Sorry, I couldn’t resist posting this article. Mitsubishi has developed a pint beer glass with an RF ID tag that can signal when it’s empty. Read the details in this Reuters article. That coupled with a device that let’s me ping the waitstaff when I need something would about complete my ideal restaurant experience. There’s a restaurant chain — Bubba Gump’s — that uses table signs to accomplish much of this. On each table rest the signs that read “Run Forrest Run” and “Stop Forrest Stop” that indicate whether or not you need assistance. Not much more I can say about that except that they make good margueritas.

While this article got a laugh from me, there is a serious concept here — the implications of pervasive RFIDs. RFIDs — radio frequency identification tags — have finally become inexpensive and small enough to use widely. These will find their way into warehouses to mark each inventory item uniquely and track the movements of those items. They could be used in place of bar codes that require scanning to be useful. Keep an eye on this technology — you’ll start seeing it pop up frequently.