But can I write a shell script to purchase a big mac?
I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
311–320 of 454 posts
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#312Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it's hilarious to quantify and state. Why ask ridiculous questions?
Because it's one extra feather on the scales of increased cynicism about what you see online. Clickbait culture is toxic
Legitimate question, how and why is clickbait culture toxic?
I am not creating it or defending it. I am just a little confused what you mean by that exactly.
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#313Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
It's no crazier than an online bookstore doing it :)
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#314Earlier quoted context omitted.
But why "broken" instead of "down for scheduled maintenance"? The latter implies continuance of service, the former leaves that open.
Because the teenage wage slave at the register doesn't give a shit about your fine distinctions. When I worked that McDonalds the machine was almost always down simply because the night crew didn't give a shit and it was too much effort to clean. I worked mornings with the old folks because I was too uncool for the night shift.
"Good sir, it appears that our ice cream machine is down for scheduled maintenance, can I interested you in a piping hot apple pie perchance?" - teenage wage slave ;)
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#315Original author here: the phrasing placing an order was probably wrong - mcdonald's lists the products they're currently out in their api. I'm just querying for those. No ice cream was harmed in doing this.
> I'm currently placing an order worth $18,752 every minute Do you have to have a cart in order query for broken machines? If not, why was it mentioned in the tweet?
Honestly, this confused me. The number immediately made me think he was submitting fake orders for that amount. I don't know to read it any other way.
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#316Just 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…
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Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#317The site is down, Is that ironic?
Someone should write a script that checks if it's up every minute.
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#318Earlier quoted context omitted.
How hard is it to devise an ice cream machine with a simpler sanitation process?
Considering McDonalds is on the forefront of food automation tech, probably harder than you think.
Well, not always on the forefront, but they're the best at scaling it up reliably once they get it working. They test the living hell out everything they ship.
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not a Lawywer: What law is he breaking (relative to both the US and Germany)? In US criminal law, there is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which has very specific narrow provisions, including the test of "has to intentionally cause damages to a computer system part of interstate or foreign commerce." Which does not apply here. McD's would have to pursue, instead, a civil case, based around a EULA or ToS, tantamount…
Under the Computer Misuse Act in the UK, unauthorised access is enough, especially if it impedes other uses from legitimate access. (IANAL either mind)
Could that really be considered unauthorised access, considering it's a public-facing API that every customer interacts with?
Re: I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API
#320Earlier 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…
A manager is doing it by hand. Their POS system has the ability to lock out individual items, and this information is available in real time to the server backing the mobile app (GMA). The machines that I've seen don't have real-time telemetry, and are not networked.
Good info, thank you!
There was an old effort a long time ago where the machines were on a powerline-networking system (LONWorks) but that is dead and buried. The next-gen effort was ramping up a few years ago and I don't really know where it is now. The predictive analytics company they bought was a big part of it.