• ch00f@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Even if it was free, opening an app to get water is bullshit.

    Edit: Let the record show, I was referring to the chilled water.

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      It clearly says that you can push the button to get water.

      • Jessica@discuss.tchncs.de
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        4 months ago

        It “clearly” says, “USE APP TO ACCESS”, so no, you can’t just push the button. It has to verify your subscription first.

        • Okokimup@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          It only requires the app for chilled and filtered. The regular tap water is still available.

          • Jessica@discuss.tchncs.de
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            4 months ago

            @ch00f@lemmy.world said, “Even if it was free…” which implies he’s talking specifically about the paid button on the right and not the free button on the left.

            The implication being even if the chilled and filtered water was also free, having to open an app for the button to work would be bullshit.

            • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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              4 months ago

              Meh, he says, “opening an app to get water.” I think there’s some fudging going on here.

              Water is available with no app.

              Certain processed water is offered with an app.

    • The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.worldOP
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      4 months ago

      Oh yeah, Steve called the manufacturer about that, and they’re supposed to be sending someone out this month. Maybe next. Our deepest apologies for the inconvenience.

      No, the system won’t allow us to discount or refund.

      • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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        4 months ago

        That’s my favourite line, “I’m sorry we can’t do that because of how our system works.”

        “But you’re ripping me off and that’s illegal.”

        “I’m sorry, the system won’t allow me to refund you.”

        “So you’re admitting that your company built a system that rips people off and breaks the law as a matter of policy? You realise that’s worse, right?”

        • archon@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          It’s just finger pointing to avoid liability.

          “Oh no, that’s not our fault! It’s these guys who did it, so talk to them!”

          • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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            4 months ago

            For the individual phone line worker yes, but as a system it’s an intentional layered diffusion of responsibility. The decision makers employ goons to tell you about their decisions and blame it on the “system” which is actually just a decision made higher up. You can get as angry as you want at the goons, they have no decision making power so the anger is likely to get nowhere. Even if you ask to talk to a manager, in most situations they’re only a middle manager and yet another layer of security for the person who’s actually screwing you.

    • psmgx@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Yeah this a meme. Thankfully common sense, common decency, and the market won out

  • BranBucket@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I feel that the majority of innovation occuring in modern capitalism is confined to two key areas:

    1. Regulatory capture and market control.

    2. New ways to mindfuck people into overpaying for goods and services.

    • barsquid@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The entire country has incentivized its top minds to developing ad tech bullshit. Like literally our astrophysicists are working at Stitch Fix instead of doing astrophysics.

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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        4 months ago

        I help setup ad placement TVs for resort style businesses.

        Studied theoretical astrophysics and astro xenobiology as a double advanced major…

        My boss used to brag he managed to get the astronaut in his team so, I am useful for facts and puzzles.

        God I hate my existence.

  • InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    If this was downtown or at parks I can kinda see them providing something. Knowing this is likely at a university library or building its just removing access that was already there.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      Fuck that. If it’s downtown or at a park the fucking municipality can afford $1.99/mo

      We need more public facilities. This privatization bullshit can kick rocks

    • ch00f@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=(specific+heat+of+water)*12.8K*(1+gallon+*+water+density)

      200kjoules of heat must be removed from a gallon of water to cool from 55F to 32F (out of the ground down to pleasant drinking temperature).

      Assuming a COP of 2 for your compressor (conservative), that’s 100kjoules or 1/36 of a kWh.

      High price for a kWh of electricity is $0.25 in the US. So for your $2 subscription, you can pay for 8kWh per month or enough to cool 288 gallons of water or roughly 9 gallons per day. More than anybody would rightly use.

      What a fucking ripoff.

      • TheDezzick@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        Not to mention that, in a place like a public park, 55F water is totally fine. It isn’t the coolest most refreshing drink of all time but it’s damn good from a public fountain on a 90F day.

  • drathvedro@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    I am astounded by the amount of irrational hatred in here towards what is essentially a T-junction pipe…

      • PirateJesus@lemmy.today
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        4 months ago

        “Water is, of course, the most important raw material we have today in the world. It’s a question of whether we should privatize the normal water supply for the population. And there are two different opinions on the matter. The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means that as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution. The other view says that water is a foodstuff like any other, and like any other foodstuff it should have a market value. Personally, I believe it’s better to give a foodstuff a value so that we’re all aware it has its price, and then that one should take specific measures for the part of the population that has no access to this water, and there are many different possibilities there.”

        Peter Brabeck-Letmathe served as Nestlé’s CEO from 1997 to 2008

        What an asshole

  • FuryMaker@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Those who buy into this shit lose their right to complain that they can’t afford to live.

  • Somewhiteguy@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Is it still a thing? The website doesn’t go anywhere and I can’t find the app. All I can actually find are a few articles talking about how ridiculous it is to have a $2 subscription service on water fountains.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I found this indiegogo link from 7 years ago which gives a little more background. Its not quite as horrible as the picture suggests, I think.

      There’s some FAQ and Comments that give some background, like this one:

      Rier Esor 7 years ago I’ve been asked by a few people: why do we need reefill water stations when there are water fountains around NYC (if you look hard enough!) and we >all have tap water at home? What’s my best answer?

      Patrick Connorton 7 years ago PROJECT OWNER We’re also working with New York City and the Port Authority to map free public bottle filling stations around town – these are usually in or near >parks but, unfortunately, need to be off six months a year to avoid freezing and can be challenging to maintain. Reefill is a natural complement to >these fountains, filling in the gaps in parts of town where it is impractical or cost-prohibitive to install a water fountain.

      So it doesn’t sound like these were replacing existing free water fountains, but instead offering free (and paid) water in places never offered before by generating revenue from the paid water to support the installation of any water (including new free water) in places that had none before.

      It also looks like the project died in 2019.