Is high tech making a new class system ,I think so .

[ontheweb]

55 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

True -- but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Even with your laundromat example, I'm pretty sure that the next time they have to buy new machines they'll get the ones that take cards.

 

In many of the Northern European/Scandinavian countries, cash transactions are virtually obsolete.

They actually did install you have to use a card instead of quarters, but the only way to load money on the card is with cash. (And there is a sign about a charge for getting a new card because so many have been losing their cards.)

[Keksie]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

easy. Just stop carrying cash. Vending machines accept electronic transfer of money. Gas stations, laundromats, convenience store, taxis, even my grandson who mows my lawn has a Venmo account to transfer money into.

The only reason why we aren't a cashless society is because of the resistance to technology.

Or when the store's internet goes down and they are taking cash only.  Or when the person in front of me is fumbling around for their card or it is declined for a $5.37 cup of coffee while I already have the cash for mine in my hand.  Or when the gas pump has a skimmer on it.  Or when the grandson is taxed on his Venmo account.  Cash transactions cannot be traced!

Edited November 15, 2022 by Keksie

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Ok, you tell me how your new technology allows me if I have several $20 bills to turn them into 5s and 10s. Does your magic do everything smartphone do this and I am just not aware of it?

You are going to the wrong ATM (yes that is technology!!).  I have several here in my podunk town that allow you to select the way you get your money - you speciy how many 5s, 10, 20s etc,. you want. I've had to hit those ATM a few times when we ran out of small bills at the hotel and our finance dept was gone for the weekend.  

[slidergirl]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I think that is a worthwhile option.  Some of the new iPads with the remote keyboards looks remarkably compact.  

My iPad Mini with the Keys to Go keypad (I also use it with my iPhone) is a nifty combo. 

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

They actually did install you have to use a card instead of quarters, but the only way to load money on the card is with cash. (And there is a sign about a charge for getting a new card because so many have been losing their cards.)

 

3 hours ago, Keksie said:

Or when the store's internet goes down and they are taking cash only.  Or when the person in front of me is fumbling around for their card or it is declined for a $5.37 cup of coffee while I already have the cash for mine in my hand.  Or when the gas pump has a skimmer on it.  Or when the grandson is taxed on his Venmo account.  Cash transactions cannot be traced!

 

and....  and.... and....

 

For every experience there is an equal and opposite experience.

 

What about the person fumbling with their wallet, counting out change to the penny, then dropping it all on the floor and having to gather it up and start over....

 

Or the person who opens their wallet after their groceries are rung up only to find that they left the cash from the ATM laying in their car?

 

If you are worried about skimming, you need to adopt new technology. Many banks and credit unions are now recommending using a mobile wallet. An alternative to swiping your card, you can pay by mobile wallet including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay. This form of payment is secure because your credit card information is tokenized and rendered useless if a thief were to get hold of it.

 

Cash transactions cannot be traced -- surely you are not recommending something illegal? 😒

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, Keksie said:

Or when the grandson is taxed on his Venmo account.

If he is using it for a business he will be taxed. That would be the same with cash sales unless he was a cheat. If he is not then he doesn’t know how to use Venmo. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[ldubs]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Ok, you tell me how your new technology allows me if I have several $20 bills to turn them into 5s and 10s. Does your magic do everything smartphone do this and I am just not aware of it?

 

No it does not,.  At least, not that I am aware of.   I suspect it will not be long before paper money is a thing of the past and there will be no need  to go from the ATM to the teller window to get the denominations wanted.  We won't need quarters to use the laundromat.  

 

If you think about it a lot of technical advancement does seem like magic -- electricity, electric smart cars that drive themselves, Dick Tracy watches, solar power, computers the size of a deck of cards, etc, etc.  The technology advancement curve is pretty steep.  

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Adobe Acrobat allows you to use a yellow hi-liter to hi-lite sections of a pdf file you deem important

 

Thanks. That would be a pretty handy feature, especially when sharing a pdf  

 

In reality, I was making a poor attempt at humor from an old Charlton Heston quote.  😃

Edited November 16, 2022 by ldubs

[pris993]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:37 AM, Joebucks said:

 

Everyone's a humanitarian and job economist when "saving" cashier jobs. Aka the jobs that most businesses are struggling to fill anymore. This view only comes from a mild perturbance from having to "scan your own groceries". 

