Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered

Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered
In this file photo taken on March 24, 2021, barcode is seen on a package at a pickup point of Russia's e-commerce giant Wildberries in Moscow. (AFP file)In this file photo taken on March 24, 2021, barcode is seen on a package at a pickup point of Russia's e-commerce giant Wildberries in Moscow. (AFP file)
Short Url
Updated 02 April 2023

Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered

Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered
  • The trademark beep as a product is scanned is heard about six billion times per day across the world as around 70,000 items are sold each second.
  • Today, it faces competition from the younger QR code, the information-filled squares used in smartphones

PARIS: The patch of irregular vertical lines that revolutionized checking out at the supermarket and facilitated the globalization of retail is turning 50.
But as the barcode celebrates its birthday on Monday, its days might be numbered as it faces competition from the younger QR code, the information-filled squares used in smartphones.
The trademark beep as a product is scanned is heard about six billion times per day across the world as around 70,000 items are sold each second.
It has become so integrated in the shopping experience that it is easy to forget how much the technology revolutionized retail by speeding up the checkout process and giving retailers the ability to trace products and better manage inventory.
The barcode not only identifies a product, but “gives professionals in stores access to other functionalities,” said Laurence Vallana, head of France de SES-Imagotag, a company that specializes in electronic tagging.

Barcodes were initially patented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in the United States in 1952.
But it wasn’t until nearly two decades later, in 1971, that US engineer George Laurer perfected the technology and moves toward its commercialization began.
On April 3, 1973 the standard to identify products was agreed by a number of large retailers and food companies. It later became known as EAN-13, which stands for European Article Number and the number of digits in the barcode.
The following year, on June 26 in the US state of Ohio, the first product was scanned: a pack of chewing gum that is now in the National Museum of American History in Washington.
Today, the non-governmental organization Global Standard 1 manages the barcode system and counts about two million firms as members.
It provides companies with a unique “global trade item number” for each product, which is then translated into the barcode. Each firm must pay an annual fee based on their sales, up to nearly $5,000 per year.

But the humble barcode will soon give way to another standard developed by the organization, said Renaud de Barbuat and Didier Veloso, the respective heads of GS1 Global and GS1 France.
The new standard, based on QR, or Quick Response code, will be introduced around 2027.
If barcodes have been compared to prison bars by critics of the over-commercialization of society, the Chinese game Go with its white and black pieces on a square board was the inspiration for the QR code’s Japanese creator, Masahiro Hara.
Developed in 1994, QR codes can hold much more information as they are read both horizontally, like barcodes, and vertically.
Instead of having to search a database for information to go along with a product, the QR code can integrate information directly, such as the composition of the product and recycling instructions.
GS1 believes moving to the QR code format allows the sharing of far more information about products as well as content, enabling new uses that will be accessible to consumers as well as retailers.
As smartphones can read QR codes, they are an easy way to send people to websites to get additional information, leading to their widespread adoption by companies, artists and even museums. They are even used by payment systems.
But barcodes are likely to remain in place for years to come as the world gradually transitions to QR codes.
 


UAE-based creatives launch Cannes Lions prediction platform ‘The Loudest Roar’

UAE-based creatives launch Cannes Lions prediction platform ‘The Loudest Roar’
Updated 29 May 2023

UAE-based creatives launch Cannes Lions prediction platform ‘The Loudest Roar’

UAE-based creatives launch Cannes Lions prediction platform ‘The Loudest Roar’
  • “The Loudest Roar” is an independent project that is not affiliated with Cannes Lions

DUBAI: A team of UAE-based creatives has launched “The Loudest Roar,” an interactive prediction platform for the advertising industry’s premier awards program, Cannes Lions, which takes place next month.

Founded by Chirag Khushalani, Tobbi Vu, Teena Mathew, and Jack Rogers, “The Loudest Roar” aims to become the “fantasy league” for awards festivals, according to a company statement.

Khushalani said: “If the world can have a say on who can win the Superbowl or Premier League, why can’t they cast an eye on the Cannes Lions too?

“It’s a space where everyone has a say on what’s great, and can feel inspired to create more great work.”

