Forum Archive Index - May 2000

[malcolmcoleman@hotmail.com]

This NEWS.COM (http://www.news.com/) story has been sent to you from 
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Message from sender:
Does anyone know if this technology is under investigation/trial in NZ,  by INL 
for example.  I can envisage a fair few uses for this - imagine a recipe book 
10 pages long with 10,000 recipes in it! Just scan the bar code on your PC for 
your desired recipe and then print!.  (Or display it on your handheld as you 
cook, of course!)
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Newspaper prints codes that link readers to the Web

May 2, 2000, 4:00 a.m. PT
http://home.cnet.com/category/0-1007-200-1798135.html

      Hyperlinks are coming to a newspaper near you.  

  Starting this week, The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., is delivering 
papers that have tiny bar codes on articles, allowing readers to use a pen-like 
wand to scan and pull up related information on the Web.   

  The bar codes--small enough to be covered by a dime--hold Web site addresses, 
or URLs, that can be read by scanners connected to the computer through a port 
on the keyboard.  

  "A tiny video camera inside the scanner shoots a picture (of the URL) when it 
gets into focus and fires up the browser for you," said Tom Pickens, chairman 
of South Carolina-based GoCode, a privately held company that has been 
developing the technology during the past three and a half years.  

  Such scanners are like a remote control to the Internet, potentially linking 
content printed in newspapers, magazines, fliers and catalogs instantly to the 
Web.   

  For example, a woman reading about a new cancer drug in the paper can scan 
the bar code within the article and have direct access to related Web pages 
instead of having to search for the information.  

    "All newspapers are trying to figure out how to link the printed word to 
the Internet, and we think this could be the bridge that'll do it," said Larry 
Tarleton, assistant publisher of The Post and Courier.  

  One e-commerce company, PlanetRx, is using scanning technology to encourage 
shopping on the fly. The online drugstore launched ScanCart in March so that 
consumers could scan products anywhere, anytime--and, after uploading the items 
at PlanetRx, check out with ease. The first known site to do this, PlanetRx 
sells its egg-shaped scanning device for $159.  

  GoCode, which licensed its technology to The Post and Courier, is giving away 
its scanners to people who both read the newspaper and are active users of the 
Internet. About 100 people in the Charleston area are testing the scanners  
through The Post and Courier, and Pickens said his company will give away the 
device to about 3,000 readers in the next couple of months.  

  Pickens hopes the technology will catch on with newspapers and magazines 
across the country. He said he has already talked with major publishers 
including News Corp., Hearst Publications and The New York Times Co.  

  Although The Post and Courier is using the scanning technology to link to 
noncommercial sites, such as additional news and sports information, the next 
step would be to embed bar codes in advertising, including classifieds.  

  Companies could link ads to an exact product on their Web site without 
forcing the reader to type a URL 100 characters long or to sift through several 
pages to find what they're looking for. In classifieds, advertisers could give 
readers a direct link to images of the home or car they're selling without 
paying for more space in the paper.  

  Yesterday The Post and Courier embedded bar codes for weather information and 
the newspaper's Web site, Charleston.net, on its front page. Today the paper 
will weave in links to sports- and stock-related sites for its sports and 
business sections, and it will continue to add more codes in each section every 
day, Pickens said.  

  For a small-circulation paper, reaching 110,000 readers daily, The Post and 
Courier acknowledges it is taking an uncharacteristically progressive step 
toward the digital age.   

  "Everyone is looking to see where the Net is going, and newspapers, as the  
main provider of information in the country, need to be involved in the  
development of the Internet. We as an industry have to be there," Pickens said. 
 

  GoCode, founded in 1997, is also building scanning technology that works 
through cell phones and personal digital assistants, which it plans to launch 
by the end of this year. And the GoCode Reader lets consumers purchase products 
online directly from the newspaper without having to type or call a toll-free 
number.  

  The Post and Courier, founded as The Charleston Courier in 1803, is an 
investor in GoCode; other investors include the Evening Post Corp. and the 
Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain.

  

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