Karen Berman

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High-tech bar codes thwart counterfeiters

High-tech bar codes thwart counterfeiters

| May 22, 2014 | 0 Comments

In fiction, counterfeiters are discovered when the detective cleverly spots a fatal flaw in the picture on a fiver or a tenspot. In real life, it’s not that easy to tell. Recently, a team of Pacific Rim researchers reported on their work on a new bar code format that they hope will make counterfeiting a […]

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On Britain’s largest warship, QR codes map the way

On Britain’s largest warship, QR codes map the way

| April 18, 2014 | 0 Comments

Finding your way around a shopping mall or football stadium can be hard enough – imagine having to navigate the windowless labyrinth of the two mammoth warships that will soon be part of Britain’s Royal Navy. Lucky for the crews working on those ships, there’s now a QR code-powered navigation system to guide them. The […]

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Libraries opting for RFID over barcode tags

Libraries opting for RFID over barcode tags

| April 3, 2014 | 0 Comments

Library patrons in Wallingford, Connecticut, now have the same checkout options that they do in the supermarket— person-to-person or automated self-checkout. Since the system’s inauguration at the beginning of the year, quite a few patrons are choosing RFID-powered self-checkout. In that respect, they are like library patrons across the country. RFID — Radio-Frequency Identification — […]

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Study: “Mobile is the new normal”

Study: “Mobile is the new normal”

| January 23, 2014 | 0 Comments

The 2013 holiday shopping season proved again and again that consumers are making mobile commerce a part of their lives. Studies of consumer behavior during the holiday season have noted increases in consumer usage of smart phones and/or tablets for holiday shopping—and not just for actual sales transactions. Consumers are scanning bar and QR codes, […]

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QR code medical bracelets help kids with autism & their parents

QR code medical bracelets help kids with autism & their parents

| January 8, 2014 | 0 Comments

Some years ago, before QR codes and smart phones could conjure reams of information with a point and a click, I went to the mall with a friend and our toddler children. We had settled into a table at the food court for lunch, and my friend had gone off to get some food, loosening […]

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How Colorado will tag its marijuana

How Colorado will tag its marijuana

| December 31, 2013 | 0 Comments

The ghosts of Woodstock must be watching in disbelief at the dawning of the age of legalized, recreational marijuana in Colorado — and they’re probably wondering about the state’s very un-peace-and-love mandate that every baggie of weed be tracked with an RFID tag. Medical marijuana was already legal in Colorado when a referendum on legalizing […]

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Headstones with QR codes drag cemeteries into the digital age – including Arlington?

Headstones with QR codes drag cemeteries into the digital age – including Arlington?

| November 26, 2013 | 3 Comments

They might not yet rank as a full-fledged trend, but QR-coded ID tags are showing up in cemeteries, linking both the bereaved and the curious to online photos, obituaries, and video and audio memorials to the departed. Whether etched with lasers directly onto the headstone, or tattooed onto a metal or ceramic plaque that is […]

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Asset tagging for trees

Asset tagging for trees

| October 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

In Canada, organized efforts to manage municipal assets are increasingly the rule rather than the exception. The town of Whitby is a good example of the trend. The municipality recently completed a two-year program to tag every one of the 40,000 trees that line its boulevards and public spaces as a first step in the […]

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Using RFID tags to replant the rainforest

Using RFID tags to replant the rainforest

| October 3, 2013 | 1 Comment

The majestic koa tree is one of Hawaii’s—and the world’s— natural wonders, but a century of logging and agricultural development has decimated that state’s tropical rainforests. One company is trying to bring the koa forests back, and they’re using RFID tags to do so. Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is a hybrid enterprise—a for-profit corporation that has […]

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QR codes are going to the dogs — and petsitters are signing up

QR codes are going to the dogs — and petsitters are signing up

| September 19, 2013 | 0 Comments

Walking a dog or cleaning a cat’s litterbox are the lowest of low-tech pursuits, but when those chores metamorphose from personal to business, low-tech isn’t good enough.  The solution: QR-coded tagging systems specially designed for petsitting entrepreneurs. Pet Check Technology is a Chicago-based company that offers pet-sitting companies a QR code-based, full-spectrum business suite that includes […]

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