Guess where I'm going to park?

We all get those bulk mailed envelopes bursting with coupons we have no interest in. Oh, if you're anything like me you paw through them every time, pulling a few out, swearing you'll use them. But no, the expiration date comes and goes.

But this one got my attention. Why? Cuz it has a barcode, that's why.

Font thieves busted!

Stories like this hit home. Overal, I'm glad they got caught and I hope it serves as a warning to others. Fonts are intellectual property just like all copyrighted software. Stealing fonts is stealing. Period.

I just wonder how nobody knew they were committing a sin. Sounds like what we call grand larceny where I come from. Paying up retroactively isn't good enough for me. If I find out they were stealing my fucking software I'm calling out the lawyers.

myspace: me too, me too!

As if a family of web sites and this blog isn't enough, I just establish a myspace presence.

Just what I need, another project...

The Mosquito Ringtone

NPR had a story about the mosquito ringtone. Colleen email it to Clyde, Ben, and I. Seems as we age, we lose the ability to hear high frequencies. Someone made a machine that generates such noises as a way to disperse loitering teens. Then the teens realize they can use it as a ringtone to avoid having their teachers hear it in class.

I decide to unleash a mosquito ringtone of my own. Enjoy!

Old barcodes on new bottles

I'm always intrigued by non-standard barcodes, especially UPC bar codes. I find this product-inspired packaging creative. The label is diecut to resemble an apple and the bump in the upper left is the stem. Clever.

Reminds me of a bottle of wine I ran across years ago from a winery named Eye of the Swan. The barcode was part of the illustration: cattails with a swan. The barcode was part of the stalks.

Makes me laugh when I hear about companies trying to patent barcodes-as-illustrations. A Japanese company with an American partner here in Seattle comes to mnd. Can you spell "prior art"?

Barcode scanner as camera

Take a look at this photo. Looks like it was taken with a camera phone, right?

No. It was taken using this barcode scanner and its bundled software.

Not really a big surprise given that barcode scanners are CCD devices.

We told you not to trust RFID...

As we've been saying, RFID ain't safe. And here's someone who's done what we've all had nightmares about.

The cat's outta the bag. You've been warned.

666 is coming! 666 is coming!

We all know that 666 is the Mark of the Beast. Don't we??? If not, read this.

And we all know that UPC barcodes include the Mark of the Beast .

So all fellow barcode nerds are hereby given notice of the upcoming date: 06/06/06 Read all about it right here. Better polish up that barcode tattoo of yours.

Let's all move to Wisconsin!

Prgressive politics have been part of WI's political heritage for generations. This proposed stance on chip implants makes me smile.

Would you believe a barcode robot?

Now herer's a guy with an interesting hobby.

There was a barcode in there somewhere

This story strikes me as funny. On a number of levels. My only regret is not having been there to witness this man-machine interaction.

You just know barcodes played a part in this drama!

Suntan tattoos as barcodes

This story reminds me of using laser printed transparencies to make suntan tattoos.

If only I'd listened to Ray Delnicki and done RSS barcodes oh those many years ago we wouldn't be struggling with PLUs today. Sh*t...

Linux Barcode Fonts. For IBM no less!

We sent out a press release today announcing our new Linux barcode fonts for UPC, Code 128, Code 39, and Interleaved 2 of 5.

Let's just say that the 'official' release was somewhat sanitized. I encourage you to read the real press release instead!

RFID virus

We all knew it was possible. We all suspected it was coming. But you wouldn't believe me because I own a barcode software company. I'm not supposed to like RFID.

Well, read this. Stop and think about it. RFID is coming in at the top and being deployed enterprise-wide. Just ask Walmart. This makes the RFID story incredibly scary.

The good news/bad news is that this story comes out of academia, not Def Con.

With that said, things like this don't look so paranoid, now do they? In fact, I'm writing my letter to Santa right now!

Time to get your passport. NOW!

Reading this underlines the fact that I need to get a new passport before RFID chips are mandatory. In fact, I need to get them for my kids too. Nobody should have RFID chips in their passports until the weakass encryption is fixed.

Not this again...

If I had a dollar for every time someone comes up with a scheme to use UPC barcodes to index a database for endusers, I wouldn't have to sell barcode software myself. Sheesh, doesn't this reek of the CueCat? Again.

Chip implants

Now this story on RFID chip implants gives me the willies. Guys, that X-Files story line was fiction. F-I-C-T-I-O-N. Make believe.

Sheesh...

Drunken UPC

So was the barcode done by an intoxicated graphic designer or is this an indication of what'll happen to me if I drink this brew? And which is the better of the two?

Gotta love them barcode tattoos!

Barcode tattoos. Who knew they were so popular. Don't believe me? look here. If you've got one, please contribute your favorite photo. Dont' be shy; step right up.

This proves that barcodes have moved into the mainstream visual vocabulary. Me? I'm not tatted.

Here we go again...

Here comes another barcodes-as-interactive-marketing scheme.

Come on folks, didn't the ill-fated CueCat fiasco teach us anything? Or is our collective memory that short and/or defective?

Sheesh...