volfrahm Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I just found out that my prepaid card is depleted after I put in my detergent and clothes into the machine. Why can't we have coin operated machines? What other areas of life will force us to use the pre-paid cards? Will I have to insert a card into the toilet whenever I go poo in the near future? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmar Bijlsma Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Better get used to it. Because the object not accepting coins won't get smashed by someone trying to get at the coin, nor does anyone have to go round the devices emptying them. Balance that to the occasional washing of the card, which isn't even in the devices owners detriment (on the contrary) and coin taking machines are left in the dust as a pitiful relic of ancient days. Just a thought, have you tried not washing your phone card? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 A vaguely related aside: I recently washed a USB stick and once dried it worked flawlessly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volfrahm Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 Do you people in Europe have to use cards to access water at home? I read that it was banned in some countries, yet I continue to hear about talk about meters in the news in regards to droughts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmar Bijlsma Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 No. Not in the Netherlands and in no other country that I know off, though that may be because I'm hardly well versed in this area. I do know that in Britain they have pre-paid electricity of some kind in some (typically low cost) housing, Don't think it was also like that with water, thought I'm sure someone can clarify. In Europe (except in the UK) it's the norm to have water usage metered. Meaning you have a sort of subscription where you pay your forecast usage. Every year actual usage is checked and money charged or refunded. This may have been what you heard? I think here in the Netherlands it's not even allowed to disconnect people from the water supply. They can garnish your wages, take your stuff by court order and what not if you refuse to pay. Disconnecting? Maybe in extreme cases if a judge says you can. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Then again, Netherareas is not exactly a drought area - or if it were, the only thing you'd need to do was bust a dam. Not a bad idea, actually... It's places like some parts of Spain where the droughts are the worst. This Guardian article discusses the importation of water to Barcelona, and also gives these factoids: Hydrologists expect the demand for water will continue to increase with the world's growing population. Some predict that by 2025, 3.5 billion people will be living in water-scarce countries, compared with 500 million in 2002. · Turkey exports water to Israel and plans to ship more to Syria, Jordan and Greece · France sends tankers filled with millions of gallons of water to Algeria · Russia, New Zealand, Norway and Scotland have all considered exporting water · Malaysia provides most of Singapore's water · Islands in the Caribbean ship water by tanker to help with shortages · A plan by Canada to ship 1m gallons of water a day to the Middle East was dropped after protests by environmentalists 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 It's the same in the UK. You can't disconnect someone from mains water even if they don't pay the bill. You can take them to court etc but water is basically a human right. You'd think that it wouldn't be a problem here but sometimes it doesn't rain for an hour or more and people start to panic. USB sticks and flash memory can take a hell of a battering. They found a lot of cameras after the tsunami with the pictures still perfect. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volfrahm Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 So the UK still has pre-paid water meters, but it's illegal to shut off the water? I was under the impression that Water Act 98 made it illegal. Am I wrong? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 A vaguely related aside: I recently washed a USB stick and once dried it worked flawlessly. I have one that I tempt fate with - it has been found in the Dryer 6 times now, and it still works. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 So the UK still has pre-paid water meters, but it's illegal to shut off the water? I was under the impression that Water Act 98 made it illegal. Am I wrong? No. Pre paid electricity in cheaper housing sometimes. Water meters in some places - but mostly not. IIRC. there was an attempt to get around the law by some companies and introduce meters that would shut off the water when there was no money left but they were deemed illegal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I have one that I tempt fate with - it has been found in the Dryer 6 times now, and it still works. I washed my ipod nano and it worked but I wouldn't recommend it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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