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The End of the Bar Code

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the coming-soon-to-everything-near-you dept.

valdean writes "The University of Wisconsin RFID Lab, principally funded by a dozen Wal-mart suppliers including 3M, Kraft Foods, and S.C. Johnson & Son, believes that RFID could spell the end of the ubiquitous bar code. The big draw? Speeding up supply-chain management. Wal-mart's warehouse conveyor belts presently move products at 600 feet per minute... but they want to be faster. And better informed."

12 of 468 comments (clear)

  1. 600 feet per minute... by It+doesn't+come+easy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Zoom. That's 10 feet per second. Reminds me of the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel were newly employed at a candy factory with them packing boxes while trying to keep pace with the machine producing chocolate candies.

    Man, better not blink if you work in a Wal-Mart warehouse...

    --
    The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
    1. Re:600 feet per minute... by Bnderan · · Score: 5, Funny

      600 feet per minute ought to be enough for anybody.

    2. Re:600 feet per minute... by Donniedarkness · · Score: 5, Funny
      That's 6.8 miles per an hour.....

      So this thing tops out at a faster speed than my friend's Geo Metro? Wow....

      This kind of makes me wonder how fast the RIFD-enabled belts at the Wal-Mart warehouses are gonna be.

      --
      Earn a % of cash back from Newegg, Tiger Direct, Walmart.com, and more: http://www.mrrebates.com?refid=458505
    3. Re:600 feet per minute... by mbelly · · Score: 5, Funny

      But the checkouts will be just as slow...

      --
      ~Belly
    4. Re:600 feet per minute... by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not after we RFID the customers! Imagine the peoplemover at the airport, cranked up to 10 feet per second.

  2. New Section Suggestion by robbkidd · · Score: 5, Funny

    To our Slashdot Overlords:

    Can we get a "The End of ..." section?

  3. The end of ... by Virtex · · Score: 5, Funny

    The End of the Bar Code

    Yep, the bar code is dead. Right after BSD dies. Should be any day now.

    --
    For every post, there is an equal and opposite re-post.
  4. RFID? I'll show you your RFID! by KiloByte · · Score: 4, Funny

    In other news, the shares of tinfoil makers have increased.

    Speaking of which, can you read the price tag on my new hat?

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  5. All those people by WormholeFiend · · Score: 4, Funny

    who got a barcode tattoo because they thought it would look cool and anti-corporate are gonna be pissed off!

  6. Re:I disagree. by Harald+Paulsen · · Score: 4, Funny
    Personally, I would be glad if these systems were introduced and saved time at stores. To me, spending time at home with my girlfriend and horses is more important than standing in a qeue waiting for a cashier to process everyone's purchases
    Dude, you need help.
    --
    Harald
  7. Re:I know... by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    But it's the only time most of us get to talk to chicks.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  8. Re:600 feet per minute = by justforaday · · Score: 4, Funny

    6.8 would be a light jog.

    600 ft/min is just over an 8 minute mile. I'd be amazed if most slashdotters could do that.

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.