RFID to "Boost Sales" and "Save Money"

It is being introduced as a new tool to help companies "boost sales" and "save money" but is it really just another way for Big Brother to track your every move?

(PRWEB) April 3, 2005 -- San Diego's Fox6 News aired a 5 minute segment on RFID this week, featuring Caspian founder (and newsletter co-editor) Katherine Albrecht. "After all the pro-industry puff pieces that have come out on RFID recently, it was nice to see a reporter go heavy on the creep factor to remind us just how scary this stuff is".

Catch it soon, before they pull it off the website: http://www.zombiewire.com/ (Scroll down to "RFID Tagging")

Long checkout lines at the grocery store are one of the biggest complaints about the shopping experience. Soon, these lines could disappear when the ubiquitous Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code is replaced by smart labels, also called radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. RFID tags are intelligent bar codes that can talk to a networked system to track every product that you put in your shopping cart. Photo courtesy Motorola Smart labels like Motorola's BiStatix tags will enable manufacturers to track their products at all times.

Imagine going to the grocery store, filling up your cart and walking right out the door. No longer will you have to wait as someone rings up each item in your cart one at at time. Instead, these RFID tags will communicate with an electronic reader that will detect every item in the cart and ring each up almost instantly. The reader will be connected to a large network that will send information on your products to the retailer and product manufacturers. Your bank will then be notified and the amount of the bill will be deducted from your account. No lines, no waiting.

RFID tags, a technology once limited to tracking cattle, will soon be tracking trillions of consumer products worldwide. Manufacturers will know the location of each product they make from the time it's made until it's used and tossed in the recycle bin or trash can. In this edition of How Stuff WILL Work, you'll learn about the types of RFID tags in development and how these smart labels will be tracked through the entire supply chain.

Catch it soon, before they pull it off the website: http://www.zombiewire.com/ (Scroll down to "RFID Tagging")

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