Slashdot Mirror
Another Win For Linux At The Cash Register
Matt Lupfer writes, "According to CNET, MaxSpeed, a
California-based networked cash register manufacturer used at places such as Little Caesars,
Goodyear Tire, CVS Drugstores and Harley-Davidson, will begin moving
its product line to Linux-based systems. [MaxSpeed CEO Wie Ching] says, 'Linux is
the wave of the future. And you can't beat the price.'"
JON KATZ
ok class, let's see if we can spot the signature methods from the above troll.
First, you'll notice that the above troller is an anonymous coward. Imperical evidence tells us that 95% of comments over 3 paragraphs in lengths are indeed trolls.
You'll notice a liberal sprinkling of historical "facts" and dates. These have two purposes:
1) Give the impression that the troller is actually intelligent
2) distract you from the task at hand, which is of course to troll and cause disentious replies
What else do we notice, class? That's right !!! The obligatory Richard Stallman reference and the alluding to communism. Well done, class.
Last but not least, the troller wraps up his handiwork with the cliched troll tactic that "concludes" Linux and other related Open Source works are doomed to failure, even in light of their overwhelming success.
Class, I think you are ready for finals !
sorry, uses,.. you can telnet into the servers to,..
That would be a colossal mistake. Instead, create an application-specific X Window Manager. Like this one http://www.viewtouch.com
that's because you're an idiot. stop working off of 30 year old cliched stereotypes for a change, ok?
by now you've probably rechecked your "work" to see how the thread is doing. are you disappointed that everyone is practically laughing at you?
only for Swedish Finns. I pronouce it Linucks as in Ben Sucks
You, my young friend, 'got' no one.
That was the subject of the first post. Yours is #23. You are redundant. Please try to be more original next time.
This is why XTerms and the like were invented.
:))
People did this way back in the olden days (1980s)- Tandy had a multiuser 68k? (that's Motorola 68000, lest you've forgotten) box, Commodore had at least one, although very few people have actually touched Commodore's UNIX hardware aside from the Amiga 3000, etc, etc. Generally, these things could handle about 12 users, and you'd be stringing terminal cables everywhere.
If you think the multikeyboard/multimonitor solution sounds elegant, I advise you to look at some of the bizarre remote control systems out there for doing exactly that, and then look at the price tags. When you're routing all sorts of retarded signals- keyboard I/O, RGBA, serial for the mouse, etc.- over longer than usual distances, things get complex fast. Might as well just string ethernet to anything from a 286 on up, network boot them all from a single image, and get them running telnet or X.
This is actually much easier to maintain, and more expandable. (Lest you think I'm giving up on classic technology, I still believe in running 10base2 for small networks
We've written the software, we might as well use it.
use CVS?
OH PLEASE EQUINES?
Where have you been in the last 2 years?
I'll have to remember to move my code into the CVS that will round of the fractional pennies and deposit them into my account. Open Source makes it all possible.
Wow. Slashdot really sucks on weekends. Nothing but rah-rah Linux stories culled from the space filler articles on News.com.
:)
Plus, the troll population explodes
oh, i see. i sound stupid because I ask you to be original for once in your life and stop recycling stupid jokes my grandfather probably told in the 30's. And to top that off you try to project your fears on me by insuating that I work the post office, which I guess is another cliched crack on your part...is it the "going postal" thing ?
you can do better than that. no, let me correct myself. you should be able to do better than that.
please don't employ circular logic here. it's not becoming.
one
Linux the "wave of the future"? It has its roots (no pun intended) in an operating system developed in the late 70's and late 60's.
whether the CEO understands it or not, it's good news that they're using efficient network software.
If you live in the PA/NJ/DE area, you've probably been to a Wawa store.
It figures. People from Delaware are pretty stoopid, but that's where all the companies are located.
Put 'em in your nightclub, gothic boy.
Do you work for red Hat?
BestBuy recently "upgraded" to NT 4 on their POS (piece of shit / point of sale, same difference in this case) machines. When I was buying a VCR their POS bluescreened. It did it just after printing the receipt, but apparently before charging my card. I watched my statements for several months and the charge never showed.
This happened almost six months ago, but I guess they still aren't working right because I was in there the other day and heard one checker say to another, "this one just crashed again....."
running linux with no panties on.
this adjunct thread has been retired due to sheer lameness. good night, young wanna be troller
ok. you win. your troll worked. it got everyone riled up and therefore we had no choice but to respond because we thought you were serious in your comment. I have no choice but to surrender in the face of your novel reasoning.
