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I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

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Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#271

Post by codetrotter »

joezydeco wrote: post #100
wnissen wrote: post #49

Just a note, the machines are not broken, they have shut themselves down for sanitary reasons. Ice cream, as a food that is very close to neutral in pH and without much in the way of preservatives, is a common source of listeria bacteria. To prevent serious health issues, the machine must be sanitized regularly. As I understand it, the process is involved, and any given McDonalds may not have a person with the time a…

Here's some detail, as someone that has worked with those machines before (internally and externally). In the good old days the soft serve and shake machines were taken apart every night and every piece was washed and bleach-sanitized by hand. Then it was reassembled in the morning. This would leave a lot of room for error and possible contamination in the process. And the sight of a shake machine hitting full pressu…

> McCloud

That’s an awesome way to name their cloud computing stuff that fits the brand really well. Is this an official/semiofficial name?

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#272

Post by cavisne »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #220
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not my field, but edible gums (guar gum, or xanthan gum for example) is "plastic" (adj.). Gums are used more and more, AFAICT as a consumer; presumably to allow products to be bulked out with air. Basically take anything homogeneous, add gum, add air, create a foam. Basically like an Aero bar but with way smaller bubbles. You just cut a quarter (I'm guessing on this figure) off your ice-cream ingredients by weight an…

This 'bulking up with air' is most evident if you go to the yogurt or cream cheese section and look for the Yoplait Whips or Philadelphia Whipped containers. It's the same product, just as a foam, and seems to be marketed as a healthier alternative where users choose a satisfactory portion by volume, not by calories or weight. And while I think the whipped foods are stupid, I don't think that packaged food sellers ar…

Plenty of dieters do this themselves with protein fluff/"ice cream" (protein shakes with ice and xanthum gum). Overweight people almost by definition eat by volume not by calories (ie they eat more than their body needs for caloric maintenance).

So these whipped products seem pretty useful.

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#273

Post by OJFord »

joezydeco wrote: post #206
nixgeek wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since they need internet connectivity to phone home status to McCloud, I don't know why they wouldn't just run an NTP client to keep their time synchronized and accurate? Moreover the $750 you reference must be a commercial product since you can do GPS on a Raspberry Pi for < $50 easily? Which product are you thinking works for this scenario? Think I've seen everything from $300 to $13000 solutions for this over the…

You could have a cesium time source in the thing but if the service tech or manager sets it wrong...you're still borked.

But exactly the same borked each and every day!

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#274

Post by mhh__ »

throw_m239339 wrote: post #62
aliabd wrote: post #33

AFAIK, reverse engineering APIs isn’t illegal. [1] There are some (VC backed) start ups that are open about doing it. Teller API is an example. [2] [1] “Reverse engineering generally doesn't violate trade secret law because it is a fair and independent means of learning information, not a misappropriation. Once the information is discovered in a fair and honest way, it also can be reported without violating trade sec…

> AFAIK, reverse engineering APIs isn’t illegal. [1] No, but unauthorized access to a remote server can be. Just because something is unsecured doesn't give one the right to access it. Anyway I would not take that gamble personally and risking indicted federally for computer fraud. https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/hacking-laws-a... I'm not a lawyer and neither are you.

In some jurisdictions I think they basically have a blank cheque to get you on any misuse (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/18/contents)

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#275

Post by Sebb767 »

jdmichal wrote: post #238
fma wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you keep doing this and your credit card gives like a 5% cash back on restaurant purchases...this is virtually free money?

It's not free. That cash refund isn't refunding the merchant their processing costs for the credit card. And that's what's paying your 5% cash back. The store is losing a pennies each time that happens and some of them are flowing to you.

Well, yes, but it's also them not refunding via the original payment processor and them letting the order go through despite being unable to fulfil it. I don't want to make a point that this is the moral thing to do, but the error is with McD here.

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#276

Post by crazygringo »

0xffff2 wrote: post #131
ceejayoz wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps the payment doesn't go through until he arrives to pick up the order? Correct, and the order doesn't start being prepared until you hit the "I'm here" button on the app, either. I once forgot to hit "I'm here" and they were confused because, to the store, it didn't exist, so there's no harm to the stores at all here.

What's the point of even ordering through the app then?

1) You get to skip what might be a 5-, 10-, or even 15-minute line for the cashier

2) You don't need to worry about the cashier punching in your order wrong (which happens frequently)

3) There are a ton of discounts available only through the app. You can seriously get ~50% off your meal pretty easily

I can't even imagine not using my phone to order.

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#277

Post by m1 »

wnissen wrote: post #49

Just a note, the machines are not broken, they have shut themselves down for sanitary reasons. Ice cream, as a food that is very close to neutral in pH and without much in the way of preservatives, is a common source of listeria bacteria. To prevent serious health issues, the machine must be sanitized regularly. As I understand it, the process is involved, and any given McDonalds may not have a person with the time a…

> Ice cream, as a food that is very close to neutral in pH and without much in the way of preservatives, is a common source of listeria bacteria.

I know very little about food science so apologies in advance but curious as why they don’t add preservatives themselves to the Ice cream and why other pH neutral foods McDonalds do don’t require as much care as the ice cream?

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#278

Post by nsxwolf »

joezydeco wrote: post #100
wnissen wrote: post #49

Just a note, the machines are not broken, they have shut themselves down for sanitary reasons. Ice cream, as a food that is very close to neutral in pH and without much in the way of preservatives, is a common source of listeria bacteria. To prevent serious health issues, the machine must be sanitized regularly. As I understand it, the process is involved, and any given McDonalds may not have a person with the time a…

Here's some detail, as someone that has worked with those machines before (internally and externally). In the good old days the soft serve and shake machines were taken apart every night and every piece was washed and bleach-sanitized by hand. Then it was reassembled in the morning. This would leave a lot of room for error and possible contamination in the process. And the sight of a shake machine hitting full pressu…

Cleaning these things was my second most hated job when I worked in the industry. But deep fryers are a far more dreadful task.

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#279

Post by realityking »

codetrotter wrote: post #271
joezydeco wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's some detail, as someone that has worked with those machines before (internally and externally). In the good old days the soft serve and shake machines were taken apart every night and every piece was washed and bleach-sanitized by hand. Then it was reassembled in the morning. This would leave a lot of room for error and possible contamination in the process. And the sight of a shake machine hitting full pressu…

> McCloud That’s an awesome way to name their cloud computing stuff that fits the brand really well. Is this an official/semiofficial name?

Imagine McDonalds had invented AWS and called it McCloud.

Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API

#280

Post by nsxwolf »

Bjartr wrote: post #246
DerekL wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah! Whatever you do, never eat pretzels! They dip them in oven cleaner before baking, then they sprinkle them with those crystals they use for removing ice from roads!

And dihydrogen-monixide figures heavily in their production. Nearly everyone that's ever died had consumed DHMO in the 24 hours leading up to their death!

I prefer "oxidane" for this joke, as most people haven't heard it, sounds poisonous, and dihydrogen monoxide is not wrong but it is irregular.
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