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June 2011
Retail Systems Newsletter
Life after installation.
Reducing and managing the consequences of hardware failure.
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Welcome
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Welcome
What a start to the year. Our world has experienced unbelievable natural disasters, economies around the world are struggling whilst here in Australia the business year started with a bang for J2. With some new products in the wings we are confident that our good start to the year will continue. Design is at the core of J2’s business. As new processor technology and associated componentry becomes available we strive to embrace them and bring them to the POS world but sometimes this is not as easy as expected. With reliability a key objective for J2, we conduct extensive testing on terminals to stand the test of time. In this edition of our latest newsletter we share some thought on the design of terminals as well as some tips on how to maximize the life of your POS terminals. Though they are only words on a page, it is a full time job at J2 to ensure that the products we offer you will provide an effective and long working life. We will be out and about in June at the Retail World Exhibition so if you are in Sydney at the end of June drop in and see us at the exhibition. As we lead up to the end of the financial year we hope that it has been a good one for you and that your sights are set on achieving bigger and better things in the future just as ours are. Yours sincerely,
Phil Wild General Manager
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See J2 at Retail World J2 will be exhibiting at the 2011 Retail World Conference and Exhibition that is to be held between the 27 – 29 June. Held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, this event is the premier event for the retail industry with major guest speakers from some of Australia’s retail leaders. J2 will showcase their range of products including the new J2 630 touch terminal. For more information on Retail World visit www.retail-world.com.au.
J2 becoming the choice for fashion conscious retailers J2 has welcomed a number of new clients in 2011 with a trend towards more fashion conscious retailers. We welcomed Liquor legends as well as the well-known French Connection stores to the J2 family. Is this an emerging trend towards fashion retailing? We are not sure but it does show that a J2 terminal is well suited to a wide range of environments.
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Designing for reliability We all know the advantages of having reliable touch terminals, but is reliability based on luck or design? When designing a touch terminal there are a number of aims. Not only must the terminal serve the function in which it is to be used but also provide a stable platform in which to manage business processes. Sometimes the aim to mix reliability with performance is a challenge but with careful planning and testing, a terminal can be designed that can achieve both. At J2 we are lucky that we have some world class touch terminal designers to assist us in our quest but as technology gets better, new challenges arise which must be overcome. When it comes to developing a reliable yet high performing touch terminal, it is often the small things that lead to a reliable solution. J2 starts by substituting any component that could be a weak link in the chain of components. One link that has been excluded is the use of interconnecting cables on the motherboard. These cables and connectors have proven to be a source of problem in computers. J2 substitutes these with edge type connectors providing an almost cable-less motherboard design. A side effect to this toolless design is that the motherboard can easily be removed for maintenance, further aiding reliability. The number one cause of component failure is heat. As processors have become faster, the by product has been increased heat. Coupled with the want to have more compact designs, heat management is a massive task for terminal designers to overcome. J2’s research and development teams are careful in designing the motherboard layout to ensure those components that are heat sensitive or heat producing are located in areas of good cool airflow. With hundreds of components on the motherboard, you can imagine that it is no easy task determining the placement of the components. The use 4
of industrial strength heat sinks and blades provide added cooling benefits ensuring components are working within design tolerances. Understanding the thermal characteristics and flow within the terminal is essential in order to provide the necessary cooling. Airflow management is essential so placement of air vents is critical. In fan-less terminals, heat management is further accentuated with often the housing playing an important part in dissipating heat. The terminal housing is essential in protecting the internal components so it has to be durable enough and designed in a way that ensures unwanted matter can enter the terminal. Location of ports and speakers needs to be in areas that are protected from spillage of fluids or attack from dust. Also with the latest VESA mounting capabilities, the housing must be sturdy enough to cope with various mounting options. Weak mounting areas can result in cracks in the case. If you consider that these terminals are “touched” as part of their operation, the need for a very strong chassis is paramount. The touch screen itself must not only be of a high quality but seamlessly work with the housing to keep dust and fluid away from components. J2 has used rubber seals on the edges of touchscreens but upcoming new terminals will see a bezel-less design doing away with the need for rubber sealing. Research and development is a full time job at J2 so to ensure that performance and reliability can be achieved. Experience has shown intelligent design coupled with a structured maintenance regime will result in reliable performance and a long service life. For more information give J2 Retail Systems a call.
