QR code insanity
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lot of places use honor system. No need to maintain a gate that's always broken or a pay booth that never works. Street side parking with parking meters also work that way. You can take the chance that no one will come and check the meter, or just pay. we got stuck 30 minutes at an airport gate once with a long line of cars behind us waiting for the sole attendant to come in and fix the gate.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
Maximilien wrote:
You can take the chance that no one will come and check the meter, or just pay.
City where I am for a very long time there was not much checking. Then the city fired all of those that checked the meters. And replaced it with a private company. Which I am sure gets a cut of the collections. So now besides just a meter violation there are all sorts of miniscule laws (like how far you are parked from the curb) which get ticketed a lot more.
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Of course abuse of QR codes is obvious. QR codes can be phishing scams in disguise, warns the FTC - The Verge[^] But I encounter this real scenario.... Went to park at a downtown parking lot that I had not parked at for quite some time (pre-covid probably). Before there used to be credit card reader kiosk. Those have been around for a while. Now all there is is a sign, rather large one, with a message like 'Use the QR code to pay'. Then of course a QR code. It is trivially simple to print out a QR code and just cover up the real one. Not even sure in this case that replacing it would require more than just someone that was a bit taller than average. One could likely do that on quite a few lots in one night. It would be days or even weeks before anyone figured it out. Even if a diligent check of proceeds from one lot showed reduced revenue I bet figuring out why would take some time and one lot owner would probably just fix their own lots. And they would be unlikely to rescind tickets, handed out of course because the real QR code wasn't used, unless a government agency started getting involved. Perhaps not even then.
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Does there still exist a way to pay without the QR code? There's times when QR codes are helpful/useful but when that's the only option, that's a problem. There's an assumption that everyone has a smart-phone, and that's not true. There's a number of people that don't even own a cell-phone, never mind a smart phone. And that doesn't include the lost, forgotten, broken, or out of juice phones. And, as you point out, there's many ways that this could be abused. And if you and I can think of ways to abuse this, then you know that others with far fewer scruples are thinking about it, too.
"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants" Chuckles the clown
k5054 wrote:
Does there still exist a way to pay without the QR code?
Not at that lot. And I did look. I have used several other lots in the downtown region recently and those still use a credit card reader. Only. Cash not allowed. One types in the license plate number then selects how long, then the credit card.
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I guess that requires mobile phone coverage, supporting all the various standard of all potential customers. Maybe 100% geographical smartphone coverage is the top priority development goal of every country in the world, ahead of health care, decent and healthy food, education and housing. I read a claim a few days ago that 90% of all adults on earth own a smartphone. I am not sure that I believe that figure, but my impression is that less than 90% have decent health care, food, education and housing. Maybe having a smartphone will help them forget their uncovered needs. Having mobile technology available as an option is great, but I really dislike how we make ourselves (read: the entire world) totally dependent on it working flawlessly at any time, and is available to every one of us at any time. When I go out for a walk, or go downtown shopping, or whatever, I usually leave my smartphone at home. (Except when I go out with friends who take for granted that they can carry on a conversation with me through texting if the noise at the pub gets so loud that we have problems hearing each other across the table, so we use SMS for chatting :-))
trønderen wrote:
When I go out for a walk, or go downtown shopping, or whatever, I usually leave my smartphone at home.
Optimist? Myself I was an emergency contact for about 10 years which is why I first got a mobile. So it went everywhere with me. To a certain extent I still am. But now I also consider cases where perhaps I witness an accident or I fall and realize walking further is going to be a problem.
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k5054 wrote:
Does there still exist a way to pay without the QR code?
Not at that lot. And I did look. I have used several other lots in the downtown region recently and those still use a credit card reader. Only. Cash not allowed. One types in the license plate number then selects how long, then the credit card.
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Does there still exist a way to pay without the QR code? There's times when QR codes are helpful/useful but when that's the only option, that's a problem. There's an assumption that everyone has a smart-phone, and that's not true. There's a number of people that don't even own a cell-phone, never mind a smart phone. And that doesn't include the lost, forgotten, broken, or out of juice phones. And, as you point out, there's many ways that this could be abused. And if you and I can think of ways to abuse this, then you know that others with far fewer scruples are thinking about it, too.
"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants" Chuckles the clown
Yes, when they assume that EVERYONE has a smartphone it is a big problem, as well as assuming that those who DO have smartphones know how to use QR codes. REQUIRING everyone to use a smartphone app is a huge burden on the elderly, even if they have smartphones.
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Of course abuse of QR codes is obvious. QR codes can be phishing scams in disguise, warns the FTC - The Verge[^] But I encounter this real scenario.... Went to park at a downtown parking lot that I had not parked at for quite some time (pre-covid probably). Before there used to be credit card reader kiosk. Those have been around for a while. Now all there is is a sign, rather large one, with a message like 'Use the QR code to pay'. Then of course a QR code. It is trivially simple to print out a QR code and just cover up the real one. Not even sure in this case that replacing it would require more than just someone that was a bit taller than average. One could likely do that on quite a few lots in one night. It would be days or even weeks before anyone figured it out. Even if a diligent check of proceeds from one lot showed reduced revenue I bet figuring out why would take some time and one lot owner would probably just fix their own lots. And they would be unlikely to rescind tickets, handed out of course because the real QR code wasn't used, unless a government agency started getting involved. Perhaps not even then.
I never scan QR codes. Ever. During lockdown a lot of restaurants wanted customers to scan a QR code to view the menu, but I insisted that they hand me a printed menu, which they all did. I'm bad enough with reading restaurant menus that the idea of trying to do it on my phone was just not going to happen. It's not you, it's me.
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A camera, an MP3 player, a GPS, a PDA, a voice recorder, a note taker, a flashlight...add any number of apps that don't require a live internet connection (if out of wi-fi range)... A phone without the phone part is still a lot more useful than people give it credit for.
My wife uses her brother's old iPhone for FaceTiming with him. It stays charged by her chair in the living room.
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I roamed internationally for a week like that. I had WIFI in the hotel, the office, and any restaurant. I was off grid only when walking a block or two between those locations.
Nooo... never hotel or restaurant wifi... nooooo...
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Nooo... never hotel or restaurant wifi... nooooo...