A BRITISH teenager, arrested after an FBI investigation into international
computer hacking, says he obtained the credit card number of Bill Gates, the head of
Microsoft and the world's richest man.
Raphael Gray, 18, is accused of breaking into 23,000 computerised credit card
accounts, including that of Mr Gates, which were gleaned from eight banking
websites. Gray, who calls himself the Saint of E-Commerce, and a friend were
arrested last Thursday in an FBI swoop on the village of Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire,
as part of an investigation into a suspected £2 million fraud.
He said: "I knew the man was from the FBI because he had an American accent and
was wearing a trench coat. There were eight local police officers in a riot van with
him so it was an unusual sight in Clynderwen." Mr Gates's details, along with the
other credit card numbers, had been sent by the hacker, working under the name
"Curador", the Welsh for custodian, in an e-mail to NBCi, a subsidiary of the
American broadcasting group.
Gray said: "I just wanted to prove how insecure these sites are. I have done the
honest thing but I have been ignored. That's why I posted the information on the
internet." Both Gray and a second 18-year-old who has not been named were held for
questioning for 12 hours before being released on police bail.
Gray began his hacking spree six weeks ago, finding his way into e-commerce sites in
the US, Canada, Britain and Thailand. He knew he had been tracked down while
online to a site in Canada. The company involved contacted the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police and as a result of their investigation the FBI, Interpol and British
police became involved.
An FBI officer flew from Philadelphia to crack what they believed was a hardened
gang of internet criminals. But instead they found Gray, who has been using a £700
laptop.
A Microsoft spokesman said yesterday: "It's not our policy to comment on any
individuals' credit card details - even those of Bill Gates."
IF I EVER SEAT YOU I WILL PICK MY ASS
I've got young ones in the room and well you know how boys can be, they pick up on everything even the stuff they read on the screen. can you stop posting swear words on this web page?
thanks, ed
Alan Cox will be drafted by the Knicks.
You can say what you like about treason, ESR, Linux, Walmart, and Ayn Rand, but one more word out of you defaming the Knicks and you'll be one hurtin' camper, laddie.
Don't push me any farther.
Next week on Slashdot: NAMBLA to switch their databases over to MySQL on Linux!
You got the member's newsletter, too? I think Hemos will be on next month's cover.
I don't anything about the intelligence of DE ppl, but companies aren't generally located in DE, they are just incorporated there because DE (and now OH) makes it nice & easy.
(Score:-1, Spam)
Next week on Slashdot: NAMBLA to switch their databases over to MySQL on Linux!
You got the member's newsletter, too? I think Hemos will be on next month's cover.
This is really insinsitive and crule! I can only assume that you missed the story on all the other weblogs about how Hemos molested Zico as a child. Now molested children tend to grow up to be molestors but it is curle to accack them with it.
[dropping out of troll mode]
Why is it that so many trolls are on the Hemos is a child molester trip. I always assumed that trollage was spread out pretty evently through out the slashdot community, so is it one or many peoiple who make the Hemos statments? I've never done it before and I'm only doing it now bcuase I liked the above troll.
[returning you to your regularly scheduled trolling]
IF I EVER MEET YOU I WILL KICK YOUR ASS
Let me just say that although I think that Linux is a very good system for running games (like Descent 3!), programming, and other hobbies, I'm still not convinced that it would be a good choice for such sensitive work. The cash register is the front line of the traditional retailler: anything that goes wrong there will affect the rest of the business in a major way.
Now, many cash registers come from places like IBM, who have a reputation for quality and (most important) consistency. That IBM cash register you bought in 1985 is just as good today as it was then. IBM will still service it. But what about Linux? The hectic pace of development means that the cash registers will become obsolete in a few months. After all, how many Linux companies are willing to support uses of kernel version 0.43? In a few years, our current version will be much the same. Linux has changed rapidly, and you can't be assured that anyone will be able to deal with older versions, because, hey, everyone downloads the daily CVS snapshots anyway, right? Buying from a respected supplier means that you will get support, and you can be assured of it. With Linux, as with all free software, there's no assurance of anything. Try explaining that to a skeptical business owner.