 

Personally, I absolutely love the self-checkout. I can get in and out in a minute or two. Meanwhile, the cashier lines will take forever as it almost never fails to be behind someone with a full cart, has questions about everything and its price, can't get their payment ready, etc. Saving 15 minutes in a line is easily worth me putting something in a bag in 2.

Self-checkout is made for you, great.  Not for me!!  I am retired and have time and like using the checkers.  Do the same at the bank, have used an ATM only once, when I was trying to deposit $10,000 in cash and the teller told me she could not do, given new regulations.  I told the teller you will have to help me do it, since I have never used an ATM.  Teller did, have not used an ATM since.   Don't do online banking either.  At some banks I don't even have to wait in line since so few people do banking the old fashion way.  I am in and out in a flash. 

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

True -- but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Even with your laundromat example, I'm pretty sure that the next time they have to buy new machines they'll get the ones that take cards.

 

In many of the Northern European/Scandinavian countries, cash transactions are virtually obsolete.

And there is one more laundromat in town. And recently, a friend using it had to borrow money from me because it no longer would take his debit card to put money on his laundry card.

[cruisemom42]

18 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And there is one more laundromat in town. And recently, a friend using it had to borrow money from me because it no longer would take his debit card to put money on his laundry card.

 

I throw up my hands. The Luddites win!

 

Now everyone log off Cruise Critic immediately and get back to chiselling stone tablets to communicate with each other.

 

🤣

[ontheweb]

And here it is the next day, and no one yet has told me how I could have got the massive amount of earwax out of my ears using the magic of the smartphone and avoided paying a copay. 🤣

Edited November 16, 2022 by ontheweb
added emoji

[CruiserBruce]

Ironic that here is a thread complaining about technology, and there is also an active thread concerning the ineffectiveness of "walkie talkies" and one of the recommended solutions is chat features on cruise line apps.

 

Change is tough sometimes.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 11/13/2022 at 7:46 AM, Joebucks said:

I for one, welcome the use of tech in replacing lots of manual tasks (but not all). Making reservations or placing orders through an app, with a confirmation sent to you, has been infinitely more reliable that calling a number ...

Making reservations is not a manual task.  Mowing your lawn is a manual task. 

On 11/13/2022 at 1:12 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, but what about all the places that make you call a central number, wade through several "menus" (none of which seem to offer precisely what you need), only to finally lead to a human being who has no idea what you need and then ends up transferring you from department to department until you're finally dropped and have to start the whole process over again?

I despise those phone menus.  

On 11/13/2022 at 1:37 PM, Joebucks said:

Personally, I absolutely love the self-checkout. I can get in and out in a minute or two. Meanwhile, the cashier lines will take forever as it almost never fails to be behind someone with a full cart, has questions about everything and its price, can't get their payment ready, etc. Saving 15 minutes in a line is easily worth me putting something in a bag in 2.

Eh, other than the DMV I haven't waited in a 15 minute line in ... forever.  

 

I usually like self check-out -- mainly because I like to bag my own groceries and know they're put together correctly (and without being wasteful of bags).  BUT if I have a coupon or a difficulty of some sort, I'll go to a full-service check-out.  

On 11/13/2022 at 2:01 PM, Charles4515 said:

I am retired. I am never in a hurry. I have my smartphone to occupy my time if the line  is long. 😀

I am retired.  I am occasionally in a hurry.  I don't need to be occupied in a line.  

17 hours ago, klfrodo said:

easy. Just stop carrying cash.

Eh, that might be possible for people who are good with money -- but I've thought numerous times, "What do people who can't maintain a credit card do?"  Debit cards or pre-paid cards might be a partial answer, but a whole lot of people simply can't seem to understand anything except cash-in-hand.  

I'm thinking of adults, but the same thing is true of children.  Children /teens need to understand cash before they move on to the abstract concept of spending with a credit card.  

15 hours ago, ontheweb said:

They actually did install you have to use a card instead of quarters, but the only way to load money on the card is with cash. (And there is a sign about a charge for getting a new card because so many have been losing their cards.)

When my kids were in college, the laundry in their dorm basement took cards /sent a text when the load was done.  It was kinda a pain because the kids had "two accounts" on their college ID card -- one for the meal plan; the other for laundry, xerox machines and a couple other small items.  I'm not sure whether the washer/dryer also took quarters.  

20 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And here it is the next day, and no one yet has told me how I could have got the massive amount of earwax out of my ears using the magic of the smartphone and avoided paying a copay. 🤣

Well, just to be difficult, you could've used your phone to order an earwax removal kit from CVS.  

