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Message no. 1
From: Rat winterhawk@*********.net
Subject: Credstick question
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 09:29:28 -0800
Heya,

Does anybody know when credsticks came into common usage? I'm
working on a story where a character who is accustomed to
living in the early 2030s is having to deal with modern life,
so I need to know if he would recognize a credstick or a
stick reader. (Also, if credsticks *were* used then, did they
look pretty much like the ones from the 2050s-60s, or were
they more like smart card kinds of things?)

Thanks a lot!
--Rat

=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>
Rat - winterhawk@*********.net http://www.magespace.net
Winterhawk's Virtual Magespace - Shadowrun Fiction and More!
DOD#1211 1999 K1200RS - "Dunkelzahn"
"The pickles are staring at me..."
<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<
Message no. 2
From: Sven De Herdt Sven.DeHerdt@******.com
Subject: Credstick question
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 18:41:49 +0100
Rat [mailto:winterhawk@*********.net]

>
> Does anybody know when credsticks came into common usage? I'm
> working on a story where a character who is accustomed to
> living in the early 2030s is having to deal with modern life,
> so I need to know if he would recognize a credstick or a
> stick reader. (Also, if credsticks *were* used then, did they
> look pretty much like the ones from the 2050s-60s, or were
> they more like smart card kinds of things?)

I would say a citizen from 2030 would already be accustomed to the use of
credit cards, since there isn't that much of a difference with our RL credit
cards we use today. They only thing I haven't seen so far is that your ID
is fixed on your credit card as well for the moment, but I guess it's just a
matter of time.

Here in Belgium we even have a kind of credit card that is called a Proton
Card and it actually holds electronic money kind a like an uncertified
credstick. You can "upload" upto $125 and you can use this card just like
cash money, all that is required is for the shop to hold a proton
cardreader.

Just my thoughts,

-Sven :)
--
Message no. 3
From: Iridios iridios@*****.com
Subject: Credstick question
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 13:17:03 -0500
Rat wrote:
>
> Heya,
>
> Does anybody know when credsticks came into common usage? I'm
> working on a story where a character who is accustomed to
> living in the early 2030s is having to deal with modern life,
> so I need to know if he would recognize a credstick or a
> stick reader. (Also, if credsticks *were* used then, did they
> look pretty much like the ones from the 2050s-60s, or were
> they more like smart card kinds of things?)

The Crash was in '29 (that alone may color the characters reactions),
so I would assume that credsticks were an outgrowth of the
redeveloping Matrix. The need for a secure electronic monetary
account would have been the first push of both corporations and the
general public (although probably for different reasons). I would say
that a basic version of the stick (possibly in card form) was
available by '32 or so. The stick was probably common by '45, with
minor differences such as the different security levels coming in a
few years later.


--
Iridios
"Accept what you cannot avoid,
Avoid what you cannot accept."
Message no. 4
From: Tzeentch tzeentch666@*********.net
Subject: Credstick question
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 11:23:08 -0800
Unknown. but since credsticks do not differ much from even modern debit
cards methinks the players would catch on pretty quick.

Ken
---------------------------
There's a war out there, old friend, a world war. And it's not about who's
got the most bullets, it's about who controls the information. What we see
and hear, how we work, what we think, it's all about the information!
Cosmo, 'Sneakers'


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rat" <winterhawk@*********.net>
To: <shadowrn@*********.com>
Cc: <shadorat@******.ba.best.com>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 9:29 AM
Subject: Credstick question


> Heya,
>
> Does anybody know when credsticks came into common usage? I'm
> working on a story where a character who is accustomed to
> living in the early 2030s is having to deal with modern life,
> so I need to know if he would recognize a credstick or a
> stick reader. (Also, if credsticks *were* used then, did they
> look pretty much like the ones from the 2050s-60s, or were
> they more like smart card kinds of things?)
>
> Thanks a lot!
> --Rat
>
>
=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>=>
> Rat - winterhawk@*********.net http://www.magespace.net
> Winterhawk's Virtual Magespace - Shadowrun Fiction and More!
> DOD#1211 1999 K1200RS - "Dunkelzahn"
> "The pickles are staring at me..."
>
<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<=<>
>
>

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