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Smart Wallets React To Spending By Shrinking
fangmcgee writes "These high-tech wallets are digitally programmed to react to your bank account levels by shrinking in size, refusing to open, or vibrating whenever a transaction is processed. From the article: 'The Proverbial Wallets come in three attractive styles to fit your spending needs: The Mother Bear has a constricting hinge that makes it harder to open the closer you approach your monthly budget, while the Bumblebee buzzes every time a transaction is processed. The Peacock inflates and deflates with the amount of cash in your account, which puts your assets on “display” for potential mates, according to the designers.'"
I think the peacock will be great - just use javascript to market to foursquare users. Privacy be damned.
Get a web developer
"The Parasite". Sniffs the local wireless traffic for your bank account details when the wallet queries for your balance...
Seriously though, they better secure these things properly, because it sounds cool and people won't care until it's too late. And because I won't let myself get anything like this until I know it's secure, but I want one!
Bumblebee. Great for watching your spouse.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
...start shrunk and remain so
RGdot.com
The high-tech - and no doubt expensive - wallet will respond to its own purchase by collapsing into a singularity.
How about adding 'Economic Responsibility, Saving and Budgeting' to our Elementary school's course curriculum?
This would go a whole lot farther than a wallet that sends and electric shock every time you overdraw your account with a $5 latte.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
That can't be very comfortable...
My first thought was that these were useless gimmicks until the article reminded me how credit and debit cards disconnect us from feedback on how much we spend. Now I've got to admit that this attempts to tackle a legitimate problem. I still suspect these wallets will be pricey enough to be in the "expensive novelty" range, but I'm not willing to write them off entirely. It'll also help if electronic devices move to standard inductive charging since the notion of having to regularly plug a charger into a wallet for this bit of feedback seems like too much of a hassle; allowing the owner to just toss it on a mat next to their cellphone makes it more viable.
Cool. I hope those "inflating to impress the girls" ones become common. Hacking one should be trivial. :-)
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
How much and do you take Visa?
I propose a smart wallet be given free of charge to everyone in Congress that would drive a stake through the spot where one would normally find a heart.
(...)
The Costanza. A trifold full of receipts, transit tickets, singles, and other stuff. It's to "The Peacock" what a hairpiece is to hair.
We're also releasing the Care-free Fedora! This new model shrinks more and more as you reach your daily thought quota. If you're starting to have personal opinions, an HD tv-screen comes up in front of your eyes and cannot be switched off or removed for 12 hours! But here's the best feature of this item : if you try to formulate disagreement or political opinions, or try to remove the hat, a mecanical arm reaches out and puts a bullet in your brain! To add a nice touch, it even places the gun in your hand to disguise it as suicide. Buy now! Hurry!
Now if we only had smart consumers.
Good thing we don't have smart boxers or briefs though. After you spend, it shrinks...could be painful.
There are actually three types - one that shrinks and grows, one that vibrates for every transaction, and, my personal favorite, one that becomes harder and harder to open as you approach a limit. That kind of tactile feedback forces you to realize where you are each month. It's small, but if you make something harder to open, people are definitely less likely to do so even if overcomable. The problem is that by the time you're getting out your wallet it's usually too late, so the Costanza-esque model is probably most useful. The biggest issue is the requirement for a constant Bluetooth link to your phone using your data plan. No need to have a near-constant stream of data, especially when you're trying to cut costs.
I live in constant fear of the Coming of the Red Spiders.
must work quite well if you want to use it for something "else" while beeing with a prostitute :)
So the peacock wallet is a little like a loincloth where the more "assets" you have the more it "puts your assets on “display” for potential mates"?
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
The Peacock inflates and deflates with the amount of cash in your account, which puts your assets on “display” for potential mates,
I'm sure pickpockets would appreciate this feature as well.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Chips are not fucking smart, cards are not fucking smart, materials are not fucking smart, a person may or may not be smart, an animal like a dog might be smart, inanimate objects are not smart or intelligent or clever or fucking astute!
I don't see these things doing anything except getting on their users nerves and wasting money.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
The Golden Wallet would shrink as the Federal Reserve Notes in your bank account lose value.
Spot price of gold right now ... $1408.50 / oz. Up $22.60 in the first few hours of trading today.
...Until you get pulled over on your way back from buying a new HDTV, and you can't pull out your license. "Sorry officer, my wallet won't let me comply with your orders" will not be a valid excuse.
Oh shit! They have wasted their valuable time to create a... crappy wallet? Get some real money instead, problem solved, and your privacy remains protected (banks cannot follow up on all transactions as they can when paying with cards).
Just take with you a wallet with only coins in it (aka "coin purse"). It has the following advantages:
- It does shrink in size as you run out of money
- It also decreases in mass as you run out of money.
- It limits the types of money you will be spending. For example, you won't be going out for dinner with coins, thus eliminating your optional expenditures altogether.
Also, limit your monthly withdrawal to $500 from chequing and $1500 from savings. If your bank doesn't allow you, switch banks.
In soviet Russia, God creates you!
...but the "this is a stupid waste of money" buzzer in my head went off.
All I need is this new gadget!
Hopefully it closes automatically if I try to buy another one.
Ironic that the smart wallet itself is a frivolous purchase... who's in the market for this exactly? I know people like to cram in tech wherever they can, but this is extremely superfluous.
Twinstiq, game news
When you rub it it turns into a suitcase...
When I take money out, my wallet gets a little smaller. When I put some back in, it gets a little bigger. What's so smart about that? Wouldn't mind the vibrator function, though. Could be useful for those days when my wife is being a pain in the ass.
Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
And still, this seems sooooooooo stupid; thus perhaps perfect for unabashed consumerism.
Did you ever wake up in the morning, with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes? -- FZ
... but. How about just connect your bank accounts to your smart phones and use the phones as currency? We'd need short-range data transmission technology (with adequate encryptions and securities). That way, we can see our balance live and put up safety measures that prevents spending. The technology is already there.
I'd get the Peacock, but it would probably form a singularity. ;-)
Criminals will be thrilled that their high-value targets are identifying themselves. But I guess the kind of guy who gets the "Peacock" is already wearing a fur coat and leather hat anyway...
The size of the wallet is based on my bank balance?!? Now I'll NEVER be able to find my wallet!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
This sounds like something J. K. Rowling could have invented.
They look ugly. They read your bank balance. No wai!
is shrink to the point that it doesn't exist after observing you shell out the cash for it.
The good thing about an electronic wallet is you don't have to worry about making change.
I'd fanatasized at one time about a form of paper money in a basic denomination that could 'majically' adhere to itself, through some sort of magnetic or velcro-ish property.
So, no need to break that $20; you'd just tear off what you need.
Of course, if you carried around large amounts of cash it would get difficult to fold.
IT'S A TRAP!!!