CueCat Patent Granted, Finally

RobertB-DC writes "Who could forget the :CueCat, the amazing device that would bring 'convergence' between the real world and the online marketing Utopia of the late '90s? Belo, the Dallas-based newspaper and TV conglomerate, spent millions of dollars on the project, only to be ridiculed from the start and eventually becoming a sort of poster kitty for the Dot-Com Bust. Well, the device's inventor and chief cheerleader, J. Jovan Philyaw, didn't forget. His patent application, in progress since 1998, has finally been granted. The story comes from a Dallas alternative weekly, since the local Belo paper is still smarting from its $40-million-dollar black eye."

Comments

Schrodenger's cueCat

[Majik Sheff]

So, the cueCat was in a box (the patent office) and its state was unknown for years until someone finally opened the box and looked at it? I can only assume the cueCat was dead, but that assumption probably changed the outcome.

First again?

Re:Schrodenger's cueCat

[hansamurai]

First again?

You assumed you were first, and by doing that, you changed the outcome.

I used one

[afidel]

I declawed one with the software patch that stripped the 'encryption' to use it as a normal barcode scanner. It was great for a little inventory problem I had at work. I made an Access DB that kept track of LTO tapes by scanning a label on each box and tape. That way when I had to do a restore from tapes on hand all I had to do was pull up its label in the DB and it gave me the box and row number.

Re:I used one

[Anonymous Coward]

What happens when your Access DB is what needs to be recovered from the backup tapes? What then?

Re:I used one

[morgan_greywolf]

What happens when your Access DB is what needs to be recovered from the backup tapes? What then?

He gets stuck in an infinite loop!

Re:I used one

[Lumpy]

I declawed 20 of them one by soldering a jumper that disabled the encryption at the unit. Most of them were easily hacked this way. I've got several still in use as Point of Sale barcode readers at a couple of customers.

In fact I still have about 5 of them in their poly bags in the basement. I had more but fittingly, my cat peed on them.

I cleaned out 5 radioshacks when they were trying to get people to take them.... please take them!

Re:I used one

[Tacvek]

It is worth noting that there are two different basic types of CueCat declawing.

The normal format for the CueCat is a long "encypted" string that contains three pieces of information, A serial number, information about the barcode type, and the raw barcode data.

The first type of declawing merely makes the serial number be a sting of dashes or zeros. This was only really useful with the official software, as the unoffensive drivers that support the CueCat's native format normally ignore the serial number.

The second type of declawing, which would be more accurately described as "fixing" (neutering) the CueCat, is a modification that results in the CueCat retuning just the raw barcode data in plaintext, followed by the enter key.

(My understanding is that the CueCat always functions as a keyboard, in all modes, but the official software intercepted the output.)

I vaguely remember that one configuration Code128 bar codes would not scan correctly, but they did work in a different configuration. Does anybody remember what configuration that was? I think it was either the neutered configuration, or the non-neutered configuration when using the official software.

Brilliant!!

[TheDarkener]

A barcode scanner at every normal person's PC that "allows" them to view advertisements on products they've already purchased? Count me in!

Re:Brilliant!!

[Rycross]

The idea would be that you could scan a barcode on an advertisements or articles to get more information on a product. The problem is that you need a special piece of hardware to do what a URL written down on the page could do.

The basic idea isn't without merit, however. In Japan, they use barcode-like codes to encode extra information with advertisements. You could see a product that interests you, use your cell phone camera to take a picture of the code, and then have your phone load up the web site based on the code. The difference here is its more convenient instead of less.

Re:Brilliant!!

[earthloop]

Erm:
http://2d-code.co.uk/qr-code-on-iphone/
http://www.imatrix.lt/default.aspx?page=start

Crap patent

[russotto]

Clearly, this one got approved via the Patent Office's rule that "If you can't decipher the run-on sentence, approve the patent".

Yeah, I know the patent rules pretty much require run on sentences, but Claim 1 here is ridiculous even given that.

Best I can tell, Claim 1 covers doing a lookup of a code at a remote site and receiving something like a URL back, then following that URL. The code has to have been received before the user connected to the network.

That is, if I set up a server which returns a redirect for "8972" of http://www.cat.example.com/ and "1513" to http://www.dog.example.com/ and I send you (via US mail) "8972", which you then enter at my site and get redirected to the cat site, the patented method has been used.

Re:Crap patent

[timster]

Maybe their business plan is to sue tinyurl?

A day late and $40 Million Dollars Short

[timpintsch]

Does anyone know if I can still pick these up for free at Radio Shack? I remember having a stack of them but my Grandma threw them away because she thought they were pens that were defective. No, really, she did.

