Northern started issuing them instead of cardboard tickets a few years ago and other TOCs followed along after Network Rail/Cubic finished adding barcode readers to ~all ticket barriers.
I understand why: paper barcode-only tickets are significantly cheaper than cardboard tickets (their lack of a magstripe allows any generic thermal printer to be used), but their larger form factor makes them a definite UX downgrade.
I think what you're describing is what the RSGB have been attempting to mitigate through the Beyond Exams schemes, wherein they've gamified different activities you could do on your own or with a club to further your knowledge of amateur radio. https://rsgb.org/main/beyond-exams-building-experience/
I think this is less of a big deal in London because-- and the article entirely glosses over this prospect-- TfL accept contactless (e.g. contactless-enabled debit/credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay). This means anyone can land in London and immediately ride public transit using their existing bank card.
Judo Payments | Angel, London, United Kingdom | Full-time
Judo makes buying the things we want faster, simpler and more secure. As Europe’s leading secure in app and mobile first payments platform, we’re riding an unstoppable wave as smartphones change the way we engage in commerce.
We sit at the intersection of mobile, SaaS and payments, three of the fastest growing and most interesting sectors of the global economy. Our customers - big brands and innovative Startups - win awards because of our outstanding people.
Founded by serial financial technology entrepreneurs in 2012, Judo is backed by leading VC and hedge fund investors.
We're looking for:
- DevOps
Help design, build and maintain our IT infrastructure to meet our growing needs. Monitor and maintain our production platform keeping all components in top working order. Automate all the things; help us scale quickly by automating all the daily chores leaving you to focus on infrastructure improvements. Strong Microsoft Active Directory knowledge, including associated functions such as Group Policy, DNS etc. Experience of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 / 2012 & Linux. High level of automation using Octopus/ssh/powershell/bash. Experience of Docker. Experience of PCI.
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Experience of working on very high transactional load in always on mode. Experience with highly volatile load profiles. At least 2-4 years of administering large PostgreSQL databases. Experience in performance tuning / index maintenance, able to meet and assist the needs of the Development teams using PostgreSQL as its backend database. Designing and Managing PostgreSQL database schemas. Experience in Security access control. Experience with version control. Experience with 24x7 zero downtime database management. Experience with Java and high-available web applications. Knowledge of fault detection and resolution processes. Ability to communicate effectively to different levels of technical and non-technical audiences. Implement Database Change Controls. Experience supporting BI internally and for customers. Experience of, or willing to learn alternative database technologies (NoSQL) such as Mongo, Redis, Cassandra.
Our stack is based on C#/ASP.NET MVC, jQuery/Angular, RabbitMQ, and MS SQL Server/PostgreSQL.
If you're interested, please email lindy.roberts@judopayments.com for more details.
The usual rule of thumb I've seen for incorporating protocol overhead is to divide by 10 instead of 8: a 100Mbps connection can usually download about 10MB/s in practice (over http, scp, rsync, etc).
If you attach the card to a customer object[0], you can create one off charges whenever you'd like. Stripe will even update the card's details on the customer if the card is reissued[1]. You can then create charges against the card manually through the dashboard (which seems to be what you were looking for based off of your original comment).
No. Creating the customer will charge the card $0.00 or $1.00 (depends on country/bank) and immediately refund the charge to verify the card itself, the CVC, the address, etc. In most cases, this tiny charge won't be noticed because of the refund.
You are allowed to keep your FERPA recommendation rights but, as misingnoglic, most universities will not pay much attention to your recommendations if you choose to do so.
Comcast still offers CableCARDs to new customers at least (https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/about-cablecards)