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McDonald's Germany Moves to SuSE Linux

sglafata writes "Novell has made an announcement that McDonald's is moving towards Linux. 'With more than 30,000 restaurants around the globe and more than 1,200 in Germany alone, McDonald's is the undisputed market leader in the fast food sector.'"

23 of 471 comments (clear)

  1. Well now... by abscondment · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's really exciting--maybe they'll switch to high quality food now, too.

    But seriously...

    McDonald's Germany deploys SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server for DNS, FTP, and proxy services on the Internet.

    I doubt that they'll replace their in-store systems. There's no real need there--most places are running something really ancient that still works. However, I wouldn't mind seing a penguin or two while I'm ordering... and, with all that money they've got, who knows?

    1. Re:Well now... by dj245 · · Score: 1, Interesting
      It's too bad the markets are closed today because their stock is doing a good impression of the Titanic.

      The Itanic, in case you didn't know, is slang for the Itanium processor, made by the Intel corp. The chip has never sold in large quantities, and recent offerings in the 64-bit arena have made the massive quantities of money that Intel spent on it look like the nobody was on lookout duty and the company had hit an iceberg in the high end server space.

      Oh wait...

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
  2. Poor SCO by Tailhook · · Score: 4, Interesting

    SCO has, for some time, told anyone who will listen that McDonalds cash registers run SCO Unix. Micky-dees is one of their largest customers.

    Correction: WAS one of their largest customers!

    When it rains it pours, eh?

    --
    Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
    1. Re:Poor SCO by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Unfortunately Pizza Hut's systems also run sco.
      Might explain why they have kept cutting back on the number of people they keep on staff in thier stores to the point where if the local hut isn't pulling down quite a few bucks you can count on slow service because they just don't have the manpower to keep up.
      Just DON'T take it out on the delivery driver by not tipping or worse, tipping very poorly. I guarantee he's doing his level best to deliver as many as possible in as little time as possible. He makes his money on those tips, not the paycheck and thus the more deliveries he makes the more $$ he makes.
      Still If you want to hurt sco a bit and get better service just don't order pizza hut, but tell them why. (say "stop using sco and hire enough people to do the job")

      Mycroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
  3. sales grow marketshare by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Novell is back - they convinced thousands of businesses to network in the 1980s and 1990s. And now they're selling Linux and support to more businesses. Which will need Linux software, and pay to get it. Either in cash, to developers, or in GPL code they revise and publish. The economic network effect will see Linux value increase exponentially as more nodes in the value net grow yet more nodes, passing value back and forth among the network - all paved with Linux. I haven't been this happy about Utah and Germany swinging together since the last Olympic skiing broadcasts.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  4. Re:soo... by Syzar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Stick?!? In USA atleat they use SCO Unix. That's according to this.

  5. Unix vs Windows by humankind · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's interesting that this has come about because I had a long discussion with a friend today who was ruminating over whether to pursue a career in IS related to Unix or Microsoft.

    A cursory glance of the job opportunities seemed to indicate to him that getting MCSE certification was a wiser move than going into the Unix arena. He asked me, "If unix is so much better, why are there more Microsoft-related jobs?" And is Unix the future or is this just a fad?

    I couldn't help but think that in my mind, Microsoft-based corporate IT setups are often more political than practical. Yes, you'll find more jobs with MCSE but it's not because there are necessarily more opportunities. It's because Microsoft-based tech people burn out more quickly, and often the companies they work for make politically-oriented tech decisions over what is practical and economical. It's almost like a litmus test for good corporate management these days. If a big company is using Unix, that's a sign they give their IT department substantive authority to pick the best tools for the job.

    It's nice to know more recognized companies are obviously asking the tech people what are the best tools available to accomplish the objective.

    So Microsoft or Unix? He continued to ask me.

    After some thought my resonse was, "If you want job security and choices, MCSE will give you that, but don't expect to ever get to a point where you have things under control. That's something Unix people encounter a lot more often. But one look at the stats, such as the fact that Microsoft has only 21% of the Internet web server market and shows no sign of de-throning Apache, reveals that Unix is anything but a fad. Why less Unix-based jobs? Probably because Unix admins are a happier lot and turnover in their area is nowhere near the massive burnout rate of MCSEs."

    So Micky-Ds in Germany is going Unix? This is less a sign of the corporation legitimizing Unix as it is likely that a number of key executives in that region have recognized that it might be a smart move to ask the IT people what are the best tools for the job.

    1. Re:Unix vs Windows by m00nun1t · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "It's because Microsoft-based tech people burn out more quickly, and often the companies they work for make politically-oriented tech decisions over what is practical and economical."

      Based on what? You're just making this up, right? And you get +5 for this....

  6. SOT: Re:Supersize me by maharg · · Score: 3, Interesting
    --

    $ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
    @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
  7. kfc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I worked at kfc until I quit a few weeks ago. It's one of the newer stores in this area.
    The touch-screen registers we use there all run dos (with some kind of extensions of some sort)

    The system is very unreliable, although I'm not sure whether it's the programmers fault or the managers of the store (1D10T errors).

    We often lost orders between drivethrough windows, or the screen telling us what to pack would stop displaying any new orders, and we would have to get the person at the first window to yell the orders at us. Technology is wonderful.

  8. Re:soo... by Syzar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They should also include Geeko and/or Tux toys in Happy Meals.

  9. Re:I'm conflicted.... by Ralph+Yarro · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'm conflicted. Part of me wants to jear, because I'm told McD is evil and I should hate it without question. And part of me wants to chear, since I'm told to support leenux without question. My knees don't know which way to jerk!

    This is a problem that has been struggled with in the past and, luckily for you, the accumulated wisdom of Slashdot has already arrived at a simple solution : Blame Microsoft!

