This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
A mobile app requirement is an easy excuse for me to nope the fuck out.
I flat-out refuse to do business with any that requires I use an app. I won't even scan a QR code for a restaurant menu; that's my cue to go eat elsewhere.
I don't mind the whole online menu thing. It's probably an environmental net positive, but it's bs if they don't have ANY physical copies for those who can't or don't want to for whatever reason.
If they wanted me to install something, though, that'd be a 100% instant nope.
An online menu requires power to be used (on people's phones and the server). Is that really a minor contribution in comparison to printing paper and maybe laminating it?
Considering your average printer is a piece of shit that needs to be replaced quite often, yes, using a website is probably more energy efficient.
That and those servers are going to be running anyway. Powering a simple restaurant website is a grain of sand on the beach of internet usage.
Most companies will be using laser printers, some of which may outlive me. Toner is cheap and lasts an age.
Inkjet printers are cheap for a reason. They’re a scam.
This person has never seen the power bill for running a high-availability server with several failovers once in their lives.
In fairness neither have I - though I suspect it's not as insignificant as others have claimed.
It's not insignificant at all. Servers are beefy and take more power than a standard PC... a lot more. Further, failover servers mean you have to have exact copies of the same server up and available, which means you're doubling, tripling, quadrupling power demands. Finally, you also have to have Uninterruptible Power Supplies, those take an amount of power as well.
It's a huge power draw. I know because I have a bunch of low-power devices runnig 24/7 as microservices and it still increase my power bill and use by a lot. I regularly get letters from the power company about how I'm using like 3x the power of the average person in my type of unit.
I regularly get letters from the power company about how I'm using like 3x the power of the average person in my type of unit.
I'm also using a lot of self hosted things but have never received any of those.
Where do you reside generally where they're sending them because it ain't a thing here in the UK?
US, west coast.
It's not meant to make a person feel attacked as much as gently nudging them to use less power.
Pretty sure its even automated.
I don't think I'd feel "attacked" but more impressed that I came to light if they sent me them very much like a naughty "copyright warning" and would send it back with a brick in it.
Cheers!
I had not considered that an uninterruptible power supply would be consuming power after charging. I suppose no electronics are 100% efficient at what they do.
I've been playing with a Proxmox server on an ITX system for local services and rare game hosting for friends. I'd love something low power I could have on all the time.
Scan QR code. Order on your phone. Pay on your phone. Asks for a tip.
So uh, what exactly am I tipping you here for dawg?
that stuff is nice as an option. There's a bar I go to that I can order my food and drink to the table my friends are at, while I'm walking to the place, and everything just arrives shortly after I sit down. Other people get offended about how fast I get served, it's always amusing. I also enjoy not interacting with the staff, nothing against them, brain just doesn't brain sometimes.
But what if I didn't have a phone? or if I left home without it? 24/7 pocket rectangle is not natural.
The funny thing about qr codes for restaurant menus to me, as someone that studied menu design. Is that actual menus are designed specific ways make the restaurant more profit and make it easier for people to find what they want. Whereas qr codes often bring one to a hastily designed list of categories which are not only less intuitive but also less manipulative. So people will end up taking longer to order less profitable dishes.
Hell yeah, consumer win. I like selecting an item and it offers me changes or addition options that I never would have considered!
But really, it means they can hire less people so they gain profit anyway.
Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day is probably the most accurate portrayal of me ever written.
If you don't have a smart phone in the US, even temporally, your almost a second class citizen.
Then if you don't install corporate apps on your phone, there are even more problems for you.
You can still live in the US without apps... For now
Social Friendly Browser can usualky get around this
You don't need an app to use a loyalty card...
But yes I am against supermarkets that only provide discounts if you use their loyalty program, which in turn allows them to track your purchases. Especially since many items are priced with the discount as the "fair" price and the full price is really just a money grab.
This kinda shit is why I go to Aldi instead. They give everyone the same low prices. Tesco have their clubcard and seeing how much more they want to charge me for not having one puts me off ever going there on a regular basis.
Also under 18s can't get these loyalty cards here so fuck you I guess you have to pay a load more.
Same. We have two grocery stores nearby, both with loyalty programs. One requires using the program to get discounts, while the other doesn't (you just miss out on points). Guess which I shop at...
If I need to go to the other one (Kroger family), I'll use my parents' number so they get the points. I go maybe once/year if there's a particularly good deal.
Last time I went to a new-to-me grocery store that I didn't have a loyalty card for, I just used [local area code]-867-5309. Jenny hasn't failed me yet.
Man, I’m torn on this one.
We have two grocery stores in our exurban area.
Kroger, as a corporation, contributes to politicians of both US parties in roughly equal measure. Less than ideal (zero contributions), but not too bad I guess. But, they do have an obnoxious customer loyalty card program. Boo!
Publix, on the other hand, doesn’t have a customer loyalty card program at all. Yay! But, the corporation and their leadership contribute HEAVILY to the new Trumpy GOP, Matt Gaetz in particular. So, fuck them.
I’m boycotting Publix. Lesser of two evils I guess.
I really wish we had a locally-owned mom ’n pop grocery. I’d pay a premium for that.
Contributing to that Kinderficker changes my opinion of Publix.
Even if you did want apps the majority only offer it from 1 of the 2 popular repositories (" stores "). It's a shame they do not have a way to track that lost sale.
i don't have one. i don't want one, either.
especially if you don't have an iphone. I have seen so many accessories and apps that were made for use on iphones which would also be useful for android devices as well. my transplant clinic has a patient portal that has an app for iphones but nothing for android so you have to use their website.
the problem is also apple's slow adoption (or outright refusal) to open up various web apis to make web apps more prevalent.
Even the homeless in my city have smartphones.
