• (cs) in reply to Tim
    [image]

    This is brilliant. It serves two purposes: it keeps out the stupid bots and it keeps out the stupid users.

    I propose that all TDWTF comment post CAPTCHAs now feature vector-calculus problems.

  • PIercy (unregistered)

    speaking of the captcha test.. the new hotmail one is a pain... took me about 15 attempts.

  • (cs) in reply to JimM
    JimM:
    TRWTF!!:
    The Real WTF is the fact that the ATM is working when his card is clearly in his hand.
    That is the one thing that freaked me out most last time I visited the US - ATMs that make you take your card out again before you do anything. Wierd shit, dude!
    And some of them, after you take your receipt and walk away, ask: "Would you like to make another transaction?" If you're not careful, the next person could answer "Yes" and withdraw money from your account.

    (I saw this once or twice on my 2004 trip to the US. Fortunately, I walked back to the machine to take the receipt I had forgotten and noticed the question on the screen. I haven't seen it on the past 2 trips.)

  • TehMast0r (unregistered)

    Actually, I know places where the number for the in-house helpdesk is 911 :)

  • (cs) in reply to Tim
    Tim:
    And the captcha isn't that hard to read (EF8VTZ4X). There are loads more impossible ones (http://www.johnmwillis.com/other/top-10-worst-captchas/)
    In which case, the instructions probably ought to say "only enter the code displayed in the largest font size" just for clarity's sake.
  • TehMast0r (again) (unregistered)

    What do people actually think when you photograph young children that are not yours ~.~

  • (cs) in reply to communist_goatboy

    I've seen ATMs that throw the "Multiple of 20" error when they run out of 10 dollar bills; it's just that the GUI is hard coded, so it can't switch to "Press here for $40(or $60) fast cash."

  • (cs) in reply to communist_goatboy
    communist_goatboy:
    [image]

    This is brilliant. It serves two purposes: it keeps out the stupid bots and it keeps out the stupid users.

    I propose that all TDWTF comment post CAPTCHAs now feature vector-calculus problems.

    [image]

  • Mizchief (unregistered)

    Anyone notice that the windows background on the Hong Kong pic looks a lot like the "your copy is pirated" black background?

  • (cs) in reply to Ilya Ehrenburg
    Ilya Ehrenburg:
    Code Dependent:
    JimM:
    Code Dependent:
    That's so you don't take your money and walk off leaving your card in the slot for the next guy to find. ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user--a concept they probably learned by reading TDWTF.
    Except the ATMs here eject your card and won't dispense your money until you've taken it - so that's hardly an issue. The one thing I've learned from TDWTF is not to make a pronouncement on someone else's (ATM|Elevator(that's LIFT, btw)|Preferred programming language) unless you've used it yourself and know how it works - you just sound dumb through trying to be clever...
    Your comments appear to be spoken in generalities but intended to refer to me. If so, I don't understand why. ATMs here work in a variety of different ways. The ATM in my office never takes the card at all; you swipe it through a scanner without letting go. Some of them hold onto the card until you ask for cash; some give it back immediately after verification. And there are still some old ones around that keep the card until you tell them to return it. I doubt that the situation is any different in other parts of the world.

    Did you take offense at my comment, imagining that it was in reference to non-Americans, or to you specifically? Like, ATM designers in the USA sat around in a meeting discussing the fact that foreigners will be visiting the USA, so they'd better make the ATMs idiot-proof? Talk about sounding dumb through trying to be clever...

    I don't think he was getting at you. I believe his recount of what he learned from TDWTF was a propos your idea the ATM coders had learned from it, with no special connection to the matter at hand. It may have been less than ideally worded, but what he learned is a good thing.
    Meh, a little from Column A...

    Truth be told, I read Code Dependent's comment as stating categorically that all cash machines outside the US accept the card, give out money then return the card. TBH I don't see any other way to read it. I said "Those machines are weird", they said "Well at least you can't walk off and leave your card in one". The obvious implication, and certainly my inference, is that Code Dependent believed that all other ATMs allowed you to take cash out and leave your card behind. That has since been clarified, but I stand by my original inference based on the evidence available at the time.

