As some kind of northern monkey, can I clear up a few things about this horrible system:

If you don't want to use an oyster card, can you still use the London buses etc.? i.e. Can a customer pay with cash there and then at the station/bus, or is it credit cards all the way?

Have I interpreted a comment above correctly, that cash payers have to cough up 50p more per journey than card holders?

You have to sign both in and out of stations/buses etc.? If not, they assume you rode the transport for the longest possible journey, and charge you accordingly? Or do they just fine you a flat 3UKP? Is this fine cheaper than the most expensive journeys available?

If I'm even close about the above, then wow, I'm glad I don't live in London! And of course there's the Stasi-esque tracking. But thinking about it, the last time I used the underground with stiff paper tickets from a machine, you had to pass that ticket through the entry and exit barriers..... I guess when I bought the ticket there was a camera in the ticket machine, and the magstripe on the back had a unique ID.... they've been tracking people for years, havent they!?!