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What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

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Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#71

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

bombcar wrote: post #22

If I can go the other way - one thing the USA has that Europe, at least, doesn’t - the ADA. US businesses are basically all wheelchair accessible - easily, too. Most sidewalks have curb cuts at street crossings. Ramps are commonplace. This is NOT the cause in Europe, and not only in the historic old buildings. Even using a stroller is noticeably different; I can’t imagine being in a wheelchair in some cities.

Europe is diverse. The parts of Germany I happen to know, are mostly ADA compliant, or even more so. From the little bits I know about stuff like that. Anything wheelchair accesible I tend to notice as avid bicyclist. Other things are clearly visible, audible, or tactile. Like textured markings on the ground for the blind, braille markings on all sorts of buttons, near screens, acoustic signaling at street crossings, in stations, doors of buses & trains, lifts, in all sorts of public spaces. If there is something wrong with that, say a lift for acessability of platforms, it's in the local news. Which doesn't necessarily means it gets fixed fast, depending on who manages that property. Let's say Deutsche Bahn, which is mostly foobared.

Anyways, that is NOT the case in the parts I know of the US. Much less markings, much less signaling, much shrug, so what?

I guess the US are diverse too, uh?

What comes to mind for .de and its ADA-equivalents are:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behindertengleichstellungsgese...

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrierefreiheit

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrierefreies_Bauen

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodenleitsystem ( I like to walk on these! )

Also funny, in the middle of the night, when there is no traffic at all, are the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncopation 's the traffic lights produce.

Beeping or 'knocking' drifting slowly apart, to randomly come to be synchronized for a moment, then drifting apart again. I think I'd go crazy when I'd have to live near such things.

Otherwise, during daily life I tend to be annoyed by all that beeping.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#73

Post by rkomorn »

Nextgrid wrote: post #66
rkomorn wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any experience with making fraudulent transactions, but I at least had to prove who I was when signing up for recurring transactions (so the fraud would've been effectively in my name), and I also see all my authorizations in my bank app (and I can remove them at any time). In the US, I'd be more worried about a one-time fraudulent ACH withdrawal than a recurring payment situation. I don't see a similar…

I pay for several services via SEPA direct debit and the only things I had to provide to sign up was an IBAN and a pinky-promise I was the account holder. As far as I know they have to way to correlate the identity information on the provider account to the bank account holder’s, so it should work in case of fraud too. This lines up with how UK direct debits work as well, where a “sort code” (bank identifier) and acc…

That sounds right.

IME, though, the whole authorization system I've had to use with SEPA and IBANs feels more secure, and I've had no misgivings about using it to transfer or receive money.

By comparison, using ACH to transfer funds between accounts is usually bidirectional in bank apps, so if you give me your account info so I can send you money, I can also use that same info to withdraw money.

That means I'd never send you my routing and account number even if the original purpose is for you to send me money.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#74

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

octo888 wrote: post #16
Nextgrid wrote: post #2

The Swiss public transport ticketing system. Their app uses location services to automatically determine your fare, so you don’t need to buy tickets in advance: https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/apps/sbb-mobile/eas... . As a bonus there are no ticket barriers so no queues and no overheads of maintaining those machines.

What an Orwellian nightmare. These systems require real-time GPS data. Just as buying a ticket with cash is becoming increasingly hard in parts of Europe, I can see a near future where having a phone sending constant GPS updates becomes a requirement (a requirement in an strict sense, or the sense that the alternative is unreasonably cumbersome or more expensive)

Tss...

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_beast#Mark_of_th...

Furthermore: Nostradamus, Mühlhiasl, Alois Irlmaier, Baba Vanga

They all had something to say about universal tracking of movement in general, and payments especially. Depending on interpretation, of course. But visions and trips can be hazy and vague. As can be translations of very old texts.

For instance, that (mark of the) beast can also mean just a (new(emerging)) thing, not a literal animal.

