POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : Bar codes Server Time
5 Sep 2024 07:24:28 EDT (-0400)
  Bar codes (Message 34 to 43 of 53)  
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From: scott
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 10:57:28
Message: <4ad73858$1@news.povray.org>
> The German "Post" has a similar system, and they /do/ check it against a 
> database.

I always wondered, if you posted a letter without a stamp in Germany and 
swapped the To/From addresses, would it get delivered to your intended 
recipient for free?


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:10:46
Message: <4ad73b76@news.povray.org>
clipka wrote:
> Darren New schrieb:
> 
>>>> No, that's what I'm saying.  "Player" in *this* context means a set 
>>>> of keys (obviously).
>>>
>>> What's obvious about that?
>>
>> Because I've read more than just one article on the subject?
> 
> Does that make it /obvious/ in this context? It may make it obvious to 
> /you/, but that's a different story.

It's obvious if you read the article in that context what they mean. I guess 
if you didn't know that, it's possible it was less obvious.

>  > The point
>> is to track down the key used to decrypt the content so the key can be 
>> added to the blacklists on future players.
> 
> No. The point is to track down the key (as you say) to add it to the 
> blacklist on future /discs/.

Yes. I misspoke. But the blacklist from those disks also goes into the 
players. (The blacklists being subtrees of the key tree.)

> What on earth should the players blacklist?

The players actually wind up blacklisting particular keys, IIRC. It's a 
highly complex system, and now that you mention it, I'm not sure I still 
remember all those details.

> Unless the security stuff also contains an /additional/ mechanism to 
> somehow identify pirated copies of movies. 

They do, but I don't think that has to do with the key stuff we're talking 
about, since they just *always* refuse to play pirated movies regardless.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:11:36
Message: <4ad73ba8$1@news.povray.org>
clipka wrote:
> Not that Wikipedia would be free from error, 

It's possible what I've read was wrong too, yes. I've never licensed the stuff.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".


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From: clipka
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:15:46
Message: <4ad73ca2@news.povray.org>
scott schrieb:
>> The German "Post" has a similar system, and they /do/ check it against 
>> a database.
> 
> I always wondered, if you posted a letter without a stamp in Germany and 
> swapped the To/From addresses, would it get delivered to your intended 
> recipient for free?

I guess that might depend on how far away the recipient is living. All 
letters are nowadays processed in one of dunno-how-many mail centers, 
and I reckon the first such center to handle any letter will check it 
for sufficient postage; if they find that the alleged sender address is 
not anywhere close to where the letter was posted (and I guess they can 
narrow that down comparatively well), but the alleged recipient is 
living surprisingly close nearby, someone might get suspicious.

So if you intend to send a letter to a friend living a few blocks away, 
and you're just too lazy to walk to their home and hand over the letter 
in person, this scheme might indeed work.


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:31:14
Message: <4ad74042$1@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:15:57 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> LOL, I suspect they can do it slightly more subtly than that!  They
>>> only need to make some tiny changes to some of the pixels to be
>>> detectable. In theory they could do what you suggest though, would be
>>> fun :-)
>> 
>> Probably a form of steganography, at a guess.
> 
> Well, if they're hiding player ID information in the video, then that
> would, by definition, be "steganography". That's what steganography
> *is*, after all...
> 
> The question is which steganographic technique they'll use. ;-)

One that's difficult to guess, I'd guess. :-)

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:32:43
Message: <4ad7409b$1@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:17:02 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> Now I'm thinking... it appears to be a standard Data Matrix barcode,
>>> so if I could figure out WTF the data encoded in it is, I could print
>>> as many of them as I like, without a fee...
>> 
>> Until you got caught, that is, and fined/put in jail for fraud.... ;-)
> 
> Would they actually bother for 21p?

They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.

> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted it
> on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P

That would certainly raise your visibility, yes.  But breaking the law is 
breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for the 
consequences.  Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will never 
catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with people who 
thought that way.

Jim


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:35:01
Message: <4ad74125$1@news.povray.org>
>> Would they actually bother for 21p?
> 
> They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.
> 
>> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted it
>> on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P
> 
> That would certainly raise your visibility, yes.  But breaking the law is 
> breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for the 
> consequences.  Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will never 
> catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with people who 
> thought that way.

Theoretically, if I pick up one of the pens at work and take it home 
with me, that's theft.

Is my employer going to care?

I doubt it...

(And a pen costs significantly more than a stamp.)


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 11:38:53
Message: <4ad7420d$1@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:35:01 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> Would they actually bother for 21p?
>> 
>> They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.
>> 
>>> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted
>>> it on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P
>> 
>> That would certainly raise your visibility, yes.  But breaking the law
>> is breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for
>> the consequences.  Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will
>> never catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with
>> people who thought that way.
> 
> Theoretically, if I pick up one of the pens at work and take it home
> with me, that's theft.
> 
> Is my employer going to care?
> 
> I doubt it...
> 
> (And a pen costs significantly more than a stamp.)

I have worked for employers who did care about pens going home with 
employees.

It's a risk analysis, but as I said, the prisons are full of people who 
thought they could "get away with it" and were wrong.

Jim


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From: gregjohn
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 21:20:01
Message: <web.4ad7c9e5e03ab62834d207310@news.povray.org>
Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Bar codes. They're little bunches of black lines which can be read by a
> scanner. Right?
>
> Hahaha, well... it turns out there are actually a miriad of different
> kinds. And they're ALL COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to each other.
>

My Android phone has an app that does a bar code scanner that can eventually
look up the product it scans online to see who sells it for what.  I've found
prices for things when looking up some very boring, unimportant things when I
tested it around the house. It has however failed me twice in computer stores
when I was hurriedly trying to find out if the price were right.  I quickly
scanned one of the five or six bar codes on the box and it never worked.  Maybe
some of these were about the UPS shipping or inventory. I never found the store
product UPC.


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From: clipka
Subject: Re: Bar codes
Date: 15 Oct 2009 23:15:30
Message: <4ad7e552$1@news.povray.org>
gregjohn schrieb:

> My Android phone has an app that does a bar code scanner that can eventually
> look up the product it scans online to see who sells it for what.  I've found
> prices for things when looking up some very boring, unimportant things when I
> tested it around the house. It has however failed me twice in computer stores
> when I was hurriedly trying to find out if the price were right.  I quickly
> scanned one of the five or six bar codes on the box and it never worked.  Maybe
> some of these were about the UPS shipping or inventory. I never found the store
> product UPC.

It seems to me they don't bother about UPC-A (or EAN-13) codes except 
for products typically sold at supermarkets and other high-volume 
low-margin retailers.

I can imagine that it doesn't pay off for e.g. manufacturers in the 
computing industry to apply for a company code, as the customers have a 
strong say in what products a shop will carry (at least for the products 
the store will make the real money with), so the retailers have 
difficulties trying to threaten the manufacturers with boycotting their 
products. And most retailers will not really bother too much either, as 
the handling expenses are low compared to the margin.

Supermarkets, on the other hand, are strongly motivated to keep handling 
costs to a minimum, and it won't hurt them much if they refused to carry 
a certain brand of toothpaste.


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