Interesting post in
Scoble's weblog on
POS systems in restaurants. I commented there as well but thought it was worth posting here.
I spent quite a few years in the 80's running the software development group at "Remanco Systems" (no longer around) developing and selling restaurant management/POS systems (they developed hardware and software from the ground up).
Restaurants are one tough location for computers.
Not only is the physical environment hostile -- grease, smoke, liquids but the whole business is difficult.
Just in time manufacturing requirements that would make most manufacturers groan, thousands of product variations, competition all round, opportunity for theft and pilferage everywhere, raw materials with short lives, regulations up the ying yang and miniscule profit margins.
Making and selling computer products for that market has its own set of challenges as well -- 24 hour support, customers that go bankrupt at a scary rate in addition to the problems of dealing with food and liquor tax regulations that vary from state to state, city to city and whole host of other gotchas that don't immediately spring to mind.
