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Linux On a Used Cash Register

Posted by timothy on from the paper-plastic-or-canvas dept.

codewolf writes: "Looking at this site, it seems that if someone has enough time on their hands, they can get Linux to run on just about anything. Looks like this guy got Red Hat Linux running on an Ultimate Techonologies Corporation cash register. This is a great hack if you ask me."

9 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. well if you need reliability... by Romancer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd hate to see a port of WinCE on a cash register, Imagine the small print on the back of the receipt.

    "...you agree by paying this amount, to never divulge what you paid, or purchased, in any form, written, recorded, or electronicly transcribed in any way, to anybody. By having this receipt, you are violating the EUCEA (End User Cash Exchange Agreement) and must distroy this document, or face an audit of all digital processing and storage devices you own."

    --


    ) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
    ) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
    1. Re:well if you need reliability... by Glorat · · Score: 4, Funny
      I'Id hate to see a port of WinCE on a cash register

      Heh, well at Wimbledon station in the UK, they run Windows NT to sell train tickets in one of those electronic hole in the wall ticket dispensers. (Choose ticket, insert money, out pops ticket).

      While waiting for my pickup, I amused my self as the machine spontaneously rebooted, saw the NT4 loader in it's comforting blue screen, see Windows launch, autologin, connect to some network shares and start up the ticket selling interface. And then watch it spontaneously reboot again =P
  2. Well it's confirmed... by Thaidog · · Score: 5, Funny

    Linux is a POS operating system...

    --

    ||| I still can't believe Parkay's not butter.

  3. Its a P233 pc by BrookHarty · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Kinda neat, but its a P233 pc. Really the only cool thing is the led display. I have an old IBM thermal printer that uses fax paper also, used it on my c64. Now put linux on a c64 (load "linux",8,1) and I will be impressed.

    1. Re:Its a P233 pc by HeUnique · · Score: 5, Informative

      already done :)

      --
      Hetz (Heunique)
  4. Well ... by Throstur · · Score: 5, Insightful

    POS machines are nothing more than PC computers with extra serial ports and different peripherals than "normal" PCs. And the POS software normally runs on DOS or Windows (*gasp*) ;-) I really don't see what the big fuss is about, I mean, I've installed Linux on a few different POS machines myself, (I work for a company that makes POS software), and it's just like setting up Linux on a normal PC except for the peripherals.

  5. Linux can run on anything by Ed+Avis · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just goes to show that Linux will run on any old POS.

    --
    -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  6. What about a calculator? by fireboy1919 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think that this is actually a little smaller...
    Look at the bottom of the page.
    There's a Linux shell for TI-89!
    http://www.ticalc.org/pub/89/asm/shells/

    Now for more wierdness...how about Linux on an oscilloscope? I know a guy who wrote "pong" for it using anolog circuits. Perhaps someone should take it further.

    They could use a TV remote as the interface and an adapted LCD driver chip to do it cheap...

    --
    Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
  7. Slight bug though... by C+A+S+S+I+E+L · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently it still operates as a cash register while running Linux... except that it keeps insisting that anything run through it should be costing $0.00.