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I throw up my hands. The Luddites win!

 

Now everyone log off Cruise Critic immediately and get back to chiselling stone tablets to communicate with each other.

 

🤣

It doesn't have to be an all-in or all-out.  People can choose to use the tech that helps them and choose not to use the tech that doesn't work for them.  I don't think that calling everyone who doesn't embrace everything tech a luddite.  Some people may not think that turning over all aspects of their life to a cloud is a wise decision while still using parts of the cloud when it makes sense for them. Once China takes over Taiwan it might be nice to have things that don't depend on chips.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

And here it is the next day, and no one yet has told me how I could have got the massive amount of earwax out of my ears using the magic of the smartphone and avoided paying a copay. 🤣

When I was working I had no copays for that. My primary care physician did it under our plan. So you need a better plan. On my Medicare plans except for Part D drugs I have no copays. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

18 minutes ago, Keksie said:

 Once China takes over Taiwan it might be nice to have things that don't depend on chips.

You are making some assumptions about the future but US companies are moving some production from China. Chips are made in the US already and new plants are being built in the US and Europe.  A large one is underway in Arizona to be online in 2024 and this past week another large chip plant was announced for Arizona 

[CTGirl74]

11 hours ago, pris993 said:

Do the same at the bank, have used an ATM only once, when I was trying to deposit $10,000 in cash and the teller told me she could not do, given new regulations.  

 

I know this isn't the point of your post...but I'm a banker and I am so, SO curious as to what "new regulation" would prevent the teller from processing your $10,000 cash deposit. I'm not questioning you. I'm giving the teller major side eye at that statement. 

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, CTGirl74 said:

 

I know this isn't the point of your post...but I'm a banker and I am so, SO curious as to what "new regulation" would prevent the teller from processing your $10,000 cash deposit. I'm not questioning you. I'm giving the teller major side eye at that statement. 

The poster was probably referring back to the 80's and the Cocaine Cowboy days before there was any money laundering regulations.  You used to be able to walk in with duffle bags full of cash and deposit with no questions asked. Then regulations were put in place where any amount over $10K had to be documented and legally accounted for.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

Well, just to be difficult, you could've used your phone to order an earwax removal kit from CVS.  

Maybe, but I would still have wax in at least the one ear that really had a massive amount. 

 

The doctor came back expecting to have his room for the next patient. And the nurse and I told him it was only half done as she had just finished one ear. She said to me after he left that she was usually very fast, and the other ear was much quicker.

 

I don't believe your do it yourself kit would have accomplished the complete cleaning of one ear. And I assume your do it yourself kit would not have been high technology.

[cruisemom42]

19 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I don't believe your do it yourself kit would have accomplished the complete cleaning of one ear. And I assume your do it yourself kit would not have been high technology.

 

Just because the technology doesn't exist today doesn't mean that it's not going to exist in the future. Remember -- we haven't exactly cured cancer yet either. But "technology" has certainly helped us come up with better drugs that reduce tumors and increase life expectancies in the meanwhile....

 

[CTGirl74]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

The poster was probably referring back to the 80's and the Cocaine Cowboy days before there was any money laundering regulations.  You used to be able to walk in with duffle bags full of cash and deposit with no questions asked. Then regulations were put in place where any amount over $10K had to be documented and legally accounted for.

 

Ah, that makes sense. I didn't start my banking career until 1996. I'm now in the department that investigates the people with "duffle bags full of cash." 😉 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, CTGirl74 said:

 

I know this isn't the point of your post...but I'm a banker and I am so, SO curious as to what "new regulation" would prevent the teller from processing your $10,000 cash deposit. I'm not questioning you. I'm giving the teller major side eye at that statement. 

I did my buying and selling real estate settlements online sending and receiving six figure amounts to and from my bank accounts. No problem. Since my new property was in Texas and my old was in Maryland everything was done remotely including all document signing. Tech saved  me a lot as I did not have to be at either settlement.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I don't believe your do it yourself kit would have accomplished the complete cleaning of one ear. And I assume your do it yourself kit would not have been high technology.

 

I have a do it yourself kit. First I loosen the wax overnight with drops that soften the wax. Then I stream water with a syringe plunger. The kit is from CVS.. Only one ear gets a lot of wax. To prevent having to have the Doctor's nurse do it I clean my ears every couple of months so it does not get impacted. Seems to do the job well without needing the doctor. 

[ColeThornton]

Always good to come to Cruise Critic for ear wax removal tips.  lol