with Foursquare (the location-based social network) to include their editorial tips and badges in Foursquare – how cool is that! See the full scoop from Mashable here.

I think the next extension of this is to take location based social networking further and put a signpost up to let everyone know that there is more happening right here, right now, then you see in the physical world. There is a digital world happening around this location and you, the customer, passerby should check it out. I think the missing ingredient in location based social networking is the advertising of the virtual world for this physical location.

How neat would it be to have interactive signage in your business that not only show’s your menu, latest video’s, today’s specials, whatever, but it also gives you a quick and easy way to become a fan on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and also show what’s happening right now on Foursquare with your business and maybe your neighbors.

I think this would be one great content gadget for digital signage.

Software-as-a-Service

Twitter has become a significant player in the social networking medium, and there is no reason that tweets published on Twitter shouldn’t be part of your Digital Signage Presentation. One option for including tweets into your Presentation is by using http://www.visibletweets.com. Visible Tweets is a very simple interface, that you can use to search for specific criteria, and get it to show in a webpage with a different types of animation. Check out our video on how to use Visible Tweets in a Presentation.
Let us know what you think!

Digital Signage Software, Software-as-a-Service, Support

When it comes to IPTV, there are several options out there, all with varying degrees of cost and quality. One solution we have been referring to our Resellers and End Users is Veetle. Veetle is a free, high quality IPTV service that allows you to broadcast a TV Tuner or media file source to a webpage that can be watched by any computer connected to the Internet. The best part about Veetle is it is OS independent, and Internet Browser independent. Read all about how to set it up in our Forum at the Learning Center here.

Software-as-a-Service

Software-as-a-Service, Support

We had an incident today with one of our servers, where we discovered an issue with a database that required our attention ASAP. The corrective action resulted in the website and several players becoming frozen and unresponsive and upon discovering this, we quickly cancelled the corrective action. The outage occurred for 30 minutes from roughly 11:10 am EST until 11:40 am EST.

Everything is now up and running smoothly, however if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our support team via email at support@risevision.com.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Digital Menu Boards, Digital Signage Software, LCD Displays, Live Data, Software-as-a-Service, Support