The database phones home to vendors, other pollsters, opinion minders, not necessarily with customer aliases, anonymity protected. Patrick is here, adding reality checks.
However, if you have an ID for that shop (many do already: a cardboard box of business card like objects), you might code it for your favorite charities and causes, picking from a canned list perhaps -- lots of configurations, back offices letting you contract for setup, easy on ramp if you pass the right tests.
Given the ingredients are already culturally ingrained, it's not a patentable business model but who cares. Those working on implementation are already well ahead of those still storyboarding in their heads.
I announced the open source version as a potential project (aiming at 2012) at the Python 3 release party, as a Fine Grind Production. Bootstrapping development inside the various coffee shops is how we make dreams come true. Unilever a sponsor of LCD content? Thinking Liptons.
Note that it's up to the shop or bar to configure the eye candy, dedicate the fund raising thermometers or whatever, using their own control panel. Maybe a local synagogue is a beneficiary, and/or some neighborhood mosque, or even a Quaker meeting, i.e. we don't always need to target national charities or high profile causes. Coffee shops serve niche markets, needn't be cookie cutter clones of one another.
Coffee shops occur in the most amazing places, even on submarines. So what would those control panels look like?
Here in Portland, OMSI might offer canned video giving lots of information about Bull Run, Bonneville Power, the infrastructure Portland depends on. OMSI in turn needs its sponsors, perhaps BPA itself?
David DiNucci used the ISEPP projector and screen to show an older movie about Doug Strain, a philanthropist engineer who died this week. His memorial service will be held at Pacific University this Saturday.
