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Cooler screens

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Re: Cooler screens

#171

Post by shaftway »

jonhohle wrote: post #169
egypturnash wrote: post #87

I hate these things, I have seen them in some of the Walgreens around town and I just keep on thinking about the energy wasted both by lighting up the whole screen brightly enough to see in the store, and by customers opening the doors up so they can see what's actually there and letting more cool air out. I've never seen them displaying ads, just big graphics saying "WATER" or "ICE CREAM" or "MILK" or whatever when…

At first I thought this is like a clear oled panel on the door, but it’s just a huge, opaque when off, LCD screen? And they use cameras to show you what clear glass would have shown you otherwise?

No, they show you stock footage of what should be in there, but isn't because it hasn't been stocked.

Re: Cooler screens

#172

Post by queuebert »

fy20 wrote: post #124
RetroTechie wrote: post #36

The reliability issues are surprising: First on some testbench, developing software, power supply, (physical) install procedures, etc. With that done, one would expect to outfit a few stores to see how they work IRL. But no: "The initial round of installations in 2018 reached 10,300 screens in 700 stores." As part of a $200 million plan to cover 2,500 stores. From testbench to fitting 10k screens across 700 stores, w…

I work in digital signage. We don't do these, but we do have other products aimed at retail. Most of these displays are powered by run of the mill Windows machines. Often they are just standard off the shelf hardware, which when packed in an enclosed space with other electronics, and wrapped with cardboard, doesn't last too long. Even the screens are often just standard bigbox store TVs, although some manufactures do…

> Right now we are trying to figure out what to do with a camera which is only designed to operate in environments under 50c where we keep having hardware failures.

Have you tried putting them in a cooler?

Re: Cooler screens

#173

Post by queuebert »

BizarroLand wrote: post #139
epc wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it possible that she was wearing polarized glasses? I had this experience with the cooler screens at a Walgreens in Miami Beach. I wear polarized sunglasses. I didn't realize the windows were lit until I got very close and took my sunglasses off.

One day it will be like the movie, "They Live", only putting the glasses on prevents the ads that have invaded every waking moment of your life from showing.

I would pay a hefty sum for AR glasses that enabled real-life adblock.

Re: Cooler screens

#174

Post by queuebert »

syntheticnature wrote: post #161
stavros wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where did that 90% number come from? Did they ask ten people around the office?

I wonder if the survey question was something misleading like "Do you prefer to spend time looking through cooler doors or at an LCD TV with programming for you?"

Depends on the show.

Re: Cooler screens

#175

Post by bombcar »

brk wrote: post #58

I encountered these at a fairly typical Walgreens about 2 years ago. My initial reaction was "worst idea ever". I don't recall any of the screens not working, but it did make me feel like the entire shopping experience was worse, and the screens added no value". I will sometimes buy a drink at a drugstore when picking up a prescription or some sundry items, but these screens just discourage me from wasting time with…

The point isn't to make your experience better.

It's so they can coerce the brands inside the cooler to pay them to show them, just like (I suspect) much of Google Ads revenue is making sure that the top result for a search on "Coca Cola" isn't "Pepsi".

Re: Cooler screens

#176

Post by queuebert »

MichaelZuo wrote: post #60
rglullis wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know what else enables thicker insulation and doesn't require a computer screen and e-waste? Thicker insulation .

It's not feasible to make glass doors on coolers much thicker, or else they'd be too heavy to move for a significant portion of the population without a motor or hydraulics.

When do we get our transparent aluminum? I was promised it with Star Trek IV.

Re: Cooler screens

#177

Post by [deleted] »

egypturnash wrote: post #87

I hate these things, I have seen them in some of the Walgreens around town and I just keep on thinking about the energy wasted both by lighting up the whole screen brightly enough to see in the store, and by customers opening the doors up so they can see what's actually there and letting more cool air out. I've never seen them displaying ads, just big graphics saying "WATER" or "ICE CREAM" or "MILK" or whatever when…

[deleted]

Re: Cooler screens

#178

Post by bombcar »

theandrewbailey wrote: post #123

I suppose there's the option of playing dumb if you don't like them. Cashier (the only one left that's not a robot): Did you find everything you want? Me: I went into the aisle where the pop was, but couldn't find any. I saw plenty of TVs though. Cashier: We don't sell any TVs. Me: I don't care. I wanted pop, not TVs.

Companies have removed all feedback options, so the customer is left with suffer or kill the company.

I think Walgreens is solidly heading toward the second.

Re: Cooler screens

#179

Post by RetroTechie »

PaulHoule wrote: post #88

Half of me thinks this is a stupid idea but the other half of me is fascinated with "mixed reality" turned inside out and would love the opportunity to paint motion graphics on a canvas this big. --- Bloomberg Businessweek has run a series of articles about the problems at Walgreens. https://www.google.com/search?q=walgreens+bloomberg They just settled a shareholder lawsuit over the failed takeover of Rite Aid. (I pa…

> Half of me thinks this is a stupid idea but the other half of me is fascinated with "mixed reality" turned inside out and would love the opportunity to paint motion graphics on a canvas this big.

This would be a nice target for some guerilla hacking. Have some Pac-Man ghosts chasing each other from screen to screen, or something like that.

Re: Cooler screens

#180

Post by mikepurvis »

rsynnott wrote: post #106
sspiff wrote: post #16

A fun aside: Cooler Screens, the company making these, used to be the CEO of Walgreens, and Walgreens is their only "whale" customer. Walgreens began to sour on the idea of the idea of these screens, and the current CEO basically cancelled the whole deal when he came in, calling them ugly, costly and ineffective. Cooler Screens has been forced to take back many of the screens, which are custom made to the size of the…

What is it with Walgreens and adopting terrible tech ideas? This apparently started in 2017, shortly after Walgreens had terminated their Theranos partnership; you'd think that would have given them pause.

I wondered if someone else was going to bring this up. I guess retail is just super competitive and you're always desperate for the next differentiator... but still.
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