What if you could program a retail environment like you program a desktop application? Miniature computers, pervasive networking, and affordable tablet interfaces make programmed retail environments seem inevitable. Instead of using the familiar mice and monitor for system interaction, a programmed retail operation like my brick-and-mortar bookstore, Lorem Ipsum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, connects cameras, RFID readers, monitors, speakers, and motion detectors to software designed to maximize customer happiness and store profit. But it's not as easy as just adding sensors and a few monitors to the store. Here's what you learn when hacking retail in real life. When Lorem Ipsum Books started up in 2003, I built a web-based inventory and point-of-sale system because that's what I knew. Then I made an architectural choice that would haunt me for years: I chose to move the Linux server from under the sales counter to a data center down the road. This simple system was run on an in-store Linux machine running an Apache web server with a MySQL database of inventory on it. Most web developers today would be familiar with this simple LAMP stack. Employees accessed the inventory system through a web browser running on the computer sitting on the checkout counter. For a cash drawer and receipt printer I went on eBay and purchased the cheapest I could find. With this hardware and a found Cuecat barcode scanner I was in business. I built the computers with spare parts, so the... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Red Balloon, founded in 1984 in St. Paul, Minn., specializes in books for children of all ages. It has been a community gathering space for decades. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Founded in 1973, Antigone Books stands strong as a Tucson, Ariz., feminist landmark. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The buyout offer is expected to close in June, when Indigo will be removed from Toronto's stock market, the company going private. The post Canada’s Indigo Bookstore Chain Agrees to a Buyout Offer appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-03 21:44:05 UTC ]
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Next month’s Bologna Book Fair, the world’s largest rights fair devoted to children’s books, offers an extensive lineup of programming throughout the fair’s four days. Here are some of the highlights. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A shift of focus on libraries to retail channels and an aggressive acquisition of new titles—including, recently, works by John LeCarré and Jon Fosse—led to nearly $30 million in revenue in 2023, a 39% jump for the Ohio-based audiobook publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Fortified by advice and tips from Ann Patchett and Emma Straub, her fellow authors-turned-indie-booksellers, the author of 'Fates and Furies' and 'Matrix' readies to open her new bookstore, the Lynx, in downtown Gainesville, Fla., this spring. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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DEI, leadership, literacy, and, of course, defending and the freedom to read are among the themes represented in a strong PLA 2024 professional program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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You made it! Welcome to Day Three of the London Book Fair. There are still plenty of panels on the docket for today at this year's Seminar Program. Here are our recommendations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Welcome to Day Two of the London Book Fair. If you still need to decide between the more than 150 panels and discussions available on tap for this year's Seminar Program, we've got some suggestions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Welcome to Day One of the London Book Fair. If you need to choose which of the more than 150 panels and discussions offered by this year's Seminar Program you'll be checking out today, look no further. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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With its award ceremony coming up in May, the British Book Awards program has released its bookstore and small-press shortlists. The post The UK’s Nibbies: Small Press and Bookstore Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-03-04 16:24:55 UTC ]
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PW offers a selection of the more than 150 panels and discussions featured on tap in the fair’s Seminar Program, including sessions on AI, Audiobooks, BookTok, DEI, and the Freedom to Read and Publish. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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British publishers discuss how transatlantic collaboration can boost books’ performance and the work it takes to maintain mutually beneficial relationships. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The managing director of Usborne Publishing reflects on the legacy of her father, the company’s founder, who died last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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This was a regular feature of my childhood, though it feels so long ago and far away, conceptually as well as literally, that I nearly forgot it ever happened: I’d go into town to the mall with my mom, and she’d drop me at the doors of the Borders or Barnes and Noble while she […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-19 09:55:59 UTC ]
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New additions to the upcoming London Book Fair's Main Stage lineup include Michael Sheen, Julie Smith, and Steven Bartlett. The post London Book Fair: Main Stage Programming Announcements appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-02-16 21:59:06 UTC ]
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