Are you a cat lover?
DigitalConvergence.:Com, Inc. feels certain you will be after installing one of the ten million little kitties they are turning loose on the market before the end of the year. Their new cat nicknamed :Cue:C.A.T. for Keystroke Automations Technology is really a handheld scanner shaped like a cat that attaches to a personal computer like a mouse. This optical scanner/cat reads bar codes that automatically bring up specific Web sites on the computer screen.
If you aren't already a cat lover, you'll like this cat because he is free. He wants to make your Internet browsing easy and 
uncomplicated. This little kitty is designed to free you from inputting long, complicated Internet addresses. To automate Web surfing and eliminate keystroke errors is a pretty big task for a little kitty. Talking about big tasks, :Cue:C.A.T. can swipe some 67 million existing product bar codes on books, groceries, records, compact disks, etc. :Cue:C.A.T. also links the Internet with print media by reading new proprietary codes called Cues that are already appearing in magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials.
Forbes magazine initiated the cat campaign by sending 810,000 of these handheld input devices to its subscribers with the September issue. Parade magazine recently announced that it will include C.A.T. Cues in their publication. The public can get a free :Cue:C.A.T. at any Radio Shack (pending availability). If you want to order on the Internet, visit www.crq.com and fill out an online form to get a cat delivered to your door for the cost of shipping and handling.
Along with the C.A.T. scanner, Forbes subscribers received a :CRQ software installation disk and a TV convergence cable. (:CRQ software can also recognize audible Cues from your television and convert them to Web addresses once your TV is connected to your computer.) Forbes, focusing on print media convergence, provides a CD with an instructional video that explains how the :CRQ system works as well as how to install and use the :Cue:C.A.T. reader.
In this video Steve Forbes introduces the digital convergence concept before you are given step-by-step instructions on the hardware installation of :Cue:C.A.T. and the software installation of the :CRQ program. The video was great, but overly captive. There was no stopping in the middle or turning it off. Adjusting the volume through a keyboard or mouse command was next to impossible.
To adopt the kitty, computer users must have Internet access and a valid e-mail account. To get the cat to work, you must register via the Web (make sure your computer is online for this), and have an activation code e-mailed to you. To locate your activation code, you will have to scroll to the end of a three-page Licensee Agreement.
Installed and registered, :Cue:C.A.T. was ready with a red glowing nose. Time to swipe. The target of my first cat attack was a can of Del Monte peaches. Guess what? After a few repeated swipes at the UPC, there was a bong noise, the audio signal that the cat had taken its cue, and the Del Monte Web page appeared on my computer. Way to go, :Cue:C.A.T. I went on to swipe some of the Cues from the Forbes magazine.
The cat as a handheld input device was not easy to hold. Although kitty looks rather sleek as a 5" x 2" feline, his girth makes holding him cumbersome.
Even after watching the detailed instructional video, I had trouble getting my cat to work consistently. The glossy Forbes paper seemed to make scanning more difficult. I recruited 
several other PC users to try the cat. The results were the same. Just like some real cats, :Cue:C.A.T. was temperamental. Steve Forbes had promised precision and instant interaction. His definition of "instant" and my cat's performance were not the same. Sporadic would be a good name for my cat. Not long after I tried out this :Cue:C.A.T., the Wired cat was out of the bag. Wired magazine followed Forbes with a similar :Cue:C.A.T. distribution campaign. Articles and advertisements in the September issue of Wired carried the linked Cues. Quickly responding to the cat scanning problem, Digital Convergence made a design change to the cat's scanner "mouth." The second cat had a much more square scan "mouth" than the Forbes cat. The second design worked much better than the first.
The features of the software were impressive. On the interface, there is a convenient Cue list. With different commands and right-click shortcuts, you can save and clear lists and even switch between different users' lists. Should you encounter a problem with a printed Cue like a smudged newspaper code, you can add the Cue to your list by entering the alphanumeric code printed on the symbol. A problem may develop because not everyone reads magazines or watches television in close proximity to their computer. In my humble opinion, the cat becomes truly useful only when it becomes wireless.
The cat promises to be closed lipped. DigitalConvergence.:Com's privacy policy states your name and e-mail address are used to send the Cue activation code as well as special local and regional benefits and offers when paired with your zip code. All personal information is promised to be confidential. It seems that Digital Convergence's promise of confidentiality is not believed by all. Soon after the cat's emergence, there was a commotion in the Internet world about security risks associated with the cat. Just after the cats went on the loose, Digital Convergence announced that their computers had been hacked and consumer information had leaked out. Unauthorized third parties may have harvested names and e-mail addresses from the Digital Convergence computers. There were further privacy concerns. With each scan, Digital Convergence receives the product code, the user's ID, and the scanner's ID. Several privacy groups feel Digital Convergence may be collecting more information than it needs and have questioned what Digital Convergence will do with this information.
The concept is wonderful making print, video, and audio interactive with the Internet. The cat's major shortcomings must be addressed - :Cue:C.A.T.'s ability to swipe must be as precise and consistent as Steve Forbes promised and consumers' privacy must be completely protected. If not, ten million :Cue:C.A.T.s hanging around garbage cans will only be a CATastrophe.
So, good luck, Kitty; I wish you well. You are spearheading a great concept.