    As to comments being made in a general voicing but seemingly having a specific target, I think Code Dependent's "ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user" could quite easily be read as a generality aimed at a specific person (i.e. me, the person they were responding to). The simple fact is that if you couch a disparaging remark in a general voicing, you can plausibly deny intending any offense, whether you actually intended any or not. It's a favourite tactic of trolls and flamebaiters, and I can only assume that I've internalised it by spending too much time reading TDWTF ;^)

    Oh, and to clarify: I most certainly did not intend any direct offense to any individual with my comments.

  • rob (unregistered)

    Once upon a time, only rest stop and convenience store ATMs were limited to multiples of $20. I used to work for a company that made ATMs that could handle any amount. They even had a little catch bucket for when it gave change. There was one installed where I worked. I always got $36.41. Just because I could.

    Every once in a while, I see one of those machines. They only have $20s and the change bucket sits empty.

  • (cs) in reply to Mizchief
    Mizchief:
    Anyone notice that the windows background on the Hong Kong pic looks a lot like the "your copy is pirated" black background?
    No, I'm not that much of a geek (and, come to think of it, I don't know what 'the "your copy is pirated" black background' looks like, either. Really).
  • Cowbell (unregistered) in reply to snoofle

    While every bank sets a default daily maximum, I have yet to do business with a bank that won't change that limit to whatever you want.

    Same thing goes for your check-card.

  • DPR (unregistered)

    Awesome! Dance Dance Revolution for MS-DOS! BTW, what level is that? eXPert?

  • Vincent (unregistered)

    I wonder what GTK theme Vivek is using.

  • Mike (unregistered) in reply to PIercy
    PIercy:
    speaking of the captcha test.. the new hotmail one is a pain... took me about 15 attempts.

    TRWTF is hotmail

  • BlueCollarAstronaut (unregistered)

    I think the people at 911 are starting to get upset with me. Of course, if they had just reset my password like I asked them the first time, I wouldn't have to keep calling them back.

  • Jay (unregistered)

    ATMs must allow the user to enter cents when making a deposit. If they required entry of whole dollars only when making a withdrawal, a user could surely be forgiven for being confused, having to remember to enter cents on deposits but not to enter cents on withdrawals. Also, if a user entered cents when they are not required, a $20 withdrawal becomes $2000. There might be an upper limit, in which case you have to give an error message. If not, a user who wanted twenty bucks finds the machine apitting out a wad of money. The converse error is that the user wants $20 which the machine interprets as 20 cents. At worst it dispenses two dimes, he realizes his error, and asks for another $19.80. As no ATM I've ever used dispenses less than a $10 bill, he probably just gets an error message, realizes his error, and tries again.

    Yes, I'm all in favor of making it impossible to enter invalid data, but sometimes that's tricky. You could ask the user to type in the number of each denomination bill he wants, but people don't normally think that way, so that could get confusing too. A user who wants $40 might well type "40" next to the picture of the $20 bill, thinking he's going to get 2 twenties, and then instead he gets $800. Making invalid inputs impossible is a good thing, but not at the price of making inputs non-intuitive or clumsy.

  • (cs) in reply to JimM
    JimM:
    I think Code Dependent's "ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user" could quite easily be read as a generality aimed at a specific person (i.e. me, the person they were responding to). *snip*

    Oh, and to clarify: I most certainly did not intend any direct offense to any individual with my comments.

    I'm glad we got that ironed out. If anybody is indicated by my "stupidity" observation, in context it would be the targeted users of that ATM -- Americans (although I doubt that the manufacturers limit their sales to this one country).

  • csm (unregistered) in reply to Tim
    Tim:
    Not many actual WTFs.

    The cash machine is obviously out of $10 notes. Maybe they should have hidden the fast cash option or changed it to $40, but they were probably too lazy.

    And the captcha isn't that hard to read (EF8VTZ4X). There are loads more impossible ones (http://www.johnmwillis.com/other/top-10-worst-captchas/)

    Even the rapidshare cats are harder.

