Soh Kam Yung reviewed Barcode by Ian Bogost
A look at the history of the barcode.
4 stars
An interesting look at the history and impact of the barcode upon society. Starting out as a way to quickly and accurately input product information into cash registers, its usage would become ubiquitous as a way to track inventory. Despite the rise of the QR code (a two-dimensional form of barcode), the traditional barcode is still widely used due to business inertia.
The book starts with the invention of the cash register as a way for businesses to keep track of items being sold and the money being handled. As the number of transactions grew, the need to automate the cash register became imperative. The barcode was invented and patented as a way to automate number entry, but the technology was not there. It was only when the laser scanner was developed would the technology to scan barcode entries become available.
A committee was set up to decide on what …
An interesting look at the history and impact of the barcode upon society. Starting out as a way to quickly and accurately input product information into cash registers, its usage would become ubiquitous as a way to track inventory. Despite the rise of the QR code (a two-dimensional form of barcode), the traditional barcode is still widely used due to business inertia.
The book starts with the invention of the cash register as a way for businesses to keep track of items being sold and the money being handled. As the number of transactions grew, the need to automate the cash register became imperative. The barcode was invented and patented as a way to automate number entry, but the technology was not there. It was only when the laser scanner was developed would the technology to scan barcode entries become available.
A committee was set up to decide on what should be used to label products. The barcode that we know was not the first choice: that was a circular code, and the choice of a linear barcode may have been due to some internal politics. With the choice of barcode done, the task was then to get businesses together to decide on a common standard for the data encoded by barcodes.
The usage of barcodes was not inevitable. Consumer and workers unions opposed the use of barcodes, for they reduce user choice (individual pricing as opposed to shelf pricing) and the job losses due to automation. Businesses pushed back, but it would be many years before barcode usage would grow to the point where its use would be ubiquitous and objections would begin to die down. But one group would continue to oppose the use of barcodes, religious groups who believe that barcodes are the 'mark of the devil'.
The book also looks at the appearance and influence of the barcode in society. Films like "The Terminator" would use barcodes as a shorthand for oppression (humans are barcoded by the machines). In politics, the barcode would feature as a political point when George H.W. Bush was portrayed as out of touch with the public due to his reaction to seeing a barcode reader in action (a false portrayal, it would later turn out).
The book closes with a look at QR Codes, which are two-dimensional barcodes. The difference between QR codes and barcodes is what the encoded information represents. Barcodes encode a number which references an item in a global, central database. QR codes directly encode the data and do not have to reference a central database. QR codes were also first developed and popularised in East Asian countries (Japan and China). It would require COVID-19 restrictions for QR codes usage to grow in other parts of the world.