4 ms·

At first I was gonna ask why does this not run on off hours, but then you mention bad clock, so the next question is, why is the % of bad clock so high, and why

At first I was gonna ask why does this not run on off hours, but then you mention bad clock, so the next question is, why is the % of bad clock so high, and why isn't the clock also cloud based or set in a way that can go wrong. Next up, what about redundancy, do stores only have one machine?

thisisnico 6y ago
Cloud based clock. Don't you mean NTP? We've had this technology for years! If it's connected to the internet, it's a pretty fundamental piece of pretty much any networked OS. You can ensure correct time this way.
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  NTP is fine but so is pulling time off a server header if it's phoning home to report status.
  - nitrogen 6y ago
    Not that it matters for ice cream, but NTP can compensate for latency better than HTTPx can.
    - thisisnico 6y ago
      It's also easy to implement since it will be integrated into the OS of the ice cream machine already.
- ehsankia 6y ago
  NTP is what I meant, yes.
- ezconnect 6y ago
  GPS based clock is better no need for internet connection. Seiko and other company has been doing this for years.
  - marshray 6y ago
    NTP is typically backed by GPS. If you have a datacenter full of computers, obviously you don't want to run a separate GPS antenna for every system. NTP allows systems to synchronize to GPS over a network.
  - Scoundreller 6y ago
    Need a clear sky connection though.
arkitaip 6y ago
The clock probably resets when the power goes out or the fuse blows. They would need a battery as a backup to keep the time current.
joezydeco 6y ago
McD is conservative when it comes to kitchen technology. With certain exceptions, franchisees determine when they buy new equipment and not the corporation. Most of it is designed for a 7-year capex cycle. But to answer the question: no, the machines aren't net enabled and do not NNTP their clocks. But that's changing. But I still wouldn't design my architecture to let a central server decide when a machine should go out of service. Think about what else you can fuck up that way. Why are they off? Good question. Sometimes it's as simple as a store owner setting the heat cycle for 2pm instead of 2am. Why are they not redundant? They're expensive, take up a lot of valuable space and a lot more valuable energy, they need to be filled with 2x the product, and the customer demand isn't that high at any given moment to warrant the expense in most stores.
nrmitchi 6y ago
> Next up, what about redundancy, do stores only have one machine? From my (old) experience working at one, yes. The annoyance of having to maintain a second machine (especially when cleaning and maintenance involved a physical person cleaning things) was not worth keeping extra 9's of uptime.
- ehsankia 6y ago
  Well again, looking at the graph, I'm seeing 10-20% down time, so it's not "just an extra 9"
  - msandford 6y ago
    I think you might find that in a certain way it is. 90% to 99% is an extra nine. /ducks
    - xboxnolifes 6y ago
      Or even zero 9s (80%) to one 9 (90%).
reaperducer 6y ago
why is the % of bad clock so high For the same reason that a certain % of orders are wrong. When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
- antris 6y ago
  Calling fast food workers monkeys won't make you look any smarter.
  - reaperducer 6y ago
    I'm not. It's a very common business phrase about cheap labor, even here on HN. The fact that you equate the two says more about you than me.
    - javajosh 6y ago
      I've not heard that term used, and its bad. You shouldn't dehumanize people for being "cheap labor". Honestly, that guy flipping burgers is doing more real good for people than any number of highly paid software devs working on VC funded projects that will mostly end up in the trash.
    - ahartmetz 6y ago
      I think it's more acceptable to make fun of people of your level of privilege and up (like the management who underpays) and less of those lower. If a fast food worker at a better paying, better run chain or restaurant said it, it would be still a little mean (as intended), but not kicking down.
      - xeromal 6y ago
        yup. They call it punching up. No one likes someone who punches down. lol

thisisnico 6y ago

Cloud based clock. Don't you mean NTP? We've had this technology for years! If it's connected to the internet, it's a pretty fundamental piece of pretty much any networked OS. You can ensure correct time this way.

Dylan16807 6y ago
NTP is fine but so is pulling time off a server header if it's phoning home to report status.
- nitrogen 6y ago
  Not that it matters for ice cream, but NTP can compensate for latency better than HTTPx can.
  - thisisnico 6y ago
    It's also easy to implement since it will be integrated into the OS of the ice cream machine already.
ehsankia 6y ago
NTP is what I meant, yes.
ezconnect 6y ago
GPS based clock is better no need for internet connection. Seiko and other company has been doing this for years.
- marshray 6y ago
  NTP is typically backed by GPS. If you have a datacenter full of computers, obviously you don't want to run a separate GPS antenna for every system. NTP allows systems to synchronize to GPS over a network.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  Need a clear sky connection though.

arkitaip 6y ago

The clock probably resets when the power goes out or the fuse blows. They would need a battery as a backup to keep the time current.

joezydeco 6y ago

McD is conservative when it comes to kitchen technology. With certain exceptions, franchisees determine when they buy new equipment and not the corporation. Most of it is designed for a 7-year capex cycle. But to answer the question: no, the machines aren't net enabled and do not NNTP their clocks. But that's changing. But I still wouldn't design my architecture to let a central server decide when a machine should go out of service. Think about what else you can fuck up that way. Why are they off? Good question. Sometimes it's as simple as a store owner setting the heat cycle for 2pm instead of 2am. Why are they not redundant? They're expensive, take up a lot of valuable space and a lot more valuable energy, they need to be filled with 2x the product, and the customer demand isn't that high at any given moment to warrant the expense in most stores.

nrmitchi 6y ago

> Next up, what about redundancy, do stores only have one machine? From my (old) experience working at one, yes. The annoyance of having to maintain a second machine (especially when cleaning and maintenance involved a physical person cleaning things) was not worth keeping extra 9's of uptime.

ehsankia 6y ago
Well again, looking at the graph, I'm seeing 10-20% down time, so it's not "just an extra 9"
- msandford 6y ago
  I think you might find that in a certain way it is. 90% to 99% is an extra nine. /ducks
  - xboxnolifes 6y ago
    Or even zero 9s (80%) to one 9 (90%).

reaperducer 6y ago

why is the % of bad clock so high For the same reason that a certain % of orders are wrong. When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

antris 6y ago
Calling fast food workers monkeys won't make you look any smarter.
- reaperducer 6y ago
  I'm not. It's a very common business phrase about cheap labor, even here on HN. The fact that you equate the two says more about you than me.
  - javajosh 6y ago
    I've not heard that term used, and its bad. You shouldn't dehumanize people for being "cheap labor". Honestly, that guy flipping burgers is doing more real good for people than any number of highly paid software devs working on VC funded projects that will mostly end up in the trash.
  - ahartmetz 6y ago
    I think it's more acceptable to make fun of people of your level of privilege and up (like the management who underpays) and less of those lower. If a fast food worker at a better paying, better run chain or restaurant said it, it would be still a little mean (as intended), but not kicking down.
    - xeromal 6y ago
      yup. They call it punching up. No one likes someone who punches down. lol