No more Barcodes!

Anyone who has been in a long checkout line has probably experienced the frustration of watching a cashier fumble with a product. Trying to either:

1. find the barcode 

or

2. scan it correctly. 

In January, a new technology was introduced that incorporates an invisible digital watermark, not unlike the kind used for currency.

The new technology company says that the clerk will no longer have to hunt for the barcode because it will be printed all over the package. While it's not visible to the naked eye, devices such as a smartphone will be able to see it. Also, the code can be embedded onto the product via common software products like Photoshop. This next generation barcode is still in the testing phase, but developers claim it will speed up checkout times by as much as 33 percent.