21 ms·
Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”
- profmonocle 5y agoI hope that these things don't periodically switch from showing the actual products & prices to showing a full-screen ad for something. A movie theater near me does that with their screen-based menus. Very annoying to be trying to decide what you want and suddenly have the menu vanish. It's a bit sad to think how wasteful these are. Not just the waste produced by producing the screens and powering them all day, but the fact that you can't reliably see what's in there by looking means people will just learn to open it and browse with the door open, letting the cold air out. Edit: Also, does anyone know what the cameras are for, if not facial recognition or CCTV? I'm guessing it's eye tracking for market research. I suppose that could be anonymized and aggregated on-device in a privacy-preserving way, but you'd have to take their word for it.
- tootie 5y agoThey absolutely do. That's the main point of them in fact. Revenue for the supermarket. But really it's not a downgrade. Every package is designed to basically be an ad already.
- windmark 5y agoIn my city we have this issue with the screens in the subway trains. There are two screens, * one always works and shows ads and selected news * the second one is supposed to show the next stations and connections, except for when it doesn't and shows ads.. for many minutes at a time.
- makeworld 5y agoThey are completely for ads. https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408566439833788423 https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408566439833788423
- robocat 5y ago> cameras > I'm guessing it's eye tracking for market research It's possible the whole display is specifically for market research. Play with product placement and see what increases sales for the most profitable items.
- Izkata 5y ago> but the fact that you can't reliably see what's in there by looking means people will just learn to open it and browse with the door open, letting the cold air out. Now that I know these exist, I kinda feel like being contrary and opening every single one to "look for" whatever it was I wanted.
- lupire 5y agoIn between the two times this image was circulated, I visited a store and watched as a pair of people opened a glass door, held a long conversation, the closed that now totally frosted/condensed door which was now impossible to see anything through.
- yborg 5y agoWhich presumably cleared on its own in a few minutes as the air circulated inside. While this technology makes it impossible to see what is behind the door 100% of the time forever, by design.
- bryan0 5y agoAnd I thought with Juicero we had reached peak stupid…
- briankelly 5y agoA boring dystopia indeed. One day someone will be hunched over on a sidewalk, dying of thirst, and a patrolling Nestle®-branded drone senses (using state-of-the-art machine learning "customer needs" technology) his predicament. The drone hovers there projecting a holo-ad about Nestles hot product "Nectar of Life" which is just water from the region's last remaining aquifer cut with brackish water from the coast. The ad ends with a map to the nearest vending machine and buzzes off for it's next engagement. The man, too weak to move, just sits there, nothing he can do except wait for another ad drone to come by.
- TheSpiceIsLife 5y agoMisplaced ad spend, he’s not the target market. Needs more ML to tune the model, which it’ll get by A/B testing further destitute cohorts.
- yongjik 5y agoGreetings citizen, this is RedFaceTwitBot 778 - my reinforcement ML model, combined with your latest interaction, matches your face expression with an uncontrollable anger toward Nestle® (score 97.8%) - would you like to join our "Capitalism is evil" page? First ten tweets are free and you can select from our collection of best anti-capitalist phrases (courtesy of Marxly, YC S2399).
- TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago2409 - see this[1] web archive link for an extremely prescient comment by @yongjik 1. waywaywaybackmachine/https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27637963 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27637963
- BLKNSLVR 5y agoI can thoroughly recommend the movie Idiocracy. Brawndo is the product the drone would be advertising.
- sonofhans 5y ago
- pedroma 5y agoHopefully the prices are at least up-to-date. I oftent skip buying items if their prices aren't listed.
- jollybean 5y agoThat alone is a huge benefit of this. Lack of clear pricing is such a big problem, keeping labels up to date - it's a labour intensive problem and 'labour' is a primary cost input for retail. Of course, this aside from the actual sneaky things that they do. If they don't jam these things with ads or confusion, I think it's going to work out well.
- pmontra 5y agoHow is this any better than looking at the real product on the shelves? I mean, why did the shop want to pay for it?
- Invictus0 5y agoMaybe it saves electricity for the refrigerator because people open the door more infrequently?
- vernie 5y agoOr do they open the door more frequently to see what's actually inside the case?
- drexlspivey 5y agoIt also saves the customers money because they won't buy the product. Everybody wins!
