Imagine a culture of people who are inherently afraid of computers and don't
trust them. This could seriously divide the culture into two LARGE groups of
people. Those who trust and use computers despite what happened and those who
can't be bothered by the machines which ruined their family, business ,credit
rating, social security or whatever..
Would this slow down our march towards the singularity or somehow accelerate
it??
deluxe
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> My credit cards and drivers license do not yet have the ability to issue
> cards beyond the year 2000. Both keep giving me cards that expire
> 12/31/99. I used to get some cards that lasted 5 years. If they don't get
> the systems fixed by the year 2000, they won't be able to use the computers
> to issue new cards.
>
> Have you ever been in a bank when the computer was down? I have. They
> absolutely refused to give me my money. Legal threats were of no use.
> They really have no mechanism to issue cash or record transactions without
> the computer. Even if they did have a method, they would probably be too
> scared to use it. If their computer goes down on January 2, 2000, I doubt
> they could handle it. Even if they had paper transactions, it would be
> much slower and there would be more mistakes.
>
> Businesses that are not ready will fail. Not because alternatives aren't
> available, but because customers will simply switch to other businesses
> that are functional. Would any customer go to a gas station that can't
> accept your pay-at-the-pump card, when the one across the street can?
> Would any customer go to a grocery store where they can't use their debit
> card, when the store down the street can? The first trip to a business
> where the customer is sent away empty-handed because the business can't
> handle the transaction, would be enough to turn off most customers. I
> think this perception of poor business practices will kill most businesses
> that are not ready.
>
> --
> Harvey Newstrom <mailto: harv@gate.net>
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