About Ad-Dis-Play
AD-DIS-PLAY has been in business since 1985. We have had our Information and Reservation Board Systems in the Louisiana State Welcome Centers since 1987 and in the southern Mississippi Welcome Centers since about 1992 with great success. In recent years, we have developed our computer Kiosk Information and Reservation System in order to service those areas that have a very large number of properties, or a limited amount of space in their Welcome Centers.
Kiosk System Specifications
The past nineteen years have given us an insight in the kiosk business. We know what works, and we know what doesn’t work. Over the years we have traveled all over the country and have studied what others have done. This knowledge has gone into the design of the unit that we are proposing to you. We have designed our units and the software that is in them. Should there be a problem with our system, we can fix it. Should you need a custom modification for your unit, we can fix that as well. Please note that the unit you will see in the attachment describing the operation is simply a way of building one, not “the” way. We can make it look the way you like. For instance, we have sketched three different versions below.
Our basic goals in the design of this unit are two fold, ease of operation by the visitor, and high reliability. Both of these are necessary for a successful project. Let's cover some of the methods we used and why.
1. TRACKBALL vs. TOUCH SCREEN – The touch screen while simple to use, does not have the reliability required for use in the general public for high traffic use. While they look high tech, you will find that they develop “dead spots” that are annoying and require regular repair. Trackballs on the other hand, are easily mastered and are extremely reliable.
2. BUILT-IN TELEPHONES – By having the telephones built-in as part of the unit, control of usage is maintained. Since the computer dials the number, only those numbers programmed in can be dialed. This prevents usage by patrons for personal or long distance calls. Having the computer dial all calls allows us to log in all calls made. With this information we can generate reports to the hotels, restaurants, and attractions, showing the number of calls made to their properties.
3. THROUGHPUT – This represents the number of people that can use a unit in an hour/day. If a person can come in and make a reservation in five minutes or less, this means that twelve or more reservations can be made in an hour, or one hundred eight can be made between 8 and 5 o’clock.
4. MULTIPLE UNITS – Throughput is a fact of life on reservation systems. Occasionally someone will get on a system and tie it up for ten or fifteen minutes. We certainly don’t wish to discourage this individual, so we encourage multiple systems to be sure that one is always available or soon will be available.
5. VIDEO CLIPS – We can do these, but don’t recommend them. They tie up the systems and decrease throughput to 3 or 4 per hour.
6. PRINTERS – We can have printers but do not recommend them. Printers severely affect the reliability of a system. Someone must add paper, ink, clear jams, etc. They also affect the throughput of a system.
7. INTERNET vs. STAND ALONE SYSTEMS – When using the Internet, you are dependent upon the Internet service staying in continuous operation. You become dependent upon the speed of the Internet. The integrity of your system is dependent upon keeping out viruses, spy ware, porn, etc. No matter how clever you are, someone will always come along and figure out how to break into your system and bring up a porn site. With a Stand Alone system, we control what goes in, and what comes out.
8. KIOSK vs. HARDWIRED BOARD SYSTEMS – Both are viable units. We have both. The main benefit of a kiosk comes into effect when you must display over eighty (80) ads. There is a physical limitation on the number of ads that can be properly displayed on a single hardwired display unit. The kiosk gives you a way to manage and give equal access to large numbers of ads.
The following is a description of the AD-DIS-PLAY system. First, we will describe the system itself, and then we will explain how it works.
The basic hardware of the unit consists of 5 parts:
1. Macintosh computer
2. 19” diagonal or larger thin screen monitor
3. Telephone for reservations or information
4. Trackball and select button for user input
5. Modem for updating ads and dialing out
The Kiosk is a stand-alone system. This means that the unit does not use a mainframe or the Internet to retrieve information about hotels, restaurants, and attractions. All information is stored on the computer’s hard drive. This feature allows the system to run at faster speeds than would be available if sharing resources with other computers. It also prevents corruption to the system that could occur if it was strictly an Internet connection.
The unit is capable of handling ads for over 7,000 hotels, restaurants, or attractions. Ads for hotels, restaurants, and attractions are intermixed. This gives the opportunity for impulse buying from the visitor. If the visitor is looking at an attraction and he sees a hotel in the area, he may book a room or find a restaurant at the same time. On the other hand, if he is looking for a hotel, he may find an attraction or a restaurant to visit.
There are three basic screens for the user to view. By keeping it simple, we eliminate the issue of the user becoming lost in a maze of screens.
