Tag Archives: products

Revisiting Scan-It

So I’ve used the Scan-It system several times since my initial encounter. By-and-large it is a time saver. I haven’t been audited… yet. But the system is not without its share of problems either.

  • Crashing the POS Terminal I was most of the way through the usual ‘finish and pay’ cycle, at the point where one waits for credit card authorization. “Please wait – system processing…” The next thing I should have heard was the audio prompt for my signature. I looked away to set the handbasket aside and parked my motorcycle helmet upside-down next to the scanner/scale plate. It may have touched the plate as it rolled around. At that very instant the screen threw up an error dialogue complaining of an inputoverlaperror – yeah, one word – with a cryptic error code and a single OK button. I summoned the attendant who had never seen that error before. She scanned her ID card and dismissed the dialogue. The POS screen threw at least three error dialogues in rapid succession before clearing to display what appeared to be a ‘ready for the next customer’ display. Hmm, would I mind not having a receipt? Yes, I would mind, actually. So she scanned her ID again and accessed a supervisory function to retrieve my order. It appeared to not have been paid for. While we talked about what to do next – pay again or walk away, the screen suddenly cleared to text mode. It reported it had suffered some kind of fatal error and announced it was shutting down. And it did. The slack-jawed attendant summoned someone from upstairs, a kid in a collar and tie. I described the events that had passed; he had never hear of an ‘inputoverlaperror’ either. So he got on his knees, opened a panel beneath the conveyor (on the customer aisle side), fumbled out a wired keyboard and reached in again to restart… a PC. Running Windows. Win2K. I couldn’t resist making jokes about an unsupported OS as we waited for the boot, him sitting crosslegged in the aisle at my feet, keyboard in his lap. He was unable to retrieve my order. With no receipt and no order to refer to, there was really no choice but to let me take my bag of stuff and leave. (My credit card vendor later confirmed the charge went through, so there were no free groceries that day.) Not sure whether this was the POS or the Scan-It system or the combination of the two. But I’ve used the self-service checkouts countless times over the years and never saw one go tits-up quite like that.
  • Free Bread There was a new kind of rye bread on the shelf that day. We picked up a loaf and I scanned it. “Beep!” I glanced at the tiny screen and it looked like it said the price was $0.00. I pulled out my glasses. Yup, there it was, right there at the top of the item list, $0.00. We finished collecting more stuff (which posted their prices correctly) and checked out. Later we inspected the paper receipt which was missing the bread altogether. I think I’ll be buying more of that bread!
  • Bad Printing The deli counter apparently had problems with one of its printers, it was printing labels that the scanner ignored. When I moved from meat to cheese a different printer was used, so the cheese scanned fine. At the checkout, that scanner wouldn’t see the bad labels either, so I called to some nearby suits who apparently had nothing better to do. One of them summoned an attendant who scanned their ID and keyed the labels in directly, using a screen that regular customers don’t see. He told the suits – all three had come over to share in the fun – that the last 20 or so deli orders had been that way. No wonder I didn’t see him around: he was busy with someone else’s override.

I’m not complaining. Even with the problems I’d say I’m still pretty far ahead, time-wise (plus one loaf of rye bread). But I’d be interested in seeing the ‘shrinkage’ numbers before and after installing the system.

Grocery

I hate grocery shopping. I’ll try just about anything to minimize the time I waste in grocery stores. So I was delighted when I recently encountered Stop & Shop‘s new Easy Shop system. (ed. 13-Mar-2009: The system is called Scan It!, not Easy Shop, in our area.)

All you need to do is swipe your customer card at a kiosk, pick up a hand scanner (ergonomically designed, high contrast color screen, made by Motorola), collect a few empty bags (paper or plastic or, for you greenies, use your own reusable bags) and go hit the aisles. Scan your items as you shop and load your bags the way you want them loaded. Along the way, the scanner periodically spams you with relevant special deals that might interest you. And when you’re finished, the scanner quickly uploads its list to the register. A quick credit card transaction and you’re out the door!

Naturally I was interested in what others had to say about the new system, and I wasn’t surprised to find that many (most?) don’t like it. After all, out here on the Web we love to complain! (Google “Stop & Shop” and “Easy Shop” and see for yourself.) One of the big complaints seems to be that it would put cashiers out of work. Do you really presume to think that by assuming a tiny bit of inconvenience you can preserve someone’s position? Besides, I love to talk to anyone and everyone and I have not met a single cashier yet that actually likes their job. Other users don’t care for the random audits, feeling like they’ve been singled out. I don’t know what triggers an audit and I’ve only used the system once (no audit), but I don’t know how else they could detect shrinkage or ensure customer honesty.