Re:A day late and $40 Million Dollars Short

[Anonymous Coward]

I still have a dozen cardboard boxes of them, including all PS/2 revisions and the short-lived USB versions, that I used to test my CueCat driver for Linux (here if you care about abandonware.)

I didn't get one

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

The plastic bag that my copy of Wired came in had a big hole in it when it got to my house. The CueCat was either stolen or it fell out.

/not really disappointed

Re:I didn't get one

[Stele]

Perhaps it became self-aware and clawed its way out. Did you ever think of that?

Still have mine....

[SomeoneGotMyNick]

What do I do with the box of these that a frustrated Radio Shack manager gave me?

I went in asking for one and he told me I can't have one unless I take his entire inventory of them. I ended up with dozens of them.

On a side note, I then went to the bank and asked for a dollar, but they didn't give me a boxful of them... no fair...

Re:Maybe I should take advantage of the situation.

[morgan_greywolf]

Ummm....Most authors only get paid if their books actually sell...(Hence the reason JonKatz lives in abject poverty.)

i still have mine

[circletimessquare]

it looks like a sex toy

all its good for anymore

i guess

i said i guess!

An Idea with Potential

[GospelHead821]

I understand why and how this idea failed, but I think that it had such a great deal of potential. Not for flashy things like electronics, but for mundane things like office supplies. Rather than digging around Corporate Express's web site or typing in a list of part numbers, how much easier would it be just to use the CueCat on a barcode printed in the catalog? I was kind of disappointed that the worthwhile, vaguely interesting applications for this technology never materialized.

I was actually one of the first to hack it

[rAiNsT0rm]

Geez I guess it has been that long. I was one of the first to figure out that it sent a coded mix of letters and numbers with the scanned barcode inside so that it could be hacked to function as a proper barcode scanner. I also was one of the first to get a certified cease and desist letter and a followup call by one of their attorneys.

I still have a bunch of both the serial and USB versions wrapped and new... however now they would actually have proper legal grounds to prosecute so I won't be redistributing my code online again :)

Never thought I'd see :CueCat come up again on the 'ole Internets.

More useful than you might think...

[HiVizDiver]

A bit offtopic, but with the aforementioned "hack" to enable it as a more generic device, a friend of mine uses it to catalog his book, CD, and DVD collection. He has a whole spreadsheet for his books that tells him how many pages, how long it took to read, his overall "review" (couple of sentences) of the book, etc.

A bit anal retentive? Yes, but I could see it being useful for making a record of just about any "collection" you had that already had barcodes on it.

Bringing Back Memories

[Whafro]

I remember being the first to publish the basic decoder for the CueCat... got a nice little writeup in Wired, which led to a nice little writeup from a Kenyon & Kenyon lawyer in the form of a C&D.

Highlight of my sophomore year in HS: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=7222&cid=835493

Their patent claim is interesting -- launch a web browser when an item is scanned. Sounds like it shouldn't meet the non-trivial requirement to me, but I'm not in IP law anymore...

Bad Summary

[Zordak]

If you look at the "Related Applications" section, I see something like a score of issued patents in this family, give or take a few. So this is not anything like the "real" :CueCat patent. This is a continuation-in-part, meaning they are adding new matter to the original application (some incremental improvement, usually). Apparently, these guys are intent on patenting every little incremental improvement they can think of for their famous failure. Why? Are they stacking their portfolio with an eye to future litigation? If true, that's the real story.

Re:Maybe I should take advantage of the situation.

[netglen]

Oh no! Are you saying that the book that I read "Writing Dummy Books for Dummies" was inaccurate on how much money I can make?

Finally decrypted mine

[macraig]

This news prompted me to drag out my two :Cats and decrypt the output on them, so I can finally use them as raw scanners. I dug out the copper trace to pin 10 of the Hyundai IC on both of them and, voila, it outputs raw numeric ASCII data whenever it spies a barcode. I've had archived details on how to do this for years, but never got a round tuit (those tuits are pretty scarce and hard to find in their own right). Turns out I Googled the part number on the PCBs and found several pages detailing the process for that specific PCB.

Re:Maybe I should take advantage of the situation.

[interstellar_donkey]

You should have looked at the book next to it on the shelf, "Reading about Writing Dummy Books for Dummies". It explained in great detail that it's usually a bad idea.

Sorry, But I Can't Un-Think This

[ewhac]

Why do I get the feeling that the :CueCat could find new life as a support peripheral to some stupid new Facebook "application"? "Here are the barcodes from everything in my room! L0lz!!1!!"