    That's funny, every ATM I've used in the US only gives out $20 bills. Usually the fast cash option is for $40 and if you manually enter any increment other than $20 you'll get the screen pictured. Sounds like a WTF to me.

  • Andy (unregistered) in reply to jasper

    I do AV work (for theatrical productions, not just the standard screen), so I know how to set up a projector properly, and how it will work.

    It's shopped. Look at the bottom right corner of the projection. The image leaks over whatever tiles it was originally projected on. This indicated two things:

    1. It's not a screen on the floor. Why make that tiny sliver of screen, when it should be unnecessary due to proper keystoning?
    2. It also shows (due to the improper keystoning) that the image was projected from about the area of the pillar behind the boy. But the shadows of the children make it look like the projector is much further to the right.

    Also, look at the floor. It's semi-shiny, as you get the glare from whatever windows are in the distance. You would get the same sort of effect with the projector, a big bright spot near the middle of the image.

    Shopped.

  • m0ffx (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    JimM:
    TRWTF!!:
    The Real WTF is the fact that the ATM is working when his card is clearly in his hand.
    That is the one thing that freaked me out most last time I visited the US - ATMs that make you take your card out again before you do anything. Wierd shit, dude!
    That's so you don't take your money and walk off leaving your card in the slot for the next guy to find. ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user--a concept they probably learned by reading TDWTF.
    (As has been said), UK ATM's hold your card while you choose what you want, then return the card, and only once you have taken it, then they dispense the money, followed by the receipt if requested.

    Also, if you leave either card or money sticking out of the ATM for long enough (eg if you're dumb enough to walk away leaving the cash!), the machine will pull it back in and reverse the transaction.

  • djigo (unregistered)

    once i couldn't withdraw $50 because, apparently it was not a multiple of $50. too bad i didn't have my camera with me.

  • (cs)

    Here (Spain) some Visa cards offers seven Cash Fast options (like 40, 70, 110, 140, 170 and 210... I'll take a photo next time for this WTF-ish quantities). There is another option for other quantities. And, of couse, many many times you have to enter a multiple of 50.

  • (cs) in reply to Andy
    Andy:
    I do AV work (for theatrical productions, not just the standard screen), so I know how to set up a projector properly, and how it will work.

    It's shopped. Look at the bottom right corner of the projection. The image leaks over whatever tiles it was originally projected on. This indicated two things:

    1. It's not a screen on the floor. Why make that tiny sliver of screen, when it should be unnecessary due to proper keystoning?
    2. It also shows (due to the improper keystoning) that the image was projected from about the area of the pillar behind the boy. But the shadows of the children make it look like the projector is much further to the right.

    Also, look at the floor. It's semi-shiny, as you get the glare from whatever windows are in the distance. You would get the same sort of effect with the projector, a big bright spot near the middle of the image.

    Shopped.

    Also, based on the projector location derived from the keystoning, there should be a portion of the projection visible on the ankle of the woman at the left side of the picture.

  • DJ Beret (unregistered)

    TRWTF is that Alex still thinks the command prompt and DOS are the same thing.

  • fmobus (unregistered) in reply to MetalPig
    MetalPig:
    If you're not careful, the next person could answer "Yes" and withdraw money from your account.

    In my country (Brazil), some ATMs do that, but they are reasonably safe. This prompt disappears quickly (+-5 seconds) and any further transaction would require card insertion before being enacted.

  • Paolo T. (unregistered)

    Just to let all you know, no one of the captcha strings actually worked, so don't bother trying to find out the right one :-)

  • PensFan (unregistered)

    I happen to live in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, which I promise is relevant, geez, be patient, this is the first sentance for f's sake, though admittedly, unnecessarily long. The WTF pictures regarding the MAC Machine (or ATM Machine for those with "RAS Syndrome") were immediately obvious to me. I even have the same orange PNC Bank card like the one in the photo and it matches as far as I can see, so I know this is a relatively recent photo, because the orange cards have only been around for a year or so.

