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Online Banking And Browser Support
robbo writes "Earlier this week, The Register ran a piece on major UK banks and E-commerce sites' refusal to support alternative browsers for online banking, and they followed up with a list of saints and sinners. The reasons vary from requiring support for proprietary technology to security. My own bank only recently started supporting Netscape 6 (but they still don't support Mozilla). Clearly, support for Mozilla, Konqueror, or Galeon are absolutely necessary if projects like GNUCash can successfully integrate online banking. How does the Slashdot crowd find their banking support? Is your bank a sinner or a saint?"
My bank isn't online yet you insensitive clod.
Opera is "alternative" because it leads a gay lifestyle.
Now that I embedded the Apache web server into my mattress I found that I can do all of my banking online.
-- Many men would appreciate a woman's mind more if they could fondle it
You must be fun at a parties.
The world needs more people like you :-)
Seriously, though, one thing I wished more people did, was at least do the converse as well, and write a letter letting a company know when you think they've done something *right*. It's almost unheard of; people often intend to, but never get around to it, unlike letters of complaint.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
How does the Slashdot crowd find their banking support?
Mommy, can I have five dollars?
When banks analyze their log file traffic and 90%+ of their traffic is coming from IE, then yes, people get the impression that IE is the standard.
In a related story, all branches of various major banks have concluded analysis of their customers' outfits when entering the bank. One of the key statistics revealed by this analysis was that over 90% of customers entering a bank wore long pants or dresses (mainly female). Customers wearing shorts were at about 7% of the total, and the rest was undistinguishable clothing.
Following this key statistic, all of the major banks have decided to deny entry and service to anyone wearing shorts by having one security guard outside of every branch. "Most our customers don't wear shorts anyway" - pointed out one of the senior VPs, who asked to remain anonymous. Wearing shorts was also attributed to having "less secure pocketing architecture" with more likelihood of tears, "losing stuff", and largely insecure banking atmosphere. Other reports have stated that shorts are not really appropriate when entering a financial institution to conduct a professional transaction.
Everyone at the end agrees that standard (long) pants and dresses (mostly for women) are a standard outfit, and barring customers wearing shorts from these bank branches would not eventually have a significant impact. Yet some of these people passionately standing by these alternative outfits have found other ways to "fool" banks. Some have reported that the latest in loose and somewhat longer shorts fashion allowed them to deceive the bank guards and pass by them undetected. Some of these "hackers" pointed out that "pushing your shorts down your waist" can help one a lot. It is also worth pointing out that this strategy will not work in all banks and all branches. Unofficial reports state that some bank guards are instructed to check every questionable clothing item thoroughly before allowing anyone inside.
Meanwhile, various cunsumer protection and civil liberties groups have cried foul, arguing that everyone wearing a decent outfit, including shorts, should be allowed inside the branches. Banks, however, remain firm in their approach to only allow standard outfits for now, but did not exclude the possibility of revisiting the issue 2 to 3 years down the road.