BORK!BORK!BORK! There is an old IT truism that the best tip anybody can give is "turn it off and turn it on again." But this is probably not the sort of tip that the staff at this London pub were expecting.

Today's entry into the world of embedded borks comes from the tipping machine in a London pub, spotted by an eagle-eyed Register reader. Tipping culture has yet to take root in the UK to the same extent as in the US, but it is spreading. Rather than dropping a few coins into a jar or muttering "and one for yourself" while trusting that the employee behind the bar won't opt for a pint of Champagne, customers can tap a payment card on the machine to reward good service discreetly.

"The pub didn't serve pies," our reader noted, "but it did have a Raspbian GNU/Linux screen on the bar logged in as 'pi.'"

The bork fairy appears to have paid a visit and left the device's undercrackers on show. A Raspberry Pi is undeniably running behind the scenes, complete with an automatic login as "pi" and the wonderfully generic hostname "raspberrypi." Doubtless the password has been secured.

The device itself appears to be an example of TiPJAR hardware, modestly described as a "ground-breaking system" that "relieves the operational pain-point of tipping and empowers staff to control tips."

It has certainly delivered on the "breaking" part, since the only tip staff will be collecting is from wags commenting "have you tried turning it off and on again?" Oh, how they'll laugh.

We were also delighted to see rc.local on the screen, surely a reference to one's local hostelry rather than some tedious startup script. The wonders of technology will never cease. Assuming they can boot past a terminal prompt.

While we're sure an IT professional with a keyboard to hand could restore the device, doubtless asking only for a free beverage in return, we actually quite like these machines, so long as they don't end up being used by employers as a replacement for paying staff a suitable salary. It's certainly an improvement on scribbling on a credit card receipt, fumbling for non-existent change, or avoiding making awkward eye contact. ®