    My suggestion:

    McDonalds Germany won't be using Linux for long once the EU accepts software patents. McDonalds will be forced to switch to Windows due to their patent on the double click and probably one on multiple key presses (aka typing) too.

    And if McDonalds won't switch then Microsoft will start bundling burgers with Windows. How long can McDonalds survive against that? Why is Microfot being allowed to get away with this? They are leveraging their CRIMINAL operating system monopoly into a fast food monopoly.


    Simple, elegant, on topic.
    --

    The real Ralph Yarro posts as Anonymous Coward. Anyone else is an impostor.
  10. Re:Reminds me of by wfberg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Windows: "The application encountered a problem and has to close. We apologise for the incovenience."

    Linux : "happy meal: Aieee, transceiver MIF write bolixed"

    Now come on, admit it. You'd use windows more if it gave out error messages like that. Even a simple "Ooops. We fucked up that last write operation rather badly. Sorry". Phrases like that just seem to convey a bit more feeling and sincerity than the dry corporate psuedo-regret that windows serves out.


    Even better is that those "unprofessional" linux errormessages are pretty creative, and therefore pretty much unique to whatever problem you might be experiencing..

    "The application has encountered a problem" is as unspecific as you can get. What problem? Perhaps suppressed sexual anxiety relating to a childhood obsession with its mother, no?

    At least the linux error messages are googlable..

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  11. Re:Will they... by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: 2, Interesting


    I agree.

    Never again for college.

    Oh, wait, I'm attending City College of San Francisco RIGHT NOW!

    Mostly to get money to survive.

    But I'm not flipping burgers! Instead, I, anarchist that I am, am taking Pell Grants from the suckers paying taxes in this moronic country.

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!

    Actually, if you think about how many people eat at McDonald's, the idea of giving every one of them a free Knoppix Live CD would probably wipe out Windows in a couple months.

    I'll buy that for a dollar!

    --
    Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
  12. Re:Robble Robble by ajs318 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    SCO were ordered by the German courts not to go harassing Linux users -- unless and until it is proven beyond reasonable doubt, they are doing nothing illegal. That's what "innocent until proven guilty" means -- even if there is no doubt about whether you did something, there can be doubt about whether it was legal.

    If SCO try it on, they will be in contempt of court, and that is a very serious offence.

    --
    Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
  13. Micros (not Microsoft) by gatkinso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Don't kwow about Europe, but MacD's USA is a big customer of Micros - they make POS terminals and the "backstore/office" hardware to support it.

    I interviewed there once - they seemed to have SCO Unix and NT based systems.... atleast in the dept that I interviewed in.

    --
    I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
  14. Re:soo... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's funny, 'cause before the McDonalds down the street from where I worked turned off the order-confirmation screen a few months ago, it'd been showing a Windows GPF error for several weeks...

    Requires stability. Indeed.

    I told them to power the machine off and back on, and they said they'd tried that. They were still waiting for someone from McD's IT department to come down and fix the box.

  15. Re:Now that McDonald's is going open source by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This isn't funny at all for a gastro geek.

    With a buddy of mine I once tried imitating McDonald's sauce and we actually got pretty near to the McDonald taste.

    I noticed that the taste of the fresh herbs (basil was an important ingredient) we used wore after a while. That means, McDonald's way of stabilizing the taste is very likely well studied and they deserve credit for that.

    We went on and we "discovered" that almost any mayonnaise based sauce with fresh herbs can be brought to a decent taste. If you stick with it and study it further, you are most likely to get a much better tasting sauce but with a lower taste ware half-time than McDonald's.

    You also might discover that the main ingredient in McDonald's sauce is the big trivial secret around it.

    Then again, in my two visits to north America I got the definite impression that north Americans see food as a resource and put less emphasis on taste and enjoyment. So if you are north American you probably won't discover anything.

    I once baked an Italian home made pizza ( yes, I am Italian and I have been a very decent professional pizza baker when I was studying. I take food more serious than most /.-ers ) for my sister in law in Canada. Man the thing came steaming out of the oven but she fancied anyway a quick microwave "ZAP" to get it to the right point. I have never ever been more astonished in my whole life.

    --

    I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
  16. Re:Fast Food Leader? Not in Canada. by KD5YPT · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hm... not sure about Tim Horton... but I don't think Tim Horton's doghnut chain is a global leader in fast food sector. McDonald will have to take the gold for having dominance in the global fast food sector.

    On a side note, there are more Seven-Eleven in Taiwan then McDonalds.

    --
    In US, you can easily buy enough major firearms to wipe out your neighbourhood but a few little fireworks are banned.
  17. Re:soo... by I_M_Noman · · Score: 3, Interesting
    much would it cost to ship roadkill kangaroos from australia?
    My first job was at Jack in the Box. That summer they were bought out by an Aussie parent company. Later on it was determined that their burgers did indeed have 'roo meat in them.
  18. Re:soo... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 3, Interesting

    when I was living in my hometown as a poor pre-college student, it was common knowledge that McDonalds hamburgers were a great cure for diarrhea.

    Insta-Constipation!

    Also, it was common practice to go eat a full meal at McD after an night of hard drinking, to avoid being sick.

    We conjectured that they probably put anti-diarrhea and antivomiting drugs in their food so that in case of food poisoning, no one would be the wiser.

  19. SCO? by Door-opening+Fascist · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do you suppose McDonald's got cold feet after all the crap SCO's been pulling? IIRC, McDonald's used to be one of SCO's biggest customers.

  20. Re:soo... by Quikah · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah right. Source? If there is no fish in their fish sandwich then they are breaking a number of US laws since they list Fish Filet as one of the ingredients in the sandwich.

    --
    Q.