So, how many times have you had been in this situation?:
You are at the supermarket checkout, and the checkout person swipes the newspaper past the till reader. It does not 'beep'. Trying again, the assistant starts to become agitated.
" Tutt" he remarks.
He tries again.
" Awh, tutt, it isn't scanning...."
"....no price", says the Sales Assistant. "Do you know how much it is?"
"Its .49p" you tell him.
"Where did you get it from?"
"Were there any there with decent barcodes?" asks your checkout friend.
You start to wonder whether to bother taking the newspaper at all, but then the real gem.
The assistant starts to type in a 25 numeral code. "8....7....3....9....4.....6.....etc.
So, why and how does this save time?
Is this technology gone made? After all, it's .49p. not £49.00! Once upon a time that amount rung into a till would be all that was required.
This is technology at work, and it is not until it is explained that you start to see the light (literally).
Every item carries the striped bar code mark usually pronted on the packaging. This mark is there for many different reasons, and you will see it everywhere these days, but occassionally, just occassionally one will fail to read properly.
So, was my delay justified? Is this technology that satisfies my need or you need?
Well, the bar code is read by a laser. Don't worry about how, or what a laser is. Think of it as a beam of light that in this case reflects off the item. The barcode is a series of stripes, so it is seen as a pattern of stripes by the beam and this is reflected back to the reader in the till. All of this happens in an instant as the article is passed over the beam, or a hand held reader is pointed at the bar code.
You will notice, if you can see the barcode at close quarters, that the stripes are all different widths. This is how barcodes are created and that patter is a unique identifier. No two products have the same barcode pattern.
The unique barcode makes it possible to both identify a product or item, and also to give that item a price.
The fact that the item is identified means that you get a long list of named items (a receipt); that the shop can get a read out of how many of a particular item have sold (you know - with buy one, get on free it must be complex etc) and so this enables them to reorder based on popularity and purchasing of a particular line.
Actually, barcodes save many people vast amounts of time, and make the modern shopping experience possible.
So now you know why you sometimes have to go through the pain barrier at the checkout.
In case you are still unsure: see below
Seriously though, knowing how a technology helps you is half the battle towards overcoming the problems of understanding how it works. So stick with the half that is of the most use to you!
