As somebody who still remembers the time when making a phone call involved sticking your finger into a dial and rotating it like you see in the picture that follows
I was absolutely shocked to see that a free app I downloaded onto iPod Touch 5 to make book lists (nerd thing) grabbed the bar code of my book and immediately had all of its information. The app somehow knew when it was pointed at a bar code (as opposed to being pointed elsewhere) and just grabbed it. I didn’t even have to press any buttons.
I’m so disturbed by this that my knees are trembling. It’s phenomenal how far technology has gone in such a short time. I have no doubt there are endless possibilities that I don’t even realize hidden in the devices I use.
Clarissa's Blog 
I have a computer program called askSam, which is more than 20 years old. It’s called askSam. I started using it back in the days when I had a phone with a dial like that. And still today I don’t know half the things it is capable of doing. So I’m still trying to get up to speed with yesterday’s technology, never mind today’s.
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My gf found an app a few weeks ago that does the same (scanning barcodes, building lists, etc….) for movies
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And somewhere, an NSA computer is compiling a database of which users looked at which books.
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They started getting access to the lists of library books one checked out and bought in a physical store about a decade ago. So I’m sure that the database is huge by now.
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I used a rotary dial phone until around 1995. The tone dial system is quicker, but it took some adjustment.
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I have been using such an app to keep track of all my books. When I lend one out I take a photo and scan the barcode, now I know who to look for when I need the book.
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This method is pure genius!
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Funny, we just used an app like this last night. We were at PETCO, looking at pet stain removers. My girlfriend scanned the barcode on one of the spray bottles and it led us to a page where you could look at the best prices, read detailed amazon reviews, look for comparable products, and so on. Best part, the $12.99 bottle was available for only $4.99 through amazon.
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