And then there's the issue of security. Yeah, the Linux community does a good job of patching bugs and other unintentional errors. But what you really have to be on the look out for now is intentional security violations. Going with an open source operating system is like giving out the keys. Whose to stop someone from passing of a 'trojan' kernel? These registers will be networked, so it's not like they couldn't be broken into. Scary.
And then what's to stop, say Linux International, or the FSF from placing a 'Linux tax' on every purchase made through one of these devices? Surely Richard Stallman (despite the appearance of being a social revolutionary) would like to get his greedy hands on the Linux cash cow after being snubbed by compaines going through their IPO's.
Finally, I predict that the 'East-meets-West' feeling of the marriage between Linux and business is an unholy one, doomed to fail. Let's face it, a few CEOs brought up on Rand novels are unlikely to worry about the legality of breaking a software 'license' written by a man who sleeps in MIT's terminal room. Once Linux is apporpriated by businesses, what will the Open Sourcer's do? I predict that they will simply move on, knowing that communist ideals just can't beat Big Business. A new operating system will be forged, only to go through the boom-bust cycle of Linux. Eventually, all free software (Linux, Apache, Perl, and a few others) will be forgotten entirely. O'Reilly books will be burned. Magazines will be purged of all references to the failed experiment. Linux Torvalds, the subject of international ridicule, will return to Finland as a lowly ice fisher. ESR will be arrested for treason after attempting to have the U.S. government convert to Linux. Alan Cox will be drafted by the Knicks.
And, my Linux-using friends, where will that leave the retailers who bought the bloody registers in the first place?
The goat feels that this is not important. The goat feels that anyone who is excited by this, will be excited by the goat. Please, all line up to see the goat.
I couldn't do that with Windows2000 - haha Bill Gates!
Wow! So now Linux is going to be used as a simple calculator! WOW! Holy shit! It IS useful. Now, if I could only actually see it in use at a business...
MY PENIS RUNS LINUX0R DOODZ!@!!@ MODERATE ME UP!!@$(
is anusburgers penisburgers. anusbugers penisburgers Thank you
Most of the good troll opportunities went out the window after Sengan left.
While this is true, the real reason why Hemos bears the brunt of the trolling is his boyish charm and youthful exuberence.
Wrong again. They care what it is when it doesn't work. And believe me NT is awful in this respect. And yes, the machines do display that they're running NT or whatever OS, it is visible. And hell I make quite a bit more than $5/hr thank you. And I'm pretty sure that the IBM registers here must use 4mbps token ring or someshit, as they take ages and ages to load all the "register data". Being both a nerd and a register jockey I'd really like to see someone come out with a decently fast, and reliable register setup, something NT is not capable of.
But there are companies out there who run the backend on NT. Very very scary.
The USPS has lost some of their own pay checks in their mail. Pfft.
I was a Texas regional manager with Little Caesars for 7 years, from 1991-1998, and every store used NCR registers exclusively.
Heh, nothing like a little Anonymous anti-open software FUD. A Linux tax...communism...haw, haw, haw...
Companies don't locate in Delaware, they incorporate there for legal advantages. Since you are too stupid to know this, where do you get off saying that people from Delaware are stupid? Are you from there?
Of course they are. Can't you just hear all the script kiddies living in their parents' basement telling their loser friends about their Linux cash registers. This could be a recruiting pitch for Taco Bell - "come work for us, our systems use Linux."
It really doesn't matter what OS they use, what they will see will still be some prettied up screen with no hint of linux anywhere except for that server sitting in the basement which the emplayees will never see.
..........sig...........
EKKA LOR UN VOY FAG!!! BURNO ELL FAG!!! JON KATZ VOKKENSLIEN KLES NAZI! JON KATZ HROIL EKA FAG!!! LINUX XEALETRAY EKKAJO VOY FAG!!!
FUCK YOU
WELCOME TO MY KINGDOM... THE KINGDOM OF TROLL
KING OF TROLLS
MAYBE BECAUSE YOU ARE A TOTAL JACKASS PERHAPS?
x
is stupid so is os9 so is sun so is ibm so is microsoft so is everything that aint LiNuX. LiNuX is the BeSt. fuck0r.
fkghdfhklhklfhlskdfj
there should be a law against trolling but there isnt so HA HA HA
LINUX R00LZ
GET ON TOPIC OR DIE
Well, the current Linux hype isn't particularly helpful in this area!
