• rowinxavier@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    They have a device which progressively shines a light on a piece of paper while moving across the page and converts the brightness of the reflected light into an audio signal. Once it reaches the edge the paper is incremented and the process repeats. Each of these segments of sound are sent via a standard telephone connection to a similar device on the other end which uses the sounds to reproduce the image on the original paper on a new sheet of paper. This can be used to send forms, letters, black and white pictures, and even chain letters. It also forms the basic underpinning of a significant fraction of formal communications with landlords, employers, medical systems, government offices, and so on.

  • caturra@lemmynsfw.com
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    10 months ago

    I’m amazed how people in Japan have some small squares instead of genitals, that must be advanced technology I haven’t seen in other countries.

  • chiu@lemmy.ca
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    10 months ago

    Automatic opening doors but they don’t open by a proximity sensor, they open when you press the button. This is the optimal solution as the door doesn’t open needlessly but still allows for ease of access.

    Ordering machines, where all your menu options are clearly listed and priced. Pressing on a combo of buttons will print a receipt which you can sit down and show the staff/cook your order.

    Water (hot and cold) tapped straight to your dining table for self serve drinks.

    Unfortunately becoming less applicable with the smartphone domination finally reaching Japan, but their flip phone technology.

    • _number8_@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      taco bell in particular is embracing the kiosks and it’s wonderful. they have signs in the lobby saying ‘order at the kiosk’ even. and why wouldn’t you? why do people in the US have this pig-like stubbornness where they must have a human stand there and ‘PeRsONaLIze tHE iNtERacTion’ or some shit

      • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        10 months ago

        There was an article published last year, maybe the year before, where they tested the touch screen kiosks in McDonald’s. Every single one of them has traces of faeces on it.

        Even if that wasn’t true, it takes me significantly less time to tell someone my order than to scroll through however many sub menus the restaurant has decided to put their food into, and then select the options for each item and add it to my basket, then check out.

        • TAG@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Having to crawl through multiple menus to order is not that big of a deal for restaurants. They don’t value your time, they value their staff time (because they have to pay for it). There is probably very little ongoing cost to double the number of order kiosks while every additional human taking orders needs to be paid minimum wage. The restaurant owner watches with hate as their money slowly melts away while you decide if you want pickles, fried onions, and jalapenos on your burger.

  • nucleative@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    They have this crazy machine… Slide paper into it and then a hundred miles away a copy of that paper slides out.

  • WhataburgerSr@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Kei trucks that are extremely functional and fuel efficient.

    The U.S. won’t ever get that because they are extremely functional and fuel efficient.

  • batmaniam@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Not Japan specifically, but I’ve got say I’m jealous as hell about the snack scene in east Asia.

    I generally don’t have a sweet tooth, and things like potato chips don’t have that umami I like. I try to keep snacks around because I forget to eat, but nothing appeals to me. But man… all those pre-packaged tofu squares, various bits of marinated meat… that’s my deal. There’s one solid “Asian Mart” near me, I’ll stock up a few months worth at a time.

    Closest you get in the US is basically jerky/slim jims, which are great but expensive and kind of one note for flavor.

  • odium@programming.dev
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    10 months ago

    On the flipside, something most developed countries consider normal but would blow Japanese minds is the ability to do all “paperwork” on your phone or laptop without any paper ever being printed anywhere. Japan is somehow still a country of fax.

  • SnausagesinaBlanket@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Japan’s current fiber-optic commercial internet connections use optical fiber transmission windows known as L and C multi-core fiber (MCF) bands to transport data long distances at record speeds. Meanwhile we (USA) have fiber back to copper and Cat3 for the last few hundred feet in most cities at best making the entire idea into a bottle neck.

    • falsem@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      There are a lot of very good reasons to switch back to copper for the last portion of a run. I highly doubt that consumer internet in Japan is terminating fiber directly into peoples’ computers. Fiber is a lot more expensive both for the line, to run it, more prone to breakage, the network cards are more expensive, etc. It’s really not needed for most purposes.

      Also no one uses cat3 for data and it can’t be run for ‘hundreds of feet’. And LC fiber IS used in the US - that’s a kind of connector not the kind of fiber.