OS/2 stillborn, was Re: TRS-80 Model 1, etc

[Gordon JC Pearce]

Josef Chessor wrote:
> On 2/2/07, Bryan Pope <bpope at wordstock.com> wrote:
>>
>> Which one?  All the self-checkout lines I have seen are running
>> Windows :-(..  I could tell by the Windows lock screen on the
>> out-of-order systems.  Why oh why couldn't an OS be used that is
>> actually real-time and more responsive?!
>>
> 
> Ours down here in Texas (at H-E-B) run Linux, netbooting to an X
> server at 640x480 or a similar res.  They aren't responsive worth a
> hoot, but they are very stable.  Until the paper runs out of the
> reciept printer, that is. ;-)

Part of the reason they're not terribly responsive is that they need to 
look up practically everything in the store controller.  The IBM ones 
contain a 4800-series EPOS machine, with a 1GHz PIII in iirc.  No excuse 
for them to be slow, but the store controllers are very low-end Pentia 
and are driving all the database stuff for *every till in the store*...

When you reboot a 4690-type till, they netboot off the store controller. 
  Lunchtime on a Saturday, this goes *very* slowly.

Gordon