Empowering Scooter Owners; That's What Microsoft and IBM Are All About

I don't know what's more amazing: That after a lifetime of changing my motor scooter's oil, I now take it into a shop so that someone else's hands get grimey, or that Microsoft and IBM are playing footsie again, this time in the world of point-of-sale (POS).

What brings this to mind is that the shop I take my scooter into has a Windows CE point-of-sale system. I know this because I see "Windows CE" screensavers everytime I go in. And it must be okay because all of the scooter jocks who work there use it and it keeps good records and prints out reasonable receipts. So on the heels of the new Microsoft--the one that believes in interoperability and open and source (well, everyone else's "open source")-- the news is that Microsoft and IBM are working on a Windows Embedded-based "plug-and-play" POS to help make it faster and easier for retailers to deliver services to time-conscious, empowered, consumers. I'll tell you--when it comes to servicing a scooter, I'm all in favor of "empowered consumers."

Microsoft's Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) operating system will come pre-loaded on IBM point-of-sale, self-checkout, and self-service kiosks. WEPOS is a point-of-service operating-system platform based on Windows optimized for the retail industry. According to a recent report published by the IHL Group, the total number of Windows Embedded Point of Service users in North American grew by 250 percent in 2007. In a second study with RIS News, IHL also found that 63 percent of retailers were seriously considering a Windows Embedded operating system for their next POS purchase.

Right, and coming to a scooter shop near you real soon now.

-- Jonathan Erickson
jerickson@ddj.com

Posted by Jon Erickson at 05:52 PM  Permalink