    PNC Visa Check Card

    So here is what happened:

    Recently PNC Bank added a new feature to their ATMs that allows you to configure your own custom Fast Cash value. If you configure it, say, on one machine where you normally get $50 (the machine physically at my bank even lets me get down to $5 granularity) and then later hit another machine where it only dispenses $20s, you would get this error.

    This is really an end-user WTF instead of a programming WTF, though you could argue a better UI would detect it and round the fast cash value to the nearest dispensable value. The question is, was the end user aware they did it? In fact, they may have even seen the loophole and manufactured a WTF to submit.

    Now, regarding the theory put forth as obvious by several posters, that the machine is in fact out of Hamiltons (why not, we have Franklins, I'm just medium pimpin'). A little detective work and you notice the reflection in the screen. It appears to be bottles of possibly Snapple and those iced tea containers with the orange and yellow lids that come in milk containers (especially evident in the 2nd image), I want to say Turner's, but there are several brands around here. It would appear as if the machine is inside a convenience store. I happen to know for a fact that the only stores in this area that have PNC Bank machines are 7-11, which, from my experience only dispense $20s (likely harder to stock when they aren't physically located at a bank).

    Anyway, believe me if you want. I've got to get back to debugging this crappy code that someone else wrote. :)

    </peace>

    A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -- Douglas Adams

  • Shill (unregistered) in reply to JimM
    JimM:
    Ilya Ehrenburg:
    Code Dependent:
    JimM:
    Code Dependent:
    That's so you don't take your money and walk off leaving your card in the slot for the next guy to find. ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user--a concept they probably learned by reading TDWTF.
    Except the ATMs here eject your card and won't dispense your money until you've taken it - so that's hardly an issue. The one thing I've learned from TDWTF is not to make a pronouncement on someone else's (ATM|Elevator(that's LIFT, btw)|Preferred programming language) unless you've used it yourself and know how it works - you just sound dumb through trying to be clever...
    Your comments appear to be spoken in generalities but intended to refer to me. If so, I don't understand why. ATMs here work in a variety of different ways. The ATM in my office never takes the card at all; you swipe it through a scanner without letting go. Some of them hold onto the card until you ask for cash; some give it back immediately after verification. And there are still some old ones around that keep the card until you tell them to return it. I doubt that the situation is any different in other parts of the world.

    Did you take offense at my comment, imagining that it was in reference to non-Americans, or to you specifically? Like, ATM designers in the USA sat around in a meeting discussing the fact that foreigners will be visiting the USA, so they'd better make the ATMs idiot-proof? Talk about sounding dumb through trying to be clever...

    I don't think he was getting at you. I believe his recount of what he learned from TDWTF was a propos your idea the ATM coders had learned from it, with no special connection to the matter at hand. It may have been less than ideally worded, but what he learned is a good thing.
    Meh, a little from Column A...

    Truth be told, I read Code Dependent's comment as stating categorically that all cash machines outside the US accept the card, give out money then return the card. TBH I don't see any other way to read it. I said "Those machines are weird", they said "Well at least you can't walk off and leave your card in one". The obvious implication, and certainly my inference, is that Code Dependent believed that all other ATMs allowed you to take cash out and leave your card behind. That has since been clarified, but I stand by my original inference based on the evidence available at the time.

    As to comments being made in a general voicing but seemingly having a specific target, I think Code Dependent's "ATMs here try to anticipate the stupidity of the user" could quite easily be read as a generality aimed at a specific person (i.e. me, the person they were responding to). The simple fact is that if you couch a disparaging remark in a general voicing, you can plausibly deny intending any offense, whether you actually intended any or not. It's a favourite tactic of trolls and flamebaiters, and I can only assume that I've internalised it by spending too much time reading TDWTF ;^)

    Oh, and to clarify: I most certainly did not intend any direct offense to any individual with my comments.

    This is how the conversation looked to me:

    JM: Those ATMs do something funny. CD: Here's a perfectly good reason for doing it that way. JM: You must be implying that ATMs I am familiar with do not deal with that problem. I am insulted. You sound dumb.

    So tell me, how was CD supposed to inform about why the ATMs work the way they do without insulting you? He made no comment on other ATMs, he just explained why the ATMs work that way.

  • All-Beef Patty (unregistered) in reply to snoofle
    snoofle:
    Gooey Designer:
    See, that ATM proves a fundamental of interface design. Whenever you find yourself coding an error message, STOP. The user interface should make it impossible for the user to make a mistake. That's why we can't have keyboards.

    Anyway, people hate to type, and reading is a pain too. Every professional knows, you need let people point at pictures.

    So the ATM should have a picture of one $20 bill. No other choice is allowed, so no mistake is possible.

    Oh you want $100? Just repeat the $20 request 5 times. Simple. Easy to learn, easy to use, impossible to make an error!

    Your fingers were all chopped off in a horrible accident and you have no way of pointing. Now what do you do?

    1. Use your nose.
    2. This is a problem that wouldn't exist with other ATM designs?
  • guana (unregistered)

    Error: Amount requested was not a prime number! Error: Amount requested was not a complex power of e!

  • (cs) in reply to ParkinT

    The ATM I commonly use has the following issue: It will give any combination of 20s and 50s, which amounts to any multiple of $10 apart from $10 and $30. But if I don't enter .00 at the end of the amount I want to withdraw, it complains that I haven't entered cents. Why does it want me to tell it how many cents I want when it is incapable of dispensing cents? That makes no sense.

    ParkinT:
    The children in Hong Kong are testing Microsoft's newest innovation: The Walking Tactile Foundation Graphical User interface for YoungSters.
    I originally read that as 'tentacle fountain'
  • (cs)

    Sorry, the CAPTCHA was not a multiple of 20. Call 911.

  • (cs) in reply to O...kay...
    O...kay...:
    Looks shopped to me!
    Agreed.

    See the right side of the near corner of the image overlaps the superimposed grid -- so that grid is not the edges of reflective tiles.

    The children are also not lit up opposite their shadows.

    When faking photos, remember shadows and lighting.

  • (cs) in reply to Tim
    Tim:
    Not many actual WTFs.

    The cash machine is obviously out of $10 notes.

    Or $50 notes. It's been many years since I've seen ATMs that dispense anything other than $20s and $50s. That ATM looks similar to the one I use often, plus I have a Visa Debit card too. :-)

    Fastcash $50 makes sense when it spits out a single note.

    And on the subject of entering "2000" vs "20" for $20, around here some do it one way and others do it the other. I think the deciding factor would be whether the machine accepts deposits or not.

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to communist_goatboy
    communist_goatboy:
    [image]

    This is brilliant. It serves two purposes: it keeps out the stupid bots and it keeps out the stupid users.

    I propose that all TDWTF comment post CAPTCHAs now feature vector-calculus problems.

    It allows you to refresh and get a different problem. I went to their site and the CAPTCHA question they gave me was an algebra question.

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to lolwtf
    lolwtf:
    Sorry, the CAPTCHA was not a multiple of 20. Call 911.

    What? Yes it was. The answer to the calculus question is 0, which is evenly divisive by 20, giving the integer result 0, and is thus the zeroth multiple of 20.

    d/dx of -4*sin(7x-pi/2) is 196 cos (7x)

    Substitute for x=0 and you get 0

    You can check by graphing and seeing that the tangent line is horizontal.

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Sorry, x (which is 5 cm) is not a multiple of 20 cm.
  • PhysicsPHil (unregistered) in reply to snoofle
    snoofle:
    Gooey Designer:
    See, that ATM proves a fundamental of interface design. Whenever you find yourself coding an error message, STOP. The user interface should make it impossible for the user to make a mistake. That's why we can't have keyboards.

    Anyway, people hate to type, and reading is a pain too. Every professional knows, you need let people point at pictures.

    So the ATM should have a picture of one $20 bill. No other choice is allowed, so no mistake is possible.

    Oh you want $100? Just repeat the $20 request 5 times. Simple. Easy to learn, easy to use, impossible to make an error!

    Your fingers were all chopped off in a horrible accident and you have no way of pointing. Now what do you do?

    Use your nose.
  • PhysicsPhil (unregistered) in reply to troels
    troels:
    This helps prevent automated signups.
    This helps prevent signups.

