Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Linux Vulnerabilities Spur Enterprise Warning

When evaluating digital signage software, many will ask Webpavement about security. While this question is very broad, the conversation usually includes a Windows vs Linux analysis. Linux is perceived to be more secure than Windows - mostly because it is Open Source software. However, the jury isn't out on this subject.

InformationWeek's Johanna Ambrosio published an article that offers valuable data concerning this argument.

Here are some of the highlights as excerpted from the article:

Recently, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or CERT, reported that during 2005, Linux and Unix combined had 2,328 vulnerabilities, compared with 812 vulnerabilities for Microsoft Windows.

A separate query of the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)--maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology--yielded similar results: During 2005, there were 119 vulnerabilities reported in the core Linux kernel--the one used by all the various Linux distributions, says Peter Mell, the database's main administrator. This compares with 61 published vulnerabilities for Windows XP, according to the NVD. Moreover, the trend appears to be going upward. The 119 vulnerabilities found in Linux during 2005 compares with 47 in 2004, 16 in 2003, and 11 in 2002, Mell says.

As the popularity of Linux increases, some question whether the open-source development model will continue to serve Linux well from a security perspective. "To a large extent, this could be a failure with open source," says Ira Winkler, an independent consultant, president of the Internet Security Advisors Group, and author of Spies Among Us. The primary issue he sees is a lack of consistency in regression testing and other quality-control issues. Because many people may be contributing code in the open-source model, there's no way of being sure exactly how that code has been bulletproofed, or even whether any best-practice testing methodologies have been used across and between contributors.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Arbitron Findings on Digital Signage

Arbitron published a report this week called 'Consumer Interest and Acceptance of Video Displays in Retail Environments'. The findings of the report back the many benefits digital signage industry pundits have been talking about for years.

A good summary was reported on the AKA website.

Arbitron Finds Viewers "Extremely Receptive" To In-Store Video

While the findings of the report are all interesting, we found this statement to personally reflect the desires of many of the males here at Webpavement.

The report also found that almost half of male shoppers (46 percent) are interested in getting sports news and score updates from video screens while shopping.
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It was funny. After reading the positive findings by Arbitron, the next news item that we read from AdAge quoted the President of WPP's Global Retail Practice:

Though in-store marketing spending is estimated at more than $17 billion a year, measurement of the medium has been elusive and criticism of its effectiveness fierce. “Brands and marketers are desperate to reach shoppers at the shelf,” said Gwen Morrison, president, The Store in Chicago, a part of WPP’s Global Retail Practice. “Many of these systems have gravitated to these large screens and it’s always been hard for shoppers to look up. It’s been an ergonomic issue almost.”

Ms. Morrison said store employees often turn off volume on in-store networks and shoppers have “zoned out” tuning out the noise from ads. ShelfAds ”might catch your attention and create more of a speed bump in the aisle since the sound is not going on constantly,” she said.

Full story here.

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We concur with her point on the ergonomic issue of digital signage. This can be resolved by using appropriate display sizes and installing them in the proper sight lines. However, we believe consumers are drawn to digital signage as noted by Arbitron. Especially the males that need external information (such as sports, stocks and news) when in a retail store.

Published by Webpavement digital signage.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Gartner Group on Retail Digital Signage

Analyst firms such as Forrester Research, CAPV / InfoTrends, Platt Retail Institute and others recognize a strong market for digital signage. The Gartner Group is now part of the analyst community covering digital signage.

The Gartner Group says up to 28 per cent of companies are deploying, or will deploy digital signage by the end of the year, and another 33 per cent expect to do so after 2006.

Read the article from IT Week's UK Magazine here: Gartner discusses its predictions for retailers' IT use

See this page for Webpavement's International digital signage contact information.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Digital Signage Report Card

Lyle Bunn is a well-known digital signage industry veteran. He released a report card on the state of the industry for 2005. Pretty interesting read.

Read it here (PDF File): 2005 Report Card for Digital Signage was a B+ and the 2006 outlook is very strong

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Focus Media to Merge with Target Media

Focus Media solidified its position as the market leader in China's out-of-home audiovisual advertising market using flat-panel displays. They announced a definitive share purchase agreement with Target Media Holdings.

After the the merger, Focus Media will operate a nationwide commercial location advertising network of over 60,000 displays in more than 30,000 commercial locations in about 75 cities in China.

References:
Press Release
Focus Media Website
Target Media Website

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Digital Signage in Target Stores

Target has rolled out a digital signage network in all 1400 stores. The network is called Channel Red and is reportedly in the 1) electronics 2) music & 3) movies department.

Target is the first top ten retailer in the USA to own it's private digital signage network. Could this be a trend? Will retailers also become media companies?

We'll soon find out.

Note: Bill Collins and Laura Davis (both digital signage industry veterans) have more details on this network. Contact us if you are not on their newsletter list and we'll see if we can help you out.