The free, gamified platform is open to all. Participants compete for leaderboard positions and prizes, including cash rewards of up to $500 in Amazon gift cards and a portfolio revamp by Pimp My Portfolio. Each player will receive a personalized juror badge that can be shared on social media.

Industry experts and former Cannes Lions jury members such as Rob Schwartz, Tracey Follows and Akhilesh Bagri will also be present on the platform, sharing their advice on judging and creating award-winning work.  

Voting will begin when Cannes Lions releases its shortlists on June 2, and end a few hours before the winners are announced. Participants can view the shortlisted case studies and vote for Grand Prix winners in six categories: Titanium, Innovation, Film, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Creative Effectiveness, and Creative Business Transformation. 

After the Cannes Lions awards are announced, “The Loudest Roar” will announce the winners chosen by the participants, as well as invite this year’s jury members to share insights into the work that won the Grand Prix trophies.

The company plans to roll out the concept across other award festivals and add interactive features like a simulated jury room.

It also plans to introduce private leagues for agencies and universities to gather insights into how their employees and students think, and how they can improve their entries to be more successful on the awards circuit.

“The Loudest Roar” is an independent project that is not affiliated with Cannes Lions.


OSN signs partnership with Mintroute to expand streaming app’s reach

Regional entertainment company OSN has signed a partnership with UAE-based e-voucher distribution platform Mintroute. (Supplied)
Regional entertainment company OSN has signed a partnership with UAE-based e-voucher distribution platform Mintroute. (Supplied)
Updated 29 May 2023

OSN signs partnership with Mintroute to expand streaming app’s reach

Regional entertainment company OSN has signed a partnership with UAE-based e-voucher distribution platform Mintroute. (Supplied)
  • Mintroute is an e-voucher distribution platform with over 250,000 retailers across the MENA region

DUBAI: Regional entertainment company OSN has signed a partnership with UAE-based e-voucher distribution platform Mintroute to expand the reach of its streaming app, OSN+, in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The partnership will allow OSN to access Mintroute’s network of more than 250,000 retailers across MENA, including Virgin Megastores in Bahrain and Kuwait, Sadad and Zain Cash in Iraq and Jordan, and Smartbuy in Jordan.

Customers will be able to purchase OSN+ subscriptions from these retailers through an e-code delivered via email, text message, or an e-receipt.

“This alliance will enable us to reach and increase awareness of our service offering through Mintroute’s impressive network of retailers providing more people with access to our leading entertainment platform,” said Ryan Restell, vice president of growth and strategy for OSN+.

Last year, Mintroute also partnered with TikTok allowing users to purchase digital vouchers at 50,000 points of sale across Saudi Arabia including STC, Jarir Bookstore and Virgin Megastore, which could be used to make purchases on TikTok instead of using a credit card.

“As a leading electronic voucher distribution platform with an unrivaled network of retailers in the region, we are excited to partner with OSN to provide our clients access to a comprehensive entertainment experience,” said Samar Mushainesh, chief commercial officer at Mintroute.


Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI
Updated 29 May 2023

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI
  • Mo Gawdat expressed concerns about scarcity of rich online content and AI ability to provide valuable insights into the Arab world

LONDON: Artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT should be trained with more high-quality Arabic content, Egyptian writer and entrepreneur Mo Gawdat said.

Speaking during the International Congress for Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries event in Abu Dhabi, Gawdat expressed concern about the scarcity of rich Arabic discourse online.

The author of “Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy” and former chief business officer of Google X, the company’s experimental arm, argued that without deeper Arabic content, AI applications may struggle to provide valuable insights into the Arab world.

“A lot of megabytes of Arabic language online are very empty,” Gawdat explained. “The initial versions of AI will reflect whatever it is that we put out there.”

Even though he believes that future AI iterations will become smart enough to discern between “real information and fluff,” he said the lack of quality content should be tackled as soon as possible.

Gawdat called on Arabic content creators, publishers, and educational institutions to produce more insightful material for AI tools to analyze.

“The problem we are facing is that we are creating an impression that knowledge of the Arab world is shallow, in comparison to the incredible wisdom that is really coming from the region,” he said.

“We need to create content with depth and with more intellectual value.”

Gawdat added that as future AI systems increasingly rely on authoritative sources, educational institutions should make more Arabic research accessible online.