There is an RFID-based system being developed – I think it’s being tested in Germany – whereby you simply load up your cart and push it out the door. No hand scanning is necessary and your entire order is tallied en masse as you exit, billed automatically to your credit card. It sounds intriguing but I think we’re safe for a while.

Oh and before you ask, yes, I have tried Peapod. The service is well worth the fee, but the product selection is… suboptimal.

The Newest Build

There were two main reasons to build this computer. Damian’s laptop, a hand-me-down almost 8 years old, had been showing signs of impending failure for some time. No surprise, he runs it 24×7 and the heat has physically damaged the finish on his desktop. And Pam, who plays Sims2 on her relatively recent desktop-replacement laptop, had been grumbling for a little more oomph. A plan was laid and by Christmas each would have their upgrades.

The Core i7 CPUs were just hitting the shelves and I briefly considered going that route. The on-board memory controller, new for Intel, meant new motherboard designs and chipsets. With reliability (not to mention my wallet – the i7s are kinda pricey today) in mind I chose the Core 2 Quad Q9550 instead. Well-supported, I’ve heard of folks pushing the 2.83 GHz part to 4 GHz and beyond. Cooling is always an issue but I didn’t want the hassle of liquid systems so an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro was added to the list.

The Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3R motherboard has been getting excellent reviews for its tweakability and DDR3 memory support so it was added to the list. Everyone knows that memory is king. I started with two sticks (4 GB) of Corsair 1333 Mhz DDR3. It’s an easy no-loss jump from there to 8 GB. And if swapped for 4 GB parts, this board will hold 16 GB so there would be some headroom left for the future.

The next choice was the GPU. Wow, things had come a long way since I last paid attention! After an evening of digesting reviews a choice was made: the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 from EVGA. The 896 MB NVIDIA-based unit turns in solid performance for the price and also has some potential for tweaking later.

Key to user satisfaction is a good monitor choice and one in particular has always stood out: the HP w2408h. 24 inches of HDMI, 5 ms, high-contrast saturated colors with a native 1920×1200 resolution. Sometimes you’ve got to just swallow hard and go for it, and this was one of those times. Pam would be delighted with this monitor, and that’s what I was aiming for.

The rest of the component choices were rather pedestrian. A DVD-RW drive for loading stuff, a Western Digital SATA drive for holding stuff, a Microsoft wireless laser mouse for pointing at stuff, and a WLAN card to avoid a new cable run. A nice-looking, well-built Antec P182 case would hold all this nicely with plenty of room for expansion. Oh, yeah, and an OEM 64-bit Vista Home Premium. Y’know, buying a copy of Windows always leaves my stomach a bit unsettled and this was no exception – not to mention that this would be the first Vista box in the house. Well, at least it shipped with SP1…

A bit of back-of-the-envelope power analysis called a power supply of 650-700 watts, so a BFG Tech ES-800 was added to the list. (This PSU would end up failed in less than a month, hmmm, more on that in a future entry.)

The final order was placed with Newegg and soon the components were coming in. Between these and other Christmas shipments our UPS driver was becoming a daily visitor!

Physically, the build went quite uneventfully, easily even, thanks to component standardization and that well-designed Antec case. Oh, there were the usual share of driver issues, a BIOS change or two, a few ‘trial’ Windows installs, stuff like that, but nothing that couldn’t be handled. Vista reported a base score of 5.9 for every subsystem, the highest available as this is written.

Pam named her new rig Thor. Then the machine-shuffling got started in earnest.

Overall I’m pleased with the result, but there have been a number of… interesting… things that I’ll talk about in subsequent entries. Like that failed power supply, for one. Stay tuned.

Products That Just Shouldn’t Be

Some days ago we stopped at the supermarket for a couple of things. Standing in the checkout line we saw something new – Chocolate Skittles.

Chocoate Skittles
Chocolate Skittles

Now, I actually like Skittles. Especially the sour ones that are encrusted with that crystalline stuff that stimulate your taste buds not unlike a full stack of Marshalls cranked up to 11 does to your ears. My kid, like 99% of all kids, loves that stuff, too. (An equal proportion of adults hate that taste stimulation, incidentally, which I believe is by design.)

But these chocolate things? Ugh! Gave ’em to my kid. He gave ’em back. My wife refused to try ’em after watching our reaction. “Tastes like ass.” To say that the flavors in the package – S’mores, Vanilla (huh? vanilla in a ‘chocolate mix’?), Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Pudding, Brownie Batter – seriously miss the mark is a gross understatement.

