I got the basic story from Snopes. I'm not sure I'd like this.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Mary/starrett14.htm

Ok, let me give you the facts. They cannot at this time track these things if it is more than about 5 feet away from the "processor" that reads the chip to track inventory, so, by the time you have it out of the store, the transmission is already dead. This is another case of overreaction by people that don't understand a technology's limitation. By speculating on what they could possibly do in the future is silly and serves no point. Seems like every time there's a new technology out there, people freak. If one's so worried about tracking, well, don't use your library card, credit card, bank card or checks, because they can tell someone what you've been up to. Is this information ever looked at except in a criminal investigation, probably. I know stores track such info to see what items thier customers buy to know what to put on sale.

<font face="COMIC Sans MS" size="3" color="#7c9bc4">
You could always disable to chip [img]smile.gif[/img] Just expose it to some UV or a strong electrical discharge ;)

I don't think it is a smart move by Wally world to do this though :( </font>

Now that's bad. Maybe we could put this chips on all products which bear Russian language (books, t-shirts, ...) send SWAT teams to each customers house and try them in front of Senator McCarthy.

If they really pull this of (and God I hope they don't)
they should at least label it properly and sell a device that can tell wheter the chip is killed or not.

PEOPLE, please read my post above. These chips DON'T WORK AFTER MORE THAN A FEW FEET AWAY FROM THE INVENTORY SYSTEM!!! By the time you're in the parking lot, they are already not being read. Don't buy into the hype and paranoia.

edit -- just wanted you guys to know i'm not attacking you at all, just saying, don't base your fear on one article, do some research on it first, and then if you're still worried, at least it's an educated and fact based worry.

[ 06-19-2003, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: harleyquinn ]

HQ, they are not disabled, they are just inactive. If a reader is brought near them later they will respond. Hence Walmart stating they will make returns easier.

But only for a limited time, they don't come with an infinite lifetime. There really truly is no reason for the large concern. If people are truly concerned about being tracked, again, don't use credit cards, store frequent shopper cards, bank cards, bank checks, library cards, etc. These are much more open to tracking. There is no reason for them to "spy" on users with these chips, the cost to the company simply would not be worth it.

In my opinion, Big brother is stupid,

Your just sat on the sofa, wasting your life away, watching someone else live theirs, I mean, Throw me a frikin bone here people [img]smile.gif[/img]

cuz youknow they have satilies in orbit to watch our every move maan. but i can beat them, thats waht tis tinfoil hat is for :eek: :D so they cant read my brainwaves :D

what are they gonna do, promote more products to you? what do you have to hide anyway. and they dont work 5 feet out the store. sounds like most tiny + time computers :D

[ 06-19-2003, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: Zero Alpha ]