Sagebrush posted:

It's endlessly amusing to me when Canadian places near the border accept American money. Imagine a Canadian going to the US and trying the same thing

e: though it's also endlessly entertaining when an American comes into a Canadian store and gets indignant that they won't take US money because "everyone else around here does it!"

qirex posted:

what if we made them bigger and gave one to everybody???

President Beep posted:

i've spent canadian coins here in michigan tons of times. quarters especially (although vending machines will bounce them back ).

Sagebrush posted:

It's endlessly amusing to me when Canadian places near the border accept American money. Imagine a Canadian going to the US and trying the same thing

e: though it's also endlessly entertaining when an American comes into a Canadian store and gets indignant that they won't take US money because "everyone else around here does it!"

Luigi Thirty posted:

UH OH

https://twitter.com/dannoyes/status/979165525912690688

Sagebrush posted:

It's endlessly amusing to me when Canadian places near the border accept American money. Imagine a Canadian going to the US and trying the same thing

e: though it's also endlessly entertaining when an American comes into a Canadian store and gets indignant that they won't take US money because "everyone else around here does it!"

Improbable Lobster posted:

is american money really that easy to fake

infernal machines posted:

also, lol if u go to america for any reason

Last Chance posted:

i dont think wal mart "commissioned" those. iirc they just played hardball and said "release edited versions of your albums or we dont sell them at all"

i guess thats the same thing sorta tho

e: and they didnt do it for games

quote:

Two years ago, a video game called Giants: Citizen Kabuto underwent plastic surgery right before its release.

The blood – shed liberally by characters in the action-strategy game – was changed from red to green, and a female character suddenly sported a bikini top after appearing topless in pre-publication screenshots. These changes were made to satisfy content restrictions imposed by Wal-Mart, the nation's largest mass retailer of video games.

"It became clear that we would lose mass distribution if we didn't give her a top," said Bob Stevenson, CEO of developer Planet Moon Studios. "No one wanted to take that gamble."

Wal-Mart sells 25 percent of the computer and video games purchased annually in the United States, a share worth $1.58 billion in 2001, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association and NPDFunworld, the industry's data clearinghouse.

With that kind of clout, the discount retailer can exercise considerable influence over the kinds of titles that find their way into consumers' hands, simply by determining what goes on its shelves. Since 2000, the chain has blocked sales of mature-rated titles to minors, as defined by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. An M rating means a title is not recommended for children ages 16 and under.

However, Wal-Mart's policies go far beyond saying no to a 16-year old at the cash register, say game developers and industry analysts. The company's purchasing managers also review games before they're published to ensure every aspect of the product – from packaging to content – toes the line with the retailer's conservative policies.

Established game publishers like id Software have a large enough customer base to design independently of Wal-Mart. Other companies, like Activision, can afford to release a special Wal-Mart version of a game like Quake II or GT Interactive's NAM, which sold only in Wal-Mart as NAPALM.

However, other publishers – especially those that rely on the discount market for the bulk of their profits – must make adjustments based on the input of Wal-Mart's buyers. If they don't, their products won't be sold at Wal-Mart.

"The buyers just aren't going to get excited over a title that won't sell well and may refuse to pick it up if changes aren't made to content or packaging," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. "I think that's a heavy-handed approach and at times may cross the censorship line."

At Wal-Mart's request, the box for a popular title called Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned was changed simply to say Gabriel Knight 3 in the version that appeared in the chain's stores. "Wal-Mart was the only customer for whom we removed 'Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned' from the packaging," said Hillary Crowley, a spokeswoman for Sierra, the game's manufacturer.

Similarly, 3D Realms released a special Wal-Mart edition of its first-person shooter title, Duke Nukem 3D. That version was sold only with parental locks switched on, limiting the amount of gore displayed during the game.

Besides blood and guts, nudity earns a thumbs-down from the retail giant. Acclaim's BMX XXX got the company's cold shoulder because of its topless female motorbike riders and dancers. "We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity – we're just not going to do it," Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams told Reuters in October, a month before the game's release to the public.

haveblue posted:

the shoplifting subreddit got banned, lol

The_Franz posted:

what kind of exchange rates do those stores have though? there are places in the czech republic and switzerland that accept euros, but the exchange rate is criminal. the last time i was in the zürich airport the shops straight up had a 1:1 chf-to-euro rate, which meant that you paid something like 30% more.

i don't know why people, particularly from the us, pay these rates when several credit card companies have cards with no annual fee and no forex fees so you can pay in the local currency and get bank exchange rates.

Chris Knight posted:

u wouldn't steal a web site

go play outside Skyler posted:

yeah, I always laugh at people who change their money at change offices or at the ATM rates. the absolute best exchange rate you can get is from your bank. any other options means you're getting hosed. almost literally.

Chris Knight posted:

u wouldn't steal a web site

Sagebrush posted:

I assume this would have been back in the 90s ish and yes, at that point it was basically just linen paper with green and black ink on it

They've added a few security features since then but it still doesn't compare to e.g. Canadian plastic money with holograms and cutouts and poo poo

duz posted:

people flip their poo poo anytime a change to what money looks like is proposed

also those counterfeiting pens usually just detect starch levels so theyre easy to defeat

Careful Drums posted:

yes the good ol' days of the o.g. xbox commercial where a kid says he likes the game because the girls kick high and you can see under their skirts

ate all the Oreos posted:

i cant wait until The Black Woman gets on the bill in 2020 and we have a wave of proud patriots burning their money to protest this communist political correctness

ate all the Oreos posted:

i can't find the one you're talking about but while looking for it i found this instead which is basically a nihilist arby's tweet but xbox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJVw7uOPXGU

Sagebrush posted:

It's endlessly amusing to me when Canadian places near the border accept American money. Imagine a Canadian going to the US and trying the same thing

ate all the Oreos posted:

i cant wait until The Black Woman gets on the bill in 2020 and we have a wave of proud patriots burning their money to protest this communist political correctness

Improbable Lobster posted:

all i want for christmas is a psp

infernal machines posted:

remember the sony ad that was a white person dominating a black person? good times in console marketing

duz posted:

that was canceled when trump was elected, going to have to wait until a dem gets elected and then whatever bill is up next for a refresh will get her

Improbable Lobster posted:

ate all the Oreos posted:

also probably before that magic constellation that scanners and printers detect, if you were A Highschool Kid today and tried to scan / print a bill your computer would be like "nah uhhhhh"

ArmZ posted:

lol it's amazing these kinds of things get by so many layers of approval

quote:

Tesla said Thursday it was recalling a huge number of its Model S sedans around the world over a power steering issue. It told customers in an email that it was a proactive move and none of the company’s other vehicles were affected.

The automaker said 123,000 Model S vehicles built before April 2016 were affected. No injuries or crashes have been reported in connection with the problem. Before today, its largest Model S recall was when 90,000 of the vehicles were affected in 2015 by a faulty seat belt. And last year, it recalled 53,000 Model S and Model Xs over a parking brake fault.

In the email, Tesla said it had, “observed excessive corrosion in the power steering bolts,” but that the problem was most prevalent in colder climates where road salt is used.

“If the bolts fail, the driver is still able to steer the car, but increased force is required due to loss or reduction of power assist,” Tesla wrote in the email to customers. “This primarily makes the car harder to drive at low speeds and for parallel parking, but does not materially affect control at high speed, where only small steering wheel force is needed.”

Tesla said owners do not need to stop driving their cars if they haven’t experienced any problems. The company said it would inform Model S owners when a retrofit, which is estimated to take an hour to install, is ready in their area.

pseudorandom name posted: