I think we avoided that (there was a parking problem but it was staff, not undergrads, commuting in). Undergrads weren’t allowed to keep a car within 10 miles of the city centre, and were required to live within 3 miles of it.
> turn off light switch
The lights go out, and from the direction of the tech ninjas you hear screams, gurgling noises, and then silence.
It is now pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
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Similar to this, I was sent to work on a computer problem at the Carnegie Mellon University police station and discovered there is no parking at the station unless it’s a police vehicle. All the surrounding lots were for faculty and student permits only. All the streets for many blocks around were reserved for residents only. Of course I got a ticket.
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I used to drive a golf cart onto my university’s campus with some university stickers slapped on the side. Not only could you park it virtually anywhere, but there is no way to boot it for the most part due to the tiny wheels and lack of windshield.
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Very good point.
Surely if the users of the barnacles care about the wasted parking space, they’d tow them rather than stick a leech on the windshield and let it continue using the precious parking space? This is purely about cost cutting and revenue generation, not about parking.
also prices are a horrible way to allocate scarce resources, but that’s a rant for another time 
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This barnacle seems like a giant waste of resources for little meaningful return in terms of parking compliance. Do the outstanding tickets cover the cost of running the program? Or does it actually drive up the fines levied? How many contractors are wetting their beak in the process?
I get the necessity for parking management / deterrence, but it seems like it would just be cheaper to let a few fines go unpaid while most pay them… Most people actually want to follow the rules and IMO these kind of systems are mostly an over-complicated solution in search of a problem.
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New item on Etsy in 3…2…1
Which is fine where the school/town have public transportation that’s worth snot, something which in the US is almost as rare as fish fur, or the location does not not make walking to and from class impossible.
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You might want to read up on this thing called “laws”. Bernel’s sarcasm is a bit over the top but he is 100% correct that under the law, the people who get these things put on their cars are violating the law. And sometimes, those violations should be punished. You think healthy lazy people who park in handicapped spots should get away scot-free?
Taking the SIM out is just the tip of the iceberg. Root the computer inside the thing and figure out how the over the air check in system works. How much you want to bet there are some fun security vulnerabilities to discover? Maybe you could pop all of these things at once worldwide.
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You’re conflating people who find themselves in a(n often artificial) parking shortage (and often being caused or at least compounded by bureaucratic or capitalistic authorities) and people who park in handicapped spots. Those aren’t the same situation. You’re blaming the rats for the poor design of the maze that they’re in.
Don’t forget the batteries. They’d have to be good for several days of cell phone power plus whatever else needs power.
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Sounds like a great way to be tracked down and sued for theft and possibly criminally prosecuted since using the SIM broadcasts the thief’s general location, and the internet traffic including URLs may have personally identifiable data. The unlimited service plan for the devices is probably for very low data rates and the theft of high bandwidth data for months could have cost the company thousands. And while that may fill Cory with glee, it could also subject the thief to legit felony charges for stealing both a physical device and for services.
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You should look up the straw man fallacy as well. Neither I, nor the person Bernel responded to, said anything about letting people get away with illegal parking. But you and Bernel both mischaracterized my and the OP’s position in order to make your point. This is the definition of the straw man argument.
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Don’t you suppose that whoever physically sticks the thing onto a car recorded at least the license plate number of the vehicle?
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turn on the brass lantern
move rug
open trap door
down
north
attack trolley with sword
west
west
up
get coins and key
southwest
east
south
southeast
say odysseus
up
give sim card to the thief
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Or you could spend twenty bucks for “the right tools”
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