- slipframe 5y agoFrom one of the tweets: > Turns out that Monster energy drinks are found in the "no content" door. So how did he find it? Obviously he went down the line of doors opening each one until he found it. If the doors were glass, he could have looked through each door instead of opening each.
- bsder 5y ago> How is this any better than looking at the real product on the shelves? I mean, why did the shop want to pay for it? Probably the fact that you can't see the cheaper alternatives anymore without opening the door.
- makeworld 5y agoThey can display ads, which makes the store money. https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408566439833788423 https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408566439833788423
- function_seven 5y ago
- armchairhacker 5y agoSeriously though, how does someone even come up with something this dumb? How does one go about thinking of and actually implementing this? How did the development process go through without someone interjecting "why the fuck are we spending $1000s on 6ft LEDs when we can just use glass?"
- orbital-decay 5y agoPerhaps it's for quickly updating the price tags for items inside refrigerators? E-Ink tags are ubiquitous but often handle low temperatures poorly.
- foxpurple 5y agoA simple green and black lcd is fine for prices.
- yumraj 5y agoSome bean counter came up with the idea that they have a captive audience which they can force to watch ads. I think this is one of the stupidest things I’ve seen. But to be honest, I won’t be surprised if this actually increases revenue since people are going to buy what they buy and it’s not like they will go to another store due to this.
- LeftHandPath 5y agoI think I would go to another store due to this. I think that non-HN type people like my dad or my mom would probably go to another store due to this. Not being able to see what's behind the glass makes it take longer to shop. People abandon webpages that don't load quickly enough - why wouldn't they abandon stores where you have to open each door on an aisle of refrigerators just to see what's available?
- lupire 5y agoThe door clearly shows what's on offer.
- yumraj 5y agoDoes it say where this is? I didn’t see it, but might have missed it.
- nkrisc 5y agoEveryone here who’s worked for some moderately large corporation knows exactly why this was done: it’s a flashy pet project for some “labs” team in an otherwise boring retailer and maybe they’ll recoup some of the cost in ads, minus whatever they lose for it being an awful idea. Some charismatic product manager sold it to execs as “being the future of connected retail” or some other BS. In a few months they’ll be removed because it’s a stupid idea. When the company that made these was analyzing their market, I have no doubt they were targeting this exact scenario knowing that even the stupidest products have a place to make a boring brick and mortar retailer think they’re doing technology.
- ergot_vacation 5y agoAs a rough estimate, what percent of US economic activity is large piles of money being tossed into a flaming dumpster for the sake of someone's ego? Because every year it seems higher.
- bserge 5y agoIt's not really tossed into a flaming dumpster. Someone with less money is getting it, so that's an upside heh.
- Nasrudith 5y agoWell you can take the entire cosmetics and fashion industry for the total for one. Serving human agency includes shallow and bad ones too.
- bombcar 5y agoAt least those are selling to actual customers. Many big corporate projects seem to be pointless pyramid building for some middle manager’s ego.
- haliskerbas 5y agoIt's often someone's boss's ego, gotta get that promotion!
- abakker 5y agoI thought the idea was that these would allow more insulation in the doors than glass, and that the energy use from the screen was less than the energy saved from cooling losses (but what is the payback from the manufacturing, shipping, install, recycling, repair etc?). I'm skeptical, but it is conceivably possible that it works out if the screens are very efficient, using off the shelf parts. Maybe.
- nneonneo 5y agoLarge panels like this emit heat. Any wins from better insulation are going to be offset by needing to keep the panel’s heat well away from the refrigerated contents. Triple-paned glass insulates pretty well and for a fraction of the cost…
- foxpurple 5y agoIf they cared about energy they could double glaze the glass
- scraptor 5y agoWhat about the thermal losses from customers opening the door to see the product while the giant whole-aisle ad is playing?
- nabilhat 5y ago
- CPLX 5y agoThis is so exciting. I have to say, as soon as this pandemic is over, the first thing I'm going to do is attend a brand activation campaign or event and just... witness a brand generate awareness and build lasting connections with its target audience.
- ipython 5y agoHa. The pure cynicism and satire. Almost had me for a minute. Bravo.
