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Top-level
 @CiaraNi That's the crux of the matter right there: technology is increasingly deployed in ways that work against people. I've long been a tech enthusiast, but I want to use the devices I buy for my own benefit rather than serving ongoing corporate agendas. The maker of my operating system doesn't own my computer, and I should be able to control how the system is used, which features are enabled, etc. 8 comments
@CiaraNi I don't know if you saw my posts from months ago, but I actually forfeited attending a concert I'd paid for because of this. I forget the name of the ticketing agency, but in order to use your ticket, you have to download an app to present at the venue. They won't let you print a physical copy. I didn't realize that at the time. The only other option is presenting the credit card used, but it has to be in your name (it was in my wife's). I refuse to play their game. This is a good collection of these problems. Add the common situation where an uncurated search engine or map platform will give directions to facilities that no longer exist, particularly a problem when searching for electric car chargers on a low battery. And fragility: when the credit card network or machine malfunctions, no-cash businesses just can’t function. Underfunded cities wasted millions on electronic parking meters and kiosks that couldn’t survive ice. @jill_the_pill @CiaraNi @analogfusion It's even more annoying when a business that does take cash WON'T function if their system is down. They refuse. Write down what people buy and enter it into the system later? Take cash? Nope. @jill_the_pill Those are real problems. Even just seeing the card-swipe machines go offline for a short period in a supermarket - utter chaos. Everyone paralysed, staff and customers alike. @analogfusion @CiaraNi Ticket stubs used to be great souvenirs and reminders of good times. I guess those days of having a paper ticket as a keepsake are gone. At Disney World, Fast Passes used to be a paper ticket. If you didn't use it, you could just hand it to someone else who might want it. Since everything is all digital now, that little act of kindness is impossible. @dbsalk Oh yes! I put the ticket stubs in opera programs afterwards and could instantly transport myself back to the right date and place later. Not the same with digital tickets, sadly. And I'm all nostalgic now for the way we passed on bus and train tickets for unused portions to the nearest stranger getting on as you got off. Little acts of social solidarity! |
Gregory's Server
@analogfusion Agreed, all of this! The expectation that we must download apps and accept constant updates and give away our data and fill our phones and computers, often for something simple and banal like buying a ticket or asking customer service a question.