Yeah, almost as bad as having a sucking site like Slashdot run on Linux.
with IE
Moderate this down to (Score:-1,Troll)
Trollz rool.
stock market 0.00 Stock Market Goes MLM! CASH IN NOW! Plug into Wallstreet's Hottest Money Maker as a FOUNDING MEMBER! http://stoxrus.net/sp553.html This is so hot, new members plug themselves in!
This is the most important website your eyes will ever see, if you are interested in a solid, proven method to increase your net worth substantially. The SG Virtual Stock Exchange presents an authentic opportunity to become not merely financially stable, but significantly wealthy and prosperous. SG has millions of dollars in daily transactions and an ever increasing player base reaching into the hundreds of thousands. Of course, you may be thinking that this is just another system that is too good to be true. As a result, this website and utility has been provided to serve as your source of reference for more in-depth information regarding the Stock Generation Game. Now, the only serious question is can you afford not to take a closer look? http://www.cyberprofit.net/spierce/
The Sun Ray does something like this (though it doesn't run Linux). Everything is done on the server, but I think the client machines still have video memory and run X. One cool feature is that smart cards are used to manage sessions. You can remove your card, take it to another machine, plug it in and resume where you left off. No client administration/upgrades are ever needed, but you need to make sure the server is *extremely* reliable.
But the US postal service is one of the best in the world, and also among the cheapest. Should I say "least awful" instead of "best"? Maybe so, but if you stop and think (fate forfend!
Let's not even get started on the people there and their violent and emotionally unstable tendencies
Okay, maybe your whole post was intended as a joke
Next week on Slashdot: NAMBLA to switch their databases over to MySQL on Linux!
I submitted that story and it was "declined". Bastards.
Aren't you sick of cash registers crashing? Of getting incorrect prices due to operating system malfunctions? Let's look at a typical scene in a typical retail outlet:
Register lady: Hello, Mr. Malda! Your usual copy of 'Barely Legal', is it?
Starts scanning
Computer screen: Illegal Operation. Application obliterated.
Register lady: What the fuck? Hold on a second, sir.
She reboots
Register lady: Now lemme try again.
Scan's CmdrTaco's favorite mag again
Computer screen: Total charge: 38c
Rob Malda: Wait a second! Your computer is in error! I demand to pay more!
Register lady: Hold on a second, sir...
etc.
Obviously, if they were using Linux, none of these problems would occur. CmdrTaco would be back at home, enjoying the "articles" he enjoys "reading".
LINUX MEANS REVOLUTION!
IT WILL CHANGE EVERTYHING!
With a Beowulf cluster of cash registers!
Has anyone ever had a little ceaser's pizza? Man, they suck ass. Having linux associated with them is a bad thing.
are asleep at the wheel. We did all this five years ago at http://www.viewtouch.com, and we did touchscreens on X terminals with no hardware modifications. And it is as cheap as it ever needs to be. And I don't know what more you could possibly want. And the Linux code is identical to the AIX and SCO code. Need any more clues?
--
I wonder if they'll use CVS versions of anything :-)
I thought that Microsofties were tired of astroturf FUDing by now.
Linux's popularity right now doesn't make it suddenly dumb for people to use it.
Oh, and I have to laugh at the vague questioning of linux's security. This is a discussion of CASH REGISTERS, after all. Not even a credit card terminal. Cash registers aren't on the internet, aren't running bind/ftp/http/nsf/smb/whatever, and therefore aren't a "security" worry.
The U.S. Postal Service? C'mon, couldn't you have gone and picked an organization held in higher regard than the USPS? Like, say, oh I dunno, ValuJet, CyberPromotions, or maybe Juggs Magazine? :)
When's the last time you've heard anyone exalting the USPS for great and efficient service? Never, you say? There's a reason for that: It sucks! (Hmmm, could Linux be the reason? ;) )
Let's not even get started on the people there and their violent and emotionally unstable tendencies, so much so that the term "He's gone postal" is well entrenched in the national lexicon. Who knows, maybe they went to Linux after ESR gave one of his raving gun nut speeches -- "You too can stock your underground bunker to the teeth with guns with all the money you'll save on the price of the OS!" Aha!
Next week on Slashdot: NAMBLA to switch their databases over to MySQL on Linux!
Ahhh, the possibilities abound... :)
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Do the words "X terminal" ring any bells?
