DIY RFID

This being Evil Day, it is the perfect opportunity to mention a technology that some folks believe to be the literal number of the beast from the Book of Revelation: RFID, or Radio Frequency IDentification. Interestingly, some folks in the printing industry err at the other end of the evility spectrum and are convinced that RFID is going to be the Second Coming, helping turn printers' loaves into fishes (so many metaphors, so little time). However, a new device from Toshiba may obviate that:

Toshiba has launched what they are calling, the world’s first operation Print-on-Tag RFID solution. What’s that mean? It can print label information directly onto RFID tags. It is the TEC B-SX series of label printers from Toshiba that has accomplished this feat. The technology utilized by Toshiba is called SPRINT—...Short Pitch RFID Encoding Technology. This printer will help the exponentially growing RFID market by providing a technology that the smaller sized enterprises will be able to afford and use.

In terms of believing a technology to be the embodiment of Old Gooseberry, well, the cellphone would get my vote. No, not the cellphone--Microsoft Office. No, wait--the fax machine. Or, um, let's see...ah, so many incarnations of evil, so little time. And that's not even mentioning Adam Sandler.