Reposted from a dear friend.


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Library Self-Checkout hardware selection. My recommendations.

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So you're looking for hardware to build a self-checkout system for your library? How much should you spend? Here I will offer my opinion... You will need (1) a computer, (2) a monitor (or touch monitor), (3) a barcode reader, (4) a receipt printer (optional). For the computer, I would totally recommend the Dell Optiplex 3080 micro PC. 8GB, 256 GB SSD. These are available currently for about $650. Whichever PC you get make sure it comes with enough USB ports. This one has six. A touch monitor is nice. A 15-inch 4:3 ratio screen is best. While large widescreen monitors are fine they do not improve the user experience and can be distracting. Here are touch monitors from Elotouch and Beetronics. These cost around $500 to $600 depending on the options. I recommend the built-in speaker and desktop stand. Be aware you may need a video adapter cable to connect the PC to the monitor. (Such as Display Port from the PC to VGA on the monitor.)  If you do not wish to use a touchscreen, a regula...
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Buying hardware to build a self-checkout system

During the recent supply shortage, I made a costly mistake when buying what was in stock just because it was quick and easy to get it. The parts I normally recommend had long lead times of several months. So I ordered a couple computer systems in mid-2020, which were not what I wanted. The systems I wanted would take about three months or so to get. So the systems came in the usual nice packaging. They were 'top-of-the-line' newest tech.  The system hardware was fine. But we had extreme instability with unexplainable memory and CPU usage problems which made the computer totally freeze up or crash at odd moments. So I went back and forth with the customer and supplier for several months. Finally, the system improved, which I think was due to better drivers and software updates catching up to the new hardware. On-site trips cost a fortune though and we followed many false leads like seeing if increased memory would help. After it was done I had lost $7000 and my customer was not ...
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My self-checkout software goals for 2023

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