Cool Tech Without Threads: The Humblebrag Edition

Traut

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A thread for cool stuff without threads.

Samsung Pay:
Samsung often fucks up its software. But Samsung Pay is years ahead of Apple Pay or Android Pay. Samsung Pay works everywhere. No NFC reader necessary. I use it all of the time. I have many credit cards (for my various businesses) and carry a very thin billfold. Samsung Pay allows me to carry all of my cards without putting them in my wallet. The only reason I carry a card is for gas stations and restaurants. It is living in the future.
 

Moosey

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My wife started using this and early returns are positive. Only thing holding it back for us is Capital One is not on their list of cards yet. I have seen reports that it will be added, which is awesome for us. Only reason I'm not using it yet is my phone is old.
 

NortheasternPJ

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A thread for cool stuff without threads.

Samsung Pay:
Samsung often fucks up its software. But Samsung Pay is years ahead of Apple Pay or Android Pay. Samsung Pay works everywhere. No NFC reader necessary. I use it all of the time. I have many credit cards (for my various businesses) and carry a very thin billfold. Samsung Pay allows me to carry all of my cards without putting them in my wallet. The only reason I carry a card is for gas stations and restaurants. It is living in the future.
That's because it isn't a Samsung product. They bought LoopPay. Their Burlington office now has rebranded their signs on their office. It was a great buy for Samsung.
 

bowiac

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I had never heard of Samsung Pay (the no NFC reader was what caught my eye). From reading up on it now, I'm blown away that this actually works. This WSJ review makes it sound amazing. It's not quite enough to get me to switch from my iPhone, but it's the first time I've pondered it.
 

Rudi Fingers

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I just tried Samsung Pay this week for the first time and it is as awesome as advertised. Also got the "we don't take that here" at the package store :)
The LoopPay aspect won't be as useful once every terminal has NFC, but, as Traut said, it makes all the difference towards making Samsung Pay more useful *today* (and more secure, thanks to the use of one-time temporary credit card numbers, and never your actual credit card number) at swipe-only places.

Samsung Pay doesn't work with some of my cards (some of the issuers like Barclaycard aren't on board), but Chase/Amex/Bank of America work.

Also, heads up that Samsung's giving $200 credits to use at samsung.com if you buy an S6/S6Edge/Note5 this month and sign up for Samsung Pay ( https://samsungpromotions.com/celebratefootball ) - and there are lots of S6 discounts around now with the S7 a month away from being announced.
 

Nick Kaufman

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I do have to tell you that I don't understand you. The horror of the major inconvenience of having to carry a wallet with cards! The major time saver of an extra 2 to 3 seconds each time that you don't have to waste on taking and reinserting your card into your wallet! How could we live without Phone Pay before?
 

SumnerH

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I do have to tell you that I don't understand you. The horror of the major inconvenience of having to carry a wallet with cards! The major time saver of an extra 2 to 3 seconds each time that you don't have to waste on taking and reinserting your card into your wallet! How could we live without Phone Pay before?
Not to mention storing your CC data in another very well-connected database that's a prime target for hackers, having it potentially exposed if you lose your phone (which, because it's out and used much more often is generally at a higher risk of loss/theft than a credit card or wallet), and exposing all your purchasing information to another third party (Samsung or whoever).
 

NortheasternPJ

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Not sure about Samsung but with Apple Pay you can't do shit without touchid. You also can't view the card data. If I lose my iPhone it's not like someone's going to go charge shit. I've lost credit or debit cards enough times but never lost my phone.

Apples had my credit card for 10 years due to iTunes at this point. Them having it for ApplePay is no different.

Apple also doesn't collect or store transaction info.

Frankly I trust apple much more than some random merchants terminal. With ApplePay everything is tokenized so there's no risk of a skimmer stealing data. We do a ton of PCI work and most merchants network security horrifies me.
 

bowiac

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Yeah, the security concern rings false. Anything could happen obviously, but everything I've seen has suggested the data is probably more secure than it is on a credit card. Plus, I'm dramatically less likely to lose my phone for a long time than my credit card. I'm in physical contact with my phone every hour (and way more really), while I see if my wallet has my credit card once a day perhaps.

