I guess nothing is sacred anymore. Remember playing Monopoly as a kid? Great game right? I dunno about you, but I remember the piles of paper money being the best part. In the newest versions of the game however, the paper money is gone:
Parker Brothers is phasing out the cash-based version’s funmoney and replacing it with an “Electronic Banking” flavor that could leave Mr. Moneybags turning his pockets inside out as his stash is replaced by a magnetic strip. New kits are completely devoid of the famous multi-colored bills; instead, you’ll find phoney Visa debit cards and a calculator / reader which keeps a running tabulation of your riches — or lack thereof. A deal was struck with Visa to design the mock cards and readers, presumably after surveys showed that 70% of adults used cash less often now than they did a decade ago (no surprise there). When asked about the dramatic change, Parker said replacing cash with plastic “showed the game was moving with the times.”
Even though I remember the paper money being extremely fun, I am glad that it’s gone. Why? Because I am a huge supporter of getting rid of cash altogether. No need to teach kids how to use a dying form of money. Bring on the smart plastic cards, cell phone wallets, or even better, implantable identity/wallet solutions!
Read: Engadget
MasterMaq's Blog 
LOL! Buddy, you had me there until "implantable identity/wallet". I’d rather not have my financial info inserted directly into my hand unless I get a laser inserted as well!
Haha…are those sharks? with lasers on their foreheads?!
I just know I’d lose a cell phone/smart card at some point, even though I’m extremely careful and haven’t lost my phone yet (though I have forgotten it on a number of occasions). That’s why the impantable stuff would be great – always with me! And if someone is willing to try and hack my hand off for it, I have bigger problems anyway…
Smart cards are really smart, as long as you don’t lose them. I have had my smart card in HK (called the Octopus Card) for a week….you can use it for all forms of transportation..use it to buy fast food…newspapers at 7-11, etc. It’s fricking awesome. Can’t wait to get my SmartID next week…it has all my info, including my fingerprints embedded…so next time I am here, I can stick the card in the self-serve kiosk, let the computer scan my fingerprints to verify the info..and then no more going thru customs and getting asked "what are you doing here? how long are you here for? " 😉
Yay!
But back to this Monopoly thing…I will kinda miss the old version…perhaps I should go out to buy a set and sell it for loads of money when i get old?
Smart cards are really smart, as long as you don’t lose them. I have had my smart card in HK (called the Octopus Card) for a week….you can use it for all forms of transportation..use it to buy fast food…newspapers at 7-11, etc. It’s fricking awesome. Can’t wait to get my SmartID next week…it has all my info, including my fingerprints embedded…so next time I am here, I can stick the card in the self-serve kiosk, let the computer scan my fingerprints to verify the info..and then no more going thru customs and getting asked "what are you doing here? how long are you here for? " 😉
Yay!
But back to this Monopoly thing…I will kinda miss the old version…perhaps I should go out to buy a set and sell it for loads of money when i get old?