Carlos

Amazon often does that also.

On 10/18/2019 at 7:18 AM, LindaH said:

One of the problems with an invisible fence in a boondocking situation is that, even if your dog doesn't charge through it after irresistible prey, other animals -- like coyotes -- can cross over and snatch your dog.

There's no way I'd ever use one for that very reason (ignoring the fact that one of our dogs is a Basenji that are very prey-driven).  We spend most of our time boondocking and when the dogs are outside, they're on a leash with us at the other end.

I'm not at all concerned about what my dogs may do to those poor coyotes.  We have too many of them anyway.

For true out-there boondocking with zero people around, our dogs are fine off leash.  Boondocking with people semi-close?  We use a 25' lead attached to the RV.  Campgrounds usually have a six foot limit, though often we are told that our ten footer is alright since they still can't reach the bounds of our site.

Have you ever had an idiot come into your site just to pet your dog uninvited?  We told someone that one of our dogs would be unfriendly (though not actually bite), and she still kept coming in.  Sheesh.

On 10/19/2019 at 3:10 AM, SWharton said:

i paid my housekeeper, yard guy

Those are the two people I pay with Zelle.  They don't take Paypal because of the fees.  If you are paying professionals via Paypal and there are no fees, it's because they are violating the agreement by operating a business and taking personal payments.

Zelle is an inter-bank integration system that rides over the ACH system.  It's actually an ACH under the skirt.  The Zelle system is supported by most banks and basically pre-clears the ACH, makes it instantly available, then the true ACH completes in the background.  You don't have to sign up for another system; it's built in to your bank account already.

For personal payments, Apple Pay is also great.  I split a tab with a friend, he simply sends me half via a button right in the text messaging app.  I don't hang out with any Android users, I'm racist that way.

9 hours ago, sandsys said:

Our local Target takes ApplePay.

Linda

Interesting, I haven't been to a Target in a long time I guess!

https://www.paymentssource.com/news/targets-surrender-to-apple-pay-shows-the-struggle-of-retailer-only-wallets

15 minutes ago, Sehc said:

Thanks Carlos. Now I no longer worry about any digital hacking. Does inductively coupled not use a electromagnetic (radio) transmission?

You shouldn't worry about it because of encryption and one-time keys.  The fact that it's currently impossible to capture the data from a distance is just extra security.  Inductive coupling and RF radiation are both electromagnetic.  Inductive coupling can happen in the RF spectrum, but it doesn't radiate.  NFC is at 13.56MHz, which is RF, but because it has no antenna, it can't radiate.  So you have to bring two inductors together for one to excite the other.  Inductor just basically means metal coil.  Here's a clear 35mm chip showing the coils.  35mm is pretty big, so the coil is large.  The chips I showed before are much smaller.  Credit cards use smaller lower-range coils.  Either way we're talking a few inches of range.

Here are some of the NFC chips I'm working with right now for access and automation controls, and my hand which has an NFC chip implanted in it with a tattoo of the logo over the chip.  The generic little chip tags are as cheap as 30 cents each, so they can be deployed all over the place.  If I scan an NFC sticker that's on the door of the RV, as we leave, it puts the house into "away" mode and sets the alarms and cameras.  To open the house, I just hold my hand over the NFC reader on the front door.

33 minutes ago, Lou Schneider said:

just note that I've been involved with RF related stuff probably longer than you've been alive.

Then you should understand that a radio with no antenna doesn't produce RF, it's inductively coupled?  How long have you worked with encryption and one-time codes?

14 minutes ago, chirakawa said:

How does one recognize one of these wireless terminals?  I'm going to start watching for them to see if any of the places I do business even accept Apple Pay or Google Pay, etc.

Around the West, they are "everywhere."  I often go out without my wallet.  There are two widely recognized NFC symbols, I'll find some images to post below.  They may specifically say Apple Pay/Google Pay, and things like that.  As docj said, they may say "tap" but I haven't noticed that very often.  If the terminal is modern-looking, it probably accepts it.  I just try it at new places, unless I can tell the terminal is super old or at stores that are actively trying to resist these systems (Target, Walmart, Kroger).  Note that most major bank ATMs have NFC, so my debit card stays safely locked up and I use my Apple Watch to make an ATM transaction.

