I worked in Tesco in the 00s while I was studying, and when I first started the checkouts had physical keys with some quick access keys on the side of the scree

I worked in Tesco in the 00s while I was studying, and when I first started the checkouts had physical keys with some quick access keys on the side of the screen which changed depending on the context. The normal keys had a rather satisfying mechanical mechanism, where as the quick access keys just used a conductive-rubber mechanism so were a bit harder to press. When I first started there was a menu driven by the mechanical keys so if you didn't remember produce codes, you could use this to go through everything. The systems were networked and these menus were updated regularly with seasonal products. To get to potatoes (for example) you would press Menu, Down, Down, Enter, Down, Enter and be presented with the different types of potatoes. You could even hit the keys in quick succession without waiting for the UI to update, so it was pretty quick if you knew what you were doing. Later they changed the system to instead of being driven by the mechanical keys, to use the quick access keys. These were harder to press and you couldn't press them in quick succession - you had to wait for the UI to update before pressing them. Just before I left they started phasing out the physical buttons, and I think all the new checkouts are touch-screen driven which I assume is even worse. Under the hook they (were anyway) running Windows XP, and the same software.