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WebSite Information => Article Discussions => Topic started by: Mathias on June 26, 2019, 10:52:21 am

Title: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Mathias on June 26, 2019, 10:52:21 am
Regarding to [this article (http://tedium.co/2019/06/13/nyc-subway-os2-history/)], linked in the news, I might be a bit old school, but why should one switch away from analog stuff to digital, completely?
Wouldn't it be way smarter to have both systems running alongside? I mean, in the end, it's just about "returning true" to the process of the entry-gate to open, so you can get on train.

When it comes to pay-by-app these two things instantly come to my mind:
- What about people without smart phones? (Yes, they DO exist) - Or people WITH smart phones using them only with wifi, having no mobile contract)
- What about tourists and foreign phones? Will they also work?


IBM - Fixed URL
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Neil Waldhauer on June 26, 2019, 08:52:53 pm
They already thought about that.

https://new.mta.info/system_modernization/omny

Visitors have it no worse than before, because they can still use MetroCard.
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Mathias on June 27, 2019, 09:12:18 am
Ahh okay. - Thanks for the quick reply Neil. : )

But where is OS/2 in that new chain? :>
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Neil Waldhauer on June 27, 2019, 03:29:48 pm
I can't comment on the future, but the old system will be around for a while.

https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/22/18617849/nyc-subway-mta-omny-contactless-payment-system (https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/22/18617849/nyc-subway-mta-omny-contactless-payment-system)

On May 31 at noon, the MTA launched a pilot program of its new tap-to-pay system, known as OMNY, that will eventually replace swiping a MetroCard. The fare technology will roll out in phases, allowing transit officials to iron out the kinks as they work toward fully retiring the MetroCard in 2023. Now, riders can bypass lines to refill their MetroCards and simply tap their contactless bank cards or mobile wallet app on their smart phones to pay the fare.
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Dennis Smith on June 28, 2019, 01:48:52 am
I wonder how many IBM PS/2s and PC Servers they still have hidden away in a closet or back room that have been running non-stop for a quarter century.  Amazing how old some of the infrastructure is that is running some businesses.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it! 

I had an IBM PC Server 500 data server in use from 1995-2013.  It just kept on, keeping on.
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: warpsalad on December 19, 2019, 05:43:20 am
I had an IBM PC Server 500 data server in use from 1995-2013.  It just kept on, keeping on.

Oh.... I'd sell a kidney for a PC Server 500 (or even 720).
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Dennis Smith on December 19, 2019, 07:29:05 am
Oh.... I'd sell a kidney for a PC Server 500 (or even 720).

I had two PC Server 500s and one PC Server 720.  They were way too bulky to keep around and are long gone.  I did keep two PS/2 Server 95As since they are about half the size.
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: warpsalad on December 19, 2019, 07:56:07 am
I had two PC Server 500s and one PC Server 720.  They were way too bulky to keep around and are long gone.  I did keep two PS/2 Server 95As since they are about half the size.

I happen to own a model 95 (non-A), but it was much easier to obtain in contrast to the PC Servers :(
It was 'fun' manually building a new SCSI drop cable since the MCA corvette uses a mini centronics on the card-side, which of course is an IBM-exclusive thing and not standard on any SCSI drop cables.

And you actually had a PC Server 720??? Ah sheesh. I guess I was born in the wrong era; they are now inobtanium, couldn't find any even in 2013. It would be a dream running multiple Pentium 1s on the Corollary C-bus II. And some models also had the dual MCA/PCI bus slots.

I'll just go cry on my IntelliStation POWER 185 :p
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Neil Waldhauer on December 19, 2019, 04:20:04 pm
You should have been at Warpstock this year. We had 8 model 77 PS/2 absolutely loaded machines that you could have taken home. It was the biggest giveaway ever.
Title: Re: NY Subway switching to contactless
Post by: Martin Iturbide on December 20, 2019, 09:22:58 pm
You should have been at Warpstock this year. We had 8 model 77 PS/2 absolutely loaded machines that you could have taken home. It was the biggest giveaway ever.

Yep.