    There - Fixed it for you.

    FTFY

  • LaSepp (unregistered)

    Oh, how much I like all those ATMs..

    My "favorite" ATM is the one in our shopping mall... You select "200€" - and it will give you one 200€ note... Yeah...

    Here in Germany many ATMs give you a fast cash option. But the values are always pre-defined by the bank. And the card is given back just before it gives you the money. Also you just have to enter the value, no cents.

    When I was on vacation in India, I encountered many different types of ATMs. My favorite there was the one where I put in my card, then the screen changed to the company's logo with some indian letters on it. It looked like a loading screen to me. But someone pointed out to me, the machine wanted me to remove my card... It also featured a "do you want to make another transaction?" question at the end of the process. And the input of 20000.00 to get the right amount... What I found quite interesting is the amazing amount of questions one machine could ask before it gave me money. For withdrawal it had me go into the third submenu - and then some yes/no questions ("would you like to have a reciept?", ...)

    I'm really happy about the simplicity of ATMs back here :-).

  • (cs) in reply to me
    me:
    Or just a [+] and a [-] button to adjust desired value.
    No, is better if, after you type the password, the display says: 
    == ACCOUNTS MENU ==
DATE/TIME: _______
SERVICE CHARGE: $0.00

    (1) CHEQUING ACCOUNT
(2) SAVING ACCOUNT
(CANCEL) EJECT

    and then after that it says:

    == WITHDRAWAL MENU ==
DATE/TIME: _______
ACCOUNT: _______
SERVICE CHARGE: $0.00

PUSH NUMBER OF HOW MANY $20 BILLS YOU WANT
PUSH ZERO FOR PRINTOUT ONLY
PUSH CORRECTION TO TRANSFER
PUSH ENTER FOR DEPOSITS
PUSH CANCEL TO SELECT A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT

    and then after that it goes back to the accounts menu.

    This way is simple and fast, and doesn't have a error like the other one does, so therefore, this way is better way, at least in my opinion.

  • (cs) in reply to Bob
    Bob:
    d/dx of -4*sin(7x-pi/2) is 196 cos (7x)

    Substitute for x=0 and you get 0

    You fail at calculus. And at substitution; cos 0 = 1 so substituting x=0 in your result would get you 196.

    However, d/dx -4 sin (7x - pi/2) = -28 cos (7x - pi/2). Substituting x=0 here will get you -28 cos (-pi/2) which is indeed 0.

  • Mangle (unregistered) in reply to zzo38
    zzo38:
    me:
    Or just a [+] and a [-] button to adjust desired value.
    No, is better if, after you type the password, the display says: 
    == ACCOUNTS MENU ==
DATE/TIME: _______
SERVICE CHARGE: $0.00

    (1) CHEQUING ACCOUNT
(2) SAVING ACCOUNT
(CANCEL) EJECT

    and then after that it says:

    == WITHDRAWAL MENU ==
DATE/TIME: _______
ACCOUNT: _______
SERVICE CHARGE: $0.00

PUSH NUMBER OF HOW MANY $20 BILLS YOU WANT
PUSH ZERO FOR PRINTOUT ONLY
PUSH CORRECTION TO TRANSFER
PUSH ENTER FOR DEPOSITS
PUSH CANCEL TO SELECT A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT

    and then after that it goes back to the accounts menu.

    This way is simple and fast, and doesn't have a error like the other one does, so therefore, this way is better way, at least in my opinion.

    When will people in IT (nay, the world in general), learn that creating solutions for Stupid People breeds Stupid People. Keep it Simple, and people will find it usable. Many systems will have some quirks, of course, but they are still usable....

    I hate (useless) questions especially when (as someone mentioned) there are several of them

    "Would you like to make another transaction?" (I'm not capabale of reinserting my card? I got it right the first time, didn't I?) "Would you like a receipt?" (Why not always give a receipt - people should always keep receipts of any transaction they make anyway {Though I suspect the greenies are at fault on this one}) etc, etc....

    It's almost as though people cater to the exception, not the rule.

