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There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

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Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#151

Post by unicornporn »

bnjemian wrote: post #26
Waterluvian wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone can make an absolute killing by creating an entire brand of “dumb” appliances that Just Work. Make them sensible quality, modern, entirely offline.

100% agree, I've been saying this for years. I've joked with friends that I'd call it Dumb Inc. It's (mostly) in jest, but I think there's a real mismatch of expectations with a lot of modern appliances with respect to what a consumer needs and what companies use to try and differentiate their products from the competition. In evolutionary biology, there's this idea that "evolution is stingy" – in most cases, a speci…

> 100% agree, I've been saying this for years. I've joked with friends that I'd call it Dumb Inc.

The problem is that — in a not so distant future, where every company makes a large slice of its profit from selling user data — Dumb Inc. products will be a lot more expensive than the competition. As people in general are not technically competent to assess the consequences of their digital actions, they will chose the cheaper option. So, perhaps Dumb Inc. won't have mass market appeal, but I guess it could still sell to the techo elite. :)

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#152

Post by nicbou »

gnabgib wrote: post #138
akudha wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years ago, I was at a huge electronics store in NYC. I wanted to buy something small, maybe 30 bucks worth. The cashier won’t bill unless I gave him my phone number. I asked him why he needs my number, he said “in case you return the item”. I told him he needs the receipt, not phone number, while returning items. He didn’t budge. I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I left without purchasing. It is not just collecting…

Well done standing your ground. Some retailers will try the same with postal code/zip.. that's shameless marketing collection to show which regions are performing with fliers. You should always be able to say "No" (and many cashiers just accept this, but of course it's framed like you must to continue), if they push you `H0H 0H0` (those are zeros) is a valid Canadian postal code for a fellow who won't be visiting the…

I like to believe that those who spam this postal code end up on the naughty list

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#153

Post by treis »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #146
unicornporn wrote: post #13

Oh, great timing. Just ended a conversation with some friends who had bought a dishwasher. The display for these new machines had been removed, so the only way to tell when the machine was really finished was to... Guess what? Download an app! I suppose I don't need to tell you all the permissions it asked for...

> The display for these new machines had been removed, so the only way to tell when the machine was really finished was to... Guess what? Welll.... The display on my dishwasher technically exists. It is set on the top face of the panel, facing up into the counter, so it cannot be seen when the dishwasher is closed. I'm not sure who thought of this, but it must have been approved by multiple people to appear on a real…

Mine is like that. Looks better, IMHO. There's a red light that's projected on the ground to tell you if it is running or not.

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#154

Post by CircleSpokes »

jdavis703 wrote: post #143
throwaway55421 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I've never really understand this. If I go to a shop and "the landlord" charges me a fee, or fines me, the effect is exactly the same as if the business were responsible. Imagine if the landlord whacked up a turnstile and imposed a $1 fee for everyone entering the building. Same effect. Tons of people would refuse to go on principle, myself included.

The cost of “free” parking is added to the prices the store charges. It’s better to unbundle these costs — an urban parking space can cost over $50,000 to build. That’s not cheap, and will materially impact rents and the price consumers have to pay.

Why is it better to unbundle them? I don't see why a business or person would want the extra hassle of paying for parking separately. Like paying for event parking is one thing but paying to shop at a store is beyond silly. What is next paying to use the drive through?

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#155

Post by nicbou »

rav3ndust wrote: post #60
dogman144 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Do you need my phone number to checkout” or “I forgot my phone” always works tbh. Just have to be a little disagreeable.

What about a simple "I don't have a mobile?" A lot of folks forget there are still people who don't have one - and many who don't want one. If the store won't transact with someone simply because they don't feel like handing out that bit of information (or simply because they don't have the information to provide), they're not really a store worth transacting with.

Or in my case "I just have my German phone number" (when I'm in Canada).

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#156

Post by anjbe »

ben_w wrote: post #87
akudha wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years ago, I was at a huge electronics store in NYC. I wanted to buy something small, maybe 30 bucks worth. The cashier won’t bill unless I gave him my phone number. I asked him why he needs my number, he said “in case you return the item”. I told him he needs the receipt, not phone number, while returning items. He didn’t budge. I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I left without purchasing. It is not just collecting…

“You need a number? Ok, +44 908 …” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number I hear you though. I failed to receive a flight ticket because the airline accepted but could not use an address with a + before the @; and when I tried to use a website to prove my identity to get a local SIM after moving county, customer service claimed to only support Windows and Android and wouldn’t help me when I conne…

Using a premium‐rate phone number doesn’t help anything though. Like the parent mentioned, it’s not like the retailer ever actually calls the number. The problem is that advertisers use the number to correlate one person’s activity across multiple retailers and services.

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#157

Post by msrenee »

JasonFruit wrote: post #106
MBCook wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens in two or three years when they decide to stop updating the app and it no longer works on your phone? They couldn’t bother since there was no recurring revenue stream so you just have to buy a new dishwasher?

Or if Apple decides their devices can be .08mm thinner without Bluetooth?

Then how would they sell their headphones?

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#158

Post by nicbou »

_puk wrote: post #96
the_snooze wrote: post #16

I hate tech like this. It ostensibly offers some minor convenience for the end-user, but it's really just a big data grab for whatever company implemented it. A few years ago, I went to a local Shake Shack and found they replaced their cashiers with kiosks. But placing an order requires me to give them my phone number, supposedly so they can text me when my order was ready. This should have been a very simple transac…

The minute tech gets involved it's also another thing to go wrong.. Personal anecdote time: Recently went to a car park that had to pay by phone and no phone signal (in the UK if it's relevant). This was obviously a common problem, so they provided an open WiFi network limited to just the parking website. Unfortunately, I had to create an account to be able to pay to park, and the account creation was gated by a Goog…

This reminds me of all the QR code menus that rely on everyone having a data connection. International tourists also eat in restaurants.

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#159

Post by Eelongate »

CircleSpokes wrote: post #154
jdavis703 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of “free” parking is added to the prices the store charges. It’s better to unbundle these costs — an urban parking space can cost over $50,000 to build. That’s not cheap, and will materially impact rents and the price consumers have to pay.

Why is it better to unbundle them? I don't see why a business or person would want the extra hassle of paying for parking separately. Like paying for event parking is one thing but paying to shop at a store is beyond silly. What is next paying to use the drive through?

> Why is it better to unbundle them?

Better... for who? I don't know if it's better for either business or society, but it's better for me because I walk to the grocery store and never take my car. If the price of parking is unbundled from the price of food, then I don't have to pay for something I'm not using.

Re: There may be a steep privacy cost if you park here

#160

Post by jay3ss »

unicornporn wrote: post #13

Oh, great timing. Just ended a conversation with some friends who had bought a dishwasher. The display for these new machines had been removed, so the only way to tell when the machine was really finished was to... Guess what? Download an app! I suppose I don't need to tell you all the permissions it asked for...

This is an awful, consumer hostile trend. I have a Bose sound bar that requires an app, account, and internet and blue tooth connection just to change the settings. Luckily it has a remote so I can use it without any of those things, but it can only change the volume and power the device on/off. I only kept it because the sound is good and it was a gift.
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