- foxfired 5y agoI do not blame cooler screen for selling this technology to anyone. But I want everyone to consider how much it takes to bring about a technology like this to a grocery store. If this is any of the big chain groceries, the manager doesn't even have the authority to put a sticker on the glass door. This was vetted by hundreds of people and none of them thought... glass? Business class tickets were purchased, hotels were booked, months of back and forth, daily meetings. Hundreds of thousands were spent on pilot programs like this one. Still no one thought... glass? In my opinion, it's a silly idea. But I applaud the person who had this silly idea, built a company around it, got deals with screens, door, glass, and cameras manufacturing companies, and then convinced a grocery chain to buy this for their store. I would really, really love to have been in that sales pitch meeting. Edit: What bothers me the most about this, is that it will actually work. Any surface where eyes may fall on, will be replaced with an ad.
- tootie 5y agoIt's not a crazy idea and this likely a prototype and prone to bugs. Transparent displays have been a hot item for a while. The tech has been around for years but it's expensive and has had issues with brightness. They also need to tune the UX to be valuable and not too distracting. I think these will become ubiquitous in 10 years.
- mypalmike 5y agoThis is not a transparent display as far as I can tell. It just renders images of what the inventory system thinks is behind it.
- self_buddliea 5y agoThis makes life seem more like a video game.
- meepmorp 5y agoI think I'd be fine with this if the image were from cameras inside the cooler, displaying the product in realtime.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- noobquestion81 5y agoIts pretty stupid with sports drinks, but I could see this being perhaps practical in a frozen food aisle. I often open the freezer, take out a product to read its nutritional facts, then put it back. I guess now I could just tap?
- OJFord 5y agoIf you charitably assume useful features are implemented, instead of just ads, sure!
- djdndndjd 5y agoIn addition to ads, this will also be used for companies to monopolize shelf space
- gruez 5y agoDon't they already do that? AFAIK supermarkets sell shelf space to manufacturers.
- beprogrammed 5y agoNothing is worse than looking at a menu and it rotates to an ad.
- fpgaminer 5y agoThis is obviously a comically idiotic idea, but ... hmm ... If someone had taken this and put it in a museum as an art installation, I would love it. Thinking about it like that ... it tickles something in my brain. Using those absolutely huge, gorgeous screens, using our most sophisticated technology ... just to display a flat, bland, skeuomorphic representation of a completely mundane part of the human experience: the convenience store fridge section. I dunno, I'm finding it hard to describe what I feel thinking about this as a piece of "art". It would definitely make quite the statement. The size and scale of it is what takes it to another level. But yeah, instead this is reality...
- BrissyCoder 5y agoThese will be everywhere in a few years so not idiotic just downright evil.
- bjterry 5y agoThere is an art installation in Las Vegas[0] which is basically a grocery store from an alternate, mildly dystopian, dimension. This would fit in perfectly there. 0: https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/visual-arts/meow-wolf-omega-mart-psychedelic-grocery-store-las-vegas https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/visual-arts/...
- briefcomment 5y agoYou're right, I could see them panning to these doors in their video, and the irony would be obvious. But like gp said, instead, this is reality
- Matheus28 5y agoThat place looks amazing, thanks for the link.
- ahartmetz 5y agoI've seen the "unsettling supermarket" concept last year in a museum in Tallinn, Estonia. It's a shelf where most but not all products have the wrong brand. Coca-cola soap, Tampax cookies, Snickers canned fish, Evian ketchup and so on. I thought it was a really neat idea to make me think about the huge simplification of "brand" and what is really happening behind and around a product.
- martincmartin 5y agoIn the '90s I was in a technology based art class at CMU. An artist talked about a project they wanted to do: a music streamer, but it would use GPS to know it's location, and play music from the local culture, to keep you connected to your surroundings. Another student said: "You mean, a radio?"
- redis_mlc 5y agoActually the artist was prescient - with Clear Channel ownership, there is almost no local radio programming today. IHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHeartMedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHeartMedia "the company owns more than 850 full-power AM and FM radio stations in the U.S., making it the country's largest owner of radio stations. "
- sova 5y agoAn app-based solution using GPS, local DJs, and music that was royalty-free by local musicians (aiming to get recognition, live shows, and sell merch) could be a huge hit...
- bern4444 5y agoYes, but for the internet!