No, not xterms, but those otherwise dumb terminals that have just enough smarts to do a network boot and run an X server. Been around for years.
-- Alastair
Every cash register running Linux instead of Win98 is $89 (or whatever) less that Microsoft has available to spend on FUD, embracing and extending, or creating new and uglier proprietary formats.
Sounds like a benefit to me.
And as someone else pointed out, it encourages hardware manufacturers to make sure Linux drivers are available.
-- Alastair
I hope this isn't a case of "Oooh, Linux is the current buzzword, lets use it."
I mean I'd hate to see them set everything up and then have an enterprising Linux (cr|h)acker come and point out their mistakes.
What kind of some will they be singing then?
Hey, stop knocking cash machines... I'm rigging mine up to give me some money every time I win another level at XBill.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
ok, not quite the same thing, but everyone else was sharing what various companies are using... I noticed last time i was in Compusa that they are running Java on their registers, but then again each register had a pretty big resemblence to a computer... nothing thin about those clients!
yea, the POS do run win98...
but the back-office some unix, i know because i once saw one reboot after a backup.
if i remenber it said, something like, reading
/lib
/usr
etc...
nmarshall
#include "standard_disclaimer.h"
R.U. SIRIUS: THE ONLY POSSIBLE RESPONSE
nmarshall
The law is that which it boldly asserted and plausibly maintained..
--Colonel Burr 1783
You mean like X-Terminals?
MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
If you demand a more gui environment, you could cluster vaxstations (small workstations) together with a mainframe over the network- the mainframe stored all user info/files, with the vaxstation providing processing power.
Note that the "GUI" in this case was "DEC Windows" which is simply X11 running over DECNET.
I might have misunderstood your question, but with a normal Linux machine, you can't have two different users using it at the same time on different monitors with different keyboards. I'm guessing that's what the card does. Probably has some keyboard ports and some kind of display switching.
Probably something like www.sharedware.com, but finally realised that this is a lot easier with an X server than Windows.
If I have a small store, and I needed ONE cash register that could handle everything (sales, inventory, reports, receipts, etc.), and I wanted to spend as little as I could afford, I think A Linux-based Open Source program that could do this would be great.
I know I need the hardware (barcode scanner, printer(s), Cash drawer, etc), but I would like a program that could handle all this kinds of hardware, and of course the software part...
Now, is there any such program for Linux??? Where?
Seeya!
Signatures are supposed to be funny?
Certainly, for the same reason that Microsoft starting giving away it's browser, and the same reason that Intel is giving it's processors away for the X-Box -- mindshare.
:), later on who knows.
This move simply increases the legitimacy of Linux for use in such devices, it's only recently started being about the money. Now when Fred Foobar wants his boss to use Linux for cash registers, there's just one more example he can point to.
Think of it as a few hundred more free advertisements for Linux.
Having it run on cash registers will at first at least get cash register software ported
In short, it certainly doesn't hurt "the cause".
I can't tell you who [If I told you, I'd have to kill you], but we're putting RH 6.0 into 600+ stores throughout the US of A. We're currently in test stage, and expect Alpha to begin sometime in August (note: Alpha was due 3/99).
Oh well.
Um, this article confused me. This company is going to sell a card that will allow two users on a linux machine. Well, last time I checked, you didn't need a card for that. You could use virtual terminals. Oh, if you don't want to use virtual terminals, I wonder if they're selling 10Base-T ethernet cards? I was rather confused by the article, is linux going to be running on some sort of a cash register server?
We've got some of these at UC Berkeley. They're cool, and the idea is great, but the only problem is that administration of the server has to be really, really good.
One or two people with bad code/programs can make everything slow down a bit...
That, and sometimes the damn things don't log out correctly.
it is a nice idea, though...
there is no thing
what else could you want?
"We have no idea how to use Linux or why it's better than the solution we currently use, but it's the wave of the future and everyone else seems to be using it, so why not us! Maybe we'll change our company's name to include 'Linux' and then go public, too!"
You don't hook up fifty keyboards, monitors, and mice directly to one central linux box- that would be unscalable.
You get fifty inexpensive display controllers, and connect them to a network with one or more large servers doing the actual heavy labor.
Check out Sun's solution- The 'Sun Ray' at $499.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
I just turned down a 6-figure job offer from a local company, after I found out that they are converting all of their (perfectly good as they stand) web servers from Solaris on UltraSparc to 'Beowulf Clusters' of (cheap) Intel PC's running 'Linux'.
