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Digital Ink On Billboards

Posted by timothy on from the starting-big dept.

cdneng2 writes "The New York Times has this article on a revolutionary new billboard. It uses digital ink, versus the typical CRT, LCD, Neon, or Plasma displays that are so prominent on the newer billboards that wastes electricity. From the article: 'By creating a paste made of tiny helix-shaped particles that can be minutely manipulated with electric charges to reflect light in highly specific ways, Magink can produce surfaces that look like paper but behave like electronic screens, rendering high-resolution, full-color images without ink - or, as Magink executives like to refer to the process, with digital ink.' The billboard can display images at 70 frames per second." You can find more articles on the billboard technology on the Magink website.

6 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. Why oh why... by Enoch+Root · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why is it that nowadays, any new cool thing is invented either for military or advertising use?

    The day advertising and the military merge, we'll be in a world of hurt. They'll end up creating a pop-up that kills, I tell ya.

  2. My three-year old does this ... by I+don't+want+to+spen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Digital ink = finger painting.

    --
    Don't go to a brothel if you want to buy broth
  3. I need another distraction by odenshaw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now, when I'm driving to work in the morning, a huge TV ad can distract me from driving, talking on my phone, reading the paper, shaving, eating, and putting my pants on.
    How am I supposed to get ready for work!?

  4. Their Web site says that the system... by JessLeah · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...runs Windows.

    Is this really the best choice for something that thousands (or tens of thousands) of people will see each day as they drive down the highway?

    At the PATH terminals in New Jersey, they have "PATHVision" displays. They run Windows. For a long time, virtually every day, pretty much half of the terminals were displaying an error dialog or worse. I also think I saw one of their ticket vending machines displaying a BSoD.

    I really wish that companies who come up with stuff this cool would not depend so heavily on Windows. Imagine driving down the highway and seeing a gigantic, 50-foot-wide Blue Screen of Death. If my experiences with the PATHVision monitors were an example of what is to come... well, it could happen!

    Here is what happens when airports depend upon Windows...

    --
    Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
  5. Ah, now I understand... by supertsaar · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the f. article
    "...an innovation by a New York-based display technology company whose name, Magink, is a combination of the words magic and ink..."
    Pfew. Glad they explained that, I'd never-ever would have guessed that.
    --
    The Bigger The Headache The Bigger the Pill
  6. Ah, perfect for my car by Tenebrious1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Some days my car should be red. Some days blue. Some days a nice mauve. Then polka dots that change colors. How about flames that really flicker? Can't imagine flames on my wagon, but why not? Checkerboard? Heck, you can actually play checkers! Or chess. Or Othello. Backgammon. Hah, you can even play tetris. I can have my phone number flash on the side when I pass a cute girl (oh wait, I drive a wagon). I can have messages flash on the back telling that moron driving 30 in a 50 what I think of them. There's a world of possibilities here!

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    -- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.