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Giant Touchscreens Coming To NYC Phone Booths
An anonymous reader writes "New York City is planning an upgrade to its aging pay-phone infrastructure. A pilot program will next month install 32-inch touchscreens in 250 phone booths throughout the city. The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages.' They will facilitate the 311 service, and also allow people to file complaints or request city information. The good news is that these screens won't cost the taxpayers anything. The bad news is that they will be supported by advertising. The plan is to eventually support Skype calls and email, and to integrate Wi-Fi hotspots."
Considering the high cost of 32" touch screens, and their almost non-existing serviceability (once you break it, it's gone), is this really such a good idea? It will probably just lead to stealing and breaking, especially during night time. The pay phones itself aren't that expensive, and consists of several parts that you can fix (and they are bulky). These touch screens are.
Besides, even if "tax payers don't need to pay for them and they will be supported by advertising", they will have to eat the costs initially. Advertising will just recoup the cost in the long run, IF it's successful project.
Finally I can get rid of this annoying cell-phone.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
What the fuck is a 'phone booth?'
Anything like those horseless carriages I keep hearing so much about?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
install 32-inch touchscreens in every remaining phone booths throughout the city.
There, fixed that for you.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
We live in the age of 20 dollar disposable cellphones. Enough with the anachronisms. Let the phone booth die.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
really?
i can't remember the last time i have seen one. even the people in the housing projects mostly have smart phones now. only the old luddites don't have them
I feel like it will only be about a week or so until these begin getting hacked by someone wanting to mess around.
Just because you are wrong and I called you out on it doesn't mean I am a Troll.
are they protected against urine?
---- You are fully entitled to my opinion.
How could chatroulette get any worse? Now I know.
People always make space when I change clothes in the crowded street.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
Most importantly, Superman will once again have a
place to change into his costume in the modern era!
What a wonderful idea - they should have done this 20 years ago!!! In as much as the technology to do anything these are planned to do is in 75% or so of the cellphone using public, who would have been the ones interested enough to use them back then. What will they think of next? Lamp, mounted right on the fenders of the carriages so we can see to drive them at night???
I remember that other public resource for street information, the yellow pages. But it was hard to find a set in a phone booth that hadn't been pissed on.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Why the heck do I need a 32" touch screen in my suicide booth?
I expect the next Hipster fad to be a genuine touch screen stolen from a NYC phone booth.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
This sorry endeaviour reeks of political pork-barrell projects and I don't believe that this will cost the tax-payers nothing. Do you really think ad revenue will be enough to provide for the mamouth operating and maintenance costs? It will just be a matter of time before the tax payer needs to get involved. All all of this is to exactly what point? Tear out the phone booths that are really an urban blight. Just about everyone has cell phones and the number of consumers with tablets are growing constantly. Why not take that money and build out WiFi hotspots? Why would I use one of these "phone booths" when I have my own equipment?
You young people with your fancy Model-Ts and internal combustion engines. My Stanley Steamer is good enough for me.
How did you get "replace phones" out of this?
The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages.'...The plan is to eventually support Skype calls and email, and to integrate Wi-Fi hotspots.
These are street-level digital billboards. There's nothing here to suggest that outbound calls can or ever will be made. (Anyone want to defend "eventually"?)
I can see where the author could get confused. Those aren't for phone booths... those are for new suicide booths. If you think about it.. those make a lot more sense for a city like NY.
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -HLM
But can it travel through time?
You want to know how to help your kids? LEAVE THEM THE F*&K ALONE. --George Carlin
If for no other reason than that we know they still have phone booths in New York City!
Personally, I think it'd be nice to have a usable landline available within reachable distance from my position in case there is interference (wireless, concussive, or otherwise) that prevents my cell phone from working when I actually need to use a phone, no matter the rarity of the occasion.
Your post reminds me of the Tennesee man who didn't pay his firefighter fees and was upset the firefighters didn't help his house from not burning down despite offering to pay for it no matter the cost.
On the other hand, expensive touchscreens in public phone booths is just asking for trouble.
"32" Touch-screens being stolen from phone booths across NYC."
Bender: Being with you guys is the best time I've ever had. Hey, a suicide booth! So long, suckers!
Fry: That's not a suicide booth, that's just an ordinary phone booth.
Leela: What were they for?
Fry: In New York, public restrooms.
Leela: I need to stop for a moment.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
I have a 32" tv in my bedroom and a 52" tv in my living room, but in a phone booth I think 26" would be more than enough.
The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages.'
My goodness, that will be *very* nice for the hour they last before being broken, stolen, covered in graffiti and/or soaked with urine.
The good news is that these screens won't cost the taxpayers anything. The bad news is that they will be supported by advertising.
So how else would you suggest they be paid for? Fairy dust and happy thoughts? Tell me just why this is bad news...
Are we all living in MeTV?
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
from NYC pay phone booths. Seriously this was not thought out well.
What the hell is a phone booth?
Graffiti incrusted, urine soaked touch screen...hmmm GREAT IDEA!
I don't know how much of an issue this is in NYC, but in most metro areas of Phoenix, just about every single gas pump display, bathroom mirrors, etc. are constantly vandalized. The wannabe and the real gang bangers use keys (and god knows what else) to scratch their mostly illegible gang acronyms on just about everything. More and more public bathrooms don't even have mirrors anymore, because they get so heavily scratched up with gang banger tagging/scratching. Hell, I've even seen them using acid to etch their gang banger crap into windows of a business. The only place you mostly don't see it is the retirement community areas, but they are by no means exempt from the chronic vandalism. It's quite sad.
Then when half of them are smashed and the other half are stolen.....Anyway ARE there any pay phones anymore? And if they build this crap, what will a call cost? $8?
Have these people looked at the current pay phone conditions? HA Touchscreen! Really!?!
So, they're going to do this for all six pay phones in New York City? I should clarify to mean working pay phones. The subways are full of the derelict hulks of formerly working pay phones. Across the five boroughs, pay phones--especially working ones--are as scarce as hen's teeth. Actual step-inside phone booths are even less abundant.
Anyone get the feeling that when they say a 32 inch screen, they actually mean a 32 square inch screen, as in an 8" by 4" rectangle? Or maybe it's just me that would be hard pressed to but my bedroom TV in a phone booth.
In London, it could make tart cards interesting.
Have gnu, will travel.
90 cents of every local tax dollar in upstate NY goes to NYC (http://nysac.org/legislation.php) and this is how they spend it? Well worth the effort.
About as useful as putting a microusb port on a stoneaxe.
Imagine an image of yourself, from head to toe, and being able to drag&drop knives, chainsaws, various injection needles, razor blades, flamethrowers and whatnot to select how you want to go...
That's why.
Its novel idea re-using old Telephone Booths. However, like everyone else said above...there alot to be said about theft of these unique devices, keep them from infecting people touch those touch-screens. I remember reading in one of NYC's Apple stores that they found number of pretty bad virus on the demo-IPADs or IPhones they had. I can't begin to imagine how bad this will be if this rolls out.
Its going be novelity, depending on how much effort police these booths from being abused or worse, will fade away.
usb you say? you have just made me a very rich man
You mean people pay to use a phone that's not theirs & also has bird flu & bum pee on it?
Giant touchscreen are already all over Bruxelles Central train station. They are not seeing much use, despite relatively friendly software that looks vaguely iPhone-like.