Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Diebold ATM Crashes, Dispenses Tunes - Not Money
A Diebold Opteva 520 ATM crashed on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, and then rebooted without bringing up the ATM software, alarming financial institutions and Americans concerned about e-voting alike.
As it turned out, the resulting Diebold PC was not particularly functional, even though it had Windows XP running. The main criticisms that students had were 1) the lack of Internet connectivity and 2) lack of a keyboard. However, students were able to use the Character Map program to enter text, enabling the text-to-speech program to intone "What, do you think I'm made of money?" to potential customers. This fulfills the expectations raised for this device, which Diebold claims "will deliver the next generation of services to financial institutions and ATM users, including new opportunities to enhance customer relationship management (CRM), marketing and advertising applications" (news release).
The Windows Media Player was set up to loop Beethoven and Talking Heads for the further amusement of customers. Americans who would like to have secure, verifiable elections in their own country were less amused, since Diebold is also a leading proponent of electronic voting machines.
Clearly, these new ATMs, with their greater (dys)functionality are bringing us closer to the Lucky Dragon ATM of William Gibson's 1999 novel All Tomorrow's Parties. These ATMS really had a business attitude; if you messed with them, they would mist you down and then electrify themselves.
Thanks to ATM Media Player (Gizmodo) who brought us the original story Diebold ATM Crashes (Midnight Spaghetti). Don't forget to take a look at the Diebold Opteva 520 ATM website; it has a nice multimedia presentation that asks the haunting question "What if your ATMs were so smart that they could repair themselves?"
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/19/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Work ")
Swedes Get 'Chipped' With Vaccine Passports
'Employees above a certain level were implanted with advanced microprocessors...' - William Gibson, 1984.
Meetings To Be Recorded And Scored For Body Language
'Jedrik was reworking the simulation model of Broey which she carried in her head.'
Would You Get 'Chipped'? Michigan May Ban Employers
'Employees above a certain level were implanted with advanced microprocessors...' - William Gibson, 1984.
Workplace Monitoring Hell, I Mean, Tool For Safe Distancing
'And here is the weirdest part -- I never see another employee the entire day.' - Marshall Brain, 2002.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Finally, Robot Conductors On Autonomous Buses
'Wardour Street,' he told the robot-conductor.'
RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'
Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'
JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'
Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'
Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