Products don’t just spring into being without consideration. Somewhere in Mars there was a meeting, the result being a decision taken to bring these abominations to market. Probably a bowl or two of ’em right there on the conference table, alongside the coffee cups and water bottles. I wonder if any of the suits actually tasted ’em. Somehow I doubt it.

Some years back I knew a girl that worked for Mars. She said that samples from their (rather extensive) product line were freely available in all their offices. I’ll bet the bowls of these never, ever need to be refilled.

Virgin Auction

Natalie Dylan (a pseudonym, of course) hopes to make a cool million auctioning her virginity. And why not? Some are outraged at the prospect, but why shouldn’t she? I’m actually surprised that it took this long for something like this to hit the news, given our capitalist society. Natalie seems to be a smart girl: “Not only does she have a degree in Women’s Studies, she is looking to raise money to continue her education and get her master’s degree in Psychology so she can practice Family Psychology” from the promotional flyer posted at the Bunny Ranch. She just wants some cash. CBS reported a few days ago that the bidding is up to $250K.

So, um, I wonder if there’s a peripheral deal for the video rights?

Laptops and Hard Drives

My wife’s laptop was getting full. NTFS, as you probably already know, begins to suffer performance-wise when it crosses the half-full line. And the default MFT size is kind of small to begin with. Presently that all-important area was about 98% consumed and the drive itself had only 20% or so free space. Her last install of a Sims2 expansion pack brought another round of complaints.

Easy enough to remedy. Head out to Best Buy for a replacement drive. But how to get the new drive installed and set up as pain-free as possible? Usually it’s a fresh IPL, but I was looking for the easy way out.

I have this neat device from CoolMax. The CD-350-COMBO is a multi-headed cable that plugs into a raw IDE or SATA drive and presents to your system as a USB device. When your laptop is your workbench this device is worth its weight in gold. Soon the new drive was partitioned, formatted, and tested. (For good measure, I allocated a much larger MFT as well.)

With that problem solved I turned to the task of cloning the existing drive. I recently read of something called XXCLONE, which promised a file-by-file copy (including all the locked stuff) from a running Windows system, with the ability to make the destination bootable. This would be a good time to try that out.

The install to the wife’s laptop was easy enough: unzip and copy a file. I used the CoolMax adapter to cable up the new drive, the destination for the copy. I set XXCLONE to task and went away. The copy would take a while. When I returned it was finished. I made the new drive bootable with a couple of clicks, uncabled and shut everything down. It took a few more minutes to physically swap the old drive for the new one.

The first boot took a little longer than usual. Windows was a little confused, I guess, because the drive change triggered the New Hardware Wizard. But soon things settled down. Between these two tools, a usually-tedious job was turned simple!

There’s one other thing I should mention. The XXCLONE documentation claim that because it makes a file-by-file copy, it defragments the destination drive automatically. I run Diskeeper on all of our machines, and it reported the drive as heavily fragmented. I needed to run the boot-time defragmentation job before the new drive delivered its expected performance.

Additional stuff, 17 December 2008: There were a couple of nagging issues following the drive cloning. I’m not sure if it’s XXCLONE or if it’s integral to the cloning process itself, but some applications installed with the MS Installer were no longer accessible through Add/Remove Programs. Instead there would appear a dialogue:

“The patch package could not be opened. Verify that the patch package exists and that you can access it, or contact application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer patch package.”

The solution, while a bit of a pain, is to obtain and install the Windows Install Clean Up utility from Microsoft. Run the utility and select the errant application from the list, then clean it up – which amounts to removing it from the installer’s database. Finally, re-install the application.

In my case it was Office 2003, which called for finding the license number and install media as well as a few rounds of patches and service packs. There were a few other applications as well, but that was the most substantial.

Chrome

The Internet is absolutely all over itself lately about Google’s new browser, Chrome. It’s only a beta, but when you think about it, what product of Google’s is not beta? When I heard the news my first reaction was one of distrust. After all, nobody really knows what data Google is collecting about their users. But I decided to give the browser a try anyway after reading their comic book, which describes the technical attributes of their new-from-the-ground-up browser design.

Wow is Chrome fast! Page rendering is absolutely blazing! Compared to any other browser I’ve ever used, Chrome is the absolute fastest by far. That alone should compel you to give it a try.