“With AI utilizing the Arabic content that we put in, it is our responsibility to put the right kind of content out there,” he emphasized.

“This will ultimately determine the quality of Arabic artificial intelligence-driven content.”

Gawdat compared this responsibility to parenting, describing the process as being aware of how children learn to interact with the world.

He also urged researchers and content creators to reconsider their strategies, as the ChatGPT-led revolution in information access and content creation has the potential to threaten human authors.

However, Gawdat also recognized the opportunities that AI brings.

“As an author, I have learned to no longer define myself as someone who is supposed to write words on paper,” he said.

“My job definition now is to provide interesting human perspectives and inspiration regarding certain topics.

“Through whatever knowledge is available to me and in whatever form, I am trying to find a way to connect with other humans and communicate what I believe needs to be communicated.”


Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders
Updated 29 May 2023

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders
  • Iran has been targeted by a series of embarrassing hacks amid the rising tensions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program

DUBAI: A series of websites linked to Iran’s presidency bore the images of two leaders of an exiled opposition group Monday, with others showing the pictures of Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and president crossed out.
An Internet account describing itself as a group of hackers claimed responsibility for allegedly taking down websites. The account GhyamSarnegouni, whose name in Farsi means “Rise to Overthrow,” previously claimed hacking websites associated with Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier this month.
Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the apparent hack. However, Associated Press journalists accessing the sites found them defaced with images of Massoud Rajavi, the long-missing leader of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, and his wife Maryam, who is now the public face of the group.
One site bore the slogan: “Death to Khamenei Raisi- Hail to Rajavi.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi both were targeted similarly in the previously claimed hacked in May.
Iran has been targeted by a series of embarrassing hacks amid the rising tensions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. That’s included the signal of Iranian state television being targeted, gasoline pumps that provide subsidized fuel being targeted in a cyberattack and government surveillance camera imagery being released, including from a notorious prison.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, known by the acronym MEK, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The MEK had angrily condemned a prisoner swap Belgium conducted with Iran on Friday to free an aid worker that saw an Iranian diplomat convicted of being behind a bomb plot targeting the group released.
The MEK began as a Marxist group opposing the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It claimed and was suspected in a series of attacks against US officials in Iran in the 1970s, something the group now denies.
It supported the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but soon had a falling out with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and turned against the cleric. It carried out a series of assassinations and bombings targeting the young Islamic Republic.
The MEK later fled into Iraq and backed dictator Saddam Hussein during his bloody eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s. That saw many oppose the group in Iran. Although largely based in Albania, the group claims to operate a network inside Iran.


Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif
Updated 29 May 2023

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif
  • Since childhood, Munif developed an interest in writing and believed “the mission of literature is to increase awareness”

DUBAI: Google Doodle on Monday celebrated what would have been the 90th birthday of Saudi novelist, journalist and cultural critic Abdelrahman Munif. 

Munif was born on May 29, 1933 in Amman, Jordan. In 1952, he moved to Iraq to study law at the University of Baghdad.

Years later he graduated from Cairo University in Egypt before earning his PhD in petroleum economics at the University of Belgrade in 1961.  

Munif had a career in the oil industry as an economist in Iraq, and later for the Oil Ministry in Syria and OPEC. 

Since childhood, Munif developed an interest in writing and believed “the mission of literature is to increase awareness”.

While living in Baghdad, he worked as an editor at the monthly periodical Al-Naft wa Al-Tanmiyya (Oil and Development). 

He published short stories and eventually his first book during his time as an editor. 

His first novel, Al Ashjar wa-ightiyal Marzuq (Trees and the Assasination of Marzooq) was published in 1973. 

His best known work is the quintet, Mudan al-Milh (Cities of Salt) which describes the Arab world during the oil era.

Other notable works by Munif included Al-Nihayat (Endings), Sharq al-Mutawassit (East of the Mediterranean) and historical novel trilogy Ard Al-Sawad (Land of Darkness).

In 1989, Munif was awarded the Al-Owaist Cultural Award for his distinction in writing and the Award of Cairo Gathering for Arab Creativity in Novel Writing in 1998. 

“Thank you for your contributions to Arab literature and your analysis of sociopolitical issues,” read Google’s description of the novelist.  

The doodle was seen across the Middle East on Monday.