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A comment on MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones. Parent comment

Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by mytailorisrich on Sunday October 01, 2023 @09:03AM (#37725551)
It is illegal to use a socket without permission and there aren't that many sockets accessible outdoor.
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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by devoutsalsa on Sunday October 01, 2023 @09:28AM (#37725747)
“So how did you end up here in prison?”

“I was charging my phone :(“

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by mytailorisrich on Sunday October 01, 2023 @11:08AM (#37726621)
The fact is that this is an offence [1]

It does not help homeless people or anyone to suggest they should break the law.

This device that uses bike chains is a bit cheeky but it is a smart idea and it should be legal, or at least not a crime (ianal). So nice, clever hack.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstracting_electricity

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by op00to on Sunday October 01, 2023 @11:04AM (#37726590)
I for one live in fear of the storm trooper squads that come after you plug your charger into an unattended wall socket.

In my major Northeast US city, there are wall sockets on the outside of most buildings (if you know where to look), on every car of the subway/bus, in public concourses, etc.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by snvzz on Sunday October 01, 2023 @03:47PM (#37729837)
Yet, Isn't using them w/o permission illegal?
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