    From what most posters are saying, despite their (often petty) whinges, the ATM's they use work. They have seen odd behaviour, but haven't been fooled by quirks, or lost out because of unexpected behaviour.

    Where's the Problem? The problem is people like a lot of these posters WORK (or at least are employed) in IT. They have wonderful ideas about making things foolproof. There is little need (I hate to say this but) the fool in the world is the exception not the rule. Treating the general population like fools wilkl only train them to become fools too.

    </RANT>

    Oh, and get a life!!

  • AntiQuercus (unregistered)

    I have seen many different types of ATMs, here in Australia.

    1. Card handling:
    • Machine ingests card, returns at end of transaction (before or after the cash is dispensed.)
    • Swipe card, then do transaction.
    1. Cash withdrawal Amount Entry
    • Enter other amount requires entry in cents. (2000 for $20)
    • Enter other amount requires entry in dollars (20 for $20)
    • And usually there are options for commonly requested amounts, selected by buttons on the side of the screen, or by a keypad integer representing a numbered menu option.
    1. Denominations. Here in Australia, I have only ever seen machines that dispense $50 or $20 notes, even though our currency includes $10 and $100 notes. If a machine runs out of one denomination, then it restricts withdrawals to multiples of the other.

    So, there are many atm behaviours out there. Some are better than others.

    The swipe a card style means you don't have to worry about the machine keeping your card, and the hassle for user and provider that entails - these are often used by third party atm providers, who set up atms in shops.

    The ingest-regurgitate machines allow banks to capture stolen cards. Lately there are atms that regurgitate their card really slowly, which worries me that there is some John Connor style card reader just behind the slot.

    The thing that bugs me at the moment is that eftpos swipes at supermarket checkouts have changed sides! It used to be that every swipe was stripe on the left, but now there are new consoles with stripe on the right.

    As a courtesy to small retailers, I usually withdraw $60 (=3 x $20)when I want about $50 so that I don't hit them with $50 notes and take all their change, especially early in the morning. That means I always select "Other amount" which is why I see the different behaviours a lot.

    Here's a wtf: the parallax error in lining up the screen display of options with the hardware buttons around the screen. The alignment seems to work if you are 4'6'' tall. If I stand normally, the buttons line up half way between the displayed tags, so I'm not sure what the buttons will do. I usually have to stoop a bit to line the buttons and tags up correctly.

    I think the gui testing was done sitting down!

  • Math (unregistered) in reply to Bob
    Bob:
    lolwtf:
    Sorry, the CAPTCHA was not a multiple of 20. Call 911.

    What? Yes it was. The answer to the calculus question is 0, which is evenly divisive by 20, giving the integer result 0, and is thus the zeroth multiple of 20.

    d/dx of -4*sin(7x-pi/2) is 196 cos (7x)

    Substitute for x=0 and you get 0

    You can check by graphing and seeing that the tangent line is horizontal.

    You epic-fail at math.

    1. partial_d(-4 sin[7x - PI/2], x) = -28 cos[7x - PI/2]
    2. 196 cos(7x) | x = 0 = 196
    3. "evenly divisive"? Do you mean is an "integer multiple of"? or "perfectly divides"?
    4. Solving vector calculus using a graph (try it with four variables, I dare you)

    Sadly the value '0' is correct, although this is clearly no thanks to your ability at math.

  • Vijay the know-all see-all Manager (unregistered)

    Everyone is a UI designer. Including support staff. And me.

  • james (unregistered) in reply to me
    me:
    Gooey Designer:
    Oh you want $100? Just repeat the $20 request 5 times. Simple. Easy to learn, easy to use, impossible to make an error!

    Or just a [+] and a [-] button to adjust desired value.

    I suppose those keys could be reused for entering the PIN code too.

  • (cs) in reply to AntiQuercus
    AntiQuercus:
    The thing that bugs me at the moment is that eftpos swipes at supermarket checkouts have changed sides! It used to be that every swipe was stripe on the left, but now there are new consoles with stripe on the right.

    I always look inside the swipe thingy and find the read head and make the stripe on that side.

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