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We currently use Keynote on Mac-Minis and use Apple Remote Desktop to  
access them and load/change slides from a central location. The slides  
are PDFs generated with InDesign. this avoids any font or graphic  
issues with slide content.  If you insert graphics and text normally,  
things tend to shift around mysteriously. After the slides are  
generated they are inserted into the  Keynote presentation. The  
presentation for weekdays is different than the weekends.

We have the Minis set to turn themselves on about a half hour before  
iCal automatically launches the days slide show (the name of the  
keynote file has to be the same for each day and in the same directory  
so that iCal recognizes it). At the end of the day, the computers are  
set to shut themselves down which also sleeps the monitors.

As a backup, we installed a little piece of software called Remote  
Buddy (http://www.iospirit.com)which allows the little white remotes  
that come with the Minis to restart the machine, and launch  
applications. This way you don't need to have a keyboard and mouse at  
each location (in our case this was impossible b/c there was not  
enough space--we just strapped the minis to the wall brackets behind  
the monitors, 46" LCDs). If there is a problem then one of the  
admissions folks can go to the display and restart the machine or the  
program or the keynote file. This has worked reasonably well so far.  
It is a far cry from digital signage, but it fit into a piece of money  
the state gave us for that purpose. We investigated a number of other  
system, but until the economy comes back we have no plans to change  
this. The people who configure this need to know a little about how to  
run and configure these applications (mainly iCal, Remote Deskop,  
Keynote, and Remote Buddy). The most important thing to keep in mind  
for such a setup is that there is an inverse relationships between  
reliability and how complicated you get with the presentations. The  
minute you start getting fancy with adding animation, changing more  
than once a day (which we successfully did for a little while using an  
automator script, but eventually, it goes kaflooey as soon as some  
little parameter changes or you do software updates etc.), then you  
will see freezes, presentations not launching, errors, and general  
weirdness. Remember this hardware and software was never designed to  
do this. You are essentially asking a grapefruit to be a water melon.

Finally, when you do software updates, you must test everything since  
setting often change.

Good luck.

Stephen Miles Uzzo
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY 11368
USA
V +1.718.699.0005 x377
F +1.718.699.1341



On Jul 16, 2009, at 9:59 AM, Diederick, Laura wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Hello!  We are looking into revamping our current digital signage  
> (i.e.
> - out with the old, in with the new) and would love to hear  
> suggestions
> or words of caution regarding specific manufacturers and models your
> facilities have used. At this point we're not looking at anything  
> fancy
> - no touch screens, etc - just something to run a series of
> slideshow-type signage.
>
>
>
> Many thanks!
>
>
>
> Laura Diederick
>
> Education Specialist
>
> Smithsonian Marine Station
>
> Fort Pierce, Florida
>
>
>
> 772.465.3271  phone
>
> 772.465.3237  fax
>
>
>
> www.sms.si.edu/SMEE <http://www.sms.si.edu/SMEE>
>
>
>
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org 
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

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