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Corporate Fallout Detector

Posted by michael on from the ideas-whose-time-has-come dept.

BandwidthHog writes "MIT student shows off Corporate Fallout Detector. Acts and looks kinda like a Geiger counter, but it's a UPC scanner with an internal, updateable database of corporate misdeeds, with both Pollution and Corporate Ethics modes. I want one."

5 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Google Cache by wawannem · · Score: 5, Informative

    Does really seem to show much, but the original site /.'d...

    google cache

    <article text>
    Corporate Fallout Detector

    The Corporate Fallout Detector reads barcodes off of consumer products, and makes a noise similar to a gieger counter of varying intensity based on the social or environmental record of the company that produces the product.

    I came up with the numbers by correlating several online bardcode databases with a pollution database and a corporate ethics database. Of course the data produced by this approach is subjective and inaccurate at times, but that's part of why I built it: It's difficult for consumers trace corporate actions through the maze of corporate ownership, and find who is really responsible. This helps create an environment where consumers have difficulty making informed purchasing decisions.... without the use of "special tools"...

    The case is made from a discarded steel computer case, cut on a waterjet cutter and bent with a metal brake. Inside is a SaJe microcontroller and a Wasp barcode scanner.

    Click on the thumbnails at left for larger images.
    </article text>

  2. Re:No, it can work by Trigun · · Score: 3, Informative

    Open up an Xbox. You'll see all kinds of information goodness stamped on the semiconductors.

    Not that it would be easy to do...

  3. Re:Corporate Ethics? Says who? by JulianOolian · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article states that the instrument's response is based on a pollution database, http://www.scorecard.org/ and a corporate ethics database http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/research/corporate_ researcher.html

    I think it's more of a (witty, IMO) satirical stunt item than anything that the guy thinks would actually be useful.

  4. Adbuster's greenscan by morcheeba · · Score: 3, Informative

    Adbusters is working on a design for an opensource version of this. It appeared in the previous issue & they've gotten some feedback.

    --
    HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
  5. CueJack by edgarde · · Score: 3, Informative

    You might mean the CueHack, a program for those free :CueCats we bummed off RadioShack. CueJack was previously reported on Slashdot a coupla years ago.