I do have to tell you that I don't understand you. The horror of the major inconvenience of having to carry a wallet with cards! The major time saver of an extra 2 to 3 seconds each time that you don't have to waste on taking and reinserting your card into your wallet! How could we live without Phone Pay before?
This is both a fair point, and inane. That's how every incremental technological change works. At first, they're largely toys/ways to show off. Maybe they save you a bit of effort here or there. But after a while, they become ingrained in everyday life. It's rare we get a product that's just a showstopper on day 1.

I would love to not carry a wallet. As I mentioned above, it's one more thing I can lose, and one more thing I need to worry about. Apple/Samsung Pay just bring us one step closer.
 

SumnerH

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Yeah, the security concern rings false. Anything could happen obviously, but everything I've seen has suggested the data is probably more secure than it is on a credit card.
The centrality more than compensates for the security differential. Having a million dollars in a room with barred doors and windows is a more attractive target than having a hundred bucks in a dead-bolted closet, even though the bars are more secure. Hackers (and disgruntled employees, etc) target high-value data stores; you always want to avoid putting your card data in more centralized databases whenever possible.
 

JimBoSox9

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I dunno. I'm not sure "never have my credit card data stolen" is the right goal for a consumer to be aiming for. It's inherently stolen by existing; it's best to just act that way and instead do everything to make sure you have cards with strong credit fraud protection and are wired to know about anything going wonky with your credit within days.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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The centrality more than compensates for the security differential. Having a million dollars in a room with barred doors and windows is a more attractive target than having a hundred bucks in a dead-bolted closet, even though the bars are more secure. Hackers (and disgruntled employees, etc) target high-value data stores; you always want to avoid putting your card data in more centralized databases whenever possible.
So, don't use your CC at Target.

Or Home Depot.

Or PF Changs.

Or CVS.

Or Donald Trump's hotels.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
 

SumnerH

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So, don't use your CC at Target.

Or Home Depot.

Or PF Changs.

Or CVS.

Or Donald Trump's hotels.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Pretty much, aside from the last-a hotel is the only one of those I'd generally consider using a credit card at, because it's actually difficult enough to merit the downside. CVS, PF Changs, Target, and Home Depot still take cash without hassle and it's still the fastest, easiest, most private and least hackable option.

In fact, Target is really a perfect example of one of the perils: they've been notoriously hacked badly in recent memory.
 

Marceline

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I don't see why anyone even worries about credit card data being stolen.

It's pretty easy to spot invalid charges, call the credit card company, and dispute them. Since the credit card company is liable for the invalid charges, the risk is on their side, not mine.

To me, having to use cash is far more inconvenient than occasionally having to dispute a charge and request a new card number. Not to mention giving up all the credit card rewards.
 

Traut

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I don't see why anyone even worries about credit card data being stolen.

It's pretty easy to spot invalid charges, call the credit card company, and dispute them. Since the credit card company is liable for the invalid charges, the risk is on their side, not mine.

To me, having to use cash is far more inconvenient than occasionally having to dispute a charge and request a new card number. Not to mention giving up all the credit card rewards.
I have had my business card stolen. I put 95% of my bills on that card. Having to reenter all of the information with different vendors is hours worth of work that I'd rather not do.

Though I think Amex recently implemented a work around for this.
 

Rudi Fingers

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Also, heads up that Samsung's giving $200 credits to use at samsung.com if you buy an S6/S6Edge/Note5 this month and sign up for Samsung Pay ( https://samsungpromotions.com/celebratefootball ) - and there are lots of S6 discounts around now with the S7 a month away from being announced.
OK, I got my $200 credit to use at samsung.com [/humblebrag] , so it's time to bump the thread.

Some cool tech there that I can apply it to:

- A Samsung Gear VR headset (powered by Oculus)
- A Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch
- A Samsung SmartThings home automation hub/sensor package

Anyone have experience with any of the above? Which would you choose?