What is Digg?92 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+31How do blind people know how much has really been charged to their credit card?
- wild, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26I really want them to make this work with dots. Call me an ass, but I like having bills be the same size for their convenience factor. Not to mention the major overhaul this would cause in a lot of automated vending machines. And, no, I am not worried about Coke's losses, but things like upgrading the vending units on Chicagos public transit system. A fair hike will have to occur for that uprgade, and I don't need city living to get any more expensive.
- Zabbadizzat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21Scratch and Sniff is the answer.
- revmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -8/+25see, us canadians have this covered. the colours are very different, so those that can't exactly see WELL can see what bill it is at a quick glance, and we have braille dots on the top right corner of each bill.
canadian bills ftw - Emaze, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22Can we stop with the "FTW" *****? It's retarded.
FTW FTW. - The_Wallbanger, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19Seems like common sense prevails. There's no reason that there even should have been a four year legal battle.
- AXNJAXN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11The ATMs and cash registers that operate on same-size bills might need to be replaced, if I'm not mistaken. If they do, then a lot of stores and banks are looking at some significant costs.
- atdigg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I fail to see (no pun intended) why the government doesn't do something that would help blind people and would probably not cost the Treasury Department much (if implemented right)
- whiskeymb, on 10/12/2007, -20/+28what kills me are the people who are actually against this. I work for a UK based company and they've laughed at me in the past for "silly colony currency" for not being differently shaped. most parts of the world have adopted some form of helping visually impaired people to distinguish money, but not the US.
Then again, the US isn't exactly a progressive country... - Langford, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Different shaped would work, but that may not be the only way to accomplish the goal of accessibility. They might just start putting braille onto the surface. The ultimate solution would probably be a combination of the two.
edit: revmonkey outran me to the braille mention. We don't see much Canadian money where I live, but it sounds like they have their act together. - oxyrubber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7And how do you propose that blind people know exactly how much they are charged? Your arguement is circular and useless: the blind depend on the honesty of whomever is taking their form of payment, whether it is M1 (cash) or M2 (debit/credit/check/etc).
Also, not everyone is required to have a checking account and a check card. People are, however, required to be able to use American currency in American stores. - lbjazz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8As someone who is technically legally blind, I have had a decent amount of contact with blind people. Most of them have portable scanning devices that tell them audibly what the value of a bill is. I'm not sure if I think the change is entirely necessary, but making the bills more distinguishable is just a good idea whether it's for blind people or not.
This is, however, likely going to be a nightmare for retrofitting atms, vending machines, etc. - porkstacker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Ray Charles never needed such things. He knew when you were trying to swindle him.
- sbougerolle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6About bloody time.
Now when will the USA go metric? - captinherb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9FTA "Government attorneys argued that forcing the Treasury Department to change the size of the bills or add texture would make it harder to prevent counterfeiting."
Is that the best reason they could come up with? Really? Yea, because adding texture would make it much easier to run bills off on my ink jet. - MattLat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Like what? I think that changing the bills is the best course of action here. The US is actually pretty behind in that area. I know the Euro and the Yen both have ways to tell which bill you've got without actually looking at it.
- Alphateam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This is weird...I thought they already did this. There was this blind guy who ran a snack shop in this building I used to go to as a kid. It was weird, he would just rub a bill between his fingers and he would know what it was. He made change and everything. I never saw or even heard him ever make a mistake. Heck I even tried to trick him with new bills or the wrong amount to see if he would fall for it and he never did. Not that I was a rat bastard little kid who tried to cheat a blind man to be mean I just wanted to see if he could do it.
- IWriteCode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5How hard can it be to put a couple braille dots somewhere on the bill? This way you wouldn't need to change the way the bills are printed or their size.
- dankoleary, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12Even for sighted people, this rocks. No more fumbling for bills FTW.
- QuincySama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Canadian currency, is not only different colour but it also has brail on it, I don't see how this is a big deal.
- jjb123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Kinda like how they have brail on drive through ATM's, WTF is a blind person doing driving?
- ChemEng, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Yep... Supposedly he was only paid in $1 bills. Its definately a low tech way to fix the problem.
- betterth, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Or perhaps whatever anti counterfeiting measures that are in place will have to be completely redesigned and reimplemented.
- LooterMcBeer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Change the damn color so people stopping rapping about makin the green and for god sakes dont make it yellow cause then we will have to listen to them talk about makin that cheddar forever........
- Gauthic, on 07/09/2008, -1/+4Australia's currency is not only a different color per bill (for instant recognition for near-sighted, but not so hot for color blind people), but also a different size per bill as well.
Would it hurt to go to something like this--at least the variable size formats? - highdef, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My mother is blind and she just folds her bills and puts them in different parts of her purse.
- ScornForSega, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7But a U.S. judge was citing non-U.S. examples as a resource! WTF? Doesn't he know that once you cross the border, nothing is the same in Americaland.
Units of measurement: check.
Language: check (lol, aboot)
Politics: check
Economics: check.
