England Trials Smartphone Rail Payment System with Real-Time Phone Location Tracking
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36878714
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People prefer chatbots when buying embarrassing stuff
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36882952
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Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters Demand Google Fire Security Experts or Face Data Leak
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36864966
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Keeping the corpos on their toes because they don't get it
Lol any hacker tossing "bro" around in conversation immediately gets a downgrade from black (or white) hat to "propeller beanie".
Scratch that; anyone trying to sound serious about anything does.
Non è arduo sopravvalutare la lunghezza di un anaconda. A meno che provenga dai territori settentrionali - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Non è arduo sopravvalutare la lunghezza di un anaconda. A meno che provenga dai territori settentrionali - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Divulgazione ed approfondimento scientifico sono due processi che nella maggior parte dei casi procedono in parallelo.Jacopo (Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri)
Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website
Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website
Five years ago, Google’s climate action ambitions were the gold standard for Big Tech. Then, with power demand spikes from AI data centres, in July it scrubbed its sustainability website of its 2030 net zero pledge.Canada's National Observer
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Trump to sign executive order renaming Pentagon the Department of War
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/04/politics/department-of-war-trump-executive-order
Marking things as adult content?
I'm sure there's a lot of discussion about age-verification laws around here right now and for the sake of keeping things on topic I won't really broach the subject here, but it has gotten me thinking that there really isn't much that can be programmatically marked as adult content on the fediverse.
I haven't dived too much into researching the subject, it looks like Lemmy lets you set posts as NSFW, but most activity is centered around microblogging and that appears to have coalesced around Mastodon's approach of freeform content warnings. This seems like a disaster in the making if "don't show adult content to minors" becomes something that has to be more strictly enforced; these content warnings can be used for everything from benign spoiler warnings to very obviously signposting sexually explicit fetish content. Computers can't really understand this level of nuance unless you throw something that does natural language processing at it, and that will almost certainly come up with a lot of false positives and wasted energy in the process; I can't imagine this going over well with anyone really.
So, I've been wondering, how difficult would it be to standardize a separate mature-content warning from the content warnings currently in place? This idea has clearly been floated before (see this issue on Mastodon's GitHub and this blog post written by someone who was a minor and directly affected by this issue at the time) but I haven't actually seen any work towards anything beyond paying lip service to the subject. Maybe it could be a boolean toggle, like how the former Cohost did it (on top of content warnings) or something closer to how Bluesky does it where you have a few set moderation labels that you can apply yourself (see below).
We could also consider moving this distinction beyond posts; the Mastodon issue that I linked above also mentioned applying this to users and even entire instances.
There are a few caveats here in that people historically don't really appreciate being hidden/deboosted for posting adult works, and there is the potential for backlash if something gets marked as adult when it really isn't. I'm not entirely sure how this could be addressed beyond leaving this to implementers and maybe leaving some strong advice to be understanding and not shove people in a corner because they draw kink art for example.
I'd definitely appreciate more thoughts on the subject, please let me know what you think.
NSFW account and instance declaration and NSFW mode
As adult instances are becoming more popular and their reach through the fediverse grows, content on those instances are making their way into the lives of those who are not wanting to see it or ar...Humblr (GitHub)
Hi! We’re actually working on a specification for content labels:
github.com/swicg/activitypub-t…
essentially a Note (or other object ) can have many labels associated with it, and these labels would exist as part of well known vocabularies, such that software can give users better choice over what they see and don't see.
Yes, that does mean software may provide methods of complying with age verification laws may mean certain categories of content are unavailable without some form of age verification (but that's between you, your server software, and you instance administrator as to what that is). Currently there are some tools for instance administrators, particularly of mastodon to completely filter certain content from their servers, making their servers somewhat explicitly child-friendly.
This would also allow for third-party labellers in the future if needed (through annotations), which allow for bluesky style labellers which can catch content not self-labelled.
I want to stress that the goal of content labels is not to moderate the adult content nor queerness from the fediverse, but rather to give creators and consumers of content more control over what they publish and who sees it or what they see.
It is unfortunate and terrible the way that age verification is being rolled out as a means to censorship and authoritarianism, and these laws should be fought in the courts and politically to be repealed or changed. Adults must be able to exist on the internet, not everything is for children.
