Terminal Terminals

I'm always fascinated when everyday computer interfaces go sideways.  It's a little peek into the innards of the things.  For instance, I was at the Chicago airport when a storm knocked the power out.  They switched to backup power, but not quickly enough ... all the boarding pass terminals rebooted.  So I took a picture.

Then, there are otherwise sensible Point of Sale terminals that run Windows.  Honestly, you're trying to keep your money, not lose it.  Why would you trust it to a system with such lousy security?  Pictured below is a Canteen "Open Vending" POS.

Speaking of money, one of my favorite finds was a crashed NCR ATM in the Netherlands.  I like that the designers at least put a desktop wallpaper on the system that instructs the user not to enter their PIN.  (Though, in English.)

Finally, I shot a picture of an advertising display that lost its mind.  I'm curious about this one, because it's offering to send crash feedback to Logitech.  Either Logitech's getting into a new market, or this thing is a kludge using some sort of Logitech slideshow app.  Or maybe it's just that a mouse driver blew up and took the rest of the system with it.

Guerrilla Fix-It: Hotel Lamp Edition

This brand of lamp normally has both plugs facing "forward" like the one on the left.  Most power adapters can't fit, because of the black square piece right there.  Now, if it's loose -- and they frequently are -- you can twist it about 30° to one side and wedge your power adapter in there.  But there's no way to twist it to face a full 90° like the one on the right.

Someone "fixed" it.  I've been to this hotel dozens of times, and none of the other rooms have it like this.  I guess it's just a matter of having a screwdriver with you ... but who took the time?  Some sort of Robin Hood electrician is on the loose.

Pervasive UI Silliness

• ATMs ask how many dollars and cents you want to withdraw.  Have they ever been able to dispense cents?
• Online stores ask for your card type .. but the numbers' format already tells them the card type.  For instance, sixteen digits starting with a four are always Visa.
• And some carts ask your card's expiration date, but populate the month menu with names rather than numbers.  Does anyone have a card that actually spells out the month's name?