Hasta La Gadget!

I’m not such a fan of going to the grocery store. It’s a pain in the butt and my kids always want to buy stuff I know they won’t eat. I also always forget to buy something important because I get distracted by all the samples. This is one of the reasons that the AmazonFresh grocery delivery service is so interesting to me.

The service is only offered in parts of California and Washington right now and allows those in the region to order their groceries online. That means you never have to step into a grocery store again or wait in line. To complement the service, a new gadget has been announced called the Amazon Dash. This device is aiming at making what has to be the worst part of the AmazonFresh service, making your list, easier.

Dash is a handheld gadget that scans barcodes on the items you want and uploads them via WiFi to your shopping list. It also has a mic and voice recording function for those items that don’t have bar codes.

The Dash is apparently free for anyone in the AmazonFresh delivery area.

[via Engadget]

You know how QR Codes still aren’t really a thing? Just imagine how popular Microsoft’s proprietary alternative to the format has been. In a letter to its users, Redmond has conceded that Microsoft Tag will pass the way of all things on August 19th, 2015. That said, if you can’t live without the system, QR Code company Scanbuy will be supporting certain Tag components from September of this year. We’ve included a suitably redacted version of the company’s letter after the break, but be warned — it contains toe-curling phrases like “digitally engage with brands in their everyday surroundings through smartphones.”

[Thanks, Carter]

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Microsoft

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Ever since 9/11, traveling by air has gotten a whole lot more restrictive. We have to remove our laptops and turn them on, take off our shoes and belts even, have our jackets turned over at airport security checks, or even let our fingers get swabbed just in case there is a trace of explosives on them. Of course, the ruling of not being able to bring liquids is another pet peeve of mine, but in the name of safety, anything goes, right? Here we are with word that there is a vulnerability in the US domestic airline boarding pass, where its barcodes could enable travellers to bring aboard unauthorized items.

The barcodes actually reveal just which airport checks a passenger will face, and something like your ordinary smartphone can do the barcode reading. To put it in a nutshell, it could very well undermine the US’s PreCheck system, where it randomly picks on which frequent fliers are able to skip part of the entire pre-boarding security shebang. Passengers knowing whether they have been picked or not, assuming they have had ulterior motives that are murderous in the end, could change plans at the last minute without enforcement agencies any better off for it. Again, this proves that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bikinis with barcodes makes for an interesting ad platform, Barcodas converts barcodes into music on the iPhone,

UK supermarket Tesco has decided to bring its virtual supermarket screens (successfully trialled in South Korea last year) to Gatwick Airport. There’s ten touchscreens in total, dotted around the departure lounge, with eager shoppers able to make a preemptive grocery strike with their smartphone. On-screen barcodes for around 80 items can be scanned by compatible — that is, Android and iOS — devices and added to your shopping basket. Following online payment, your bounty of food can then be assigned a delivery date up to three weeks in advance. The virtual shelves will stay up for two weeks; the UK retailer hasn’t commented on further roll-out or extension plans. However, in an airport, during summer vacation, is probably the last place we’d muse on what we’re going to eat on our eventual return. If you’re wondering exactly how to shop with a four-foot touchscreen, Tesco walks you through it at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet

Supermarket launches trial virtual stores in UK airport, readies fresh milk for your return originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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