Workstream: Content Warnings, Labels and Annotations
Issues currently within scope of this workstream are: #1 #4 (issue locked, but where discussion started) #84 There will be future issues for both our recommendation regarding content warnings and a...ThisIsMissEm (GitHub)
Tech companies pledge to ready Americans for an AI-dominated world
Tech companies pledge to ready Americans for an AI-dominated world
The White House is hosting tech CEOs for an event on AI education.Lauren Feiner (The Verge)
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BenderNet - a demo app for using Qwen3 1.7b q4f16 with web-llm
GitHub - gajananpp/bendernet: An AI-powered data query assistant featuring Bender from Futurama - completely client-side with WebLLM
An AI-powered data query assistant featuring Bender from Futurama - completely client-side with WebLLM - gajananpp/bendernetGitHub
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BenderNet - a demo app for using Qwen3 1.7b q4f16 with web-llm
GitHub - gajananpp/bendernet: An AI-powered data query assistant featuring Bender from Futurama - completely client-side with WebLLM
An AI-powered data query assistant featuring Bender from Futurama - completely client-side with WebLLM - gajananpp/bendernetGitHub
WiFi signals can measure heart rate—no wearables needed
WiFi signals can measure heart rate—no wearables needed - News
Engineers prove their technique is effective even with the lowest-cost WiFi devicesEmily Cerf (News)
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love2d stavolta che gira, nonostante la octo-oriented programming!
Sorprendentemente, appena qualche ora di sonno e qualche ora di scrittura magica un pochino avanti e indietro più tardi, e ho effettivamente trovato una soluzione al problema problemoso delle prestazioni imbarazzanti di Love2D caricato di una tale OOP che non gira affatto bene su una viemmina come quella di Lua… e, anche se come previsto […]
DOJ does damage control as staffer admits Republicans will be redacted from Epstein files
DOJ does damage control as staffer admits Republicans will be redacted from Epstein files
The Department of Justice attempted to do damage control after conservative political activist James O'Keefe released a video of a staffer claiming the government would "redact every Republican" from files about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.David Edwards (Raw Story)
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The United Nations Turns Eighty
The United Nations Turns Eighty
By Vijay Prashad on September 4, 2025 At eighty, the United Nations is bogged down by structural limitations and political divisions that render it powerless to act decisively – nowhere more clearl…Resumen LatinoAmericano English
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail can stay open, appeals court says
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail can stay open, appeals court says
Move puts on hold federal judge’s order last month to close Florida immigration facilityGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Head of UK's Turing AI Institute resigns after funding threat
Head of UK's Turing AI Institute resigns after funding threat
Dr Jean Innes is stepping down after the government told the charity to focus on defence research.Graham Fraser (BBC News)
Download from Kobo Broken?
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De-ACSM'ing and de-DRM'ing e-books for fun (but not profit) – Matias Kinnunen
A reminder for myself how to make library e-books pleasant to use with the help of Calibre and two Calibre plugins.mtsknn.fi
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GitHub - adrienmetais/adl: Download ebooks from acsm file
Download ebooks from acsm file. Contribute to adrienmetais/adl development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
Any Resistance Will Hurt Our Investors
Barra's Error Message Generator
Generate your own funny Error Messages just like the good old days!barrarchiverio.cl
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Revolution Wind developer sues Trump administration over stop-work order
Revolution Wind developer sues Trump administration over stop-work order | WBUR News
The developer behind Revolution Wind, a large — and nearly complete — wind farm near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is suing to overturn the Trump administration's stop-work order.Miriam Wasser (WBUR)
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Project 2025 group wants huge changes to policy to encourage more kids
The right-wing think tank behind Project 2025 is now crafting new policy suggestions, including an incentive for married couples to have more children, according to a report.Following its controversial 900-page blueprint for President Donald Trump’s second term, the Heritage Foundation is now drafting a new position paper that includes calls for a “Manhattan Project to restore the nuclear family,” referring to the program to develop the first nuclear weapons, the Washington Post reported.
The forthcoming paper, titled “We Must Save the American Family,” reportedly urges the government to pour funds into individual families rather than child care programs, like Head Start, according to the Post.
The Heritage Foundation is also urging the president to issue orders that require all proposed policies to “measure their positive or negative impacts on marriage and family.” If a program scores poorly, it should be revamped, according to the Post.
“For family policy to succeed, old orthodoxies must be re-examined and innovative approaches embraced, but more than that, we need to mobilize a nation to meet this moment,” the paper reportedly reads.
Project 2025 group wants a ‘Manhattan Project’ for babies – with huge changes to policy to encourage more kids
A draft of a forthcoming paper reportedly includes policies that aim to ‘restore the nuclear family’Kelly Rissman (The Independent)
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US | FAA Investigating After 2 United Boeing 737s Collide At SFO
The incident occurred on Monday evening.
