this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.

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Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

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[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 12 points 3 months ago (4 children)

person who can barely brain themselves finds they have to engage with US postal system, hilarity ensues

(via friend who often sends me tweet-screenshots (one day I'll convince 'em to join here))

[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

For those who are wondering, real tweet. I checked. Guy is defending himself by going 'physical mail is outdated and shouldn't exist'. This guy is going to get cybercrimed by somebody so hard.

E: also interesting, and relevant to our interests, you can just buy prestamped envelopes, so thanks chatgpt.

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

In a couple of generations of LLMs ChatGPT will tell you you can just draw your own stamps and it will be perfectly legal.

[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Funny you would say that. In Dutch but real.

[–] mlen@awful.systems 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] mpk@awful.systems 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Rather embarrassingly, Austria Post doesn’t do that but does have “crypto stamps” which are regular stamps only with a QR code linking to an NFT or something. To be fair to Austria Post, though, they are really good at extracting cash from the pockets of overexcitable stamp collectors with gimmickry like this. https://onlineshop.post.at/en-AT/page/crypto-stamp

[–] antifuchs@awful.systems 6 points 3 months ago

I still follow developments in Austria a little but I had missed this cursed bit of information. Thanks for the nightmares, hope my dad (a hobbyist stamp collector) won’t fall into that trap now.

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This is actually cool for real.

[–] slopjockey@awful.systems 6 points 3 months ago

I think a human would probably recommend priority mail atp. You'd get tracking, wouldn't waste 19 stamps, and shipping is already included in the cost

[–] V0ldek@awful.systems 4 points 3 months ago

Holy shit, this is LinkedIn matetial

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Dude got a check delivered to him, presumably via the same mail system he is shitting on? But fine, apparently "not getting paid" is also a competitive advantage.

Also checks, lol????

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Also checks, lol???

the US (banking system, but not exclusively that) is living in the past to a stunning degree

couple years back when I visited (mid 2010s), in DC I had someone make a physical imprint of my CC for a payment, and in NYC doing card transactions on the subway ticket machines it doesn't ask for card pin but instead for zip code (and as a non-resident, you just enter 0000 (never tried to see if others work))

checks/cheques are still a rather frequent way of inter-business/inter-person value transfer

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

We usually trail a bit behind here in Sweden so none of the plastic cards in my wallet have raised numerals anymore, but the last generation I had did.

I’m old enough to literally handling cashing checks as a bank teller. Nowadays I guess a cashiers check is still in demand for big ticket items like vehicles but last time I got a car (via credit) it was all done by my digitally signing a bunch of stuff on my phone.

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

yeah here in ZA we've had futuristic banking since the 00s (straight-up USSD banking services were available), chip&pin have been around for probably a decade if not more

it did take a little while for NFC to roll out (probably because our banks are dicks and charge vendors for payment terminals, which many would bother not replacing while their existing ones work) but even that is well into "you can nfc-pay at shops in towns in the middle of nowhere"

afaik US banks are still working on the really, really hard problem of .... same-/next-day interbank payments. you know, that thing that most other places have figured out 2~3 decades ago? yeah

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 3 points 3 months ago

tbf I believe a contributing factor for US banks being stuck in the 1950s is regulation designed to prevent giant mergers. But I may be wrong.