Swiping the card
I’m a big fan of the ‘cashless society’ in any case. I don’t know how long it will take, but I see a day when cash is virtually extinct, and we’ll be better off for it. Organised crime thrives at the point when physical notes and coins become untraceable. Plus cash is so 20th century 
I’ve already had the discussion with a friend about the big scary Big Brother nature of Oyster. Look – I’m convinced that most of these paranoid claims are made by people who didn’t really understand the point of 1984. Of course if the state turns evil it can really screw you over, but Nazis and Soviets proved that rather a long time ago without any CCTV or glorified electronic bus tickets. I just simply don’t believe I have a ‘right’ to be untraceable. I might have a right to avoid intrusive marketing, or turn off my phone, or go away to the country without telling anyone. But if the police really want to find me I’m pretty glad they can.
I’m kinda confused
Probably because I don’t know what an Oyster Card is.
Ah yes I should have explained…
It’s a swipe card for London’s public transport. You ‘pre pay’ however much you want onto it and then swipe it past a card reader on the Underground (metro) or on a bus, and it deducts the correct amount. Much faster than buying a paper ticket each time.
Ah, i see
We have metro cards in NYC
You seem like you would use firefox, so if you don’t already new, 1.5 is out. (Not beta)
Oyster cards, are anything other than pearls my friend. Sure they may seem cheaper and easy, but do they dance or talk back? No, and so thats why I’ve invented the new all singing all dancing Travel Pal, which not only pays for your bus and train fare, but also performs Hound dog by Elvis.
Thanks Alex
I’m on a 1.5 beta right now, I’ll upgrade when the en-GB language version comes out! (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/all.html)
And Budd…
What took you so long Dom? They are great on Buses when the Card Reader is on the blink. You get a free ride! That isn’t just on the artics either!
As that comedian on the Comic Side of 7 Days said however if they bring airport security meausres onto the subway your card will run out with the amount of times you’d be stopped and called back to remove a watch and such like