Wife still hasn't heard back from the CC machine vendor. The only other devices networked from the modem/router are office computers.
The only real case where ordinary people/company would need static IP is some kind of IP camera or file server which you want to be reached from outside while on vacation or something without paying for the service. But even in that case there are free DNS which let you do that.
That is simply not true. There is still a lot of older retail equipment out there that only can be networked by setting it's IP directly (aka no DHCP) at the device. For example, a Schlage HandKey-II biometric scanner can only be manually set to a static IP. You and I have no idea whether that would be true for the mentioned CC machine. Hell, we don't even know the brand and model in question...
ZiprHead, it could even be that the CC machines appear the same from a business customers POV, but in reality the locations that are set to static IPs are older revisions/firmware that simply don't support DHCP. Personally, I would more suspect it was just done differently in the locations due to differently people doing the work. The only real way to find out is by what your wife is already doing.
