31/07/2009 ISSUE 70

Freestyle tracking

‘Freestyle’, Coke’s new RFID-based drinks dispenser that uses a touchscreen interface to allow customers to choose from over 100 different options, mixed to order from 30 different flavour cartridges. But that is not that exciting because each cartridge is fitted with an RFID tag which feeds data on consumption to a reader built into the machine. The reader, in turn, sends the data via private network to Coke’s head office.

Tracking user behaviors has got onto a new level, in particular with wireless gadgets, they of course attract all sorts of adversaries but imagine that it is actually going to happen, many more products would have some tracking system build in, in order to "better understand customer needs". One may say: bollocks. Is it? Well I can already see the future: we are left with no choice, every product will spy on us, I already got scared of toilet paper (no you won't find it in Cleaning Ass section). Look at the Kindle and 1984 case, for example. Well that actually sounds like an April Fools' joke: 1984 has been remotely deleted on all Kindle devices without any warning. It is like Amazon wanted to write their own chapter or maybe even a follow up. So the conclusion leaves us with a fear of cyber cold war where we all would wear Faraday's cage which actually would be kitchen foil.