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From: craig@com50.c2s.mn.org (Craig Wilson)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Point of Sale
Message-ID: <1991Jan28.131402.29179@com50.c2s.mn.org>
Date: 28 Jan 91 13:14:02 GMT
References: <9161@uwm.edu>
Organization: Com Squared Systems, Inc.
Lines: 29

In article <9161@uwm.edu> levine@csd4.csd.uwm.edu writes:
>In my local supermarket the sale is scanned by the now ubiquitous
>laser scanner with, I am sure, the data being stored somewhere.  I
>noted at our last visit that the clerk was keying in our store account
>number (the number we use to speed up the check cashing process) as a
>last part of the transaction.  
>
>They now have in their computer a complete file.  Each item we
>purchased, our name and address and the like.  Who gets that
>information and for what purpose is not under my control.  Check out
>the procedure in your favorite store.
>+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
>| Leonard P. Levine                    e-mail levine@cs.uwm.edu |

I am curious.  Does anyone know, from experience, what the record layouts look
like for these supermarket databases?  I find it hard to believe (not
impossible, just hard)  that 'every' transaction is recorded with respect to
purchaser, item, time, date, item cost, ambient temperature, etc.

How big are these databases?  And what kind of equipment do they run on?

I guess, I would like a more technical description of what is taking place in
these instances.


Craig S. Wilson           |    Democracy      |uucp path under construction.
Com Squared Systems, Inc  |    is not  a      |craig@c2s.mn.org
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