Data and privacy concerns are the topic of constant news and media coverage. Who is watching you when, who is gathering data on you and what type are questions that are always being asked. Our network security teams are very educated in these areas and work tirelessly to make sure our institutions (and therefore our […]
On Wednesday April 8, 2015 I got to experience something that every person to hold a golf club has dreamed of, walking onto the grounds of August National Golf Course. Of course, the real dream would be to play on the course, but if you know anything about golf, you realize that is just a […]
Over the past few months, I have spent a lot of times in hotels. Because of this time in hotels, I have also spent time in elevators and public restrooms. Both of these have begun to strike me as potentially brilliant places for digital signage. I know that the elevator signage is not a brand […]
Every year colleges and universities spend millions of dollars on AV for their presentation spaces and their classrooms. We specify HD projectors with lumens rated from 4,000-8,000. Touch panels and control systems make the technology go, while computers, Blu-Ray players and document cameras create the content. In short, we put a lot of time, thought […]
Many of you have just returned from Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas. I have written in past columns about how amazing and exciting it is that the digital signage industry has become its own entity outside of AV. Some fear this, as they see large IT companies moving into the digital signage realm. If […]
Last summer one of the biggest stories (non-stories) was the large, vacant booth from Microsoft at InfoComm. It was almost as if they planned to release a product, but it was not ready. By the time that ISE rolled around this winter, we had already heard of the Surface Hub, but this show was their […]
The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer, developed by a company in the UK. The stated goal of the company is to provide an inexpensive option for kids all over the world to learn to code. The device is amazingly inexpensive, at $25-$35 per device. The Pi runs a custom distribution of Linux, […]
In case you have somehow missed it, Integrated Systems Europe begins in Amsterdam on February 10th. The show is expected to draw a crowd of 50,000 people. Compare that to the 37,000 that InfoComm attracts in the United States, and you quickly realize that ISE is a HUGE show. Yet, because it happens on another continent, many […]
Back in the fall, I wrote a column about the Microsoft Surface 3. At the end of that column I teased a bit about what I thought was one of the best features of the Surface, but warranted a separate column. Specifically, the built in WiDi or MiraCast. Since that time I have gotten to […]
Several months ago, I watched a colleague present a webinar on D-Tools, a AV integration software package. I was interested in certain aspects of the software, particularly the integration with Visio and the project quoting, and paid minimal attention to all the other features. After working with my D-Tools rep, we decided to move forward […]
I recently had a faculty member ask about whether they could present their power point, and use the presenter tools. They had some notes they wanted to be able to read, and see their timing. Unfortunately, they were in a room with a dedicated computer. So, the computer went to a switcher and was distributed […]
As I write this column, we are on the cusp of a new year. Many times, people will write about predictions for the new year, or their resolutions. I am writing to ask you to think about your resolution and make one with me. This request comes from a couple of recent articles that I […]
When I read Paul Flanigan’s column in the November rAVe DS [Digital Signage], I realized that I too had learned some things this year. Like Paul, I learned that some businesses are more people centered than we treat them. I also learned that technology, oddly enough, may be able to help open up that human […]
I am not sure if it is the holiday season, a busy schedule or something completely different, but my mind has been very scattered over the past few weeks. As such, I thought the only way I could write a column this month is if I embraced that scattered mind, and wrote a column that […]
Several weeks ago I had a visit from my Draper rep, David Trapani. We got into a discussion about the products that Draper has for high ambient environment situations. I asked David how can he determine when we should use a special screen product. David took out his light meter and we started taking some […]
I am going to put the truth out there right from the start. I went into an evaluation of a product completely biased. I totally believed that within two days of using a Microsoft Surface, I would be able to declare it was junk, and happily go back to my iPad. I guess the best […]
I like to modest, but every now and again, I have to say “I told you so.” Earlier this year, I wrote about how the WWE Network was taking the first step into the future of Television, and how we consume our entertainment. Now, a much bigger company, HBO has joined the fray. Today, HBO […]
How many of you are still walking into your site surveys with a bag full of tools? You have your light meter, your SPL meter and, most importantly, your clipboard. Just please tell me that you don’t have a pocket protector. While all those tools served us very well in the past, and have their […]
For years, I have been touting the advantages of getting your AV equipment on the network. I think I was one of the first people to use RoomView, certainly one of the first amongst the colleagues I regularly speak with. Yet, all this time I was missing out on a huge benefit of RoomView and […]
When thinking of selling digital signage to the K-12 market, many integrators would simply walk away. We all know the budget struggles of public schools, therefore we know that there is not excess money to spend on what may be seen as frivolous. Yet, there are some things you may not know, particularly if your […]
This month’s column is a little bit different from others in the past. I some ways, I am not ever writing about AV or education. Instead, I am writing about something that is near and dear to all tech manager’s hearts, and I am assuming everyone who does work of any type: management. How do […]
MOOCS, class capture, blended learning and flipped classrooms are all the buzz in today’s higher education tech world. Several factors drive these changes in technology and pedagogy. Some institutions are trying to find ways to cut costs, others are trying to figure out ways to make some extra money and many are simply trying to […]
Recently, I wrote about how integrators should consider providing their technical staff as a service to institutions. I used a couple of examples of when higher ed, in particular, is in need of extra staffing. In that column, I mentioned that we have turn over, like any other workplace. Yikes, I may have jinxed myself. […]
The past few columns of mine on digital signage have had a similar theme — particularly, finding and understanding the small niche uses of digital signage. I also had a more subtle theme of making a digital sign worth the investment. The days of having a digital sign simply for “making announcements” has passed. Finally, […]
Last month in my column, The Dog Days of Summer, I wrote about a project we did in one of our classrooms. The title of the column spoke a bit about what June and early July is for us in the education world — a bit snoozy. Our budgets don’t start until July 1st, so […]
A few months ago I wrote a column, and a subsequent blog post about how manufacturers don’t reach out to technology managers. It is all still right here on the rAVe site if you need to get caught up. I called out the manufacturers and blamed them for not being the best possible salesman. I […]
As a technology person, I love to peak at installed technology whenever I get a chance. However, most of the time it is not the technology that intrigues me, but rather the USE of the technology. Personally, I believe that is what a lot of salespeople miss. Why is the technology being used in the […]
As I sit down to write this column for July, I expected to be overflowing with excitement and interest from InfoComm. I am on a bit of an InfoComm hiatus, having not attended for three years. Yet, I am struck that there does not seem to be any HUGE news out of the show this […]
Control Concepts and BMA Software Solutions are providing Technology Managers with an interesting opportunity this year at InfoComm. On Tuesday evening, they are holding a special event at Gordon Biersch restaurant. I recently spoke with Steve Greenblatt of Control Concepts about the event. Steve describes the event as a hybrid event of networking and professional […]
All of us have lost someone important to us. It is a very difficult time, soothed only by close friends, family and memories of the person we have lost. The funeral industry sometimes feels like a taboo subject, but in fact, is huge business in this country. Funeral homes, whether privately owned, or corporately owned […]
As you are walking the cavernous hallways of the Las Vegas Convention Center this year, and you hear a voice whisper “build it and they will use it,” don’t worry, others are hearing the same voice. The amazing gadgets we see at InfoComm and other tradeshows and in publications, are so exciting, they get us […]
Digital signage has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. In order to be successful in a digital signage business, and perhaps, to keep their current business running integrators need to see these changes and act on them. There should be no surprises here, this publication, along with industry experts have been talking for […]
