Open source point of sales app

[Oren Beck]

>From: "Becker, Rob" <becker at celeritas.com>
>To: <kclug at kclug.org>
>CC: <rob at opensourceguy.com>
>Subject: Open source point of sales app
>Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 15:44:14 -0600
>>X-OriginalArrivalTime: 05 Dec 2003 21:56:36.0085 (UTC) 
>>FILETIME=[A720BA50:01C3BB7A]
>
>Does anyone out there have experience with any open source point of
>sales applications?  I'm helping my parents with the technical side of
>opening a restaurant and I am trying to find a good POS app for them.  I
>would prefer it be open source or at least able to run on Linux.  It
>would be very helpful if it could be easily integrated with Quickbooks.
>Does anyone out there have any experience with this kind of endeavor?
>Any links, advice, hints, tips to offer?  All help greatly appreciated.
>Thanks.
>Rob
>
Well , as to the software side , there are doubtless better qualified folks 
.
The unique to POS hardware now , that is my  possible useful zone .
Note first that for many overlapping reasons my wife's campground still uses 
plain cash registers with a ink on paper journal tape . IRS being one . SOME 
cash registers sold at Costco/Sam's/Warehouse club have PC interfacing that 
may be of use in the day zero configure . Ability to fall back gracefully to 
a " plain register "  can recoup it's $$ sometimes in one day .

I was trained by NCR to work on a fairly wide range of the systems including 
receipt printers, cash drawers, mag card readers, check validators  and so 
on. And got repaid by working me 90 hours a week to a burnout point 2 years 
ago  . Lessons learned the hard way stick . Also teaches you that everything 
you thought you knew can be wrong .

I  have in stock refurbished by me hardware that was obsoleted by company 
"IBM" loss leadering to replace perfectly functional systems , collected at 
flea markets, auctions etc .

Suprisingly- or not-  The majority of service calls on PC based POS could 
have been a customer swappable " parcel post " replacement . For the spare 
printer/keyboard/barcode wand that SHOULD HAVE BEEN in the back room . But 
was deemed  " not cost effective "  Vs a truck roll . which was assumed to 
be cheaper .  DO please contact me with details of what is needed .
Several other tidbits of hard earned wisdom  in hardware application / 
reliability enhancememt .

1 . Environment protection from foodservice hazards can prevent lots  of 
downtime .
    Subsets include keyboard skins or rubber keyboards ,filtered air boxes 
for the PC ,Monitors under glass countertop or in plexcarb cube W fans , 
Grill printers in cooled box for heat ....

2 . TOTAL system power protection is a very cheap insurance policy with few 
premium costs .
  " Wall Wart " power cube supplies often are ignored and cause sneak surge 
paths or if for example a hub is not powered - UPS signals server to back up 
files, backup target drive is ON OTHER SIDE of the not UPS powered hub , 
ByeBye Backup...

3 . ONSITE LIVE REDUNDANCY .
     Mention of this first scares both mangement and customers.
The concept of 2 duplicate counter sustems, a third for drive thru / carry 
out /deliver  and a 4th for office/kitchen monitor/grill printers  gets 
quite cheap compared to what you lose if the system hoses you on mother's 
day . The devil lurks in details of how graceful failovers are made .
SOFTWARE aware of HARDWARE status can seamlessly guide the system to make 
minor annoyance out of what would have been a "  game over " fault .

I'd be interested if the other LUG members have comments on these admittedly 
porous outlines .
Special detail interest in software handshaking with printers to redirect a 
print slip to an online backup printer with minimal to no IQ strain on 
waitstaff .- That 2359 sat nite call to " the  #^%*@"
who needs to make it work before that phone call had been made... can be 
unfun if it's in your ear.

Second detail is embedded diagnostic / configuration scripted to the 
dishwasher or busboy IQ .

IF we of KCLUG can deliver the combo of a software package supporting rules 
akin to my list and drivers for hardware knit from the same thread there 
could be some street cred and even $$  .

IT might even be done for the fun of it .

Oren Beck
816-632-5710

www.campdownunder.com

" Nothing sharpens design skills like knowing you will carry duty pager for 
that system  "

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