Le 2010-11-03 12:19, Invisible a écrit :
>>> Well, the essential point was risk reduction. Sure, you *can* reverse
>>> engineer it. Now tell me how long it'll take, with the same accuracy
>>> with which I can predict how long it'll take to buy a copy of Windows.
>>>
>>
>> Hmm, thousands of dollars in programming hours, and the risk that you
>> get something critical wrong or, $75 per machine for a license.
>
> While these arguments seem sound, it still doesn't really address the
> whole "you don't need an entire desktop OS just to run a trivial
> embedded device like an ATM" angle.

An ATM is a computer with a screen, a keyboard, another input device 
(the card reader) three printers (receipt printer, bank book printer and 
money dispenser), and a network card.

If the ATM supplier has to decide between buying off-the-shelf parts 
designed for an off-the-shelf OS, or reinventing 12 different wheels, 
which option do you think he's going to chose?  Keep in mind that he has 
to price his machines within the same ballpark as his competitors who 
are also trying to reduce R&D and production costs as much as possible, 
themselves.  Fewer $$$ (or €€€ or £££) spent on manufacturing, means 
more $$$ (or €€€ or £££) in profit.

Besides, the desktop OS also offers additional features that you can 
use, such as video or sound - to help train your users or provide 
advertising, performance and environmental statisitics gathering, remote 
management, etc...

Let's also look the problem from a different angle:

Your company makes card readers.  Would you prefer to design your card 
readers to use a standard protocol such as RS-232 and write Windows 
drivers only, or have to support 57 flavors of cash registers, ATMs and 
building security systems?  You're going to support Windows.  Fewer $$$ 
(or €€€ or £££) spent on development,  means more $$$ (or €€€ or
£££) in 
profit.

Finally, one of the main factors a bank will use when it decides to buy 
10,000 ATMs from Diebold, NCR or Toshiba, is ease of management.  If the 
ATM uses a standard desktop OS, patch management and other routine 
updates (sending a new bunch of ads, special promotions, etc...) will 
look a lot like distributing a patch or new version of Excel to the 
30,000 office PCs the bank has in its branches and corporate 
headquarters, so training costs and management tools costs will be 
lower.  Fewer $$$ (or €€€ or £££) spent on acquiring, operating, and 
maintaining ATMs, means more $$$ (or €€€ or £££) in profits.

Sure an ATM doesn't _need_ many of the functions provided by a desktop 
OS, but as you can see, there's a very good reason to go that way 
anyway.  (Let's see if you can spot it!)

-- 
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/*   gmail.com     */}camera{orthographic location<6,1.25,-6>look_at a }

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