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Walmart to Push RFID
bravehamster writes "According to this article over at MSNBC, Walmart is going to push its suppliers to start using RFID to track inventory by 2005. The article goes on to mention how it was Walmart who helped jumpstart widespread adoption of barcodes. The report also points out some of the barriers in the way of RFID acceptance, but never once mentions consumer privacy concerns. Guess that kind of stuff just isn't important anymore."
...they'll stop asking for my zip code!!
Now they'll need radio tags to do the job right.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
I want a reader with good range, able to ping within 5 feet. Maybe 3, then I just need one for the fridge and one for the cubbord and not have to worry about noise interferance from the trash can.
Very exciting stuff boys and girls!
Tonight when I had to decide what to make for dinner I had to walk into the kitchen and look around for what I had. THEN I realized I had no milk for my macaroni and cheese.
Once these RFID's meet with grocery stores i can see whats avalable from my pda! webtablet! tv! iloo! ipod! cellphone!
Just wrap your entire house in alunimum foil.
I don't see what the big deal is?
"Much work is lost, for the lack of a little more." -Edward H. Harriman
Well, the plans seem to imply that the RFIDs would need to encode unique identifiers, not just one-number-per-product as with current barcodes. This would enable things like scanning an entire still-packed crate and getting a count of its contents. There's less incentive to do this with barcodes, since you'd still have to unpack the box and scan each one by hand, and you might as well just count 'em while you're doing that.
Plus, I suppose someone could drive a truck by your house and scan to see how good of a consumer you are.
Unless you have aluminum siding.
"most everyone discussing these devices are concerned about the privacy issues--that they need to be fully deactivated after the purchase. big brother inside?"
Is that anything like Intel Inside?
"I'm sick and tired of people whining about privacy concerns."
Coming from a guy called "Ignorant Aardvark" I'm certain there's a lesson there somewere.
no, i think it's the fact that the issue i bring up is that if your purchases retain the rfid function upon leaving the store, they become useful to the entity that decides to listen and track them: wal-mart's clothing aisle that insists that this pair of pants will match that shirt your wearing...
Welcome to the future: DRM'ed clothing. Wear a non-matching shirt and pair of pants and you go to jail.
Fashion police! Come out with your khakis up!
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"but never once mentions consumer privacy concerns. Guess that kind of stuff just isn't important anymore."
v iet
[Insert Smallest violin joke here]
___________________________________
SolitarySo
Mmmm. And suppose next week you go to a different store wearing the item you bought!
I hope they do leave them on. I'd hate to miss out on the hours of fun !
So does Anonymous Coward have good karma?
Haggens cards. I trade mine with other people as often as possible. If more people did this it would be interesting. No data is not helpful. Bunged up data can be harmful. I want to screw with the data - not just avoid it.
;-)
I've graduated to a stainless steel helmet.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
Wonder if they'll be RFIDing the employees? Those creepy greeters could use some tracking devices...
Lessee....
RFID 1939G93935 = creepy old dude.
RFID 9293J51138 = She doesn't actually greet you, she just mouths the words.
RFID 4992F49503 = Dude with a wierdass voicebox.
RFID 5934L32942 = He's just staring and drooling.
Heil Sig! -Rob
I was walking through a department store on my way out of the mall a little while ago and set off thier little alarm thing. It was something I had purchased in another store and was in my bag. My friend and I stood there inside the store doors with stupid looks on our faces for a minute untill one of the cashiers just told us to go. She had aparently decided that if we were stealing something we wouldn't just stand there after setting off the alarm. Resonable no?
Half way across the parking lot some idiot plain clothes security guard comes running after us screaming "stop right there you cocksuckers." Seriously. I look at the guy and say "excuse me?" I can't remember what he said exactly but it involved me handing over my bag and was laced with many unkind adjectives aplied to my person. I said "no", I probably would have let him if he asked nicely. He didn't like that much so he squared up his shoulders and tried the tough guy look on us. "You'll have to come with me" he says. This guy was about eighteen years old, covered in acne and weighed about 130 pounds if he was wearing heavy shoes that day. I tell you I hadn't lauged that hard in years, I was afraid I was going to piss my pants. We just walked away while he yelled "I'm calling the cops" over and over.
I usually remove logos and tags from items of clothing I wear.
I do wonder why the people who pay extra for 'Coca-cola' merchandise, etc. aren't getting a payment from Coke for displaying the advertising.
We got a set of 'Coca-Cola' nested mixing bowls for our wedding. I have been gradually grinding off the glazed-on 'Coca-Cola' logos with a sharpening stone when I wash them. If and when my wife notices and asks, I'll tell her the payments from Coke weren't coming in regularly enough.
The thief looks at their scanner and goes right on by, just like most consumers. Then steals a PS2 out of the next vehicle over.
O~ Him that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green. -- Francis Bacon
I for one want to have everything RFID's Each such, underwear, shoes, shoelaces, pants, scarfs, shirts, earings, wallet, business cards, everything...
I want to walk into a wallmart and create 10MB of data. Let me leave wallmart and create another 100MB data.
Couple this with the thousands of people that go in an out of any given wallmart everyday, and there is the nightmare of trying to sort through all that data to find something useful.