Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Nov-Dec 2015

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/599364

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 36 of 83

year anniversary 19 3 5 - 2 015 POS SOFTWARE The electronic cash registers introduced by IBM could be connected to a mainframe computer in each store. This system performed normal checkout operations, plus data collection and dissemination. A year later in 1974, mi- croprocessors entered into cash-register systems on a large scale, when McDon- ald's installed a touch-order system with numeric keys. In 1978, restaurateur Gene Moshel created a primitive POS system that worked on Apple computers. Graphical POS software came into existence in 1986. Featuring a color graphic touchscreen interface, and driven by widgets, Gene Mosher's ViewTouch is the grandfather of modern POS. Such systems became more universally available, and less expensive, in 1992. Martin Goodwin and Bob Henry cre- ated the fi rst POS software that could run on Micro- soft Windows. Additional developments since — like local processing power, local data storage, cloud com- puting, enhanced graphics and touchscreen capabilities — have begat today's POS systems that can run on a series of handheld tablets. SECURITY CAMERAS Theft is an issue common to beverage retail throughout history. An effective service for combating this problem came about in the 20th century, with the spread of closed-circuit television systems. The brainchild of German engineer Walter Bruch, video surveillance originated in World War II to observe V-2 rocket launches. Since there was no way to record and store information, initial systems required constant monitoring. The ability to record video material on magnetic tape was developed in 1956 by Californian company Ampex, in order to pre-record Bing Crosby's TV shows. VCR technology in the 1970s greatly improved the ability to record, store and replay video. Around the same time, Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the fi rst home security system: four peep- holes, and a camera that could slide up and down to look through each. The arrival of digital multiplexing in 1990 allowed multiple cameras to record at once, on the same system (it also made motion-only recording possible). This advancement sig- nifi cantly reduced the cost of video surveillance, while greatly improving its capabilities. Consequently, secu- rity cameras became an affordable, widespread and effective deterrent to retail theft. THE INTERNET The VCR-based security systems of old have been gradually replaced with internet-connected cameras. Of course, it hasn't ended there — much of beverage retail has moved online. The internet traces its roots back U.S. government experiments in the 1950s to build large-scale, secure communication channels via com- puter networks. One of the results of this, ARPANET, became the backbone of American military and academic network communications by the 1980s. Commercial use spread expo- nentially in the 1990s. Advancements in the power of hand- held technology in the 2000s allowed the internet to run on Smartphones and tablets. This, in turn, allowed beverage stores to move their POS, security systems, and other opera- tions, onto gadgets that fi t in the palm of a proprietor's hand. November/December 2015• Beverage Dynamics 37 www.beveragedynamics.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Beverage Dynamics - Beverage Dynamics Nov-Dec 2015