CueCat Mirror List

CueCat Mirror List: "The CueCat is a barcode scanner passed out with subscriptions to Forbes magazine and the Radio Shack catalog. The idea is that consumers will install the CueCat software and use the scanner to scan in the bar code associated with certain advertisements. Once the bar code is scanned into the computer, the software will direct the user's browser to the product's web page.

Essentially, this is a way of giving the user of the CueCat immediate and up-to-date information on a product the user is interested in. If I am, say, interested in Radio Shack's televisions, I can scan in the bar code associated with the television I am interested in and be immediately directed to that product's web page. Voluntary, targeted marketing: the CueCat is the retailer's dream device.

There is a hidden side to the CueCat however. With every scan of a bar code, the CueCat gives out a unique serial number. When you receive a CueCat at Radio Shack, or from Forbes for that matter, this serial number can be associated with your name, address, phone number, or whatever else Forbes or Radio Shack happens to know about you. This information could be used in other, involuntary marketing campaigns. You could get junk mail or spam from television companies, for instance. The CueCat could not only direct you to the product you are interested in, it could be used for involuntary data mining. "