(05-18-2020, 09:20 AM)kramer65 Wrote: I just read the May community update in which it says:
> We’ll be accepting payments in cryptocurrencies soon
So I was really excited. But then I read the full post, in which it says:
> [edit] We no longer intend to support cryptocurrency payments at this time.
That was a big bummer.. :/
Ok, so still waiting for new payment options..
I hope it will affect US customers soon too, that they will have to make an account too to buy something.
Maybe then something will change.
To help European and other customers in whose culture creditcards are uncommon, perhaps services like https://www.adyen.com/ could be an option to explore? There are other services like this that offer a common api on top of all the different preferred local payment methods.
For example, in the Netherlands the most common way to pay online is called iDeal, which is a cooperation by all the banks.
I want to put in another vote for "Anybody but Paypal".
I just used their "Pay with Debit or Credit Card" option on another site, and I see in the email receipt they sent me that Paypal checkout is set up in such a way that *what* you bought is reported to them even if you don't use an account.
With most credit/debit card processors, this doesn't appear to be the case. But Paypal put their fingers in the pie in such a way that they end up with a permanent log of everything you bought. And they never delete that information. It's just part of their permanent dossier on you.
So, not making an account, does really not solve the problem. And I don't want them having that information on me. It's none of their business. All the payment processor needs to know is amount & merchant, not what you bought. Even my bank doesn't know that.
I recently ordered a PBP and was really agitated by the forced PayPal account signup.
In a normal economic transaction you intend to buy some product by providing the required funds. Nothing more, nothing less. In this case they ask you to also pay with your privacy by asking for your birth date, phone number, e-mail and what else. Sure you can provide some fake credentials here and there but the premise is wrong from the start. My intention was not to give money AND throw away some of my privacy.
Also PayPal is a company part of the USA full spectrum dominance blob that screws people, organizations and governments that for some reason or the other have fallen out of grace. Remember when PayPal blocked legal donation accounts of journalist Julian Assange currently rotting away in a UK dungeon awaiting his extradition to the USA.
I was intending to purchase a PinePhone in the nearby future but will put that on hold until I stop caring about PayPal or until Pine offers an alternative to PayPal.
(05-17-2020, 02:41 PM)jiyong Wrote: Well, why the fuss about the privacy switches done by the keyboard and not hardware switches?
In that case we can remove the privacy switches in the PinePhone.
It might not be there as a mission statement on the website, but their actions clearly indicate they want to protect privacy.
The privacy switches are so hard to reach basically rendering them useless.
When you look at the Pinebook Pro, the preinstalled operating system comes without full disk encryption. That's quite careless for a laptop.
So, yes I believe that official mission statement is accurate.
Just registered to voice my support for the request of alternative payment options (preferably direct bank transfer). I'd happily buy the Pinephone Convergence pack, but Paypal is unfortunately a deal breaker for me.
I guess I can only hold off on my purchase for now until this situation changes or another phone with a similar feature set comes along (Librem 5 isn't an option for me for different reasons).
(05-24-2020, 04:10 PM)Der Geist der Maschine Wrote: The privacy switches are so hard to reach basically rendering them useless.
They might not be easily accessible but they're far from useless, especially considering the current competition in the market.
The only other phone that offers such a feature that I know of is the Librem 5 and while their switches are directly on the outside their drawback is having fewer switches available (understandable considering the limited space), resulting in less control over what hardware can be disabled (Cameras and Microphone are all tied to one switch on the Librem). Plus I wouldn't feel the need to change the configuration that often anyway, but I guess that depends on your use case.
Will Pine64 accept Bank checks or Money Orders ? or something like that ? Direct Bank transfers ?
Personally I think Apple and Google are much more of a threat to everyone's privacy, BUT I do not see anyone complaining about them.
PayPal does stand up for your rights as a purchaser, if you need help with a refund, etc... So that makes it necessary for them to know "what" you purchased.
BUT I do also agree that it should be a matter of choice, so A Second or Third method of payment would please more customers.
MYSELF, I only make online purchases with PayPal ..... BUT You do deserve the right to make your own choice ...
LINUX = CHOICES
**BCnAZ**
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your favorite OS Team
I don't currently use Apple for anything, and my only contact with Google is people trying to force me to submit to Recaptcha, which generally results in me ranting at them about it...
So far as online purchases, I'm one of those people who buys almost everything online, and has for many years. Just no Amazon. Or Wal-Mart. And I generally avoid large chains. In all those years of buying from the long tail of online retailers, I've only ever had to file a chargeback once. The card processor agreements are very stacked in favor of the consumer; the retailer will have to prove that they came through or else they lose, so most of them aren't inclined to risk it.
The one exception was a decent-sized retailer that used to be good, but the new CEO had run them into bankruptcy. Although you could find it easily with a web search, there was no mention on their consumer-facing web site that they were in active bankruptcy proceedings, and the only reason the utilities hadn't been shut off was that they had a court order requiring them to continue providing service. They had no inventory left, no cash, and nobody would give them credit any more, so they couldn't actually buy for you the items you ordered, but they were still accepting orders as the only source of cash they could get in a futile effort to keep the company afloat.
They were not answering emails or telephone calls, so resolving it with the retailer wasn't possible. When I called my card company, only then did the representative ask what I'd ordered, and I gave a brief description. They initiated the chargeback, and after a few weeks, I got my money back, likely from the card issuer, but they were legally obligated and still solvent. It worked fine without them keeping a pre-emptive log of everything I'd been buying with my card for years.
On the other hand, if I'd used cryptocurrency, cash, check, money order or bank transfer, I'd have been out the money. So. If using those for something that is not handed directly to you, make a habit of checking public records for bankruptcy proceedings for every retailer every time before placing an order?
(07-24-2020, 04:30 PM)bcnaz Wrote: Will Pine64 accept Bank checks or Money Orders ? or something like that ? Direct Bank transfers ?
Personally I think Apple and Google are much more of a threat to everyone's privacy, BUT I do not see anyone complaining about them.
PayPal does stand up for your rights as a purchaser, if you need help with a refund, etc... So that makes it necessary for them to know "what" you purchased.
BUT I do also agree that it should be a matter of choice, so A Second or Third method of payment would please more customers.
MYSELF, I only make online purchases with PayPal ..... BUT You do deserve the right to make your own choice ...
I can buy Pine64 products without Apple or Google.
No need to bring them into this thread.
I fully agree they are a threat to our privacy, but that doesn't mean that Paypal isn't a threat to our privacy either.
I never linked a credit card to Paypal, nor authorised automatic transfers from another account, so I don't care about two factor authorisation.
So why is Paypal forcing me to use a cell phone with Paypal?
There is absolutely no need for them to know my phone number, when they only need to know what I purchased from which company.
In the past, DHL has text my phone when they receive my Pine product.
DHL got my phone number from PayPal.
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