Quick Trak Machines

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PVD said:
Airline Kiosks are attached to airline reservation systems which are usually much more modern...
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I can't imagine that it would necessarily be any faster given the state of modern secure internet connections. Las Vegas International Airport has the same airport kiosks at their rental car center as well as at several hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.

The other thing was when I was looking to buy a ticket (which I've only done for 10-rides) is that the selection has to be from a menu of city names and not by typing in the city name or code. I just wish it were more like the website, which is considerably faster to operate. It's just that terminal itself was so slow. I also used them to reprint tickets or to collect 10-ride tickets (especially when they were live instruments).
 
Airlines generally have direct data networks, and their airport operations are not riding over internet connections. Not sure how QT machines are connected, particularly in locations where no other AMTK computers reside.
 
PVD said:
Airlines generally have direct data networks, and their airport operations are not riding over internet connections. Not sure how QT machines are connected, particularly in locations where no other AMTK computers reside.
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It could be via internal modem, much as many ATMs are. A friend of mine who was an IT guy claimed that most ATMs still used 300 baud modems, long after 28.8 & 56 kbps became the norm, simply because such machines didn't need to transmit a lot of data, just a little bit, and the speed differential wasn't that great. I would imagine those machines which still need to transmit data via modem use whatever technology is cheapest. I have found most QT machines to be speedier than many ATMs at times (though I rarely use the totally high-tech machines that the Big Banks use, with video display ads/promotions [eg, Wells Fargo, Bank of America].
 
We used to use modems for remote maintenance of telecommunications systems but when the older 300 and 1200s quit, they got replaced with 33.6 because nobody made the old ones anymore. The faster ones were backwards compatible because they could be set to work on a slower data port anyway. If a machine is in a location where it is standalone with no other networking at the site, a modem on a POTS line is likely cheapest, although nowadays DSL is likely also a possibility. At bank branches these days, data is usually available, many of them have even changed their phones to voip.
 
PVD said:
Airline Kiosks are attached to airline reservation systems which are usually much more modern...
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Don't you believe it! I've worked on both Galileo & Amadeus in the last few years and both are straight out of the [early] 1960s. Two letter codes with quirky formatted data, yer real modern. :p
 
PVD said:
We used to use modems for remote maintenance of telecommunications systems but when the older 300 and 1200s quit, they got replaced with 33.6 because nobody made the old ones anymore. The faster ones were backwards compatible because they could be set to work on a slower data port anyway. If a machine is in a location where it is standalone with no other networking at the site, a modem on a POTS line is likely cheapest, although nowadays DSL is likely also a possibility. At bank branches these days, data is usually available, many of them have even changed their phones to voip.
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A lot of businesses have changed everything over to being handled over the internet, including phone. I remember one day I was looking to go to a AAA office to get my car registration renewed. I tried calling in first to ask a question, and I couldn't get through. Tried another office. Couldn't get through. So I just went anyways. There was a sign saying that pretty much all their systems were down because their entire network in Northern California was down. They didn't even have basic phone service.
 
cirdan said:
I'm not sure when Qick Trak machines came in, but they definitely do now feel dated. I expect the software and hardware have similarly reached a point in their lifecyles that they are costly to maintain.

Maybe this contributed to the decision.
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The machines also still run on XP, which is generally no longer supported. Big problem here is credit card security agreements and requirements. There was a deadline this year that seems to have been extended into next year giving the machines a reprieve. Unless they are upgraded they will all have to be taken offline sooner than later.
 
Not sure if any still exist, but five years ago there were still lots of ATM's and other similar machines that ran on OS/2. Remember OS/2 marketing slogan" "A better DOS than DOS, a better Windows than Windows."
 
The hackers of today might be puzzled with the old technology. Probably, the big question for Amtrak management is how many transactions are completed daily with these machines. Next is the cost to upgrade and change out each of these machines. Next is the cost per transaction to make the change. Finally, can the cost be justified to senior management? Better, how can Amtrak take care of the people who are still using the machines. Some are capable of moving to the cell phone APP. Others have printing capability at home or office. Still others so not embrace technology, how many of the users does this include and what is the solution. I suspect that changing the machines to an airport style Kiosk is not cost justified in most locations except maybe the big stations.
 
And you are probably right. Cost is a huge issue, especially at some of the one route stations that don't have much traffic. Most of us don't like the "unstaffed station" trend, but the only other option in many cases would be to eliminate the stop all together, and that would be far worse. We have reached a tipping point in this country, about half of the households don't have landlines, and rely on cell phones. Tickets can still be mailed, if ordered far enough in advance,express delivery is available, and for folks with no printer, most public libraries can print for you. Some of those options may cost extra money, but I don't have a huge problem with people using a (non essential) special service paying for it, instead of the cost being absorbed by the great majority who don't need it. 2014 data (latest I could find quickly) had 80% of households having some form of internet access, I would imagine it is even higher now. It would be safe to assume that many of the ones who don't are traveling either.
 
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