1 hour ago, Lou Schneider said:

Someone standing next to you in the checkout line can pass an NFC reader next to your wallet and steal a unique code to use in an immediate transaction.  Or a skimmer adjacent to the NFC terminal you're using briefly disconnects the terminal to delay your transaction while it does the same thing before letting yours go through.  How many people are going to question the need to resubmit a failed transaction?

No thanks, I'd rather use a chipped card that requires insertion and a relatively lenghty hard connection to interrogate and read the code generated by the internal chip.  It's the same mechanism as used by an NFC card but has much less chance of being intercepted or falsely triggered.

Yeah, you don't understand this works at all, not even a little bit.  One easy point is that the token is encrypted with keys from both the reader and the buyer, so it can't be re-used.  And as noted above, the device tells you about the transaction nearly instantly.  

EMV also generates some obfuscated data, although I've never studied the details like I have NFC. 

I just don't understand why people who have zero understanding of how the systems work would still spread their fear-mongering on public forums.  If you don't want to learn about it, fine, but don't make up stuff to post online.

1.  NFC uses a stubbed antenna, or basically no antenna at all.  It's a low frequency with a long wavelength, and the emitter wire is around 0.5% of a wavelength.  Normal antennas are typically 25% wavelength or better.  So it can't actually radiate RF.  It creates an inductor, and basic physics tell us inductors couple at only extremely short range.  I have a pile of NFC devices on my desk right now, and around the house for various uses.  They all work to 3" at most.  Laws of physics.

2.  The exchange of data is MUCH more secure than using a card.  I don't carry my debit card at all because there's just way too much risk of losing a bank account.  If I need access, I use my phone or Apple Watch.  The transaction is done using an encrypted one-time code that is not good ever again, and is only valid for seconds to begin with.  While cards can be duplicated, wireless transactions cannot.

3.  Apple phones and devices have a "secure enclave" chip that is one-directional.  Apple can never get your data, and indeed, you could never transfer it out of the phone if you wanted to.  Just can't happen.  The data is represented inside the chip in an encrypted form, and the chip is physically incapable of spitting it back out.  All it can do is generate one-time codes that represent the data.  No data is sent to Apple themselves.

3 hours ago, SWharton said:

I think the RFID for tap only transmit 2-3". I haven't seen it in the US yet but tapping i prevalent in Canada. I don't have any CC that support tapping so it is years away.

Small detail; it's NFC, not RFID.  Even if your card doesn't have NFC in the card, you can probably add it to Apple or Google Pay to use NFC anyway.  

16 hours ago, Chalkie said:

So would you write a check to an RV park for a 50% PPA discount if that is what they required? Or pay straight up cash to a park that will not accept cards as they do not want to pay the processing fees? Personally, I find that being flexible in my payment options is the best way to go. That way I can take advantage of things that save me money. 

Any company that would make a stink over the 1.9% cost of cards and make my life less convenient won't get my business.  It's a trivial cost when you consider the rest of the cost of doing business.  I accept cards in my business, I'm familiar with it.  The cost of handling checks and cash is not zero, because they have to be dealt with by employees and processed.  Card payments take zero effort on our part; they just land in the account automagically.

24 minutes ago, sandsys said:

The BLM LTVAs only take cash or personal check. In fact most government campgrounds have that policy--iron rangers are popular in those. If you never go there maybe not having a source for cash is not a problem for you.

Linda

I carry checks for such things.  But this isn't about ME, it's about society in general realizing that cash is expensive to deal with.

If a service costs them money to provide, they should charge for it.  Most people are going away from cash, and shouldn't have to subsidize people who still want to use it.

Interesting, I just assumed stores would always charge for that service.  Do most stores do that free?

Not true.  A 1990s amendment ALLOWED municipalities to enact local waiting periods if they wanted to.  The knee-jerk reaction in 2018 was a state law requiring it.

My new 80% (unpapered, no-check) AR-15 lower receiver...

