Methinks the billboard company is gilding the lily a bit. Tools to forecast driver consumer preferences already exist, and they're no less accurate than electronically peeking at your radio dial.
Animated boards are expensive. That means the outdoor company will only be putting them in high-traffic locations.
Hundreds of cars might pass the board in a one-minute period. It takes about four seconds to absorb a well-contructed outdoor display. Obviously, the data isn't going to be targeted at individual motorists. It'll be an average of traffic flow over some given period of time.
That makes the radio tuner data much less useful. All the billboards will be doing is determining localized listening preference. I gotta tell ya: it ain't gonna be much different than the Arbitron radio ratings already available to the industry.
Properly programmed radio stations have very predicatable listener compositions. Take a Classic Rock station, for instance: the typical listener will be between 35 and 49 years of age. He is 70% likely to be male. He is about 45% likely to be married.
You can take this further, computing the possibility he has kids and his approximate ages. More importantly, you can interpolate this data against retail databases which qualify the likely incomes and buying habits of people in these demographic cells. There are plenty of industry tools which do this, such as Scarborough Research's databases.
That's how the billboard companies will pitch their clients. They'll merge the radio listening data against something like a Scarborough study and--boom--we can see that a certain number of drivers during a given hour will make a car purchase within the next month. The billboard chooses a Chevy ad. If you know where most of the traffic is heading, you can even tag it with dealer info. Awesome.
But the billboard company really doesn't need the gee-whiz realtime radio snooping. It's a gimmick. Their sellers can already work out the data with existing desktop tools.
Imagine that: hype from advertising execs. Who would have figured?
> I don't see how eye candy is ever innovative without improvements in the underlying architecture such as security or ease of use.
Look at that clock on the dock: beautifuly rendered. Useless, too. Does MS really think I don't have a clock or a watch? Geez! Sure, Mr. Gates, I'd love to tie up my precious desktop with a frikkin' Daliesque clock. Toss in one of those moon phase animations, while you're at it.
What I do like about Longhorn is the desktop pager. Wish my Mac had that. Hello...Apple? Now that MS has a pager, can I?
Visa will lose on appeal. Though eVisa provides SOME services also provided by Visa credit cards, their core business is entirely different and they are using the term "visa" in its common, not proprietary, sense. Unless Visa can produce some proof of eVisa's *intent* to derive value from the Visa mark (through internal communications or similar graphics), they'll lose.
I, for one, cannot imagine how someone might be mislead into thinking that they were utilizing Visa's credit services.
> That's like claiming all cars should have manual gearboxes, or they should all be automatics, because that way they are consistant. Oh yeah, make sure they're all identically sized as well. Multiple user interfaces increase usability...
Okay, let's look at HI guidelines in view of your car analogy. HI guidelines don't dictate whether or not you choose standard or automatic transmission. But if you choose an automatic, you'll select "D" to make the car forward, not "G" for "Go" or "F" for "Forward." If you choose a standard, you can assume the gears will be arranged in the familiar "H" pattern. That'll be the clutch peadal on the far left, not the break. And if you buy the car in North America, you know you'll get in the left side to drive it.
Color selection--leather or cloth seating--it's all up to you, just like configuring your desktop or skinning your apps.
By the way, I agree with you on Apple's odd application of the brushed-metal theme. I used Unsanity's Metalizer haxie to unskin several of the metal apps. At least, though, they didn't rearrange the order of the menu bar on metallized programs. The apps still work thec same, which is my point regarding HI guidelines.
Adopt Apple's HI guidelines for Linux
on
Ellen Feiss Interview
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
It's a bit off-topic for an Ellen Feiss thread, couldn't agree more regarding Linux's tendency toward Windows look-alike interfaces. This would apply to both the desktop and the way applications work.
I understand why Linux developers look to Windows. It's a familiar environment for most users. But I think we don't give users enough credit: provide them a well thought-out, consistent, attractive interface, and they'll do well. Of these three atrributes, consistency is the key.
The cool thing about the Mac interface is that everything works the same. No matter what you're running, you'll know where to find things. Windows behave consistently from app to app. Once you've spent a couple hours on a Mac, it's a BETTER pointy-clicky interface than Windows.
Mac developers design their interfaces with the Macintosh Human Interface guidelines in mind. I wish there were something similar in the Linux world:
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/mac/HIGuidel in es/HIGuidelines-2.html
Ah, yes: we must maintain our choices. No consistent interface for us. Long live the Revolution.
> There's more than one problem here. First, who gets to define "terrorist"? One man's freedom figher is another man's terrorist.
Yes: exactly. Mr. Bush has really opened a can of worms by declaring a nebulous war on "terrorists" wherever they might be. Other governments are already following suit. I noted China has jumped on the anti-terrorist bandwagon by branding the Falun Gong "terrorists." Now Beijing is free to act lawlessly against them...after all, we can't be soft on terrorists, can we?
