Sears & Kmart 2024: Will someone please put them out of their misery?

[ClownLoach]

I think the fundamental issue is Toshiba hardware is expensive, and it doesn't seem to be built to the quality of the old indestructible IBM equipment. This sends the retailers out looking for a better value on the hardware and they usually find a cheaper software partner at the same time. By trying to push a expensive hardware and software combo, Toshiba is pricing themselves out of the market entirely. And when you look at the relatively low capabilities of the computers inside these registers there is no reason for big companies to spend.

You underestimate the retailers.

Most companies do not want to give the folks on the floor any more than they absolutely need. These 'underpowered' machines run just what they need to and no more. A standard POS won't do that because it runs Windows. You have to heavily manipulate Windows to lock everything down that far. Large companies will spend more for less to protect themselves from breaches and suits.

I know that, but the issue is that the Toshiba equipment is both more expensive and under powered which is a bad deal all around. It means the lifespan of the equipment will be far shorter, costing more both up front and in the long run. That is what is driving the push away from Toshiba. Dell is becoming a big name in retail computing as many companies are moving to their servers and hardware.

I am familiar with all the administrative locking down and security which isn't just to keep people focused but also prevent network intrusion and data breaches. Most retailers removed actual PCs from the offices in the last few years and replaced with thin clients where you're still seeing Windows but it's actually running on a virtual box on the server at corporate. Problem is if the network goes down you lose access to Windows on the thin client because it doesn't have any hard drive or local storage, RAM only. It's slower and clunkier but we were told not to listen to the stores complaints because it was a critical security issue.

People are incredibly dumb I hate to say... Plugging cell phones that could have malware into the USB port on the front of the cash register to charge them. I know Stater Bros in SoCal literally screwed metal mesh into every checkstand to physically seal off the register unit on their previous generation to stop idiotic behavior like the cell phone charging that a bad actor could use to install a memory scraper to steal millions of credit cards. Not to mention what they would do if given free access to the internet...

It doesn't take much if a hacker is familiar with a vulnerability and knows it's present and unpatched in your organization. Physically walking into a single store with a USB drive programmed to attack via that vulnerability could take down an entire chain and be held for ransom. Look at the MGM casino fiasco, down for weeks because someone figured out they could just call the (overseas, subcontractor run) help desk with the name of an IT exec they found on LinkedIn and they were able to get their password reset then logged in and took down tens of thousands of hotel rooms and slot machines. They must have all this security because the hackers know that money is flowing through those registers and they can steal it all or shut it down and hold it for ransom.