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I think they really should charge with micropayments, and they could even roll out their own currency for that if need be. Ads suck. Actually, all the AI compa
by adrianwaj 9mo ago
I think they really should charge with micropayments, and they could even roll out their own currency for that if need be. Ads suck.
Actually, all the AI companies together should choose a micropayment system to focus on. I know in fashion, I've seen what would seem like competing brands center around a common "pillar of influence."
Also, if (long-tail?) AI companies work together, they could install appliances and terminals around cities. The most immediate use case - transport timetables. It seems like a no-brainer the more I think about it. Especially good for tourists who don't speak the local language. Governments may end up wanting to do that anyway and could subsidize the cost. It really depends on how fixated people are to owning their own screen, versus using someone else's. Those city screens could end up billboards anyway - especially for local businesses. They could print for a fee too and third parties could pay to get their app listed. Also, it's worth considering the increase in wealth inequality and rising hardware costs for people to own and stream into their own device. So this could be like the Internet Cafe 2.0.
Incidentally, there's a recent thread about someone streaming HN to a cheap display: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46699782 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46699782 - why not have such displays around town? I guess one major problem is vandalism.
- raw_anon_1111 9mo agoPeople have been suggesting a micro payment system for the web for over a quarter century https://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-Micropayment-Markup-19990825/ https://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-Micropayment-Markup-19990825/ Why would you want to use a terminal for mass transit instead of your phone?
- adrianwaj 9mo agoI prefer dumb phones, and then prefer to not have to carry one 24/7. Device lock-in is a whole other discussion. Why can't phones be switched off anyhow in terms of telco signal? Yet their Wifi and Bluetooth can be. Weird. What are they doing in stealth? Look how cheap x402 transactions are (ie almost free) https://gemini.google.com/share/cbf1adb1570c https://gemini.google.com/share/cbf1adb1570c It's a new thing - have business models adapted accordingly?
- raw_anon_1111 9mo agoYou don’t think your preference for not using a smart phone makes a viable market do you - seeing global penetration of smartphones is 90% and even higher among those who can afford to travel?
- adrianwaj 9mo agoI think compulsory 2FA and the trend towards must-have downloadable phone apps is a problem, but that may not be fully evident... yet. In my experience, being tied to a phone and phone number is a problem. Also, when you carry your phone, your funds are at risk too from tech-jacking (as opposed to car-jacking) .. especially with crypto, right? "I keep a cheap travel eSim plan active on it so that if I am somewhere sketchy I can leave my main phone at home." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46639157 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46639157 It's a personal choice - you are also tied to a battery charger. Wait, solar panels are getting better. Why is it so difficult to run a mobile app on a PC? Why can't there be a device that I connect to my laptop to turn it into a phone (voice + texts) whenever the need arises? Weird. What's with the identification required at SIM point-of-sale? Is someone trying to track me or something?
- raw_anon_1111 9mo agoSo now instead of carrying a phone around with you to make a call, you want to carry around a laptop? Again, your use case is not a business model. What next bring back pay phones?
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- adrianwaj 9mo agoI'd be more inclined to carry around a smartphone if everything about it was open-source and based on open standards. It's just another networked computer, really.
- 9mo ago