Ought to proudly owning a smartphone be required for contemporary life? An issue involving the Los Angeles Dodgers is stirring debate about firms going all-digital after a longtime fan was denied entry to his season tickets as a result of he doesn’t use a smartphone.
The 82-year-old fan, Errol Segal, has been a season ticket holder for over 50 years. However the LA Dodgers not too long ago denied his request to proceed receiving paper tickets because the group has transitioned to an all-digital coverage.
That’s an issue as a result of Segal owns a flip telephone and doesn’t know how one can use a pc, based on NBC Los Angeles, which interviewed him concerning the debacle. “50 years, 5 generations, I’ve had these tickets, 50 years, they usually threw me beneath the bus,” he mentioned.
The group went all-digital 10 years in the past, CBS LA studies, and made an exception for Segal over the previous decade—for an additional $600. This yr, nonetheless, the group declined to exempt him from the digital-only coverage.
The LA Dodgers didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. However the group went all-digital just for season ticket consumers, not for single-game tickets. The paper variations can nonetheless be bought on the stadium, which enabled Segal to not too long ago purchase 4 printed tickets.
The controversy has sparked debate about whether or not the adoption of latest applied sciences threatens to depart some customers behind. “My dad is 82. He can’t work out apps or shopping for issues on-line. I assist him,” wrote one use on Reddit. “I don’t suppose it’s acceptable for organizations to depart older generations behind.”
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Some additionally worry that future applied sciences will hold baseball followers out. “Man, think about 20 years from now they could be asking for a retinal scan or you possibly can keep house lol. Anyone in company must get their head out of their ass,” wrote one other person.
Others have little sympathy. “Cmon, you possibly can function a mobile phone large man,” wrote one person on X. In response, one person shot again: “He should not need to.”
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Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
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I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I acquired my begin as a colleges and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web providers, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am at the moment primarily based in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, overlaying the nation’s know-how sector.
Since 2020, I’ve coated the launch and explosive development of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but additionally the regulatory battles over the enlargement of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the trouble to increase into satellite-based cell service. I’ve combed via FCC filings for the most recent information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this yr, the FTC pressured Avast to pay customers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private info to third-party shoppers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Finest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how President Trump’s tariffs will have an effect on the trade. I am at all times desperate to study extra, so please bounce within the feedback with suggestions and ship me ideas.
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