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Seeking Justice: Families Of Boeing 737 MAX Crash Victims Speak Out In Latest Hearing
This is the latest in a long line of hearings regarding the deadly accidents
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If You’re a Socialist, Root for the Green Bay Packers
Let’s get one thing straight: the Green Bay Packers are the only socialist team in the NFL.
Nvidia dominates GPU shipments with 94% share — 27% surge in shipments likely caused by customers getting ahead of tariffs
27% increase in GPU shipments, 21.6% increase for CPUs
3 in 4 Gaza Detainees Held Without Trial by Israel Are Civilians, Military Database Says
3 out of 4 of the Palestinian detainees from Gaza held without trial as "unlawful combatants" by Israel are civilians, according to data from a classified Israeli military database.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/commondreams…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
3 in 4 Gaza Detainees Held Without Trial by Israel Are Civilians, Military Database Says
Jessica Montell, director of the Israeli human rights group HaMoked, said Israel's "unlawful combatants" law "has been used to facilitate the forced disappearance of hundreds and even thousands of people."stephen-prager (Common Dreams)
Xi Jinping holds talks with Kim Jong Un
Xi Jinping holds talks with Kim Jong Un
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, held talks with Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republi…www.globaltimes.cn
By chasing ideology and empty slogans, the EU has handed its energy lifeline to China and completely subordinated itself to U.S. interests.
At the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Beijing, Russia, China, and Mongolia signed a legally binding memorandum for the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline. Stretching 2,600 km and carrying a price tag of $13.6 billion, this pipeline will deliver 50 bcm/year of Russian gas from the Arctic directly to northern China via Mongolia, bypassing Europe entirely.
In Europe, 50 bcm of Russian gas is worth $16.5 billion today. U.S. LNG for the same volume costs around $25 billion, while direct purchase from Russia, based on recent Gazprom deals with China, would've been roughly $6–6.5 billion. Europe’s cheap Russian pipeline gas, once the backbone of German industry, will now flow to China securing a stable, cheap energy supply.
Pushing Europe to sever its energy ties with Russia has inadvertently transferred strategic leverage to China. Europe now overpays for U.S. LNG, loses industrial competitiveness, and slides toward recession creating a perfect scenario for intra-European tensions.
President Xi framed PoS2 as a cornerstone of the “no-limits” strategic partnership with Russia, guaranteeing China a reliable, land-based energy corridor. Russia secured a guaranteed buyer, China locked in long-term supplies, meanwhile Europe faces the erosion of its industrial and geopolitical position.
By divorcing itself from affordable Russian gas, Europe has eliminated any realistic chance of industrial recovery and viable economic future. The global energy map is being rewritten with European decline accelerating, while China and India continue to rise strategically and economically.
Europe faces the final collapse of its industrial and geopolitical relevance, while the US loses its only truly successful historical project which was the "rules based international order".
What the Power of Siberia 2 Deal Really Means for Russia and China
Moscow and Beijing on Tuesday reached an agreement to build Power of Siberia 2, a long-delayed pipeline to supply Russian gas to China.Moscow Times Reporter (The Moscow Times)
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US jobless claims rise, private payrolls growth slows
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, while hiring by private employers slowed in August, offering further evidence that labor market conditions were softening.
The reports were released a day after government data showed there were more unemployed people than positions available in July for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Job growth has shifted into stall-speed, with economists blaming President Donald Trump's sweeping import tariffs and an immigration crackdown that is hampering hiring at construction sites and restaurants.
The Fed's "Beige Book" report on Wednesday noted that "firms were hesitant to hire workers because of weaker demand or uncertainty." The softening labor tone was reinforced on Thursday with the release of the ADP National Employment Report, which showed private employment increased by 54,000 jobs last month after advancing by 106,000 in July.
The downbeat assessment of the labor market was also evident in the Institute for Supply Management survey, which showed a measure of services sector employment contracting for a third straight month in August.
Economists, as a result, are bracing for another month of tepid job growth when the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes its closely watched employment report on Friday. A Reuters survey of economists estimated nonfarm payrolls increased by 75,000 jobs last month after rising by 73,000 in July.
