7 ms·

Nah, you can still do it via the LinkNYC terminals which let you place calls. That said, it's vanishingly rare that I actually see anyone using them to make ca

Nah, you can still do it via the LinkNYC terminals which let you place calls. That said, it's vanishingly rare that I actually see anyone using them to make calls, and it looks kind of silly when you do use them because you need to plug headphones into the jack. Their primary utility is for device charging and free Wi-Fi.

rob74 4y ago
- Use your personal device to connect to LinkNYC’s super fast, free Wi-Fi - Access city services, maps and directions from the tablet - Make free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S. using the tablet or the tactile keypad and microphone. Plug in your personal headphones for more privacy. - Use the dedicated red 911 button in the event of an emergency - Charge your device in a power-only USB port [...] Sounds cool! Wish we had terminals like these in Germany. Here, they just remove the pay phones, period.
- actionablefiber 4y ago
  I imagine that these could be useful to tourists who don't have a local phone plan, and the free Wi-Fi / USB charging / scrolling information bulletins are definitely useful, but I feel like this program came about 5-10 years too late for them to really shine now that a lot of people have smartphones with generous/unlimited data plans and don't necessarily need a kiosk for points 1-4. From 2010-2017 or so, unlimited data plans were some combination of rare/slow/expensive, and especially in the early 2010s smartphones had a lot less penetration. I imagine these terminals would have been life-savers back then.
- itisit 4y ago
  In reality, they're: - monolithic eyesores that take up precious sidewalk space - yet another bright display running advertisements 24/7 - charging stations for the homeless to use and loiter around Poor execution of a good idea. I smile whenever I walk by one that has been vandalized.
  - colejohnson66 4y ago
    > monolithic eyesores that take up precious sidewalk space To be fair, so were the pay phones they replaced. NYC just doesn't have enough sidewalk space in a lot of areas.
  - tentacleuno 4y ago
    > - charging stations for the homeless to use Isn't that a good thing?
- bogomipz 4y ago
  But this limited utility comes at a cost of being inundated by billboards. In NYC there is often 4 per single block - 2 on each side of the street. I don't believe there was a 1 for 1 replacement with the old kiosks, they seem to be far more pervasive than pay phones ever were. There's also a 5G version being introduced that is far more obtrusive than the original design. See pages 15, 16 and and 37 here: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/designcommission/downloads/pdf/10-18-2021-pres-DoITT-p-Link-5G.pdf https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/designcommission/downloads/pdf/1...
pimlottc 4y ago
It seems like a pretty false equivalence to me. Who wants to talk to someone on speaker in the middle of a public street? Or remember to bring headphones with them in case they need to make a call? I would be very surprised if they were ever used to make calls outside of very rare emergency situations.
- actionablefiber 4y ago
  Well, it's not a "false equivalence" per se - the city literally installed the LinkNYC terminals right where the payphones used to be and considers them to be a successor to them - but I agree that the user experience of placing a call with the terminals is pretty bad. You don't get privacy, you (usually) have nowhere to sit, and if you're standing right in front of the terminal then you've got people constantly walking past you. Frankly, I wasn't making any calls on the old payphones either, and it's been over a decade since I bothered memorizing a phone number, so I don't really feel qualified to pass judgment on whether they're that much better or worse. But I appreciate that the LinkNYC Wi-Fi access points are often easier and faster than those of the stores/cafes around them, and I appreciate being able to stop and charge up my phone a bit if it dies while I'm out and about. (Did this a lot during the Pokemon Go craze!)
Nextgrid 4y ago
The problem is that those are ultimately devices whose purpose is to feed the cancer that is called advertising, while old payphones merely wanted a quarter. From their privacy policy (https://www.link.nyc/privacy-policy.html https://www.link.nyc/privacy-policy.html): > We may share Technical Information that is unassociated with you and your device: > With analytics, search engine, or other service providers that help us improve the Services; > To advertisers and advertising networks to select and serve relevant advertisements. They're useless for anything besides 911 functionality. I would definitely not recommend connecting to its Wi-Fi service without a VPN and spoofed, one-time MAC address.
- colejohnson66 4y ago
  > whose purpose is to feed the cancer that is called advertising Pay phones were the same way. The quarter payment was just on top of the money from advertisements.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    That was just generic display advertising targeted by location and market research. This one collects data about your usage of the device (and the mere fact that you were there at a certain time) and then shares it with lots of "partners" so they can refine the profile they have on you even further.
  - bogomipz 4y ago
    Well, when the phones were still operated by the regional Bells there was no advertising except for the logo of the phone company. The promotional advertising came only after the incumbents sold the kiosk business to Titan et al.

