Dan- I suspected that that post was written by someone with a vested interest. Thanks for sharing that. On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 5:19 PM, Dan Bartlett <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Commercial grade dvd player= $550. Cheap dvd player from Wal Mart I > installed in the exhibit = $35. How long did it play? Six days a week, 7 > hours a day for 3 years. > > I have worked in many small museums where the choice was in house on the > fly, or not at all. Carefully considered interpretive techniques using off > the shelf consumer electronics are possible, appropriate, affordable and > effective if the museum understands the limitations, some of which are > listed by the original poster. If you get tens of thousands of visitors a > year, the cheap touch screen is a poor choice. If your attendance is more > modest then it might be right for you. We're experimenting with 15" digital > picture frames ($100 each at TigerDirect) that play MPEG video. Students > create short interpretive programs in Powerpoint that we export to Windows > format video then convert on a free video converter to MPEG. We can move > them around, change the content in seconds. We've improved our > interpretation and we spent almost nothing to be able to do it. > > BTW, the original poster is from http://www.madsystems.com/?page_id=1272, > an interpretive multimedia design firm, so they may not be the most unbiased > of sources. > > Just sayin' > > Dan > > > > On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 2:54 PM, unknown <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> On subject #1 : “There’s never enough money to do it right the first >> time, and always enough money to do it twice because it got screwed up the >> first time.” >> >> >> >> “cheap” encoder $26.50 “expensive” encoder $450 >> >> Life expectancy of cheap encoder : 24 hours after opening day, fudging and >> daily maintenance to keep it going thereafter >> >> Life expectancy of expensive encoder : 10 years absolute minimum if >> applied correctly (which costs more money) >> >> Difference in gallery: “Out of order again” sign >> >> >> >> “cheap” resistive touchscreen $350 “expensive” capacitive touchscreen >> $800 >> >> Life expectancy of resistive touchscreen: until someone decides to rub it >> with a nail or a coin >> >> Life expectancy of capacitive touchscreen: years >> >> Difference in gallery: “Out of order again” sign >> >> >> >> “cheap” signage $100 “expensive” equivalent $250 >> >> Difference in gallery: edges peeling on sign >> >> >> >> It is truly better spend money on quality and have a few very good things >> than it is to spend a little money everywhere and have something that >> doesn’t work and looks shabby inside of a few weeks…. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On >> Behalf Of *Cass Karl >> *Sent:* Friday, October 08, 2010 12:07 PM >> *To:* [log in to unmask] >> *Subject:* Re: [MUSEUM-L] Exhibit (displays) on the Cheap >> >> >> >> Laurie, >> >> When exactly is your conference? Where is it to be held? I live in SE >> Texas, but have friends in the Atlanta area who I have been trying to visit >> for a while now. I co-led a workshop for the Wisconsin Federation of >> Museums on cost-effective exhibit design, so I believe I'd be qualified. >> Please send me more information to the email below. Good luck! >> >> -Cass Karl >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 12:38 PM, las <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> Hello: >> >> >> >> I am a curator at a small museum in West Georgia. I am tired of looking >> at my own exhibits and thinking "surely this could look better!", feeling >> like some of my text looks one step above an elementary school bulletin >> board! Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who doesn't know the secret >> of quality displays with little expense and all of you are experts at it, >> because I am often very impressed at the brilliant suggestions that come >> across this email in regards to text, lebels, production, furniture, etc. >> Well, because I have just about had it with my own limitations in these >> areas, I am potentially planning to moderate a conference session at >> January’s Georgia Asso of Museums and Galleries on the topic of >> cost-conscious exhibit design/fabrication and are currently looking for >> people who would like to be on our panel. The three topics areas are: >> >> 1. Interactives (mechanical, hands on, audio, video, intro films, >> interactive kiosks, etc), >> >> 2. Furniture and supports (platforms, pedestals, acrylic bonnets, >> cases (all-in-one), artifact supports and artifact mounts, etc), >> >> 3. Graphics (large background photographs, smaller images, titles, >> text, i.d. labels, graphic panels, etc) >> >> >> >> Now, I am guessing that not many of you are here in the south, but if you >> are or would like to attend our conference, or just, by chance, are passing >> through (yea, right!) and could potentially be on my panel, and you are one >> of those brilliant people out there who knows the secret of fabricating >> these types of things (mostly in house, especially for #2 and #3) at very >> little cost but WITHOUT sacrificing/compromising quality, please respond to >> this email and I will contact you to discuss further off list. >> >> >> >> Best Regards, >> >> Laurie Sedicino, Curator >> >> Legacy Museum on Main >> >> ========================================================= Important >> Subscriber Information: >> >> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message >> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "help" (without the quotes). >> >> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). >> >> >> ========================================================= Important >> Subscriber Information: >> >> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message >> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "help" (without the quotes). >> >> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). >> ========================================================= Important >> Subscriber Information: >> >> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message >> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "help" (without the quotes). >> >> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read >> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). >> > > > > -- > Dan Bartlett > Curator of Exhibits and Education > Instructor of Museum Studies > Logan Museum of Anthropology > Beloit College > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).