- npteljes 5y agoConsider how heavily regulated radio frequencies are, and suddenly mobile internet, streaming, GPS and an app makes much more sense.
- tdeck 5y agoI remember seeing this Cooler Screens startup idea a while back and thinking "this is terrible, I hope it never catches on". The facial recognition marketing alone is like a dystopia.
- jordemort 5y agoThey have these in my local Walgreens and I hate them. I think the drink coolers were stocked for maybe a week after they were installed. Since then it’s been 50/50 if the product the screen is showing is actually behind the door. I don’t think the store employees are able to keep on top of stocking without being able to see what’s in the case.
- mindslight 5y agoYou've got to put on your homo economicus hat and think outside the box of social norms and common decency. The solution is to find something that's the right size to prop the doors open. Then prop the door of each section that you're comparing, so that you can see products and ponder each one. After you pick something out, pay it forward by leaving the doors propped so the next person has an easier time. For full credit, make sure to wear a mask to defeat the facial recognition cameras.
- Philadelphia 5y agoA wad of chewing gum seems like it would fit nicely where the camera is
- 63 5y agoThere's an angle that the company making these didn't think of. That's exactly the kind of critical use case you miss when you don't do enough testing.
- gherkinnn 5y agoNo. It’s bloody obvious. The answer no doubt was “think of the ads” and “our AI guy (there’s always that one AI guy) is working on a model to help detect low stock”.
- jordemort 5y agoI'm pretty sure this is exactly how it went. Sometimes it will show items as out of stock on the screen but it seems to miss about 2/3rds of what's actually depleted when you open the door. And yeah, the creepy little camera on the top of all of them makes me very pleased to have an excuse to wear a mask inside the store.
- leppr 5y agoThis concept could actually be nice to present a pretty interface for products wrapped in plain, cheap packages (or no packages at all and served to customers in reusable containers).
- 3np 5y agoOr easy overview and access for nutritional labels, allergy info, price/g, etc. The technology could improve the customer experience, but of course customer experience is secondary to insights, tracking, and ads.
- monkeydreams 5y agoSolutions always breed more problems. The trick is to have a solution that, on balance, solves a more costly problem than it creates. These doors do not feel like they solve any customer problems (I have never needed an electronic UI to see through glass) and instead give birth to a huge maintenance burden that the retailer will not be willing to meet.
- rswail 5y agoYou're making the assumption that retailers want solutions for their customers. They don't. They want customers to buy their stock. This is about selling more stock. It's also about selling the attention of their customers to manufacturers of their stock. A customer at the store is two things, one is a buyer of the store's stock, the other is inventory to be sold to manufacturers. Grocery stores are self-service warehouses that sell access to their shelves to manufacturers. That's why manufacturers pay the stores for shelf access (eg middle vs upper/lower) and why staples like milk are at the back of the store, while good looking fruit and vegetables are at the front.
- PostOnce 5y agoBrick & mortar retail is trying its very hardest to kill itself. The bigger a tremendous fucking hassle it is to go to the store instead of ordering online, the fewer people are going to come in. Supermarket window: "we now use anti-shoplifting face and license plate tracking" [e.g. auror.co ] Supermarket aisle: can't see any products, have to open every door to look at actual products instead of TV ads Supermarket aisle: e-ink price labels; can no longer flip up to see how much the thing cost before it was on "sale". Supermarket aisle: e-ink label is down, no idea how much product costs Supermarket checkout: always scans shit at the wrong price Plus we've got covid, drive time, smaller selection, unknown stock levels [sold out]. Any old man could tell you giving a shit about your customers' experience is going to benefit you in the long run. But no. It'll be too late by the time they realize what they've done.
- knownjorbist 5y agoIf you think these are the things killing brick-and-mortar retail when it would otherwise succeed, then you should be founding a company doing the exact opposite of these things and capture the market.
- DistressedDrone 5y agoThis was always the problem with capitalism based on short-term gain, it will inevitably sacrifice loyalty for a quick buck. The same will happen or is already happening to online stores who do the same, eg by showing ads. That said, at some point a failing business will realize the end is coming and cash out as much as possible, accelerating its own end in a calculated profit maximization scheme. Brick and mortar stores might as well self-destruct if they also believe they're going down anyway... It's not like anyone works there for the fun of it.