Because of the way Chrome spawns individual processes it clearly uses more system resources than other browsers. On today’s modern systems that shouldn’t be a problem and the benefits of enhanced resource management are clear. [Added later on the same day: It still crashes, though, despite process isolation. See the EvilFingers site for an explanation and demo of the flaw in v0.2.149.27. https://www.evilfingers.com/advisory/Google_Chrome_Browser_0.2.149.27_in_chrome_dll.php

Chrome Crash
Chrome Crash

As usual, the masses are very quick to point out flaws. The first thing that I heard of was Chrome’s vulnerability to drive-by security problems. Downloads occur in the background, and it could be easy to accidentally launch an executable. It shouldn’t be a problem if you’re careful.

There is a phrase that’s been going around lately to describe privacy enhanced browsing, the so-called ‘porn mode’. I object! There are many, many reasons why one might wish to take advantage of enhanced privacy while they browse. Why not use a less antagonistic label, like ‘privacy-enhanced’ or ‘privacy-mode’? (You’re welcome. I’m omitting a rant about how language kills.)

Cookies and pop-ups seem to be handled more intelligently as well, although those that pay for pop-up ads may not agree. Pop-ups are minimally displayed in and the user needs to choose to see it. This can trigger a billable event without the (benefit?) of the user ever seeing the pop-up. As a user I’m pleased with this behavior. As a business owner with Web properties I’m also pleased, because I’ve long believed that using things like pop-ups and cookies to track my customers is poor behavior on my part.

There’s been quite a bit of speculation about which direction Google may take Chrome. Some are even saying that this could be the beginning of the end for desktop operating systems altogether. Can you imagine this thing sitting on a bare metal hypervisor, without the overhead of an operating system? Exciting times are ahead.

Eye Protection

When you ride a motorcycle you subject your eyes to all manner of risk. The importance of quality eyewear can’t be understated. It’s astounding how many riders don ordinary sunglasses and think that they’re protected. I guess they’re okay if you wear them beneath a helmet visor that’s never lifted, but I prefer a helmet without a visor and that calls for glasses or goggles designed specifically for bikers.

I’ve had a number of pairs of goggles from Harley-Davidson. They go far to convince you that their apparel and other rider gear – MotorClothesâ„¢ – are second to none. Well, not in my opinion. First, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything in their line that’s made in the USA. But specifically, their goggles didn’t last very long for me. Like most motorcycle eyewear there’s a gasket that fits between the frame and your face. Theirs is foam with a felt-like surface that actually touches your face. After a short time – as little as a month or two – the felt on every single pair peeled back, leaving the foam right on my face, there to absorb sweat and grime. I tried gluing it back on. Contact cement works best but it doesn’t last. As if that isn’t enough, the strap tension adjuster is plastic and when it breaks that’s that. I can’t recommend Harley-Davidson eyewear.

If you’re into goggles, Body Specs makes a quality product. My personal favorite is the BSG line. They fit well and the gasket is both high-quality and replaceable. In fact, their warranty will replace a failed gasket. When I had them replace one under warranty they told me that failures were rare and sent me two for my trouble. I’ve had several sets of BSGs and my biggest complain is that the elastic strap will eventually lose its stretch. The BSG line is convertible; you can snap in regular glasses-style temples in place of the strap but none have ever fit me well enough to use that way.

Today it’s all about convenience. I wear polychromatic riding glasses which self-adjust to light levels so I’m never caught with the wrong lenses installed. For the past year I’ve been using the same pair of Panoptx Diablo. Oh, look, they’re now marketed under the name 7EYE. Not sure what that’s about, but there you go. Anyway, the glasses are a pit pricey but the lenses are bulletproof (not a scratch on ’em in a year), they’re very comfortable, and the gasket is still like new. My complaint about them is the finish of the frames which began to peel. It’s kind of like they had a plastic coating that’s flaking or peeling off. They have an excellent warranty, though, so I’ve sent ’em in for repair. I’ll let you know how that goes once I get ’em back in the next week or two.

In the meantime I’ve picked up a pair of WileyX. My wife picked up a pair and I liked them so I figured I’d try them out myself. So far so good, but it’s only been a few hundred miles. The lenses are polychromatic, the replaceable gasket has a good fit, but the temples don’t loop around the ear like the Panoptx. Instead they’ve got a rubber-like area that just stays put, kind of like Oakley sunglasses. WileyX is pricey, too, but still a good deal less than the Panoptx. (Update – WileyX has a line of H-D branded glasses that are very good. My only complaint is that they change styles often and the gaskets are NOT compatible, making replacements hard to source after a while.)

The quest for the perfect eyewear seems never-ending. What’s your favorite?