barcodes

A court has ruled that ballots marked with barcodes and QR codes are constitutional, clearing the way for their use in elections. The decision resolves a challenge over whether coded markings on ballots compromise vote secrecy. Supporters say the codes help prevent fraud and double voting, while critics had argued they could be used to trace individual voters, raising concerns about ballot confidentiality.

The classic striped UPC barcode may soon disappear from retail shelves. A piece in The Hustle argues that traditional one-dimensional barcodes are nearing the end of their fifty-year run, as retailers and standards bodies push toward richer 2D codes that can hold far more product information. Discussion is focused on what the transition means for shoppers, stores and the global supply chain.

A feature from The Hustle argues that the traditional barcode is heading toward extinction, as retailers and manufacturers adopt newer identification technologies such as QR codes and RFID tags. Readers on tech forums are picking up the claim, though the piece itself notes that decades of infrastructure built around the familiar striped code will not disappear overnight.

A tutorial from Capawesome explains how to implement barcode scanning in Capacitor-based Android apps without relying on Google Play Services. The approach matters for devices without Google's services, such as de-Googled phones, custom ROMs, and budget hardware, letting Ionic developers keep apps fully functional across a wider range of Android devices.

The Hustle published a feature arguing that the familiar barcode is nearing the end of its run, as retailers move toward newer product-tagging standards and scanning technologies. The article's claim that barcodes are 'about to go extinct' is being shared and debated among tech readers.

Rakuten Pay has rolled out offline code payment support on Android, roughly two months after the same feature arrived on iOS. The function lets users complete Rakuten Pay and Rakuten Cash transactions even without a network connection, using a barcode or QR code generated on the device. Japanese Android users had been waiting for parity with the iPhone version.