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-jobless-claims-rise-private-payrolls-growth-slows-2025-09-04/
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Mark Zuckerberg, the Lawyer, Is Suing Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO
Mark Zuckerberg, the Lawyer, Is Suing Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO
An Indiana attorney is suing Meta for repeatedly shutting down his Facebook pagesEce Yildirim (Gizmodo)
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Same thing happened after WW1 too btw. The strong anti-German sentiments across the US and Europe prompted multiple changes. William and Vilhelm became Bills or Ville; Müller became Miller; Schmidt became Smith.
I had a lot of Swedish family who did this from around 1915-1930 and as you said, again after WW2.
Idaho attorney general says officers who fatally shot autistic teen won't be charged
Four Idaho police officers who fatally shot an autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was holding a knife on the other side of a chain-link fence in April were justified in their actions and will not face criminal charges, the state attorney general said Wednesday.
Victor Perez, 17, was in a coma for a week before dying April 12 after doctors removed nine bullets during several surgeries and amputated his leg.
The shooting in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello, which was captured on video, drew outrage from members of the community who questioned why the officers opened fire within 12 seconds of exiting their vehicles.
The Bannock County Prosecutor's Office asked Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to review the case to determine whether the officers committed a crime and if their use of force was justified. Labrador said the investigation showed that the officers did not know Perez's age or disabilities, and they were only told an intoxicated man was threatening people with a knife.
Idaho attorney general says officers who fatally shot autistic teen won't be charged
Four Idaho police officers who fatally shot an autistic teen boy who was holding a knife on the other side of a fence will not face criminal charges, according to the state attorney general.AP via Scripps News Group (News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF))
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Newsom says Trump’s deployment of National Guard to LA cost taxpayers $120M
Newsom’s office evaluated the costs incurred since June when Trump sent more than 4,200 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to LA, posting its estimates on X.
According to the office that included $71 million for food and other basic necessities, $37 million in payroll, $4 million in logistic supplies, $3.5 million in travel. “The list goes on,” Newsom’s said.
Most of the soldiers were sent home last month, though 300 remain in Los Angeles, per The Los Angeles Times.
Newsom says the ‘political theater’ of Trump’s deployment of National Guard to LA cost taxpayers $120M
The California Governor’s office evaluated the costs incurred since June when Trump sent more than 4,200 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to LAMike Bedigan (The Independent)
Republicans end TPS deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
The Department of Homeland Security said that the agency had reviewed conditions in Venezuela in collaboration with the State Department, and that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had determined that the 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela was “contrary to the national interest.”
The decision leaves about 257,000 Venezuelans, including many in South Florida, vulnerable to being deported to a homeland deep in crisis and under the repressive governance of leader Nicolas Maduro.
The decision will also be heavily felt in South Florida, the heart of the Venezuelan community in the United States. On Wednesday, advocates and leaders were already reeling from the announcement.
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🇦🇺𝕄𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕝𝕖
in reply to Pro • • •MurrayL
in reply to 🇦🇺𝕄𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕝𝕖 • • •Jrockwar
in reply to MurrayL • • •Why do you consider the UK's ticketing system outdated? There's oyster in/around London and QR codes everywhere else.
What are you missing, is location-based surveillance what would be needed to modernise it in your opinion?
vacuumflower
in reply to 🇦🇺𝕄𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕝𝕖 • • •Well, there's JKR, she wrote books pretty closely describing how powerful and arbitrarily unbalanced a computerized world will be, presented as magic. But she's a TERF, so nothing she wrote apparently has value. Or maybe she's a plagiarist, so again nothing she wrote apparently has value, except her plagiarism describes well current events and its sources don't.
I don't think she did that consciously, more like felt "something" in the air. But see the priorities of the public, in her not being a nice person and her having described the future correctly.
Also see the Matrix.
In general I think it's good to remember the initial reception of everything, if you were around then. Because in a few years power dynamic (hating on JKR for being TERF, and her using her fame to promote such views, - both these are that) always regulates the image of any work into something sterile and neutered.
We've had plenty of good art predicting today, but we've been taught after some time that it's capitalist, consumerist, non-original, empty, overrated and has asshole authors.
That direction of thought is wrong. Marcus Aurelius once made a bath for his wife - filled with her lover's blood ; doesn't seem to affect the value of his philosophy. Much of the classics in music was made by order for rich people for their entertainment and prestige. Nothing is life is truly original. And whether something is empty is not decided by the public opinion, it's decided by the reader.
So. We've had some preparation. Less than desired, and impeded by the enemy, as is the expectation always. It's not decided yet.
🇦🇺𝕄𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕝𝕖
in reply to vacuumflower • • •I didn't realise jkr meant that interpretation but its definitely something to consider.