They aren't doing this for performance, they aren't doing this to save money, they aren't doing this to make administration of the servers (which would be my job) easier...
They are doing this because the company is planning for an IPO, and certain key words give the market a stiffy.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
wow...now if you could only read the damn webpage. Little black fonts on dark blue background. Sure hope the display on those units are easier to read. Of course I am getting older and my eyes are not what they used to be.http://www.viewtouch.com/poshome.html
Anyway, I'll check it out. I've got clients begging for an affordable non-ms solution
Integrity is what you are when nobody is looking.
They were called Vax mainframes.
several hundred users could use the system at once, and although the VMS system was command line driven, the terminals did support graphics, so you could display graphs, pictures, etc... VMS is a very powerfull and full-featured operating system, which resulted in some of the same "too hard to use" complaints you hear about Linux.
Vaxes were also commonly clustered, and from a user point of view would share load. There was no crashing (ok, maybe once a year, or when the operator tried to crash the system on purpose (ps- Dec fired his ass)), no rebooting, and the system was up and on 24/7.
If you demand a more gui environment, you could cluster vaxstations (small workstations) together with a mainframe over the network- the mainframe stored all user info/files, with the vaxstation providing processing power.
Security was reasonably well implemented, with users being protected from each other, as well as the system being protected from the users!
(un)fortunately, vax hardware was built to withstand the rigors of rocket launch. This turned out to be stupid for several reasons-
Most users did not launch their vaxes and so percieved no benefit from the over-design
Hardware was absurdly expensive to build.
Hardware was absurdly expensive to design and to test (get thru the DEC standard 102 tests)
In addition, VMS licensing fees were high, and DEC seemed to discourage 3ed party apps.
Everyone prefered cheap, cheap, cheap, and so the PC, with MS on it, crept from the primeval ooze to the position it occupies today.
Your wallet stays open. Our source remains closed. We are MSFT
[Obligitory DeCSS Comment]
Does this mean you can play DVDs on cash registers now?
[/Obligitory DeCSS Comment]
----
Don't underestimate the power of peanut brittle
ADVENTURERS! - ANTIHERO FOR HIRE - CARDMASTER CONFLICT
would it be feasble to have hardware to allow 50 keyboards, mice, monitors to be hooked into a Linux server, and have each one be running separately? So there could be 50 users with 50 different displays doing their office or school work.
If you're talking text (good enough for Emacs), simply attach a whole bunch of cheap DOS PCs and monitors to a multiport serial card on the server and use them as dumb terminals.
On the other hand, if you're talking about X, that's a completely different story. Each X display pretty much needs its own computer (however, there can be multiple monitors in one display). Otherwise, how are 50 PCI cards supposed to fit into one box? And think about the CPU power it would need, not to mention heat.
But a whole bunch of cheap X boxes (not the Microsoft X-Box console; I also object to "Mac OS X") just might work.
The only reason I use Windoze is because they pay me.Will I retire or break 10K?
On the other hand, etoy.com runs Apache on Solaris, according to Netcraft.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Guess what distribution they will use? http://www.linuxone.net/news/press/press8.html
But it really isn't that the fact that they were wasn't really that interesting.
Should say: "the fact that they are using isn't really that interesting". I should really lay off the crackpipe....
Amber Yuan 2k A.D
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
The artical said that they had been using SCO UnixWare, NT was never mentioned. There primary reason for switching was that Linux was "good enough" and really cheap.
I've personaly seen cashregisters running java. There's more to the world then NT/Linux
Amber Yuan 2k A.D
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
But how is having Linux running on thousands, or even millions of cash registers going to gain market share? Do you think the $5/hr restaurant Jockeys are going to care what OS is running on their cash registers? This is custom hardware running, almost certainly, custom software. The word "Linux" isn't going to be anywhere on the things. In fact, if you read the article, you'll see that Linux in this market competes most directly with SCO UNIX. It doesn?t seem like there "mind share" has really been helping them much.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that 'world domination' for Linux, since it?s a free OS, Is depended only on market share. Using Linux on these machines doesn?t really gain very much Mind share for the community. Aside from press about it, there is hardly any gain. Compare this with something like the quake3 release for Linux, this pushed Linux into the limelight in the eyes of gamers. While the number of people who switched over to Linux because of Quake is going to be far less then the number of Cash registers running Linux, the Quake port gave Linux a lot more mind share.
