From: "cfb" <cfb@nirai.ne.jp>
> .... well, until upc-barcode.org finally comes on-line, offering the
> individual consumer to acutally make use of the barcodes they run
> across in their every day life, barcodes are going to be corporation
> mediated experiments in consumer adoption failure.
Corporate mediation is almost certainly going to nip many
prospects in the bud. If you can only have it THEIR way,
it's not going to go down smoothly. "upc-barcode.org" is
unlikely, but it might work as upc-barcode.com: a subscription
service for the mobile comparison-shopper.
Retailers will not be happy campers.
I can't see widespread adoption working any other way than
this: You hold down a button on the back or side of the
phone (or very low-profile unit mounted thereon), swipe, and
the digits get entered in whatever text box is active for input.
I.e., so you can swipe codes into any on-phone application,
or any webform. It has to be that simple, and that general.
> ... I.E. barcodes are
> currently designed and deployed to help companies solve inventory and
> stocking issues... which is at least twice removed from the consumer.
So far back? I don't think so.
Don't forget data entry. Most of us see barcode input almost
every day because of the gains it offers in checkout-line
productivity and savings in training time.
A posting on this list a few weeks back suggested a neat
iAppli: keeping a running tally while you're shopping. That
contributor wasn't thinking of (or didn't mention) barcode
scanning, but it would certainly make the whole process
less painful. And you can compare your tally to the final
checkout. If you're a tired, harried mother whose kids
sometimes slip Hostess Ho-hos into the shopping cart
when you're not looking, it might even pay for itself on
the first trip to the grocery store. ;-)
-m
Received on Mon Feb 11 05:32:10 2002