It is simple but ingenious, easily accessible -- and it gives people what they want without fuss or argument. It is, in short, one of the great conveniences of modern technology: the ATM, or automated-teller machine.
Only a few years ago, getting your hands on real money meant waiting in line at your (and only your) bank, or knowing the corner shopkeeper well enough to cash a personal check. The ATM changed all that, using a fusion of computer chips, telepad, phone line and dispensing mechanism to transform the way people access their money. Armed with only a plastic card...
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