Dave Haynes

I was talking to someone on the phone yesterday about insurance and he needed to send me a PDf file as proof. I told him just send it to my Gmail account, and then remembered, last time I'd looked Gmail was down. The guy said, "Well, I'm sure it's back now. It wouldn't be down for more than a few seconds. It's Gmail!" Well, it was down for about two hours on Tuesday. On the Gmail blog, as related by TechCrunch, the VP Engineering for Google explained: At about 12:30 pm Pacific a few of the request routers became overloaded and in effect told the rest of the system “stop sending us traffic, we’re too slow!”. This transferred the load onto the remaining request routers, causing a few more of them to also become overloaded, and within minutes nearly all of the request routers were overloaded. As a result, people couldn’t access Gmail via the web interface because their... (more)

CoolSign gets a VP Global Sales

CoolSign's President, Lou Giacalone, Jr., sent me a note this weekend letting me know he's hired industry veteran Leo Bull on as the company's Vice President of Global Sales, with Atlanta-based Bull coming over from Wireless Ronin, where he was a regional VP. This is a good move for Lou as he spins a bunch of dishes every day and the less he has to worry about day to day sales issues, the more time he has for other stuff. He has a couple of strong sales guys in Chris Colt and Raffi Vartian, but from what I can tell Giacalone has worn a sales hat as well since he came back to the ... (more)

Next Toronto mixer set for January 12th

  The next industry mixer is set for January 12th in Toronto a the usual haunt, Six Steps. The holidays have left organizing a little late, so there is no sponsor this time - meaning attendees will actually have to buy a drink. They'll manage. As always, all are invited - whether they are in the digital signage sector or have some interest in getting involved or tying in their business. It's an entirely informal event, meant for swapping cards and telling tall tales. Cocktails are involved. Local health inspectors have, unfotunately, clamped down on the ritual sacrifices. But we... (more)

iPad on Ulitzer - How To Jump On the iPad Buzz

iPad on Ulitzer There were two kinds of technology companies issuing press releases today. Goofball ones that were somehow oblivious to Apple's planned announcement, and thought it was just another day and their stuff would get the usual attention. And those who watched the announcement of the iPad and realized there was excitement to leverage, and put together their own announcement. Now just about anyone in digital signage making an announcement that somehow tied in to the iPad would be regarded with giggles, but Nanonation is one of only a few companies in the space that actually ... (more)

Making the Right Digital Signage Software Decisions

There are some 300 companies out there selling digital signage software, and Lord knows how many more home-grown, in-house solutions. So ... how do you make sense of it and make the right decision for your company? I sell the pots and pans for one of those software firms. That means I have a vested interest not only in winning business but also steering people to other solutions when it's clear my pots and pans aren't the ones to use. I can't afford to chase no-hopers. And I have also spent way more time in the industry being on the other side of this – launching and running netwo... (more)