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Archive for December, 2009

In the spirit of giving…

Posted by Jon Pafk on December 22nd, 2009 1 Comment

As the end of a busy, challenging yet successful year comes to an end, Starmount employees pulled through with another important goal that we set for ourselves. This time the goal wasn’t a product launch or a successful software implementation, instead our goal was to help those not as fortunate this holiday season. Collectively, our team here in Austin came together and raised money and gathered boxes of canned food items for the Capital Area Food Bank.

Our employees raised $555 in cash to donate and that $555 was then matched by our company which means we collectively gave $1110 to families in need this holiday season. Sometimes, we may take our day to day life and lifestyles for granted, but as someone who has visited homes like the ones that Capital Area Food Bank provides assistance for, I know what an impact even a little help can have on a family in need.
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Software as a Service, really!

Posted by Jose Vega on December 21st, 2009 No Comments

Before I start, I believe a short introduction is in order. I’m a software engineer but those that know me will tell you that I’m probably the least techie person they’ve known. I’ve even been called a technophobe by my son since I still own AND program my VCR at home, and will probably never own an iPhone or similar since I’m the guy with the “Don’t touch my screen” sign on my laptop – and I mean it! And yet, here I am writing my first blog entry ever…

I’ve been writing software for about 20 years, implementing retail solutions for the last 12 years, one year in between implementing web sites for non-profit organizations, and yet I’ve never been as touched by a potential client’s visit as I was a couple of weeks ago.

In the span of a couple of days we visited a pediatric ward busting at the seams, and a family clinic’s pharmacy. The pediatric ward experience is almost impossible to describe. It was truly one of those times where “you had to be there”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Digital Signage and Electronic Price Tag System

Posted by Jon Pafk on December 4th, 2009 1 Comment

I read an interesting article today entitled “Altierre: Bringing Retail Industry to the Digital Age” concerning new technology for the retail industry. The company, Altierre, has developed a retail digital price tag system that employs shelf-level digital tags that communicate with a store server over a wireless infrastructure.

The tags in the Altierre system are wireless LCD display devices that can be placed on shelves like normal price tags. Since the Altierre system is fully networked, pricing and promotion data can be generated for all stores at the retail headquarters and downloaded to each store. At the local store, the Altierre system takes over and automatically sends the data ‘over the last mile,’ so to speak, over its wireless platform to the RF Display Tags. The system makes dynamic pricing and promotion a reality, giving the flexibility to change the price of any product in one or all of the stores in a chain, based on store traffic, season and competitive strategies. As an example, the tags let retailers launch promotions such as ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ almost instantly. At the local store level, with the click of a mouse, a grocery store manager could drop prices for a happy hour sale, and just as easily with another click return prices back to normal just in time for the dinner rush.

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Unearth the Holy Grail for DOOH

Posted by Jon Pafk on December 1st, 2009 No Comments

Holy Grail I read an interesting article on Digital Signage Insights concerning the future of digital-out-of-home (DOOH). The article poses the question “Why can’t the next great media company emerge from the digital out-of-home space?”

For years digital signage vendors have focused their attention on developing powerful digital signage software that accommodates small networks through large enterprise deployments. The number of companies that exist in this space is amazing, approximately 300 or more by some accounts. However, as all of us in the industry know, the technology is evolving very quickly and just providing a digital signage product that facilitates placing text, graphics, and video on digital screens is no longer enough to compete in the industry – the bar is rising. Vendors have to consider online, social media, mobile, place-based media, user-generated content, hand-held devices, and wireless to be competitive.

The article goes on to say that “it’s critical to leverage the fullness of the medium while paying attention to, and planning for, our shifting media landscape. The DOOH industry cannot be looked at as though it were outside of the sphere of other media properties. It isn’t a separate entity. It is a piece of a robust ecosystem, in which symbiotic relationships foretell success.”

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