rob74 4y ago

- Use your personal device to connect to LinkNYC’s super fast, free Wi-Fi - Access city services, maps and directions from the tablet - Make free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S. using the tablet or the tactile keypad and microphone. Plug in your personal headphones for more privacy. - Use the dedicated red 911 button in the event of an emergency - Charge your device in a power-only USB port [...] Sounds cool! Wish we had terminals like these in Germany. Here, they just remove the pay phones, period.

actionablefiber 4y ago
I imagine that these could be useful to tourists who don't have a local phone plan, and the free Wi-Fi / USB charging / scrolling information bulletins are definitely useful, but I feel like this program came about 5-10 years too late for them to really shine now that a lot of people have smartphones with generous/unlimited data plans and don't necessarily need a kiosk for points 1-4. From 2010-2017 or so, unlimited data plans were some combination of rare/slow/expensive, and especially in the early 2010s smartphones had a lot less penetration. I imagine these terminals would have been life-savers back then.
itisit 4y ago
In reality, they're: - monolithic eyesores that take up precious sidewalk space - yet another bright display running advertisements 24/7 - charging stations for the homeless to use and loiter around Poor execution of a good idea. I smile whenever I walk by one that has been vandalized.
- colejohnson66 4y ago
  > monolithic eyesores that take up precious sidewalk space To be fair, so were the pay phones they replaced. NYC just doesn't have enough sidewalk space in a lot of areas.
- tentacleuno 4y ago
  > - charging stations for the homeless to use Isn't that a good thing?
bogomipz 4y ago
But this limited utility comes at a cost of being inundated by billboards. In NYC there is often 4 per single block - 2 on each side of the street. I don't believe there was a 1 for 1 replacement with the old kiosks, they seem to be far more pervasive than pay phones ever were. There's also a 5G version being introduced that is far more obtrusive than the original design. See pages 15, 16 and and 37 here: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/designcommission/downloads/pdf/10-18-2021-pres-DoITT-p-Link-5G.pdf https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/designcommission/downloads/pdf/1...

pimlottc 4y ago

It seems like a pretty false equivalence to me. Who wants to talk to someone on speaker in the middle of a public street? Or remember to bring headphones with them in case they need to make a call? I would be very surprised if they were ever used to make calls outside of very rare emergency situations.

actionablefiber 4y ago
Well, it's not a "false equivalence" per se - the city literally installed the LinkNYC terminals right where the payphones used to be and considers them to be a successor to them - but I agree that the user experience of placing a call with the terminals is pretty bad. You don't get privacy, you (usually) have nowhere to sit, and if you're standing right in front of the terminal then you've got people constantly walking past you. Frankly, I wasn't making any calls on the old payphones either, and it's been over a decade since I bothered memorizing a phone number, so I don't really feel qualified to pass judgment on whether they're that much better or worse. But I appreciate that the LinkNYC Wi-Fi access points are often easier and faster than those of the stores/cafes around them, and I appreciate being able to stop and charge up my phone a bit if it dies while I'm out and about. (Did this a lot during the Pokemon Go craze!)

Nextgrid 4y ago

The problem is that those are ultimately devices whose purpose is to feed the cancer that is called advertising, while old payphones merely wanted a quarter. From their privacy policy (https://www.link.nyc/privacy-policy.html https://www.link.nyc/privacy-policy.html): > We may share Technical Information that is unassociated with you and your device: > With analytics, search engine, or other service providers that help us improve the Services; > To advertisers and advertising networks to select and serve relevant advertisements. They're useless for anything besides 911 functionality. I would definitely not recommend connecting to its Wi-Fi service without a VPN and spoofed, one-time MAC address.

colejohnson66 4y ago
> whose purpose is to feed the cancer that is called advertising Pay phones were the same way. The quarter payment was just on top of the money from advertisements.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  That was just generic display advertising targeted by location and market research. This one collects data about your usage of the device (and the mere fact that you were there at a certain time) and then shares it with lots of "partners" so they can refine the profile they have on you even further.
- bogomipz 4y ago
  Well, when the phones were still operated by the regional Bells there was no advertising except for the logo of the phone company. The promotional advertising came only after the incumbents sold the kiosk business to Titan et al.