- brailsafe 5y agoI'd argue that the design of cities to optimize for nothing and emphasize driving long distances to the store is a greater contribution, but I see your point ;) Though that's not retail's problem, that's the city's problem. It takes me 5 minutes to walk to my grocery store at most. Hard to beat
- YuccaGloriosa 5y agoI can see a future where every seven eleven has surge pricing. Black mirror Indeed.
- kirykl 5y agoCompanies that are technology ‘fashionistas’ will spend lots on stuff like this but ultimately will not see a return.
- asimjalis 5y agoThis is similar to how buses and trains in many cities replaced windows with ads. Completely ruined the experience of riding public transit.
- quicklime 5y agoEveryone's complaining about ads. But just like on the web, ads aren't the problem, tracking is. https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408578486046887939 https://twitter.com/RunDaltonRun/status/1408578486046887939 This thing is for tracking what you look at, and is supposed to help the store figure out how to "optimize" their shelf.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y agoThere's also the unnecessary use of untrusted JavaScript that sites pull in from their ad networks. A few years ago I tried running without ad or JavaScript blocking at work. That lasted a few weeks until the day I got an JS driven redirect to a porn site from a work related search result. I have no sympathy for the clowns who imposed this garbage on the world.
- scollet 5y agoAds are one part of the problem. And they are a major problem. And they are one of the easier problems to tackle.
- jollybean 5y agoThere's way too much cynicism here and a lack of insight as to how consumer retail works. 'Privacy invasion' aside there's a lot of obvious benefits to this. 1) Impactful Displays - this will increase sales. In your local coffee shop, going from the static nice pictures, to 'active displays' unambiguously generates more attention. It's a little bit like having 'nice photo' menus vs 'empty menus' for regular dining. Obviously a nice restaurant doesn't want that - but for everything else, it helps turnover. 2) They can make the 'presentation layer' spiffy without having to worry abut what's underneath. A lot of effort goes into making sure everything looks 'right' on the shelf. Any kind of disorderly shelf gives customers a bad impression. 3) Easy pricing changes. My local 'Drug Mart' they have the 'pricing girl' constantly changing tags. I literally recognize the woman. With the prices on a display, it makes it much easier to manage. 4) Creative possibilities: beyond just displaying 'what's inside' there will be other opportunities. Possibly more detailed product information. My biggest concern would be frankly the size of those screens and their cost and maintenance - and would the added benefits work out in the metrics. For 3 mid-sized screens at your coffee shop - yes. But for 10-20 large screens (that move, and could be broken) in the back of your grocery store, maybe not. This is definitely a worthwhile retail experiment. I suggest we may be seeing a lot more of this in the future. Maybe not, but it's entirely possible.
- kazoomonger 5y ago> generates more attention Fuck you. That's really all I have to say about that. I'm sorry this comment doesn't pass the general HN guidelines, but I hope someday you realize why you should feel ashamed for even thinking that this is a good idea.
- jollybean 5y agoAd-hominem aside, I don't even know what you're getting at. You realize that 100% of the packaging in the store is designed for that reason? And it's why everything isn't in brown paper bags?
- jodrellblank 5y ago
- xaduha 5y agoHere's a thought experiment. Imagine those screens weren't on the coolers themselves, but on a wall nearby. And coolers were just coolers, let's say horizontal ones with frozen stuff you can't clearly see at a glance. How much more do you like it this way and why? What's the difference? There's still a camera and it probably records you.
- burnt_toast 5y agoThe year is 2050 and your dingy old toaster has finally given up it's last crumbs. You hop onto Amazon in hopes of finding a suitable replacement as there's no longer any box stores you can travel to. Dumb appliances have been phased out and newer internet connected appliances have taken over. It's better for the consumer they claim. Not wanting an overtly fancy contraption you pick a no frills unit that includes a touch screen along the side. A few hours later it arrives. Setting it up was almost as easy as your old one. Plug it in, enter your wi-fi password, and a credit card to start your free pro trial of the monthly subscription service that tweets at you when the toast is done. It says you can cancel at anytime but it requires a 5 day waiting period. It also requires access to your contacts. Tired and just wanting your toast you agree. You insert two slices of white bread and press the big red GO button on the touch screen. An electrical motor whines from inside the toaster at it begins to retract the toast into itself. There's a few seconds of silence as the toaster slowly heat ups. While awkwardly standing there you notice the touch screen flickers and begins to display a buffering icon. An ad for I Can't Believe it's Not Butter begins to play. To make matters worse you can't even ignore it by looking away due to a small tinny sounding speaker playing the company's jingle. This is your new morning routine. Welcome to the future.
