5 ms·

Except that: - Not everyone has smart phones, do they? I mean, maybe 95% do, but it's still pretty harsh on the 5% to just abandon them altogether - Your phon

Except that: - Not everyone has smart phones, do they? I mean, maybe 95% do, but it's still pretty harsh on the 5% to just abandon them altogether - Your phone might not have any power - A mall directory board is maybe ~20 times bigger than my phone - MUCH easier to use - Much harder to locate whatever website I'm supposed to use than just walking up to a screen which is already displaying the correct 'site' and doesn't pop up all sorts of notifications / start ringing in the middle of your interaction / allow you to get distracted by a million and one other things. I was actually in a mall the other day, looking for a video directory board and couldn't find one. I'm not convinced there wasn't one, but I had my phone on me, tried to find useful info. on what I thought was the mall's website, and just gave up.

Terretta 10y ago
Point Inside Maps for Airports & Malls https://appsto.re/us/1Fbku.i https://appsto.re/us/1Fbku.i Complete directories and inside maps for 1250 malls. Search is easier to use than scanning the giant board, as is having the info where you are instead of having to hunt for a board.
technofiend 10y ago
>- A mall directory board is maybe ~20 times bigger than my phone - MUCH easier to use I wonder at what point LCD / LED panels will be so cheap the outside of your fridge is just one panel per door. We already have fridges with cameras inside, so maybe at some point you can browse the fridge without opening it.
- OJFord 10y ago
  > ... LCD/LED panels ... We already have fridges with cameras inside, so maybe at some point you can browse the fridge without opening it. Talk about over-engineering! What about glass?!
  - JshWright 10y ago
    Actually, camera + display is probably an easier engineering job than building the front of the fridge out of glass while still maintaining adequate insulation (and aesthetics).
    - OJFord 10y ago
      Supermarket fridge/freezers are opened too often for them to care. At home.. who needs it? The inside of your fridge is probably the messiest looking surface in your kitchen, why show it off?
      - technofiend 10y ago
        I'll put you down as a no, then? Dude I can see LG selling a high-end version to people who care about that kind of thing. If your fridge is too messy, just replace it with the app that displays nothing but Cristal bottles instead. :-)
      - JshWright 10y ago
        I wasn't arguing in favor of the idea in general, just saying that a display + camera is a better option than glass (you mentioned yet another benefit... a display can display other things most of the time, glass is 'always on').
      - cr0sh 10y ago
        > Supermarket fridge/freezers are opened too often for them to care. While that's true, most merchandiser refrigerators (as they are known - also "display coolers" is a term) use dual-pane glass on the doors (and I wouldn't be surprised to find triple-pane either). I've been looking into one of these for a while now; my wife and I want to get one to replace our current side-by-side, because we hardly ever use the freezer side, and we already have a chest freezer in our garage anyhow. The problem hasn't been the cost (commercial fridges aren't really much more expensive than consumer units), but the size - they are too tall for the area we have (without mods to our cabinets). Of course, we have found that new consumer fridges have the same problem! Our house was built in the early-1970s (block construction, copper wiring and water pipes, and no HOA - so if I want to weld in the front yard on my vehicle while it's on jack-stands overnight - NFG), and so it has the old-style "crappy cabinet over the fridge" area - so we are limited by that, unless we take it out - which may end up being the solution. The only other downside to a commercial unit is the fact that the warranty is instantly voided if you buy one and install it for home use. Furthermore, service is more expensive (part, labor, and the whole nine yards). Still, it should be more reliable in the long run, which is what we want. We did the same thing recently with our microwave, purchasing a standard Sharp branded commercial unit that nearly every restaurant and food service place uses; they are super-tough, and much better quality than a consumer unit. Easy to wipe out, and only one control (100% power, one knob for up to 6 minutes). We haven't had a problem adapting to it - it's so much nicer, and stainless steel!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- willyt 10y ago
  Already happened. http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/01/smarter-fridgecam-make-dumb-fridge-smart/ http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/01/smarter-fridgecam-m...
mwcampbell 10y ago
On the other hand, my phone has a screen reader built into it (VoiceOver on the iPhone) so I can use it even though I'm legally blind. Not so for practically any kiosk. Of course, I'm more likely to shop online than try to navigate a mall in the first place.
jwatte 10y ago
When I'm in a mall, google just puts the map in my android phone notification area without me asking. You may call it creepy; I call it convenient!
madgar 10y ago
> it's still pretty harsh on the 5% to just abandon them altogether How much money is there really to be made catering to the poorest of the poor, given Intel's position in the supply chain? Intel is a multi-billion dollar company - they didn't get there by caring about poor people, and they won't move the needle on billions in earnings by starting now.

