Thread: Question

  1. #1
    Registered User moonwalker's Avatar
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    Question Question

    what software do the airlines, railways, taco bell people use to maintain their records?
    and why do they always work on dos screens ?

  2. #2
    Registered User fletch's Avatar
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    I used to live near an airline reservationist school. Used to go over there and pickup women

    I'm not sure exactly what the software is, but the school seemed mostly to consist of learning two and three letter codes used to retrieve data and place reservations. I always assumed that it was some sort of out-of-the-eighties database program. Since the program is a rather large part of the airline industry infrastructure (ever notice how all the airlines and travel agents use the same thing?), I'd imagine that it's a lot cheaper to maintain what they have rather than go through the expense of upgrading to something newer. Which is why you still see some reservationists using DOS-looking software. Ocasionally you'll come across something that's Windows-based, but I'd be willing to bet that it's just a GUI for the same old thing.

    Not to knock the fine employees of Taco Bell (God knows I eat there enough) but I'd say that your average Taco Bell employee isn't exactly computer savvy. Hence the simple software and picture keys on the register.

    The overriding factor when it comes to business software is cold hard CASH. A business is not going to spend money and reduce their profits in order to upgrade a computer system that works fine and still serves its purpose. In general, a business will only upgrade its equipment when it (1) becomes more expensive to maintain their current equipment than to buy something newer or (2) the increased productivity/business from using new equipment offsets the cost of purchasing it.

    flecth
    "Logic is the art of going wrong with confidence."
    Morris Kline

  3. #3
    Addicted to the Internet netboy's Avatar
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    A self-developed software? I mean customized software? About the "dos-screen" program, I've seen that almost everywhere I go... Supermarket to name one..
    It's unfulfilled dreams that keep you alive.

    //netboy

  4. #4
    It's full of stars adrianxw's Avatar
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    You'll find that these "DOS screens" are in fact anything but. What you need in a front of house environment, is a simple screen that the "highly skilled" operators can pour god knows what over and still work. You can't do that with a mouse or a normal keyboard, hence the ruggedised, water, (etc.), proof touch screens.

    Behind those screens you will almost always find a more recognisable system using the screen as an extended I/O device.
    Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity unto the dream.

  5. #5
    ¡Amo fútbol!
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    I know where I work their isn't even a hard drive on the computer. They save a lot of money by booting from a disk and connect to one computer that has the database (and a hard drive). To fit all the information needed for the system, there cannot possibly be a pretty gui.

  6. #6
    Refugee face_master's Avatar
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    I work after school sometimes at Woolworths (in Sydney) and they use Micrsoft OS/2 for all their database stuff. It connected to all the registers and everything. I guess its still in such an old OS because they dont want you screwing with it, they dont want you to be able to use it for anythig else and they're too cheap to upgrade.

  7. #7
    Registered User moonwalker's Avatar
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    DBASE III + / Fox Pro

    DBASE III + / Fox Pro ????

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