

Google CEO: Android update "could replace credit cards" - FluidDjango
http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/15/technology/google_schmidt_web2/index.htm

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dolinsky
It continues to amaze me how easily and nonchalantly terms like "near-field
communications", "enhanced image technology" and the like are accepted by the
general public without raising concern or question as to their intent or
necessity.

We live in a world where technology has provided us with amazing advancements
and benefits, but it continually butts up against the privacy that we are
supposedly guaranteed as citizens of the US (yes, I am only talking about
America here since I'm not familiar w/ the laws 'n liberties of other
countries). Privacy is a pluralistic concept that must be practiced on a daily
basis if it is to survive amongst the constant barrage of "features" being
sold to us. I want someone to be able to read the RFID software running on my
Droid without my explicit consent no more than I want them to take naked
pictures of me when I have shown no possible indication that I have an intent
on hurting others.

Sure, turn your wifi/APN/Bluetooth/GPS off and only turn them on when you want
to use them (ignoring the battery issues), but this treats our right to
privacy as the alternate option, not the default one. I shouldn't have to be
forced on a daily basis to constantly defend my default option of privacy, but
I am. Do I use credit cards and have GPS turned on? Sure. Does that make me a
hypocrite?

Absolutely not.

It's my right to choose when and how I allow someone into 'my world' and every
time that choice is either not provided or taken away from me by default, the
balance between privacy, publicity, and secrecy is thrown.

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brianmwang
Are you sure you're not drawing both a strawman argument and false dichotomy
here with respect to near-field communications? While I can't speak with
authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes you think that the use of
NFC will be without your explicit consent? How is this any different than one
taking out a credit card and swiping it at a machine?

Regarding WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS... these options aren't default on my Nexus
One. I control when I want to use these features. Barring the cases of strange
backdoors and apps secretly grabbing your data, I'm not sure what the issue
here is.

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dolinsky
> While I can't speak with authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes
> you think that the use of NFC will be without your explicit consent?

It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I am not singling Google
out here, and there most definitely is no strawman argument being made. One
need only look at the 'opt-out' world that we live in to see that our privacy
is often trumped by what someone else believes will be in our best interest.
W/R/T NFC, I liken it to the idea of having a phone number. Yes, I have a
phone, but no, that doesn't mean that you can call me if you get a hold of my
number. Imagine if you got a phone call from an ice cream store every time you
walked by it on a warm day..."Hey man, it's hot outside, c'mon in for some ice
cream!".

Those of us who control options such as WiFi/BT/GPS on our phones, we're in
the minority. The vast majority of people can't be bothered with toggling
these features on and off and don't understand the reasons for doing so.

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chopsueyar
Wow. My battery-powered cellular telephone, requiring a 2-year contract can
replace a piece of plastic with a magnetic strip?

What is next? My automobile can be used to replace credit cards, as well.

I can speed past the Starbuck's window and the barista can simply throw the
coffee at me as I drive by.

~~~
eli
Sure, if starbucks took EZ Pass

~~~
chopsueyar
EZ Pass CEO: "EZ Pass could replace credit cards."

~~~
ovi256
US Mint CEO: "money could replace credit cards."

Oh wait ...

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chopsueyar
To be considered 'money', it must be a unit of account, a store of value, and
a medium of exchange.

Credit cards are not a unit of account, nor are cellular telephones, nor is
the Android OS.

Credit cards are not a store of value. Cellular telephones may be. I have seen
old brick phones on eBay sell for a premium in mint condition.

Oh wait...

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_of_exchange>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Store_of_value>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_of_account>

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CalmQuiet
Since the details on his "credit card replacement" were sparse, what caught my
eye as more disturbing was:

>Addressing "creepy comments": Schmidt laughed off questions about recent
comments he made about Google "knowing where you live and what you do." His
take: "In the new world, you have to label jokes."

I'd _like_ to be laughing about that, but just can't quite.

~~~
eli
I find it remarkable that they still let Schmidt talk on public after he's
demonstrated a complete inability to keep sarcastic comments to himself

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wccrawford
I would use my phone as a 'credit card', but only if I have to manually tell
it to broadcast the signal for that. If it does it all the time, I'd just turn
that off, or never set it up in the first place.

~~~
dannyr
My guess is that there will be a dedicated app for this. You start the app
which then broadcast your credit card info to the reader.

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zoomzoom
The hard part of replacing credit cards is not the magnetic strip. It is the
ability to issue credit limits and charge interest effectively without losing
all your money. That is the real challenge to make this work.

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Fedons
Steve Jobs would have said: "Android update will replace credit cards". And
that's the difference between Google and Apple today.

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contextfree
Isn't this already common in Japan?