Who among us is "for" the "terrorists"? Bring them forward! They should be made accountable! We don't tolerate "enemy combatants" in these here parts!
Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the ceiling when some archeologist digs that thing up in a couple thousand years. You've created the stuff of doctoral dissertations in the year 4002:
"The Cult of the Twinkie"
"Ancient Snack Foods and Burial Tradition"
"If Only We Could Dig Up an RC Cola to Go With This"
That's what happens when you're trying to sell the virtues of composting to your kids, and the 4-year-old overhears. If I'm not paying attention, she'll compost anything. Found my cordless phone out there one morning, nestled in rotting coffee grounds.
"Healthy" compost smells earthy and rarely attracts insects. If a compost heap smells like ammonia (or worse), it isn't getting enough air. That--or someone put a Twinkie in it.
Glad the guy is composting, but--for whatever a gardening discussion is worth on a tech site--I don't think he's got enough air circulation going on.
The holes look too small. He also doesn't discuss how he's going to turn the pile, which is real important in closed compost bins.No oxygen equals stinky sludge. Mmmm...nummy!
The simplest (and one of the most effective) compost heap is just a big ole pile laying directly on the ground. Put a bit of carpet remnant on the top to hold moisture, and you're golden. Piles can be made neater with a bit of chicken wire and some supports. Real low-tech stuff.
Here's a link to all things rotten:
http://www.oldgrowth.org/compost/
Twinkies don't compost, by the way. Something my kids discovered.
> Apple knows that they have something that the Linux/Windows geeks really want...
I'm a fan of Mac, but I don't know that the above statement is true. SOME people might want OS X running on PC hardware. I'd rather see it run well on Mac boxes. We have Linux for x86.
...is their desktop OS monopoly, not than their applications. If they've done something cool, power to 'em. It'll be amusing seeing somebody copying M$, rather than the other way around.
Slashdot Mirror
....this will piss the Pentagon off. Just when they were all set to track consumer purchases...
...will be radio stations. Realtime ads luring listeners off whatever they're tuned to would probably be effective.
On the brighter side, now listeners of certain foaming talk show hosts can be plied with Pepto Bismol and asprin in an efficient manner.
YOU get a chardonnay ad. ;-)
Methinks the billboard company is gilding the lily a bit. Tools to forecast driver consumer preferences already exist, and they're no less accurate than electronically peeking at your radio dial.
Animated boards are expensive. That means the outdoor company will only be putting them in high-traffic locations.
Hundreds of cars might pass the board in a one-minute period. It takes about four seconds to absorb a well-contructed outdoor display. Obviously, the data isn't going to be targeted at individual motorists. It'll be an average of traffic flow over some given period of time.
That makes the radio tuner data much less useful. All the billboards will be doing is determining localized listening preference. I gotta tell ya: it ain't gonna be much different than the Arbitron radio ratings already available to the industry.
Properly programmed radio stations have very predicatable listener compositions. Take a Classic Rock station, for instance: the typical listener will be between 35 and 49 years of age. He is 70% likely to be male. He is about 45% likely to be married.
You can take this further, computing the possibility he has kids and his approximate ages. More importantly, you can interpolate this data against retail databases which qualify the likely incomes and buying habits of people in these demographic cells. There are plenty of industry tools which do this, such as Scarborough Research's databases.
That's how the billboard companies will pitch their clients. They'll merge the radio listening data against something like a Scarborough study and--boom--we can see that a certain number of drivers during a given hour will make a car purchase within the next month. The billboard chooses a Chevy ad. If you know where most of the traffic is heading, you can even tag it with dealer info. Awesome.
But the billboard company really doesn't need the gee-whiz realtime radio snooping. It's a gimmick. Their sellers can already work out the data with existing desktop tools.
Imagine that: hype from advertising execs. Who would have figured?
> I don't see how eye candy is ever innovative without improvements in the underlying architecture such as security or ease of use.
Look at that clock on the dock: beautifuly rendered. Useless, too. Does MS really think I don't have a clock or a watch? Geez! Sure, Mr. Gates, I'd love to tie up my precious desktop with a frikkin' Daliesque clock. Toss in one of those moon phase animations, while you're at it.
What I do like about Longhorn is the desktop pager. Wish my Mac had that. Hello...Apple? Now that MS has a pager, can I?
That was thoughtful of you. I'll post a proper link next time. :-)
To me, this is a simple service mark case. I'm pleased the EFF has an interest, but suits like this are usually adjucated by private concerns.
Visa will lose on appeal. Though eVisa provides SOME services also provided by Visa credit cards, their core business is entirely different and they are using the term "visa" in its common, not proprietary, sense. Unless Visa can produce some proof of eVisa's *intent* to derive value from the Visa mark (through internal communications or similar graphics), they'll lose.
I, for one, cannot imagine how someone might be mislead into thinking that they were utilizing Visa's credit services.
I appreciate your comments.