At this point, what we really need to know is what is the goal of the Linux community I mean, is it to get more apps ported, and running, on Linux? Is it to crush Microsoft? Well, this does neither. No one is going to port their app to Linux just because a bunch of cash registers run it. And, this doesn?t hurt Microsoft in the least. Just SCO. So, what, exactly does Linux stand to gain because of this?
Some mindshare is valuable, some is simply not.
Amber Yuan 2k A.D
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
I'm more of a supporter of open-drawer cash registers. And no, I don't support the gun and knive hacks many people have resorted to.
hehehe, Radio Shack used SCO servers and Windows 95 front ends..haha, so you peeps are talking about ctrl alt del. and security...
I don't see how allowing Linux access the antiquated POS (piece of SH*T) POS (Point of Sale) terminals are going to better the Linux movement as a whole. Software to run the POSPOS's will be written yes, so? Will it be open-sourced? Will it be secure? Will cashiers still hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE when there's a line up of 8 people waiting?
"Anybody who tells me I can't use a program because it's not open source, go suck on rms. I'm not interested." (LT 2004)
(Who moderated *that* up?) Think of the body of manufacturers whose hardware will be automatically installed in hundreds upon thousands of locations with a single sale. It'll keep the vid card people, the bios people, etc. really motivated to keep in good stead with the community.
Crowbarring all the custom needs of a POS system into a POS (different acronym) operating system is not my idea of fun. I feel sorry for those SASI people. A friend of mine worked there very briefly and he said that it was no picnic there...
Their previous system seemed to be pretty good. It had barcode scanning, and all the other stuff. I see nothing useful in the new system that the old one didn't provide. However, the new system uses a touchscreen for input, and provides feedback with the standard Windows sounds (ding.wav, etc.)
The touchscreen is extremely inconvenient for input, as I was told by a girl who works there. And the sounds... well, I'm sure that you can imagine how it feels to hear that "ding" sound a few thousand times every day.
Anyone know what's going on?
--
The cash register systems at Radio Shack are still Windows based, although I think RS is transitioning their back-office systems. Let's hope these open source cash register systems hit it big, since once the cash registers are on linux, more and more of the back-office systems will be driven to open standard systems, something that Microsoft hasn't been good at retaining control over.
The real coup is if some Linux providers work on some sort of embedded Linux. The efforts made to port Linux to micro-systems like PalmOS should help in this arena. But the idea would be if we could flash Linux entirely to ROM. This would take some market share away from folks like OS9 (not MacOS9!), QNX, etc.
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.12 GAT d-- a? C++ UX+ L++ P++ E--- W+++$ N++ o-- !K !w O---- M++$ !V PS++
The way I see it, Linux is an operating system with a cool development system
I don't believe that there is a single overriding "goal" that everyone who uses Linux (or even a clear majority) can be said to share. Instead, there are lots of smaller groups within the circle of those who use Linux, who may have some of the goals you mention.
And as for mindshare
You're right, the guy behind the counter probably doesn't care what OS runs his register, but then again, he probably appreciates a system that doesn't crash much.
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
I've never seen this on a large scale, but would it be feasble to have hardware to allow 50 keyboards, mice, monitors to be hooked into a Linux server, and have each one be running separately? So there could be 50 users with 50 different displays doing their office or school work.
Obviously, the server would have to be completely massive, which some kind of super video card system (128MBx2 SLI rig?). But it would still be less expensive than buying 50 whole computers, and it would be a ton easier to make upgrades to.
Has anyone done something similar?
Imagine a beowolf cluster of cash registers. You could have multiple people buying things AT THE SAME TIME! Wow!
Why don't you ask ETOYS.COM? They have been running there E-Comerce applications on Linux since day one. Just for starters. Ask Compaq. They only recomend running SAP-R/3 on Linux for Application Servers that support over 1,000 concerent users. Other wise Unix, NT or OS/390 is fine. Just to name two.
The israeli company PointOfSale which produces software for retail shops and likewise, that has been so far exclusively written in M$++ also decided to port its application to Linux. I was there for a job interview and they were offering me to lead the team developing the port (on quite nice conditions BTW). Still porting MFC to gtk wasn't what I wanted so I refused, but it was nice to see another company turning its face towards Linux, as they were realizing (as I was told) it'll be much cheaper for both the company to develop and to shops to buy and maintain a Linux-based system than a MS-based one
-- "If you had fallen into a shit pit during a battle, lick yourself off and move on." - Jaroslav Hasek
, but I don't understand your objection to someone using Linux in this application.