Which in this context can mean anything from credit-/debit-/chipcard/smartphone/bar-, QR-code/(implanted or otherwise mandatory)RFID, where without that you can't do a thing.

The new passport, revokable anytime, for any reason.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID2020 , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You'll_own_nothing_and_be_happ... , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Secrecy_Act , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_activity_report , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer which on paper look all very good und justified.

But... when you are cought as bystander in some dragnet, or your accounts are canceled by some zalgorithmic system spasm, the banks have (mandatory)internal systems which forbid them to give any information about why to the affected person.

Which also can be (ab)used to silence/disable/cancel politically divergents/misfits, whistleblowers, etc. Triggered by their political enemies.

Brave new world, isn't it?

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#75

Post by tdeck »

yen223 wrote: post #43
tionate wrote: post #20

Old school but all the machines for paying in cash in Japan are so optimized for speed. Train stations, onboard buses, convenience stores. Just throw in a handful of coins and it quickly picks what it needs and returns what it doesn’t. In other countries (eg australia), the ticket machines could only take a single coin at a time and would reject if you did it too fast. I believe this is one (of several) reasons why c…

Sydney lets you use your credit card to tap on to trains and buses, which is very nice

Vancouver does this too, at least on the SkyTrain. Very convenient when you're a visitor.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#76

Post by tdeck »

preya2k wrote: post #6

Swiss/Danish/Finnish Mobile Payment alternatives like TWINT and MobilePay. Also: physical lockers with PIN/Code instead of keys (in basically every country aside from Germany). It's just completely bonkers to me, that German train station lockers still use physical Keys EVERYWHERE.

I like the keys. The key has the locker number on it, so you don't have to remember anything. And there's no way to screw up setting the pin because of a language barrier, since there are basically no instructions needed for key lockers. FWIW the key lockers are more common in Japan as well.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#77

Post by tdeck »

jamesdhutton wrote: post #23

In the USA, the postal service picks up outgoing mail from your mailbox. I wish they would do that in the UK.

This is only true in rural areas and most suburbs. In the city, you often have to take it to a blue post box.

Although some carriers will pick up outgoing mail in an apartment building if you leave it where they can see it and indicate it clearly.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#78

Post by cddotdotslash »

In China, nearly everything works via the same app (WeChat) and via QR code. Every grocery store, coffee shop, train station, or point of sale has the same scanner, where you can flash your QR code. I don't think I saw a single physical currency exchanged in the entire 6 weeks I was there.

I keep hearing that X wants to be the "everything" app. WeChat is _already_ the everything app. It's DoorDash, Venmo, Facebook, Instagram, and about 500 other apps in one.

I will say that I disliked the pattern of every restaurant using a WeChat "mini app" where it basically loads an entirely new app within WeChat just to see the menu or order. It felt much clunkier than just using a web page.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#79

Post by trillic »

tdeck wrote: post #75
yen223 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sydney lets you use your credit card to tap on to trains and buses, which is very nice

Vancouver does this too, at least on the SkyTrain. Very convenient when you're a visitor.

as does Chicago. Credit card or just any tap to pay card on your phone works tapping in and out.

Re: What services or apps did you see abroad and wonder: why don't we have them?

#80

Post by Gud »

octo888 wrote: post #16
Nextgrid wrote: post #2

The Swiss public transport ticketing system. Their app uses location services to automatically determine your fare, so you don’t need to buy tickets in advance: https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/apps/sbb-mobile/eas... . As a bonus there are no ticket barriers so no queues and no overheads of maintaining those machines.

What an Orwellian nightmare. These systems require real-time GPS data. Just as buying a ticket with cash is becoming increasingly hard in parts of Europe, I can see a near future where having a phone sending constant GPS updates becomes a requirement (a requirement in an strict sense, or the sense that the alternative is unreasonably cumbersome or more expensive)

You don’t have to use this (awesome) system.

You can buy tickets to the trains and trams everywhere.

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