> That's like claiming all cars should have manual gearboxes, or they should all be automatics, because that way they are consistant. Oh yeah, make sure they're all identically sized as well. Multiple user interfaces increase usability...
Okay, let's look at HI guidelines in view of your car analogy. HI guidelines don't dictate whether or not you choose standard or automatic transmission. But if you choose an automatic, you'll select "D" to make the car forward, not "G" for "Go" or "F" for "Forward." If you choose a standard, you can assume the gears will be arranged in the familiar "H" pattern. That'll be the clutch peadal on the far left, not the break. And if you buy the car in North America, you know you'll get in the left side to drive it.
Color selection--leather or cloth seating--it's all up to you, just like configuring your desktop or skinning your apps.
By the way, I agree with you on Apple's odd application of the brushed-metal theme. I used Unsanity's Metalizer haxie to unskin several of the metal apps. At least, though, they didn't rearrange the order of the menu bar on metallized programs. The apps still work thec same, which is my point regarding HI guidelines.
It's a bit off-topic for an Ellen Feiss thread, couldn't agree more regarding Linux's tendency toward Windows look-alike interfaces. This would apply to both the desktop and the way applications work.
l in es/HIGuidelines-2.html
I understand why Linux developers look to Windows. It's a familiar environment for most users. But I think we don't give users enough credit: provide them a well thought-out, consistent, attractive interface, and they'll do well. Of these three atrributes, consistency is the key.
The cool thing about the Mac interface is that everything works the same. No matter what you're running, you'll know where to find things. Windows behave consistently from app to app. Once you've spent a couple hours on a Mac, it's a BETTER pointy-clicky interface than Windows.
Mac developers design their interfaces with the Macintosh Human Interface guidelines in mind. I wish there were something similar in the Linux world:
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/mac/HIGuide
Ah, yes: we must maintain our choices. No consistent interface for us. Long live the Revolution.
> There's more than one problem here. First, who gets to define "terrorist"? One man's freedom figher is another man's terrorist.
Yes: exactly. Mr. Bush has really opened a can of worms by declaring a nebulous war on "terrorists" wherever they might be. Other governments are already following suit. I noted China has jumped on the anti-terrorist bandwagon by branding the Falun Gong "terrorists." Now Beijing is free to act lawlessly against them...after all, we can't be soft on terrorists, can we?
Who among us is "for" the "terrorists"? Bring them forward! They should be made accountable! We don't tolerate "enemy combatants" in these here parts!
Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the ceiling when some archeologist digs that thing up in a couple thousand years. You've created the stuff of doctoral dissertations in the year 4002:
"The Cult of the Twinkie"
"Ancient Snack Foods and Burial Tradition"
"If Only We Could Dig Up an RC Cola to Go With This"
> Bill Gates admitted that in many cases building Internet in the rural area just speeded up the exodus of farmers,
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm / After they've seen Paree'?
That's what happens when you're trying to sell the virtues of composting to your kids, and the 4-year-old overhears. If I'm not paying attention, she'll compost anything. Found my cordless phone out there one morning, nestled in rotting coffee grounds.
:-)
She's cute, though.
Yeah, that was my point. This bin will yield lots of nasty sludge, not new soil.
Then he'll say composting doesn't work.
"Healthy" compost smells earthy and rarely attracts insects. If a compost heap smells like ammonia (or worse), it isn't getting enough air. That--or someone put a Twinkie in it.
> I've been using a plastic worm compostor for years ...
I had no idea plastic worms ate so much.
Slashdotted already. :-)
Glad the guy is composting, but--for whatever a gardening discussion is worth on a tech site--I don't think he's got enough air circulation going on.
The holes look too small. He also doesn't discuss how he's going to turn the pile, which is real important in closed compost bins.No oxygen equals stinky sludge. Mmmm...nummy!
The simplest (and one of the most effective) compost heap is just a big ole pile laying directly on the ground. Put a bit of carpet remnant on the top to hold moisture, and you're golden. Piles can be made neater with a bit of chicken wire and some supports. Real low-tech stuff.
Here's a link to all things rotten:
http://www.oldgrowth.org/compost/
Twinkies don't compost, by the way. Something my kids discovered.
...will be useful to those trying to keep track of their .NET fees and licensing renewals.
I've had no problems with iChat under OS X 10.2.1.
...then it's public.
I'm thinking that Swedish company needs to access
http://intentia.com/get/thehell/over.it for an attitude adjustment.
...a monitor I can roll up and put in my pocket. That will be SO much more convenient to carry around than a PDA, huh?
"Is that a Pentium in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"
> Apple knows that they have something that the Linux/Windows geeks really want...
I'm a fan of Mac, but I don't know that the above statement is true. SOME people might want OS X running on PC hardware. I'd rather see it run well on Mac boxes. We have Linux for x86.
...is their desktop OS monopoly, not than their applications. If they've done something cool, power to 'em. It'll be amusing seeing somebody copying M$, rather than the other way around.
...VW will now design a knock-off of the iMac.