Microsoft Windows For Cash Registers

Spinner (Spinner) Microsoft has rolled out its first version of Windows Embedded tailored for a vertical market. Windows Embedded for Point of Service is a slimed-down version of Windows XP Service Pack 2 that maintains many of the desktop capabilities while adding some features specific for POS systems.

May 29, 2005 7:24 PM ET in News,

Microsoft has rolled out its first version of Windows Embedded tailored for a vertical market. Windows Embedded for Point of Service is a slimed-down version of Windows XP Service Pack 2 that maintains many of the desktop capabilities while adding some features specific for POS systems.

“What we are seeing in the past five to ten years is these systems have been moving to more PC-like architectures, and we made a conscious effort to get ahead of the wave,” said Jason Demeny, product manager for Windows POS. He would not comment on whether Microsoft is planning other vertical-market versions of Windows.

The new OS requires a minimum 233-MHz Pentium II, 4-Mbytes RAM and 280 Mbytes of disk space, compared to up to 2 Gbytes of disk for Windows XP Professional. Many new POS terminals now build in 733-MHz and faster X86 CPUs and use 20-Gbyte hard drives, Demeny said. As many as 80 percent of POS terminals in medium- and large-sized retailers are linked to an in-store network, he added.

Source: InformationWeek

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6 Comments:

  1. Nosferatu
    29 May '05, 9:31 pm

    Great, now i'll have to wait in line when the damn computer crashes as my groceries are being scanned.

  2. danball1976
    29 May '05, 10:38 pm

    This is nothing new. The US Air Force has been using POS terminals that have Windows at its dining facilities for the last few years, they just recently upgraded to new computers running XP.

  3. Cyclonite
    29 May '05, 11:08 pm

    I have to say... I'm kind of tired of hearing the seemingly obligatory "now I'll have to wait while [this] crashes" whenever Microsoft enters a new market.

  4. Nosferatu
    29 May '05, 11:56 pm

    I speak the truth.

  5. Cyclonite
    30 May '05, 12:39 pm
    Quoting Nosferatu

    I speak the truth.

    No, you don't. Microsoft's Point-of-Sale software may not have any more problems than any other type of POS software. The reason there is so much rambling about Windows crashes is because it's the mainstream operating system. I've used Linux systems that have had many issues as well. But, because Microsoft has the market on OEM distributors and the like, you're going to hear a lot more about Microsoft's software crashing.

  6. Nosferatu
    30 May '05, 1:50 pm

    Yes I do.

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