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When the Senate Tried To Ban Dial Telephones
An anonymous reader writes "With the Senate now looking to have the government block access to websites it deems to be bad (which seems to be called 'censorship' in other countries), it's worth pointing out that the Senate doesn't exactly have a good track record when it comes to deciding what technologies to ban. Back in 1930, some Senators came close to banning the dial telephone, because they felt that it was wrong that they had to do the labor themselves, rather than an operator at the other end."
For me self-checkouts are slower. Simply put: I don't move as fast as the full-time worker does. It takes me about 3 times longer. Also the "scale" often doesn't register when I move my item into the shopping bag.
"Please put your item in your bag."
"I did."
"Please put your item in your bag."
(removes item. Puts back into bag)
"Please put your item in your bag."
"Grrr." (pulls item out of shopping cart and dumps into bag)
"Thank you sir. Please scan next item or press done to continue." ----- Yes that's right. I stole an item. Not my fault the machine doesn't work right. It's the store's fault.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
They tried to make the telephone company put back the non-dial phones IN THE SENATE ITSELF. This is similar to me demanding that the phone company turn off my call display, and Slashdot running the story as "Slashdot user attempts to ban call display!!" No attempt was made to ban them.
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
This was a resolution. They were only banning their own dial telephones.
I recently moved to Oregon from another state. If you were here, and asked why someone has to pump your gas - you will be told immediately not that 'gasoline is dangerous', but that the legislation 'creates jobs'. I often pull into an empty gas station and need to wait up to 10 minutes just for someone to swipe my credit card in the machine for me, press the button that corresponds to the grade of fuel I prefer, lift the nozzle from the machine and place it in my tank hole. They then wander off to service the next person. The pump will run more slowly if the station is busy as the attendant ineffectively tries to manage his workload by making the time to fill longer. Often when the pump does stop, you will have to remain seated for another 2 minutes before they remember to return and replace the nozzle in the pump. I drive an older car - and have actually had professional gas attendants forget to replace my gas cap before I drive off. Also, the argument could be made that this is actually more dangerous because the pump is not constantly observed / managed / stood near by the individual who is also concerned for the car. It's a wonderful example of how government can create jobs by injecting inefficiency into a market - ultimately wasting time and money that I would posit could more effectively be utilized in a free-er market.
In summary - it's just as ridiculous as it sounds.
My experience has been completely different, though my roommates is similar to yours. When we buy groceries I check us out.
I don't deny there are some bugs but I think the majority of problems come from being an immature technology.
The following are my thoughts on the casual observations of the way my roommate and I check out.
The machine has a very limited margin of error for the timing between scanning and weighing and scanning the next item.
The scale for instance can lag because the initial force of dropping the item in the bag registers more than rest weight. If you scan the next item before the scale stabilizes it throws the thing out of whack and it won't recover until the cashier comes over. In the meantime the software starts to lag and the instructions don't keep up with the customer's actions. This spirals into a very unpleasant experience for the customer.
One solution could be to wait until the end when everything has stabilized to report an error. And then to have an idea of which item it could be that it doesn't understand. It would also help if the stores realized relying on such exacting weights problem cause more shrinkage than people who go in with the intention of shoplifting.
That's my 2 dollars worth anyway.
Same argument around the proliferation of ATM's at banks. It was originally a vehicle to reduce staff expenditure (salary, benefits etc.), and save money. The irony is that you are often charged more for using an ATM transaction than to walk into a live branch and talk to a teller for the same transaction.
Talk about messed up
Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress
Aldi's, a budget grocery store chain that has a presence around here as well as elsewhere, does this but phrases it as a charge (nickel? dime?) to buy their bags. As for PriceRite, another store chain in that niche, not sure if they do.
These stores do a lot of other money-saving things (fewer name brands, cart control, less-glitzy store layout, et cetera) as well
Unsurprisingly, these chains are rather popular, whether you're poor or not.
"I can tell this wedding was covered by Parents Of A Newlywed Catering by the large amount of visible Aldi's packaging". :P
Even at the stores that don't charge for bags, I like Dad's idea of bringing plastic bins and small coolers to the store - sturdier, fewer objects to carry and prevents an unnecessarily large accumulation of those plastic bags.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
In Germany the service of gasoline pumping is outlawed because of the health issue. If you pumping gas for 20 or more years 12 hours a day you will get very costly health issues. But if the customers pumping, they are pumping maybe once in a week, they will not notice anything.
Nice backwards thinking, USA. But on the other hand, most of you don't have health insurance anyway, so the service guy will die with 50 anyway.
http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
Saving $2/day leads to an extra $700 per year for vacation/toys. That's something like 3 full weekends of dance workshops, for instance.
"We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
ATT did not invent the dial phone. a Missouri undertaker did. this was good ol' fashioned corporate hardball at work.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
You're right. I do sometimes get yelled at.
So I just say, "Fine. Whatever. Pump the gas."
Or, "Go ahead, call the cops and arrest me. I don't care. Do you treat all your tourists like shit?"
Or, "I'll be sure to tell everyone back home in Maryland how much Jersey sucks. 'Course they already know that."
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
FEWER staff, not less
Fewer staffers, less staff. (the former being countable)
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Congratulations! I went down 2/3rd's of the page, skipping past an argument about self-checkout lanes, some bashing on Grey Goose Vodka, and reiterating about how much New Jersey sucks, before finally finding you, a person who had actually read the article and realized that this was about banning dial phones for Senators only.
That said, Senator Clarence Dill made a good point:
In his experience, the dial phone "could not be more awkward than it is. One has to use both hands to dial; he must be in a position where there is good light, day or night, in order to see the number; and if he happens to turn the dial not quite far enough, then he gets a wrong connection."
Rotary phones were a terrible interface, indeed.
Not a typewriter
Some banks offer a refund of such ATM surcharges, either limited $$ per month or unlimited, i'm thinking E*Trade Bank, Charles Schwab Checking, ING Direct, Merrill Lynch, Arcacia, Everbank, GMAC, USAA, and others.
Many banks also have 'home network', where there are no surcharges to transactions on ATMs 'in the network'. You can avoid surcharges, either by picking the right bank, or by going to the right ATM, there are a wealth of choices.
ATM surcharge is an idiot tax :)
[Or a tax for people who are in need cash fast in an emergency, from some casino or convenience store with a 3rd party operator]
Sometimes you have to pay for extra convenience. But your bank is indeed happy to let you use their ATMs for free, instead of using the teller -- they won't charge -- in fact, they'll encourage it.
In the UK, ATMs in the walls of banks are generally free to all users, including customers of other banks. ATMs in other places - groceries, pubs, hotels etc - generally charge £1.50 or £1.75 - about $2.00.
Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.