I don't know, I kinda like it. Nice chrome stand, matte black accents, and a splash of color in the cable. They even tossed in a throwback to the old school with the hand-written sign.

Yes, but does it still cause your order to be botched because of terribel audio quality?

Complete with greasy finger smears in the corner. Classy.

Ok, I'll give. Why is the cord going away from the building?

I'm looking at the black cable leading AWAY from the building. Where does it lead? Why must it pass under your car? What information does it carry?

Clearly someone else is monitoring your wife's fat-laden requests. The NSA's fast-food division? Possibly PETA or Bejing. Is this because of your work here at Gizmodo? Or...tell me...how well do you know your spouse, comrade Wilson?

I may have already said too much. Meet me at the rendezvous point at Delta 6-zero-niner. Bring the "McMuffins".

That stainless steel support grid looks pretty revolutionary. Eons ahead of anything I'VE ever seen.

I didn't even realize they HAD McDonald's in Kazakhstan. Nice. I like.

Personally I think that theyre using Verizons new FIOS service to place orders. I love the retro look I think Micky Dees knows somthing we dont.

By the way, a terribel is a volume unit of really bad sound if you were interested.

Yellow cable = Standard XLR, if it is a 5pin XLR then you can get full duplex communication. The black cable is not actually a cable at all. It a pressurized tube to alert the minimum wage worker how long they have to spit in your food.

This is the future of technology! I'm lovin' it!

Atrocious,

That cable looks like the same sort of thing at an oldschool gas station, or going across roads to test how much traffic. I think it's the way they notify whoever has that buttonheadfone thing McD's uses somebody is at the drivethrough.

"I'm looking at the black cable leading AWAY from the building. Where does it lead? Why must it pass under your car? What information does it carry?

it's probably a bell or something, to notify the acne-faced fifteen year old manning the drive thru that its time to give out some free smiles and serve up some of that fatty goodness that has america coming back for more, and tolerating pathetically rigged-up establishments like this.

Why are you guys always laying into McD's? In the UK at least, people don't mock them at every oppoutunity, except mayby the hardcore hippies etc.

Stop mocking them just because you want to feel accepted!!!

Wow!! Where did you get dat photo from. Me and da missus wanna one like that.

We gotta stall on the side of our bush track, selling witchety grubs, and the missus has to run over all the time to have a yak with the people comming down da road on their horses.

Man we would love to purchase sumfin lika dat, cause maybe we could charge 10c for ten instead of 5c.

Please let me know.

That cable really should be protected by a couple of boards.... It's not going to last long with cars running over it.

if you look at the background of the first picture it looks like some pothead ran into the original order box and this one is just a temporary one.

Yeah, it looks funny, but I commend them on finding a way to speed up their order taking. If I can get through the drive thru as a result of this 'innovation' then I'm happy.

During prime eating hours near DC, I witnessed a McDonalds with two order takers trying to speed up the drive thru by walking up to the cars in the line to take their orders and radio them back. This seemed to work.

Still, if you have that many people in line, wouldn't it be faster for you to go in side where there are 5+ lines with 5+ people in each line compared to the 1 outside line with 10+ cars (multiple people could be in each car).

Hmm... why wait in the longest line???

I think some stoner had the munchies and decided to have a little fun before ordering their food. Hmm...I think I have plans tonight...

Regardless of the "advanced technology" that appears in the picture above sadely there is still a 16 year old on the other end listening to the order as they also send a txt message on there Pink Razr in there other hand...

The end result a Double Cheese Burger with NO CHEESE... At least that was my experience at lunch today. I mean come on kid who the heck would order a double cheese burger with no cheese. I WANT MY CHEESE! ;-)

It wasn't a stoner hit. The drive-thru traffic flow is being changed to not go so close to the building, and the old order window is no longer on the route.

well being as were going back to the basic i really think they should have just hired a hobo with a tin can telephone to sit there and take your orders and transfer this information to the pimple faced kid in the little cubicle window

No more AND THEN!

Excellent! Now if i could just learn spanish...

We of Zoltar prime will not allow these new and dangerous technoligies to stand unchallenged and are preparing our invasion forces.

Look at the first pic, see the pole and the oil pan leavins in the lot ? ok. Now look at the second pic, see the now hiring sign in english ?
Looks to me like the person that got fired and freed up the job for any bonehead to apply for may have been a little digruntled. lol

Well to be fair it was obviously a quick repair while waiting for the clown sign repair guy so it's hard to blame them for that rig instead of sitting a person with a radio mic there all the time.
How many people in the area could fix a McDonalds sign sound system on short notice, bah I won't bash them for this one.

I would like some answers though, like what is the job description of the person there who's job it is to put six french fries in the bottom of every bag at the drive through, it's always exactly six french fries.

Also at McDonalds a burger can have the meat of 54 different cows in it. Is this 54 random cows, or did they know each other, like from the same farm? Were they friends? I need answers.

Special Sauce: Is it mayo, ketchup, and tartar sauce? What the heck is in it? Google must know, I'll keep searching for that one.

Why does the McRib sandwich make your ass look like a Japanese flag the next morning when taking a dump? I bet Lou Dobbs knows, he's hiding something, he has that answer...
Probably have to go on the CNN studio tour and buy some souvenirs and a TurnerDog at the cafeteria to get that information from him...Ohh he makes me mad watching that show about "screwing of America".

Why don't they make those "Now Hiring" signs out of granite and just find a permanent place for them?

Yes my legions, they need a cable for the microphone and maybe a pressure switch for when a car runs over it so they know someone is there. Just a guess on the second part but it sounds right.

It is just a temp solution while they set up the call center in India to take your orders.

year,
Got to learn Spanish all right, or Mandarin

pedro
http://itsmyfranchise.com/petone766

I think the cable is going over to the burger king next door, trying to steal orders from their greatest rival. But their execution of this diabolical plan is only half baked, as they somehow forgot to put up the sign that said to pay for your order at the BK window next door.

sweetasman01: Good call, McD's is are trying to keep up with Wendy's:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/11/05/miles_a...

That speaker and cable come from the drive-in movie across the street--

It could also be a 4 pin XLR... that's what a lot of intercom systems use... or even a three pin, in some cases.

I'm surprised they haven't upgraded and added the duct tape accessory. I mean come on, what's duct tape going for now days on eBay.

That's a cheeseburger, french fries and a large orange drink!

The streets find their own uses for technology.

Is my city the only city to implement the 2 LANE drive through? I seen that while visiting my local McD's and nearly crapped myself when the screen told me what kind of vehicle i was in and the color. I interogatted the 2nd window lady, apparently they have cameras set up to make sure the right order goes to the right car. I'm definately gonna test out every word in that library of vehicles. Hell I might just walk through the drive through.

Messing up my order with the latest compact technology.

The black cable leads to the outsourced order taking call center in Banglapur, India.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/technology/11fast.html?e...

Actually I think it's a device that phones home to the FDA with your order information. The government mandated the McDonalds report how fat people are actually getting, and McDonalds sold out, much like search engine companies reporting their results!

My brother Jeffreys job for 26 years has been to yell "Ding-Ding" every time a car drives in. He's 53 years old, and he sits in a folding chair yelling "Ding-Ding" when cars pull in. I bought his chair at Walmart so he can sit in the lube bay. Sometimes I let him sit on the lube rack, and let him ride up and down on that.

This looks like the MC D's down the road from us, some drunk plowed over the order speaker. I guess they should have gone to Taco Bell for 4th meal instead huh.