Sunday, October 23, 2005
Octopus
One of the coolest things about Hong Kong (and the new territories) is the ‘octopus card’ this is credit card sized RFID card that is a proxy for cash. You go to a machine, add value to the card, and then you can use the card for public transportation (Train, Subway, Bus etc), and here is the cincher, at many shops and fast food restaurants. Here is a picture of a parking meter that takes Octopus (and this was in a park far away from Hong Kong island). If you lose the card, it is like losing cash. So don’t put more than what you are ok with losing on it. The convenience is great and from a privacy perspective it is great too because it doesn’t contain any ‘identity’. I wish the USA had a system like this. ¶ 7:49 PM
One of the coolest things about Hong Kong (and the new territories) is the ‘octopus card’ this is credit card sized RFID card that is a proxy for cash. You go to a machine, add value to the card, and then you can use the card for public transportation (Train, Subway, Bus etc), and here is the cincher, at many shops and fast food restaurants. Here is a picture of a parking meter that takes Octopus (and this was in a park far away from Hong Kong island). If you lose the card, it is like losing cash. So don’t put more than what you are ok with losing on it. The convenience is great and from a privacy perspective it is great too because it doesn’t contain any ‘identity’. I wish the USA had a system like this. ¶ 7:49 PM