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It’s all in the design
For years touch terminal users have argued the design virtues of POS terminals. Design is a very subjective thing with some liking the look of one brand of terminals whilst others prefer another. There are often trends in design as well. We started with cream coloured PC’s and then moved to charcoal and black boxes. Apple brought back white computers and metallic looking units such as the iMac. In POS environments, terminals have generally remained dark in colour though J2 has custom painted some terminals to suit specific requirements. The outer casing of a touch terminal serves many obvious purposes such as protecting and housing the internal components, but also a number of other performance and some other issues that you may not immediately come to your mind. As the retail and hospitality environments offer harsh operating environments, the terminal housing serves the purpose of keeping out unwanted dust, grime and liquids. It is therefore important to ensure touch screens are effectively sealed from spills and that the location of things such as speaker and cooling vents and port covers are located in areas that will provide less of an opportunity for unwanted matter to enter the inner chamber of the terminal. Fanless terminals provide an added level of protection due to not having the need for cooling vents but the issue of cooling is raised. The outer casing can play a big part in assisting with the cooling of terminals. The case itself can be used as a heat sink either through design or the materials in which the case is made.
Access to the components is essential for maintenance and repairs so the case must easily be opened. The latest trend is to have tool-less access to components for quick and easy maintenance. An area that is not as noticeable but often very important relates to the manufacture and shipping of terminals. Price is always a factor in purchase decisions so in order to manage the manufacturing costs of a terminal, intelligent design can reduce the material required as well as the build time of the terminal. If the time to assemble the terminal is reduced then there can be a significant labour cost saving providing users with a more cost effective solution without any performance or quality reduction. Once a terminal is built, it must be shipped to the client. J2 terminals are used throughout the world so managing shipping costs is essential. It is therefore important that the terminals weight and size is minimised to reduce freight costs. Also the terminal must be easily packed securely for shipping and the design of the casing can impact the way in which the terminals must be packed into a box with more efficient designs allowing for the reduction in packaging costs. As you now can see, the design of a touch terminal is complex with the aesthetic appeal being merely one aspect. The team at J2 work with designers from around the world to refine the shape of the terminals to make them as compact yet effective as can be. Furthermore, with new touch technology coming and faster processors, the design of terminals will go through yet another design change to ensure that the latest features can be offered. The evolution of terminal design will continue. Who knows where it will lead us? ď Ž 5
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Life after installation You’ve made the right decision to purchase a J2 touch terminal. The installation of your new POS hardware has gone to plan. What do you do now? Well of course you will start using the system but life after installation brings with its own set of challenges and needs. Reliability of a terminal is something that you would have considered prior to purchasing your computer hardware but as with most things in life, things can go wrong and when they go wrong the consequences can be great. So it is the consequences that we need to manage with the number one issue being the cost to your business of failed computer hardware. This cost is made up of not only the hardware repair costs but the cost associated with time, service and disruption to your business function. It is in our best interests then to try and minimise the chance of hardware failure so to not have to deal with the consequences. Reducing the risk of hardware failure is directly attributed to the maintenance carried out on your systems. Think about it. We grab a computer and pound it with our fingers day in day out. The environments we work in are often dusty and involve the threat of food or drink being splashed over the computer. If a computer is going to fail it is in these types of environments.
Keep it clean
Over time not only does your hardware need to be maintained but your operating software as well. A routine of defragmenting your hard drive as well as ensuring any operating system updates have been installed is essential as well as ensuring that there is sufficient hard drive space to accommodate your requirements. When it comes to your POS applications it is best to consult your vendor as to how you can ensure that the system will run as efficiently as possible.