Terretta 10y ago

Point Inside Maps for Airports & Malls https://appsto.re/us/1Fbku.i https://appsto.re/us/1Fbku.i Complete directories and inside maps for 1250 malls. Search is easier to use than scanning the giant board, as is having the info where you are instead of having to hunt for a board.

technofiend 10y ago

>- A mall directory board is maybe ~20 times bigger than my phone - MUCH easier to use I wonder at what point LCD / LED panels will be so cheap the outside of your fridge is just one panel per door. We already have fridges with cameras inside, so maybe at some point you can browse the fridge without opening it.

OJFord 10y ago
> ... LCD/LED panels ... We already have fridges with cameras inside, so maybe at some point you can browse the fridge without opening it. Talk about over-engineering! What about glass?!
- JshWright 10y ago
  Actually, camera + display is probably an easier engineering job than building the front of the fridge out of glass while still maintaining adequate insulation (and aesthetics).
  - OJFord 10y ago
    Supermarket fridge/freezers are opened too often for them to care. At home.. who needs it? The inside of your fridge is probably the messiest looking surface in your kitchen, why show it off?
    - technofiend 10y ago
      I'll put you down as a no, then? Dude I can see LG selling a high-end version to people who care about that kind of thing. If your fridge is too messy, just replace it with the app that displays nothing but Cristal bottles instead. :-)
    - JshWright 10y ago
      I wasn't arguing in favor of the idea in general, just saying that a display + camera is a better option than glass (you mentioned yet another benefit... a display can display other things most of the time, glass is 'always on').
    - cr0sh 10y ago
      > Supermarket fridge/freezers are opened too often for them to care. While that's true, most merchandiser refrigerators (as they are known - also "display coolers" is a term) use dual-pane glass on the doors (and I wouldn't be surprised to find triple-pane either). I've been looking into one of these for a while now; my wife and I want to get one to replace our current side-by-side, because we hardly ever use the freezer side, and we already have a chest freezer in our garage anyhow. The problem hasn't been the cost (commercial fridges aren't really much more expensive than consumer units), but the size - they are too tall for the area we have (without mods to our cabinets). Of course, we have found that new consumer fridges have the same problem! Our house was built in the early-1970s (block construction, copper wiring and water pipes, and no HOA - so if I want to weld in the front yard on my vehicle while it's on jack-stands overnight - NFG), and so it has the old-style "crappy cabinet over the fridge" area - so we are limited by that, unless we take it out - which may end up being the solution. The only other downside to a commercial unit is the fact that the warranty is instantly voided if you buy one and install it for home use. Furthermore, service is more expensive (part, labor, and the whole nine yards). Still, it should be more reliable in the long run, which is what we want. We did the same thing recently with our microwave, purchasing a standard Sharp branded commercial unit that nearly every restaurant and food service place uses; they are super-tough, and much better quality than a consumer unit. Easy to wipe out, and only one control (100% power, one knob for up to 6 minutes). We haven't had a problem adapting to it - it's so much nicer, and stainless steel!
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
willyt 10y ago
Already happened. http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/01/smarter-fridgecam-make-dumb-fridge-smart/ http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/01/smarter-fridgecam-m...

mwcampbell 10y ago

On the other hand, my phone has a screen reader built into it (VoiceOver on the iPhone) so I can use it even though I'm legally blind. Not so for practically any kiosk. Of course, I'm more likely to shop online than try to navigate a mall in the first place.

jwatte 10y ago

When I'm in a mall, google just puts the map in my android phone notification area without me asking. You may call it creepy; I call it convenient!

madgar 10y ago

> it's still pretty harsh on the 5% to just abandon them altogether How much money is there really to be made catering to the poorest of the poor, given Intel's position in the supply chain? Intel is a multi-billion dollar company - they didn't get there by caring about poor people, and they won't move the needle on billions in earnings by starting now.