do these facts annoy you?

[kpbotbot]

hi all.

i thought about posting this question here because there is noone else i can talk to about this thing.

it annoys me so much to see POS (point of sale) machines, OPAC (the online catalog on some libraries), and etc running windows xp. i mean, winxp is too overkill for the job, dont u think?

dont u think it's annoying? i even see some POS machines struggling with its job because winxp is more or less taking most of the resources just to run a tiny little stupid app to handle purchases.


let's keep our heads cool and our minds open

[Hal343]

There are POS programs running on linux that are much faster and use less resources. The problem locally is that most of the computer shops are MS based, whether networking, business oriented or just retail shops. However the local school district runs on BSD and linux, and the B.C. Lotteries branch runs on linux, so there is some hope.

[Bemk]

What annoys me is that people think Linux is a bad system because you can't purchase PCs running it in the shop. No one chooses to believe me when I say that you can only purchase Microsoft running machines because manufacturers can actually make more money with those systems.
Even statistics from the server market can't change their minds ("we're not running servers, are we?", ... if they only knew).

[D-cat]

I've made that point to others (like a Western Union rep) when I see the POS computer has changed from an efficient text system (or sometimes I recognize X windows) to Microsoft Windows...

"Oh, I see they downgraded the system."

I do find it kind of annoying, but OTOH I know it's about business, on both sides of the coin. With that in mind, I tend to just drop the subject after the above opinionated comment.

[teenytinylinuxgrl]

I read about a computer shop that loads Ubuntu as a second OS on every computer they repair, and there's an option at bootup to use Windows or the alternate "virus-free, stable Operating System." Those who have chosen it a few times rave about it, and the shop gets rave reviews. I think that's a way-kewl way to introduce people to Linux! Maybe if alot of shops follow that example we could get Linux out there for people to see, and it would go a long way to busting the myth that Linux is "only for geeks."

Amy

[fguy64]

It's probably cheaper to put POS software on a mass produced XP box than it is to produce a lean and mean dedicated POS machine. With hardware as cheap as it is, there is no excuse for a POS computer running XP to run out of resources.

I think support is a big issue for business. Is it easy for a small store running Linux on a POS computer to get support when it matters? I really don't know, but I bet the perception is that it is not easy.

It will cheer you up to learn that most of the game boxes sitting on bars in my neighnorhood run on some kind of Linux system. A few of the mp3 jukeboxes also.

[M-88]

I read about a computer shop that loads Ubuntu as a second OS on every computer they repair, and there's an option at bootup to use Windows or the alternate "virus-free, stable Operating System." Those who have chosen it a few times rave about it, and the shop gets rave reviews. I think that's a way-kewl way to introduce people to Linux! Maybe if alot of shops follow that example we could get Linux out there for people to see, and it would go a long way to busting the myth that Linux is "only for geeks."

Amy

I'm not entirely sure that I would be happy with that. If I brought my car in to get an oil change, I wouldn't be too happy if my tires were replaced without my consent.

With that said, I don't really see why a PoS needs to have a GUI - be it Linux, Windows, etc. All it needs to do is communicate with a database - inventory, price, credit cards, etc in order to do what it needs to do. But some people just like having the point and click I guess.

My bank has a system that looks like an old text based system but has the ability to use the mouse ... really doesn't make a whole lot of sense because the tellers just end up tabbing through.

One could use a really low power RISC computer booting from a CF card and use significantly less power then a desktop running ubuntu with a PoS software installed.


Well I guess It's not my bank as I don't have an stock in it ... just patronize it.

[impert]

With that said, I don't really see why a PoS needs to have a GUI

Touch screen is one reason.

[elija]

I'm not entirely sure that I would be happy with that. If I brought my car in to get an oil change, I wouldn't be too happy if my tires were replaced without my consent.

On the other hand, if they changed my tires to high quality sustainably sourced environmentally-friendly eco-tires for free and then gave me a magic button to safely and automatically change between the two every time I started my car (if I wanted to), I probably wouldn't be too upset