Welcome to EpoS Wizard!
I think you have to search on internet which provide you best information about good epos hardware and software. EPOS stand for electrical point of sale system it is supported both hardware and software.
Who are you? 
EPoS Stands for "Electronic Point of Sale" - a small difference, but a fairly crucial one for anybody technically minded.
Browen is a relatively new "contributer" who is just itching to get himself removed! he as now been warned several times and probably won't be around this time next week!
ok to the question
10 years is VERY optimistic! i would say 8 is about upper limits but that is only in my experience - others may disagree. by then - failures may well make the system very tiresome.
in terms of hardware, rom based cash registers may be more durable but have less capacity in terms of products and functionality - ok for most small to medium sized businesses - Supermarkets have many lines and this could overload this type of register as the business expands.
pc based software has the advantage of being able to run on numerous different pieces of hardware.
more functionality and a huge capacity for product lines, electronic ordering and so on.
As a novice, its only fair to point out that people set out with good intentions of maintaining a pos system to aid with the business but when the amount of time and effort becomes aparent, many systems soon become very basic cash registers and all attempts at stock control go out of the window!
before shelling out huge amounts of cash, have you researched the amount of work involved in maintaining these systems and what it is that you want out of the system?
also, if you could post the type/size of your business, it would be easier to advise
given the link in it's signature i assume it works for Vectron? We did a few vectron colourtouch's a few years ago, they were hard work! given they're grasp on the english language and that they dont seem to understand what epos stands for you can see why 
I would recomend going with either the Panasonic (as used by McDonalds) JS925ws or a Poinduis 715?? (i think) and software i would look at whether or not ICRTouch would fulfill your needs as its versatile enough for both hospitality and retail and probably the most user friendly ive seen.
also where I can get good retail software.
I have been playing with cloud epos software and it's been very easy to setup and low cost and free if you are a small retailer.
I won't include links as I am not sure of the forum rules, but if you search with Google for "free cloud epos" there are a few, the one I have been testing is on the first page..
I can see the internet systems being excellent for those with multiple sites.
One thing I would say is that support is crucial and to try them all before you commit, call them and talk to them.