I've always believed one must separate art from the artist lest all works are reduced to nothing given enough time. People love to dismiss modern works based on the authors opinions yet everyone through history is bad by modern standards. We must judge people by the context of their time. For example both Churchill and Disney where famously antisemitic yet both are now praised for their efforts against the Nazis.
Haven't read any Marcus Aurelius I'm reading Plato at the moment so I'll add it to the list.
vacuumflower
in reply to 🇦🇺𝕄𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕝𝕖 • • •I don't think she consciously did, but HP definitely features abuse and misuse of authority left and right, main characters fighting and bypassing it, injustice, fascism, evil being attractive (at least in the first two books she deliberately makes the world of pure-blood wizards more "magical" than that of the rest, and Harry almost being accepted to it or thinking he would be, except that's not so), public judgement being always wrong (talking to snakes, Harry being considered cuckoo, werewolves, and what not), evil being possibly all-poweful (the Taboo spell and such), one can go on and on.
And then Harry becoming an Auror, thus sort of a magical peeler, which is a common criticism - well, law enforcement is a necessary task. In a non-degenerate system that involves preventing murder, rape, stopping human trafficking operations.
It's funny how people usually start with the HP world mechanics being bad, - unbalanced, arbitrary, calling spells out of thin air, - while that's how our world works right now, except they teach very little magic here (BTW, Racket is very cool - I'm again stalling at what I'm trying to do, though, just no willpower at all). Also notice Umbridge in the book 5, in the real world fighting evil with something you always carry with yourself and only skill being important is not a thing usually, for most intents and purposes, except computers.
Eldaroth
in reply to Pro • • •sbb.ch/en/travel-information/a…
mondoman712
in reply to Eldaroth • • •Eldaroth
in reply to mondoman712 • • •thehatfox
in reply to Pro • • •Yup, the UK once again creating a needlessly convoluted and harmful solution to an already solved problem.
I would laugh if I didn’t live here.
Hupf
in reply to Pro • • •Ticketdienst Touch&Travel stirbt in wenigen Wochen
Ben Schwan (heise online)9point6
in reply to Pro • • •Classic UK
Here, have this sensible modernisation...... With a side of surveillance
sugar_in_your_tea
in reply to 9point6 • • •fox2263
in reply to Pro • • •Why they can’t just have turnstiles at the major stations ? I mean that’s how most places work anyway? If someone stays on for a further stop outside the stiles it’s only a short leg anyway.
What’s the point?
HighlandCow
in reply to fox2263 • • •abbiistabbii
in reply to Pro • • •Hey...we already have that without needing to use GPS. No really, we have that, without needing to use GPS. No. Really. We have two systems in fact.
We have m-tickets. Most major train, tram and bus companies in the UK have that. You can go onto your phone and buy a ticket without the need for GPS tracking. There's also Contactless on your phone. My city has something called TapTapCap/ToTo. On the buses, you can pay for your fare by tapping on a contactless terminal and it tracks how many journeys you make and caps the fare at the price of a day ticket if you make more than three Journeys. The Trams here have ToTo which is the same deal, but you have to tap on at the smart card terminal and tap off at your destination, as long as you do that and don't go to the Airport: you get the same deal.
That can easily be implemented. Fuck, mTickets have been implimented in Scotland. All you'd need to do is adapt the smartcard terminals, which use the technology as the bus passes, to do something like taptapcap. And before you say "oooh, we couldn't possibly put Smartcard totems on remote stations or Parliamentary stations", there are smart card terminals on every station on the West Highland Line. Yes, including the Fort William to Malaig section. There are Smartcard terminals on the Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh Lines. If Scotrail can do that at places like Dunrobin Castle, GBR can put Smartcard Terminals at Drigg, no GPS surveillance required.
sugar_in_your_tea
in reply to abbiistabbii • • •We do the same in my part of the US where transit kinda sucks. You just tap a credit card (or phone w/ contactless payments) or physical card w/ chip on any bus or train and it charges the appropriate amount (i.e. day pass if you exceed some amount). It's not complicated, you just tap when you get on, and tap when you get off, and as long as you use the same payment method, it just works.
It's not complicated at all. At no point is GPS tracking needed, you just need to process the payment and link them together based on the unique identifier you're already using to process payments.
phutatorius
in reply to Pro • • •So they've created a dependency on your phone's location service being always on for what reason, exactly?
Why is this not needed anywhere else that contactless payment for transit services has been successfully implemented?
lemmeLurk
in reply to phutatorius • • •