[GTALUG] General Hacker Stuff -Point of Sale and other exploits

[Alvin Starr]

On 03/02/2017 07:31 AM, Russell Reiter via talk wrote:
> On Mar 2, 2017 3:51 AM, "ac via talk" <talk at gtalug.org 
> <mailto:talk at gtalug.org>> wrote:
>
>     On Wed, 1 Mar 2017 17:30:33 -0500
>     Alvin Starr via talk <talk at gtalug.org <mailto:talk at gtalug.org>> wrote:
>     > Heading out on a trip a little while back we asked our credit card
>     > company if we needed to notify them.
>     > The response was we only needed to notify them if we were heading to
>     > the U.S. because it is just about the last place on earth that still
>     > uses magstripe credit cards.
>     > A guy I worked for years ago with seeing people with "will work for
>     > food" signs on the side of the road in California said.
>     >
>     > "America is a third world country. They just don't know it yet".
>     >
>     dude, you are soooo funny!
>
>     I was so surprised to be able to pay with my mobile in Walmart (and
>     even at Dollar Store etc) on my last trip to the US
>     (so, it was almost like home (and I live in a small town in
>     Africa, -here
>     we cannot swipe either - you either have to have a smart phone or
>     a chip card, etc) but, yeah, most people in the US still swipe....
>     maybe it is also the cost of re-issuing cards as every consumer
>     seems to have at least 50 cards (I only have one) so I had "card
>     envy" :)
>
>     ymmv but Americans love swiping :)
>
>
> Wow this reminds me of some of the early issues around energy 
> conservation. When Energy Star started operations in Canada they 
> offered trade in rebates to upgrade appliances like fridges & ac's etc.
>
> They would then ship those energy hogs to needy developing nations as 
> a charitable contribution. I guess they actually did that until 
> someone crunched the carbon and said, all things considered and from a 
> global perspective, it would be better to ship ES units instead. lm 
> not surprised that developing and lesser populated areas would chose 
> perminance and retention of sustainable technology over disposability 
> and repetive wastfullness.
>
> The US has always been the third world; in post columbian discovery, 
> after Eurasia and Africa. Typically, like the youngest in a clan it is 
> favoured, demanding, petulant, selfish and envied. Just like its 
> current president.
>
That is not completely fair.

For a time the U.S. lead the world in progressive thinking.
For example the idea of rebuilding things after WWII instead of seaking 
huge war reparations.
I would argue that the 50s to the 70's were the summit of progressive 
U.S. society.

In that period they managed to screw a  lot of things up but the general 
trend was for a more open society and that has clearly reversed.

Now the best you can say is "America. The longest life expectancy of all 
third world countries" .
If you want an eye opener take a look at the CIA world statistics web 
site(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/).
Its their own facts not something cooked up by those "lefty-leaning U.N. 
types".

> As for america not knowing it yet. That too is a condition of the young.
>
>

-- 
Alvin Starr                   ||   voice: (905)513-7688
Netvel Inc.                   ||   Cell:  (416)806-0133
alvin at netvel.net              ||

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