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How we rely on the barcode by Natalya Eliana
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How we rely on the barcode |
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Computers
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It’s impossible to go a day without seeing a barcode of some type. Barcodes have been in worldwide use for decades and have enabled the world of retail to become more and more sophisticated and efficient. Scanning a code simply involves the black bars being read by the scanner and matched up with a number in a database, which is in turn matched up with the product in question. However, you won’t just find a them in retail. They are used in a wide variety of environments, such as in admin for cataloguing purposes and in libraries for tracking books too. Barcodes began to come into the popular consciousness in the 1960s and by the 1970s they were essential for the running of the retail industry, when the technology needed to read them became available. New competition As the technology became cheaper, it was easier for retail outlets both big and small to adopt it. It’s now said that there are around five million different barcodes in use around the world. 2012 saw the 60th birthday of the patent of the innovation. The Barcode is often described as iconic, due to its ubiquity and easily-identifiable nature. In recent years, the QR (Quick Response) code has come into use, allowing users to quickly scan the codes with their smartphones. This is based upon the same principle as the barcode but generally used for the purposes of downloading data rather than for selling products and filing documents. It is not said to be a replacement for the barcode due to the fact that it serves an entirely different purpose. A ubiquitous icon When the codes are read, it allows a customer assistant to update records quickly and ensures that stock levels can be maintained when it used in retail. Initially the barcode was looked upon with suspicion by some companies, who refused to print them onto their products as they weren’t always seen as visually appealing, but this has not been the case for decades, and we’re likely to see a barcode numbers involved in almost everything we purchase from a shop.
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