Maybe things like this vary by area?  We were out and about with one of ours on Saturday, doing some shopping and grabbing lunch, so I paid attention to how people acted.  Nobody touched him.  A couple asked if it was ok.  Quite a few just commented that he's cute.  One person complained to the management that there was a dog on the patio, and was told that company policy is to welcome dogs.  Just interesting observations.

Quote

Microsoft isn't making another Windows phone for one simple reason

Because they were garbage?

On 10/11/2019 at 6:21 AM, Friz said:

Per chanced, what State is that which has no waiting period/ background check for handguns at a licensed dealer?

 

States with freedom.

I mean, sure, the background check itself and the registration it implies aren't very "free," but at least some states don't have a useless waiting period.

I just tested the NFC reader at Subway by bringing it close slowly.  About 2-2.5" was the read distance.  I tested some of the 30mm NFC stickers I have around the house, and they are about the same.  This is with a Nomad "rugged" case, which is protective but not stupidly large like those Otterbox things.

The distance is from antenna to antenna.  If you hold the phone so the antennas not aligned, then you might have to touch the phone to the reader to get the scan.  The iPhone 8 has the antenna in the middle of the phone, the later phones have it at the top about 2/3 from the camera side to the other edge.  Androids vary a lot.  Most store scanners have multiple antennas, but some only have it right by the NFC symbol.  Wells Fargo and BofA ATMs only have it right by the symbol.

Yes.  It generally can work out to at least a half inch.  I have NFC stickers around the house to do automation stuff, and I have an NFC/RFID implant in my hand.  The stickers scan to about 2" away most of the time.  My hand has to be super close, because skin stops radio waves.  Anything that is not metal or water should not stop radio waves however (plastic, rubber, leather cases).

19 hours ago, Randyretired said:

One time he wrote me a check and I used my phone to deposit it.  He was not happy.  Now his daughter is a bank executive and he uses online banking.  Even has the bank app on his phone!

Wow, sounds like we have the same friend, same thing happened to me!!  His daughter isn't an exec though, just happened to go to work for a bank and has explained to him why the apps are more secure than the mail or phone.

There are some crazy people who still think fax is more secure than email!

2 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

If only Fry's had Apple Pay available.

Yeah, that would be a plus in some ways.  I'm shocked at how many places are still resisting it.  I actively seek out places that use it.

There are no Kroger's here, so I don't know.  At Fry's, they are right by the entrance, along with larger/heavier bags than normal.  And those are GREAT for RV use because they are tougher and slightly larger.  You scan and bag, which is great because I can pre-segregate stuff for the fridge, house freezer, garage freezer, outdoor stuff, etc.

Fry's lets you use both methods.  I go back and forth on the scanners versus phones.  On the one hand, I've already got my shopping list open on the phone, so the phone is unlocked.  On the other hand, I'm not sure if it's faster to swipe back and forth between the list and the scanning.  Also our store carts have holders for the scanners, but not for phones. 

Sam's alcohol policy makes self scanning worthless.  I nearly always get beer there.  They won't let you scan it at all.  At Fry's you can scan it, then just have to get approved on the way out at self checkout.  With Sam's you have to do another transaction.  Stupid.

1 minute ago, Blues said:

intermingled with their cell phones.

What does that mean?  Getting an email alert is somehow bad?  Running an app so you can quickly manage and verify your banking is somehow bad?  What does "intermingled" even mean?

Anyway I was just revisiting this thread because I talked to a manager at the local Kroger.  He said he's not allowed to comment on Smith's, but acknowledged it's been controversial.  He said he's not aware of a change for the whole chain and expects cards to be taken at Fry's "forever."  Sadly, he said they might get rid of the self scan system, which I love.  This lets me just scan stuff, bag it in the cart real time, and leave, no human interaction.

"Contact the merchant bank" is a different and specific result than just not approving the transaction or not responding.

None of my cards do that.  Discover, Chase (two cards), Amex (the cards), Apple-Goldman, Capital One, and more.  Never heard of it.  Holding the approval while you stand there makes no sense.  Also I'd never give a company my cell number, that's how SMS spam happens.  No way.