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> I just saw one yesterday at the hardware store I went to. When will they upgrade? When the cost of staying is greater than the cost of moving. For many embed

by Shish2k 13y ago

> I just saw one yesterday at the hardware store I went to. When will they upgrade? When the cost of staying is greater than the cost of moving. For many embedded scenarios, the cost of staying is generally small (just occasional maintenance) and the cost of moving is huge (probably a whole new set of hardware).

pixl97 13y ago
Pretty much this. One of my clients has a set of 7 or so touchscreen POS systems at a restaurant. They are all older XP embedded machines and the software they run has no upgrade path to a newer OS. It will take somewhere around $20k to put in new computers and do the initial inventory setup.
- jessaustin 13y ago
  Whether this work is done now or not, if the restaurant stays in business it must be done eventually. ISTM that embedded-MS-that-is-never-upgraded is only one possible model for this sort of system. Have your clients expressed an interest in acquiring something more maintainable?
  - pixl97 13y ago
    Yes, they know very well that they have to replace the system at some point. But it doesn't make sense for them to do this at this point. They have plenty of spare parts for the system at this time. The system has a very small attack surface from outside threats. And the current system is very stable and low maintenance. They do have a good idea of what they would go to if they needed to upgrade tomorrow. It's just currently a no sale, supporting a new system will cost more at this time then the old system.
    - jessaustin 13y ago
      ...what they would go to if they needed to upgrade tomorrow. Can you say if that system would be any more maintainable than the current one, especially e.g. 7-8 years after installation? Do these restaurants update e.g. prices or sales tax rates without outside help? Could they radically change their menu if they needed to do so? Are there forests of sticky notes sprouting from the sides of the machines reminding users how to make the system do what they want? How long does it take for new waitstaff to use the POS without supervision? Is the current setup PCI-compliant, and will it still be a couple of months from now?
      - pixl97 13y ago
        You seem to think their current system is hard to use or in any way broken. No, it works very well, it is easy to use, it is easy to train on, easy to change menu's and taxability. It is very extensible. Management has around a decade experience with it.

by Shish2k 13y ago

pixl97 13y ago

Pretty much this. One of my clients has a set of 7 or so touchscreen POS systems at a restaurant. They are all older XP embedded machines and the software they run has no upgrade path to a newer OS. It will take somewhere around $20k to put in new computers and do the initial inventory setup.

jessaustin 13y ago
Whether this work is done now or not, if the restaurant stays in business it must be done eventually. ISTM that embedded-MS-that-is-never-upgraded is only one possible model for this sort of system. Have your clients expressed an interest in acquiring something more maintainable?
- pixl97 13y ago
  Yes, they know very well that they have to replace the system at some point. But it doesn't make sense for them to do this at this point. They have plenty of spare parts for the system at this time. The system has a very small attack surface from outside threats. And the current system is very stable and low maintenance. They do have a good idea of what they would go to if they needed to upgrade tomorrow. It's just currently a no sale, supporting a new system will cost more at this time then the old system.
  - jessaustin 13y ago
    ...what they would go to if they needed to upgrade tomorrow. Can you say if that system would be any more maintainable than the current one, especially e.g. 7-8 years after installation? Do these restaurants update e.g. prices or sales tax rates without outside help? Could they radically change their menu if they needed to do so? Are there forests of sticky notes sprouting from the sides of the machines reminding users how to make the system do what they want? How long does it take for new waitstaff to use the POS without supervision? Is the current setup PCI-compliant, and will it still be a couple of months from now?
    - pixl97 13y ago
      You seem to think their current system is hard to use or in any way broken. No, it works very well, it is easy to use, it is easy to train on, easy to change menu's and taxability. It is very extensible. Management has around a decade experience with it.