Picture a computer cat in the palm of your hand instead of that computer mouse.  It’s a bar code reader known as the :Cue :Cat.

Instead of typing in a URL (Universal Resource Locater) AKA a web address, you simply scan in the barcode.  Wow!  You’ve arrived at the web site without pecking at a single key!

 My husband, John, received a free Cue Cat in the mail from “Wired” magazine.
I thought this crouching kitty a catchy gimmick.  John did not share my level of intrigue or amusement and promptly filed it away.

One day, while reading the papers, I discovered my first Cue Cat bar code in an advertisement.  I found myself “cat-less” and unable to investigate this mysterious symbol.  It felt like having a great take-out menu but no phone to call in my food order.

I’ve since scanned codes and visited the following web sites via the Cue Cat: telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies; the Weather Channel; the Centers for Disease Control; the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  I’ve even swiped the barcodes on the back of my Writer’s Digest book and the Avery label box.  Useful sites.  Why struggle with long addresses when one swipe of the feline would do?

The pros go something like this:
· No typing for people who either can’t or don’t want to
· Get more information about a product or service quickly (works on most product bar codes)
· On the cutting edge of a great concept

The cons:
· More ways for advertisers to easily data mine (track your web usage)
· Another software package to install
· Still an unstable, flaky software, needs time to mature, work with newest release available

The Cue Cat is typical emergent technology struggling to find its niche.  For more information, visit www.getcuecat.com.

 She can be reached by email at jana@barberio.com