rfid's...

[isus]

apparently, wal-mart is pushing this stuff. and they will end up getting their way. ya know what upc's are? those little barcodes?

they came about bc of... *drumroll* wal-mart.

now, they want this:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?s...thread&tid=126

[Theinfamousone]

Can you explain what it is? I am totally lost after reading that.

[Krell]

Yes we covered this a while ago. The tags track the item from manufacturer to retail and checkout.

This article is showing that the rfid can be used to identify the purchaser of any "particular" item!


If a widget with the seriel # qwert12345 is sold at the Best Buys in Tecumpseh, then it can then be traced to "Dan" whos pic is now on file, even if he pays cash.

This has many more serious implications than I have time for just now.

[isus]

im not sure what exactly they are, but i know you can be tracked a helluva lot more with them.

especially with crap like razor blades setting off cameras.

it's just... unnecessary.

[isus]

Originally posted by Krell
Yes we covered this a while ago.

ohhh... so thats where i saw this. i had thought i had seen it on hektik, but i guess maybe it was here. my bad...

ehh, it is kind of a different purpose though...

but do as you like (close/delete)

[Krell]

I am not saying it was covered in depth, and discussion of how our privacy is compromised is a good idea. Forensically, what are the implications?

[rainbowdemon]

Forensically, what are the implications?

There are many implications, none of which are any good. I first thought this article was just humor, but you guys are taking this seriously. Maybe I was wrong. If this does happen, I don't see the reason for it. This goes way beyond any anti-shoplifting security.

[Krell]

The razor blades are the item mentioned here, however, the technology in use to track this item . . . . to ME, is not a good sign. Beyond knowing my buying habits, or if I like Gillette over Bic, or if I prefer Duracell, I dont want to be identified by the CD-Rs that I purchased, or if I "really" bought that Maxtor hard drive at Best Buys on June 17th as I stated.

[isus]

Originally posted by rainbowdemon
There are many implications, none of which are any good.

there are some good implications... but i fear that since money drives greed, we will see very quickly after their 'release' many bad uses.

good use:
from what i can tell you can track anything you sell with this. so, a guy tries to steal a pair of nike's. bam, he's caught, goes to jail. one less guy you hafta worry about robbing you, mugging you, etc.

bad use:
you buy the nike's. now everytime you walk into the store, you get recorded, and what you buy gets recorded as well... even if you have no particular membership to that store.

[DainBramaged]

RFID tags are used to track an item's life through the store. They may put one on, say, a shopping cart to study patterns and thus where to place items. The range on the tags is VERY limited. Also, the tags may be deactivated at the purchase point, so you don't necessarily have to fear walking outside with those brand spankin' new Nike's and having Wally track you all over town. The range wouldn't be near far enough to anyway.

Most retailers are very cognaissant of the fact that consumers are worried about their privacy. Fearing that consumers will wonder about all aspects of their privacy at a particular store, most retailers are avoiding RFID tags, or at least not using them on purchasable merchandise.

A good example of this is Wal-Mart. They had planned to use RFID tags on Gilette razor blades as well, but took back the statement, citing privacy concerns. Read: Wal-Mart is NOT using RFID tags on consumer merchandise. Wal-Mart now plans to test the technology in their warehouses to track inventory, removing or deactivating the tags when the stuff hits the store.

Hope that helps.

[isus]

Originally posted by DainBramaged
Also, the tags may be deactivated at the purchase point

but even that is still just a "may". they may not. and to be quite honest, i'd rather not have wal-mart or anybdoy for that matter know where my shopping cart goes, what kind of razor blades i buy, etc.

[FreakinWeasel]

These tags have been used for years in manufacturing as a way of doing WIP track. (Work in Progress). We toyed with the early ones at the company I used to work for , using these in place of paper travelers. So when Wal-Mart started seeing razor blades as the #1 stolen item it seemed like no big deal to tag the little monsters. As with any Pandora's Box you have those who immedialty think of rude, abusive ways of using them such as tracking your buying habits. One of the arguements in favor of them is that we pay out huge fricken sums of money to cover theft from stores every year. But people get wise to those big tags and just remove them before they walk out. So now we have something that in effect works and is sewn into or onto that is so small you won't even find it. So anywhoo, less theft, lower prices. It is also amazing how mcuh better inventory flow works with these things. You can locate an item just about anywhere in a store or warehouse with them so the thought they have a limited range depends on what frequency they use. You can read more about them here: http://www.alientechnology.com/

[isus]

i woulda never thought razor blades would be the most stolen... lol. i was thinking batteries... aa, aaa, c... batteries are expensive as all hell.

[rainbowdemon]

Originally posted by isus
i woulda never thought razor blades would be the most stolen... lol. i was thinking batteries... aa, aaa, c... batteries are expensive as all hell.

Have you ever bought Mach 3 blades? They are mad expensive!!

[isus]

Originally posted by rainbowdemon
Have you ever bought Mach 3 blades? They are mad expensive!!

*shrug* i dont use a mach3 to shave... why 3 blades? i can over my face 2x with a double-bladed razor, and basically end up going over the same spot 4x. one swipe with the mach3 only gives 3. lol.