Violence: check
Physics: we're working on it. - LabThug, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Many blind people have a hightened sense of touch (and other senses). He was probably able to pick up the minute differences in the print.
- martalli, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4India's currency is also like this, with lower value currency getting progressively smaller. This would help the poor, but it's also easier for the sighted to organize their bills. Of course, I'm just like everyone else, using my card more than cash anymore.
Speaking of which, I'd rather see $1 and $2 bills step aside for coins. Maybe just skip $1 coins and do this: do away with pennies, redesign the quarter and 50 cent piece, and start a two dollar coin (like Canada has). We are to the point now where $.5 really holds the value a quarter did twenty years ago. fifty cent pieces, $2 coins, occasional $5 coins, and then bills for $10 and above. Lower value bills are a waste of money as they fall apart rapidly. - cybertron3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Change the color, change the texture, but keep them the same size! Please! It is so frustrating in other countries when the bills are exploding out of your wallet. And for those who haven't experienced it- ever had to stick an over sized check in your wallet? Fun times.
- LabThug, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I'm surprised an argument was raised in the first place. "They" have been trying to reduce our "hard money" for a long time. It's no longer backed by Gold and/or Silver, companies can restrict which bills are valid for their debts ("Nothing larger than a $20"), etc.
I'm wondering if this will be the start of replacing cash with credits. Keep your greenbacks safe! - intangible, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Emaze
Don't you mean this?: "!FTW FTW!" - madeingermany, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The main question is, why wasn't this already implemented with one of the recent redesigns of US Bills. I'm sure it was discussed back in 2004.
- emrikol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Man, that bugger! I bought some speaker cabinets off of him, and wanted to return them...he gave me a crap deal because they were "used"
- Murph - robertc1964, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Awesome. I loves me the greenbacks, but I love the new multi-colored $10 bill even more. I can't wait to see what the new currency will look like.
- butterpat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations," Robertson wrote.
The money spent on the four-year battle could have been spent on upgrading the current archaic system. - ProximaC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37 pages of comments in your history...
- oxyrubber, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Your point is kind of moot.
Stores are required (in most states) to accomodate those with disabilities (ramps for wheelchairs, disabled parking spots close to the doors, braille on certain signs in some buildings, etc).
Going to the store "with company" would eliminate the need for any of these (on an individual trip basis), but does not change requirement for any of these on a permanent basis. - oxyrubber, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@AXNJAXN
Your assumption is that there is no way to distinguish bills of the same size without looking at them. "revmonkey" (first thread) mentions that Canadian bills have braille (embossing) in their bills. - lackofprodigy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@xwagner
Many drug dealers don't accept Visa/Mastercard. - martalli, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Braille on bills wouldn't last long. You could do it on coins, but simples differences on coins like size and bumpy/not bumpy edges are usually enough, from what I have heard.
- t368504, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ATMs and cash registers are already designed to handle different size bills, since they have to accomodate thousands of different bills from hundreds of countries. No redesign required!
- austindkelly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Seriously what is up with the linking to blog with tons of ads and horrible design and colors? I really would like to see more Diggs from news sites, where the information might be a little more cedible...
...oh yeah and where are the pictures? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@AlwaysDuggDown:
How do non-blind people know how much is really being charged to their credit card? - oxyrubber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1WHY?
What possible use does a person have for reading the permanent information on the front of a credit card more than once (other than retaillers)?
The only invention that waould apply to blind people and credit cards would be an alternate interface that outputs braille describing the CC transaction (like the LCD that you sign at a retailler).
It's not the card itself that needs braille, it's the customer's side of the "register". - outbreak117, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1well i see a tax rise in the near future, but in the end its worth it.
we all hate change. so suck it up :]] - jared592, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Dire consequences? The blind being able to understand American currency without carrying around a scanning apparatus isn't the apocalypse.
- joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The judge isn't making policy. He's interpreting the law. Why doesn't he address all issues? He only addresses issue brought forward to him in the court.
You need a civics refresher course. - analdisco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3When the steel industry thinks it's a good idea to completely change all of their equipment, thereby stalling a significant part of our economy and incurring massive expenditures, in order to save the time consumed by conversion.
The U.S. already uses metric units for pretty much any scientific endeavors. Most uses of the imperial system are just for everyday things, because Little Johnny knows how big a yard is but not a meter. It's stupid, yes, but it really doesn't cause as many problems as people like to think.
But yeah. We totally need another currency redesign, because now that we've put out dozens of different multicolored bills, we ought to cycle them all out because they don't have braille on them and therefore seem like ones to blind people.
I'm sorry to be a prick, but should we really make such a big deal over this? How often is a blind person making a purchase alone, from a person low enough to steal a few bucks by taking the wrong bill or giving the wrong change, without any plan to prevent that sort of thing? I know if I were blind, I'd separate my bills with someone's help, and keep track of what I have. No big deal. -
Show 51 - 88 of 88 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is