Clean power supply If you have ever monitored the electrical voltage output from your power points you will see the fluctuation in supply of electricity. We can experience fluctuations between 225 volts to 250 volts with intermittent spikes occurring. In retail and hospitality environments where we see large commercial air conditioning systems, ovens and fans and other similar large electrical items being switched on and off, the supply of electricity is more susceptible to spikes. A dirty supply of electricity and spikes to supply are major contributors to computer failures and in particular power supplies. It is therefore important to filter the supply of electricity with the use of power conditioners that regulate the supply of electricity to ensure a constant voltage level.
The first step to maintaining hardware is to ensure that the terminal is clean both inside and out. Not only does an unclean terminal look unsightly but can effect the performance of the terminal. In particular if the terminal has dust and dirt covering components on the motherboard, heat sinks and fans then the terminal may operate at higher temperatures which can lead to premature failure.
The use of Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS) can assist in allowing you to safely shut your computer down when a power failure is experienced and prevent any database corruptions that can be caused by unexpected terminal shutdowns.
You can clean the inside of the terminal by blowing compressed air over the components. Using a cloth to clean the internal components may cause damage so it is best to use an approach that does not involve making direct contact with the components.
Despite your best efforts in maintaining your hardware, a failure could occur that is totally unexpected.
The external parts of the terminals can be cleaned using a soft rag and Windex. Do not use harsh solvents as they may damage some surfaces.
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Software maintenance
POS peripherals are used just as much as touch terminals so ensure that your barcode scanners remain clean and that receipt printers are free from paper dust or particles that could lead to internal components being jammed or damaged.
Managing the consequences
If this instance occurs, you are faced with repairing the unit whilst also trying to maintain the processes within your business to continue trading. The aim is to have the unit up and running as soon as possible with a minimum of fuss. J2 offer a three year return to base warranty with all terminals sold which provides a certain level of peace of mind but if your POS solution is critical to your business then an onsite warranty should be sought. With one phone call you can begin the process of fixing the computer problem and getting back on track and in the process minimising the downtime and impact on your business.
J2’s onsite warranty options are flexible allowing you to choose what products are covered as well as the level of support you require. Though an onsite warranty comes at an added expense, the costs associated with them far outweigh the total cost of hardware failure when you consider the disruption to you regular trading and time spent in coordinating the rectification of the problem. So life after installation is an important factor to the successful use of POS solutions and there are ways in which you can maximize your uptime and investment and also ways in which you can better manage the consequences relating to hardware failure.
As SSD’s have no moving parts, their reliability is exceptional as they never wear out. The J2 650 features remain with a 15” touch screen, up to 4Gb of RAM, true dual core processor with RAID capabilities and the ability to have hot swappable dual hard drives. For those that are jealous and want to add a SSD to their J2 650 terminal then we have good news for you. You can simply purchase a 64GB SSD from J2 and install it yourself thanks to the hot swappable characteristics of the terminal. For further information contact the J2 Retail Systems sales team.
For more information on hardware maintenance or onsite warranties please contact J2 Retail Systems.
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with Solid State Drives The J2 650 has been the benchmark in which other touch terminals have been judged. With its true desktop dual core processors and advanced features and options it is truly one of the best performing and value for money terminals on the market. So how do you make an awesome product even better?
Try solid state hard drives. Otherwise known as SSD’s, solid state hard drives provide a power boost to the J2 650 thanks to their amazing performance characteristics. SSD drives typically have much better performance than standard HDD drives and do particularly well with random reads of small blocks. As an example, a recent J2 test showed that the boot time of Windows XP on a terminal improved by 20 seconds from 55seconds to 35 seconds. Both read and right speeds surpass standard drives providing the added boost and grunt required to churn through large databases to keep the sales queue moving. 7
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