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Sat, 21 Feb 2009 Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems By PAUL BOUTIN Published: February 18, 2009 BEHIND the cash register at Smoke Shop No. 2 in downtown San Francisco, Sam Azar swipes a customer’s credit card to ring up Turkish cigarettes. The store’s card reader fails to scan the card’s magnetic strip. Azar swipes again, and again. No luck. As customers begin to queue, he reaches beneath the counter for a black plastic bag. He wraps one layer of the plastic around the card and swipes it again. Success. The sale is rung up. more fixes at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/technology/personaltech/19basics.html?em [] permanent link