--- On Wed, 8/19/09, Alexander Krause <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am able to "see" the barcode of the serial number but no
> "readable"
> text. Are there any possibilities to "devode" that barcode
> to get the number finally?
If the barcode is completely intact you can take a picture of it. Make sure you
take the picture straight on so there's as little distortion as possible and
the code is evenly lit.
Next, google for online barcode decoder. You'll find some free sites where you
can upload images of barcodes and the site will decode them.
A more direct method is with a barcode scanner wand, commonly called a "wedge"
- because before USB they "wedged" in between the keyboard plug and socket. All
they do is translate barcodes into numbers and letters then feed that into the
computer just as if it was typed on the keyboard.
USB ones just plug into a USB port and act like a second keyboard.
A few years ago a company with an ambitious plan to collect tons of personal
data to sell to various companies created a cheap "wedge" called the Cue: Cat.
It was available in PS/2 and USB versions, had a housing sorta shaped like a
cat lying down. It also had a very weak "encryption" and a unique serial
number. Most of them were fairly simple to "declaw" and convert to an ordinary
barcode scanner. The USB version only needs a single pin clipped on one chip.
The USB version works with any computer that can use a USB keyboard. The PS/2
version works with PCs and should work with any computer or other system that
has a standard PS/2 keyboard port. The PS/2 version must be connected between a
keyboard and a computer or it doesn't work. (Dunno about systems with a POS
mode setting for the keyboard port.)
After blowing a lot of money giving away free barcode scanners, getting the
public irritated at them for their plans for the data collected, and leaving
their users' information unencrypted on a publicly accessible web server, they
went out of business. So if you get a Cue: Cat with the CD-ROM, just chuck the
disc, it's useless. There's still info on the web on how to "declaw" them.
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