In 2000, magazines mailed readers a cat-shaped barcode scanner so they could swipe printed codes instead of typing web addresses. Its software could transmit each scanner’s unique identifier along with scan data. The physical hyperlink arrived tethered to a PC and carrying paperwork.
Sources: The Washington Post’s 2000 launch report; Computerworld on the scanner’s tracking controversy.
Image: Chris Tomkins-Tinch / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