- clan 5y agoThey sure do not make them like they used to! The obligatory Technology Connections link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- alsobrsp 5y agoThis made me sad.
- apsurd 5y agoI enjoyed reading your story. All the while I couldn't help but want to share how good pan-fried/toasted bread is. It's the butter of course, just generously butter up a pan, spread the bread so it soaks up the butter. Takes a little longer, but you also get to feel like a cook. and no ads
- bfung 5y agoJust wait until the door can recognize your face. After you buy some milk, the screen will recommend you go down to isle 4 and grab some cereal and get 50cents off, only valid during that store visit. ^^^ the real play
- jamal-kumar 5y agoSerious question. Where can I get a brand new dumb TV?
- unmole 5y agoOff topic but I see one of the cases advertising "organic seltzer". WTF is organic seltzer?!
- pcstl 5y agoI think part of the reasoning behind this is also that people are less likely to buy from a half-empty shelf. That's why markets put so much effort into constant restocking. This way, the shelf can always look full while needing less restocking.
- musingsole 5y agoNice insight! I have to imagine there is a bit of a micro-emotion when you go from seeing the bright, shiny, fully stocked screen to the (potentially) mostly empty shelves behind it. I can imagine it wouldn't halt the purchase or anything, but even picturing it in my head, I can feel myself getting crestfallen at the empty shelves inside.
- foepys 5y agoBut what if the employee can't see that the shelve is empty and forgets to restock? Then people will open the door and the product will actually not be there which is incredibly frustrating.
- moogly 5y ago> people are less likely to buy from a half-empty shelf. Wait, what? Is this a thing? If anything, I would guess a half-empty shelf would trigger a "this product is popular so I should probably get some", but even that is stretching it. I guess it's yet another proof I was born in the wrong universe.
- pcstl 5y agohttps://cstoredecisions.com/2011/11/21/the-importance-of-fully-stocked-shelves/ https://cstoredecisions.com/2011/11/21/the-importance-of-ful... "More than two out of three (68%) U.S. adults would avoid shopping at a particular retail store if they encountered empty shelves"
- jodrellblank 5y ago> "people are less likely to buy from a half-empty shelf." ? Then why is "Only two left! A thousand people are looking at this item! Quick quick buy now!" such a thing?
- dukeofdoom 5y agoback of TVs get pretty hot. though it could be an effective death trap. Imagine a girl, life size, with a heavenly voice beckoning you to go inside. Mesmerized by her mermaid like appearance, you can't help but step inside, the door locks, and then ...
- barbegal 5y agoDo LED TVs really get that hot? I guess a little where the backlight is but that isn't the whole or the panel
- jrochkind1 5y ago"how can we find ways to make our society even less energy efficient for no benefit to any quality of life except making some company some money. You know, like usual, but let's make it even more on the nose."
- failwhaleshark 5y agoSpeaking of see-through. Has anyone ever seen two-way glass that allows bidirectional observation within proximity of it's surface but diminishes with distance of either observer or view-field depth? It was used in a pair of bathrooms (men's and women's) for the washbasin "mirror" at a restaurant or nightclub on or near 6th Street ATX about 2004. It allowed washroom patrons to see each other in the other bathroom, but not past a certain distance within each bathroom and didn't work if the viewer were far away.
- 3np 5y agoReading this thread made me crave for one-way mirrored glasses (not sunglasses) with correction, to opt out from eyeball tracking. Is anyone aware of any such thing?
- namibj 5y agoYou're not alone, I just read your comment before I felt like typing it myself. And yes, they should be available from whatever places sell corrected sunglasses lenses. You probably just want the mirrored sunglasses style coating. Or what did you mean with "not sunglasses"? Mirroring will make it darker, but not necessarily to an extend where you have trouble, hence my questioning of your reasons.
- Larrikin 5y agoWhenever I see these I just open the door and let all the cold air out while I look and encourage anyone I'm with to do the same. The prices are still on the inside so we just comparison shop with the door open. Eventually they will realize they're losing money through cooling cost and replace these monstrosities.
