1977 · Microprocessor Point-of-Sale Terminal · Work 899 of 1,871
A checkout in a self-service hypermarket in Karlsruhe, an angular cash terminal in bright orange on a dark grey base plate, at its upper left a small slanted viewing window in a grey frame, below it a narrow black slot and a small key lock, at its upper right a black display field with a narrow strip of dark red glow, a slanted black keyboard with plain light grey keys, a cashier's hand in a pale blue nylon overall sleeve turning a small key in the lock, a plain white paper strip curling out of the slot, a black rubber conveyor belt with apples and a round loaf of bread.
What it was used for
The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum records the Nixdorf Computerkasse 8812/1 by Nixdorf Microprocessor Engineering GmbH, Berlin, made from 1977 to 1986, 41.65 kg, 33.5 x 52 x 55.5 cm. The museum calls it the successor to the Computerkasse 710; display, keyboard and printer sat in one housing, the printer separated receipt and journal printing, and an 8-inch floppy drive could later be added in a side cabinet. The earlier 710 captured sales data where they arose, onto magnetic tape cassettes; a central price store meant the operator keyed in only the article number. The museum counts Photo Porst, Hettlage, Kaufhof and Wienerwald among the first customers of the 710.
What was new
The museum dates the break to the earlier machine: in 1972, it says, Nixdorf was the first to integrate a computer into a till system with the System 710, and IBM brought out an electronic till system a year later. The 8812 made that fit on a counter: the 710's 63 kg became 41.65 kg. The barb is the central price store. The operator keyed only the article number and the computer knew the price - from then on the till knew the goods better than the person ringing them up.
What the sources leave open: The title is not unambiguous; the Nixdorf Computerkasse was chosen because maker, name and the year 1977 fit. The HNF record names no processor type - "Microprocessor" appears only in the company name. 1977 is the start of production; the collection dates the object itself to 1978. The 1972 priority claim rests on the HNF alone.