I have no objection to them using it, In fact I said in my inital post that It was great for them. But it really isn't that the fact that they were wasn't really that interesting.
Amber Yuan 2k A.D
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
Ok, so a bunch of Cash registers are running Linux now. Great. Does that help the 'cause' in any way? I mean, its not like RedHat or VA or anyone else is going to be getting money for these things like we would if it was a closed source thing. While I'm sure its great for the company producing these things. It really shouldn't matter to us. At most, we might get a few kernel patches or something out of the programmers there.
If Microsoft or sun got this deal, it would be great for them, it would mean tons of money in licenses. But for us, its nothing.
I think threes a bit more to world domination then simply the raw number of CPUs running Linux. Is having it run on millions of Cash registers going to help get software ported?
Amber Yuan 2k A.D
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
Hmm... you posted here too huh?   You certainly are persistent despite the quoting of the Slashdot FAQ.
/. when it is being /.'d let alone to have spam showing up as +1.
Moderators - please moderate the parent down as spam.   It's bad enough getting to
Thank you.
-- Win2k: "It's not so much that it's only 65,000 bugs, it's just that they stopped at 65,535 to prevent an overflow."
This is a really good thing - I've used Maxspeed (with VM386 multiuser DOS - ok - but the install has been in place 7 years and running strong) and they make fab product. They may not be Big and'Active' but they are responsible and worth a look.
I'd love to use Linux for cash registers, because I'd like to have a point-of-sale system that was cheap...
This all ties back to the I-Opener discussion: why aren't there any super-cheap Linux-based kiosk systems available? Surely there's a market for these!
Like cash registers, ATMs are also just kiosks with a slot. You can just go out and buy an ATM, you know: you're responsible for filling it with money, and it runs software that knows how to authenticate itself to the banks. There's no reason this couldn't be a Linux system too, instead of being overpriced specialized hardware.
There's a big NUMSAUI ("Not Until My Suppliers Are Using It"] problem with any particular operating system, file format, interface, etc.
You still hear lots of "industry analysts" (mind my scare quotes; I know a lot of them are fine, smart people, but it's the bad apples that stand out) that say Linux "isn't ready for the enterprise" or repeat silly FUD about the dangers of fragmentation. (I'm not saying that danger doesn't exist -- only that even legitimate complaints are often applied out of context.)
And it's not just the number of CPUs running it, it's a) public acceptance, or at least that subset of the public which forms opinions about purchasing computers and b) jobs. If there are thoursands of companies using free / Free software to build their apps and run them on, it means a different type of job market than one in which open-source stuff is viewed as a novelty.
And, my favorite is that the more OSes are experimented with, the more incentive people will have to create documents / data sets that aren't tied to only one platform, which should make it easier for programmers to experiment with The Best Way to do things in pragmatic and not only experimental contexts.
Just thoughts,
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
I worked at a Little Caesar's. It was a few years ago, but the cash register wasn't anything special. You just had that small screen that displayed the prices. The input? A keypad with many buttons. Althought, we never used half of them. The ones we did use were basically overload by hitting "Large" then "Crazy Bread" or "Small" then "Crazy Bread". With a little practice on the register, you could punch in orders with one hand faster than the receipt could print.
I couldn't find the specs for their cash registers, but I wouldn't want an LCD screen (It'd get oil, flour, or just cracked by a customer) or a computer that required a fan. The (non-computer) fans always had grease in them, clogged them up good.
Even though it was a crappy system, people still had trouble with it (I was always ask to change the printer ribbon).
Maybe they're making it a different design than I'm assuming. Of course, having a Perl script to generate reports on various sales (you have to make reports on how much you sold per hour on average for the last four weeks, and how many of a certain item, such as medium pops, you sold each day). Disclaimer: I worked at an LC inside a K-mart, so the independent LC's may have different tills.
Also, my store couldn't get the damn Icee machine working on a consistent basis (it had a power switch, two defrost knobs (one for each side), and two dispenser levers), do you think they could get a Linux box to work all the time?
---------------------
Do not provoke me to violence for you could no more evade my wrath than you could your own shadow.