The commodity personal computer has spoilt the fun of scores of applications-specific systems manufacturers and could soon pose a serious threat to the manufacturers of electronic cash registers. Major manufacturers of personal computers have for several years fitted them out with software and peripherals as retail systems, but the price was generally high, justified on the grounds that the user was getting a brand name personal computer in the price. But now SoftPoint Inc, San Jose, California is preparing a software cash register and previewed the thing at Comdex/Fall.The SoftPoint package enables any MS-DOS micro equipped to run MS-DOS 3.3 up to emulate and surpass the functions of an electronic cash register, SoftPoint claims. Written in C, assembled and running under MS-DOS 3.3, the $800 package supports RS-232 connections to cash drawers and printers, change dispensers, weighing scales, scanners, mappable keyboards, credit card readers and remote displays. A typical SoftPoint configuration, including XT-alike with 640Kb and 20Mb disk, monochrome monitor, 40-column receipt printer, and a cash drawer could sell for just $3,200.
