On Thursday MacCentral brought news about a new promotion between Apple and the Minnesota Wild NHL franchise, as well as information about the Wild’s Mac-based skybox information system. More details about that system emerged yesterday from Nanonation, the company behind the Wild’s technology.
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Nanonation is a Nebraska-based developer of interactive kiosk technology. It’s their customized software that offers access to high-impact images and multimedia technology in the 74 luxury suites at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota — home of the Minnesota Wild.
PowerBook G4s are the hardware that drives the kiosk systems, powering 23-inch Apple Cinema HD flat panel displays. The PowerBooks are networked, and provide high-definition video and images, along with the ability to browse exclusive content, statistics, scores and news over the Internet.
Each skybox kiosk system is also customized with corporate branding, personalized messages, and favorite Internet links. Nanonation CEO Bradley Walker said the company hopes to extend the systems to enable users to order food, merchandise and customized posters of their favorite player, delivered straight to their seats.
The Macintosh use doesn’t stop at the kiosk, either — service the back end of the system is an Apple Xserve, the company’s G4-based rack-mounted server, driving a dynamic media database. HDNet, a partner with the NHL, provides with the high definition video content.