- makeitdouble 5y agoI’m lost in these comments. It’s been years that opaque vending machines representing pictures of the content at eye level are out in the world [0] and there’s so many people reacting as if that is the rubicon that should never be crossed. I’m not in favor of more animated shinny ads shoved into our eyeballs, but we already had the screens everywhere and there already seemed to be no way to go back without town regulation. If having them in front of a vending machine makes people go berserk, it might be a good thing, but it still blows my mind it’s the straw that would break the camel’s back. [0] https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/177821885259694953/ https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/177821885259694953/
- ivegotnoaccount 5y agoThere are several differences between the two: - Vending machines don't stop displaying what they sell to show ads - Vending machines that were not designed by monsters show you things that are not in stock anymore, this thing does - Vending machines often aim at impulse buying in locations where you don't really have alternative. Here, we're talking about actual stores, to which people often go several times a week. That, at least to me, make it twice as frustrating when it does not work as show in the tweets.
- npteljes 5y agoI encountered plenty of vending machines where the stock is completely out of sight, and your only choice is buttons. The friendlier of these would display "out of stock" when you press a button and the item is out of stock, the less friendly would just make your coffee without sugar if it's out of sugar, or even sugary creamer water if it's out of coffee.
- rootsudo 5y agoMinority report.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- akeck 5y agoI guess I'll keep wearing my masks, and maybe add sunglasses as well.
- bschwindHN 5y agoThese look like they'd be fun to break.
- cmckn 5y agoImagine stocking this and having to make sure the products inside even sort of line up with the view from the aisle. You’d either need to open and close the damn thing 20 times to check your work, or you’d need to update the listings every time your inventory shifted. There’s probably one person in the entire store that knows how to update the displays. Don’t we ask retail workers to do enough already? They’ve just dealt with a pandemic for Christ’s sake.
- cheese_van 5y agoMy gas station has installed video on the pumps and while pumping, I must listen to whatever dreck is being sold. It irritates me that I have no choice but to listen. Is there anyone, anywhere, who believes this is helping consumers make their choices? I fully expect an updated movie script where some lunatic sticks his head out the window at 2am and shouts, "I'm mad as hell and I don't want to listen to it anymore."
- stonewareslord 5y agoFor the ones with 3 or 4 buttons on each side, you can sometimes hit the second button from the top on the right and it will mute.
- bserge 5y agoBusinesses are going from "help consumers make their choices" to "make their choices for them". Usually results in them failing, sometimes spectacularly.
- chobytes 5y agoIs there any benefit to using these? I imagine that maybe it could save power by keeping light out and uaing better insulation... but I have no idea.
- jacobmischka 5y agoPretty obnoxious, but to be honest I'll just stand there like a dingus with the door open staring inside anyway like I already do with the glass doors.
- b0tzzzzzzman 5y agoDoes this comment become killed immediately? I believe I am being intentionally attacked.
- nojvek 5y agoI bought a Nintendo switch recently. The amount of crap I needed to go through to just okay a game. I spent 2 hours, wasted about $50 on games (there is no refund). In frustration I gave up. In the name of ads and growth, it’s crazy how user-hostile many interfaces are. Glass is a great interface. TVs ain’t.
- cout 5y agoAm I alone in thinking that maybe this is a good idea? When someone opens the door in one of those cabinets, glass doors always cloud up. Then I have to wait and wait for it to be clear again, and in the meantime, some other customer will often come by, open the door, and grab something, and I have to wait all over again for it to defog. I do see a lot of opportunity for abuse, but I also see a lot of potential.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- dustymcp 5y agoI hate this so much i have no words for why this is a thing, people putting resources into this should be ashamed.
- mackrevinack 5y agothis would annoying obviously but it would be extra annoying if an item was sold out but didnt display that. now you have the door open and you need to close and open it repeatedly to reference the price on the front of the door with what you are looking at inside
- ldng 5y agoWhat an absolute useless waste of energy ! ...
- grumpy-cowboy 5y agoWhat is the environmental cost of such useless technology (production, maintenance, end of life,...)?
- amai 5y agoIn the future houses or apartments with smart screens and ads will be cheaper than houses with premium see through windows.