Never leave your house with Amazon's new Wi-Fi barcode scanner

[Scorpus]

Ever been in a position where there's not quite enough food in the pantry for dinner, but leaving the house to get more food is such a hassle? Amazon might have you covered with the Dash, a new piece of hardware that's essentially a Wi-Fi-enabled barcode scanner, making it easy to shop on the company's AmazonFresh same-day delivery grocery service.

With Dash you either have the option of scanning the barcodes of items in your house that are running low, thanks to a small laser in the device, or ordering anything you like by simply speaking it into the built-in microphone. Then hop onto a computer or tablet, load up AmazonFresh and you can proceed to purchase the items in your cart.

Unfortunately the AmazonFresh service is only available in southern California, the San Francisco area, and the Seattle area, although it may be coming to New York soon. The service boasts over 500,000 items available to purchase, and even includes tools and electronics.

If you are eligible for AmazonFresh and want to try out the Dash, the program is currently invite-only, and it's not clear exactly how to gain an invite. However Amazon are handing out the devices for free to invitees, and hopefully we'll see a wider rollout of the Dash sometime in the future.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56277-never-leave-your-house-with-amazons-new-wi-fi-barcode-scanner.html

 

[davislane1]

Current title: "Never leave your house with Amazon's new Wi-Fi barcode scanner"

Less misleading title: "Never have to leave your house with Amazon's new Wi-Fi thingamajig"

 

[Adam B]

Digital Convergence (Radio Shack) tried this same thing back in 2000. Awesome idea (IMO), but they ended up getting sued to bankruptcy due to privacy issues (being able to correlate what products specific people purchased via barcode scans was considered a bad thing). I guess Amazon is banking on people being less fearful 14 years later... plus their barcode scanner isn't a CueCat.

 

[Guest]

Wow... Ever heard of proof reading? Modern "journalism" sure seems to be lacking in high school English skills.

 

[Guest]

From now on this fat nation can just lie on a sofa, stuff its face to morbid obesity & beyond; no need for the last impetus to go out.

 

[Guest]

Come to Miami, FL! I'd use this service immediately. Traffic is awful here. I'd gladly pay extra to have more time to exercise and be truly productive compared to sitting in traffic and navigating grocery stores.

 

[davislane1]

From now on this fat nation can just lie on a sofa, stuff its face to morbid obesity & beyond; no need for the last impetus to go out.

You're focusing on the negative; you have to look at the positive side of the phenomenon: As more and more people become over-indulged couch potatoes, the market value for us fit, healthy people only goes up.

 

[cliffordcooley]

As more and more people become over-indulged couch potatoes, the market value for us fit, healthy people only goes up.

WOW, I might actually be worth ten cents one day!

 

[Guest]

A better idea is a smartphone app which scans the barcodes (already available) and then lets you change amounts/delete/organise the shopping cart before sending it off by email to whichever store you have set up for online ordering. Why do you need another gadget but then still have to go to the computer to do the ordering?

 

[captaincranky]

You're focusing on the negative; you have to look at the positive side of the phenomenon: As more and more people become over-indulged couch potatoes, the market value for us fit, healthy people only goes up.

No, not really! Being fit and healthy will only result in more fat people resenting you.

 

[davislane1]

No, not really! Being fit and healthy will only result in more fat people resenting you.

I have first-hand experience with this, actually. To make a long and very predictable story short, not a single...hoagie...was given.

WOW, I might actually be worth ten cents one day!

C'mon, Cliff! You're worth at least a quarter. At least!

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Now this could come in handy if only I wasn't to lazy to get off the sofa and fetch it but that would mean I also have to fetch my tablet in another room. No, I'm afraid that's too much to ask from me.

 

[captaincranky]

Now this could come in handy if only I wasn't to lazy to get off the sofa and fetch it but that would mean I also have to fetch my tablet in another room. No, I'm afraid that's too much to ask from me.

Nonsense! When you combine this service, with Amazon's software that, "knows what you're going buy before you do, then automatically ships it to you", combined with the "soon forthcoming" helicopter drone delivery, you'll just have to think junk food thoughts, leave the front door open, and train the dog to fetch it for you.

All you'll have to do is say, "I wish I had some Doritos", "I wish I had some Doritos", "I wish I had some Doritos", then click your beer can on the coffee table three times, and Amazon will bring Kansas to you, in a manner of speaking.

 

[Jimbo Jones]

"Ever been in a position where there's not quite enough food in the pantry for dinner, but leaving the house to get more food is such a hassle?"

No. I'm not that disorganized or lazy that this would ever become an issue. If you spent less time trimming your neck beard, and more time being responsible, this wouldn't be an issue for you. For God's sake, you are a writer for a tech blog, get your **** together!

 

[Guest]

Ship me some Beer.

 

[Guest]

No thanks, I think I will wait until we are just some disembodied brain in a jar and then order up the single item nourishment that disembodied brains live off of. Or, I'll just shoot myself in the head right now and forget about living...it's getting to be too much trouble, ya know?

(I long for the days when we had to RUN from being eaten by something. Now THAT was fun!)

 

[davislane1]

(I long for the days when we had to RUN from being eaten by something. Now THAT was fun!)

This is actually my solution to the obesity problem.