Installing a payphone in my house • Hacker News Board

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#171

Post by usr1106 » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:19 PM UTC

In the 1990s credit cards were pretty uncommon in Europe. Most shops that a student would shop at did not accept any.

When I visited the US I was shocked that you could do all kind of business by just telling or typing in the number on the phone. I soon learned that cheaper businesses (e.g international calls at discount rates) did not accept my foreign card. However, more expensive businesses (like AT&T to stay at the same example) just accepted the number, no questions asked. CVV wasn't in use. A concept that exceeded my imagination, credit card numbers are not that secret, everone working at a checkout could collect them. When reading this I guess they would have also accepted phantasy numbers with a matching checksum.

My conclusion back then was: For those operating at comfortable margins some loss by fraud is just priced in. Those offering cheap prices don't have the luxury to do so, so they reject everything that is not easy to verify, like e.g. foreign cards.

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#172

Post by kingkawn » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:26 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

Here’s your merit badge for pedantry

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#173

Post by samtheDamned » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:33 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

You'd be surprised..

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#174

Post by stavros » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:35 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

Not for lack of trying.

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#175

Post by stavros » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:37 PM UTC

AlbertCory wrote: post #62

bmitc wrote: post #52

That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. I think it really highlights the simple joy that technology that literally just works can bring. I'm around the same age as the author, a little younger in fact, but there's just something about today's Internet and a lot of the overwhelming amount of technology that just isn't fun or memorable. Fr…

Very true. The old-fashioned telephone handset was a masterpiece of human engineering. I bet with state-of-the-art mic and speakers, it would still be way better than a smartphone for actual phone calls. Of course, I have to admit that my Bluetooth headset is pretty good, and a first-class gaming headset would be even better.

I converted an old rotary phone into a mobile phone (https://www.stavros.io/posts/irotary-saga/), and the quality is much better than a mobile. Even just the sidetone makes it SO much better to talk on.

I have no idea why modern mobile phones have no (or very low volume?) sidetone. It makes the UX orders of magnitude better.

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#176

Post by eddieroger » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:38 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #117

franga2000 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mic and speaker in the 90s Iskra payphones are far superior in sound quality to anything you'd find in a cheap phone these days. I hooked one up to Discord last month for an art instalation and could not believe my ears when it sounded way better than the 3 other people in the call using flagship smartphones.

One thing has not improved one iota in the 30 years I've had a cell phone - the voice quality.

You're calling the wrong people, or people on the wrong networks. I am on Verizon, and certainly if I call another Verizon customer (and I'm pretty sure if I call another carrier), it sounds as clear as if we were in the same room, as good as FaceTime audio or any other high fidelity voice system. You may just not realize it until you call someone else and compare, or hear someone move from their car's older Bluetooth system to cellular when they get out of the car (or headphones, etc), but voice quality has definitely improved to the point of not needing to improve further.

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#177

Post by Jerrrry » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:57 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

Always-online teenagers are a different demographic than your "average" teenager.

the highs of an exploit working or a bypass make drugs look like candy.

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#178

Post by williamcotton » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:58 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

If we’re talking about the AOHell era of the mid 90s then I have anecdotal evidence that the majority of kids I knew were committing some kind of wire fraud in exchange for internet access!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOHell

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#179

Post by toss1 » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 2:13 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

Said the one who clearly missed out....

Re: Installing a payphone in my house

#180

Post by samstave » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 2:20 PM UTC

languageserver wrote: post #161

unityByFreedom wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a really awesome story with a great opening, middle, and especially the end, if one ignores the adolescent fraud. That admission was the best part! Everyone here was not goody two shoes in their teens. Accepting this reality can release people from expectations of perfection. Perhaps ironically, kids' behavior can improve when they feel their imperfections are airable.

I am not sure credit card fraud is innocent pranks or misbehavior... I can tell you with certainty that most teenagers have never committed that sort of crimes tbh.

Credit card fraud was really common in the 80 among "hacker" types.

I knew of several in Lake Tahoe that were high-school kids at the time in the late 80s - someohow managed to get credit cards and would order deliveries to "vacation homes" in lake tahoe where they knew the owners lived in the bay area and wouldnt be at the house - and would have things dropped off to the vacant houses to go get them.

Also, in 1980 - we had a payphone inside our home in Tahoe. I didnt know this was an odd thing to have until much later.