| CueCat Decoder mirror list [info] [links] [files] [mirrors] |
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This is the beginings of a cuecat decoder software mirror list. If you have a mirror, or if you know of a mirror of the cuecat software, please contact peri@logorrhea.com so that I can add it to the list. Please mirror this page. Please. I can't tell you how important that is. |
| The CueCat |
The CueCat is a barcode scanner passed out with subscriptions to Forbes magazine and the Radio Shack catalog. The idea is that consumers will install the CueCat software and use the scanner to scan in the bar code associated with certain advertisements. Once the bar code is scanned into the computer, the software will direct the user's browser to the product's web page. Essentially, this is a way of giving the user of the CueCat immediate and up-to-date information on a product the user is interested in. If I am, say, interested in Radio Shack's televisions, I can scan in the bar code associated with the television I am interested in and be immediately directed to that product's web page. Voluntary, targeted marketing: the CueCat is the retailer's dream device. There is a hidden side to the CueCat however. With every scan of a bar code, the CueCat gives out a unique serial number. When you receive a CueCat at Radio Shack, or from Forbes for that matter, this serial number can be associated with your name, address, phone number, or whatever else Forbes or Radio Shack happens to know about you. This information could be used in other, involuntary marketing campaigns. You could get junk mail or spam from television companies, for instance. The CueCat could not only direct you to the product you are interested in, it could be used for involuntary data mining. The CueCat is being given out for free at Radio Shack and from Forbes. A person does not have to sign a form explaining that the device is technically on "loan" from Digital Convergence (the company which markets this device). In fact, it is only after one has dug through the documentation for the product that it says the device is still technically the property of Digital Convergence. As far as the costumer is concerned, they own the CueCat. For this reason, various members of the open source community set about to write software for the CueCat that would mimic the proprietary Windows software provided. This process is called reverse engineering. Reverse engineering is a legal process by which a device or software component is duplicated without the aid of the originating company. When a device or software component is reverse engineered for use with another set of devices or software, it is called reverse engineering for purposes of interoperatibility. The purpose of reverse engineering the CueCat was to allow its use with the Linux operating system. Reverse engineering for purposes of interoperatibility is protected by the laws of most countries because it encourages competition and innovation. Clearly, the reverse engineering of the CueCat so that it could work with the Linux operating system qualifies for this distinction. The first steps to reverse engineer the CueCat were clear. They needed to decode the CueCat's weak encryption system. Most bar code scanners do not have encryption. The CueCat is not just a bar code scanner, however. The CueCat sends along a unique serial number for the device every time something is scanned. Decoding the encryption was trivial. Some simply scanned in a large number of bar codes, finding patterns in the output from the CueCat. Not a stretch for an interested mind. In the end, Jean-Phillipe Sugarbroad figured out that Digital Convergence uses a modified version of base 64 encoding, a very simple encoding scheme. After the encryption scheme was decoded (one hesitates to call it encryption, as weak as it is), developers began working on extending the CueCat's functionality. One developer is working on software that, like the Windows software, directs the user to a specific product page when it's bar code is scanned. This software expands the user base of the CueCat from Windows users only to include Linux users. The CueCat scanner was given out for free, and the open source community responded by developing software that opens up the CueCat's market share. Recently, cease and desist letters were sent to the developer of this software, Michael Rothwell, which forced him to stop distributing the software. The reasons for limiting a Linux implementation of this software are unclear. Any software that expands a company's market share would normally be praised, unless that software limits a companys revenue in other ways -- such as preventing that company from conducting data mining using the unique serial number on each CueCat. This mirror list, and others like it, are an attempt to demonstrate that a device, reverse engineered in a perfectly legal fashion, will ultimately be enhanced by open source development efforts. That is the long-term goal of this mirror list. The short-term goal is to increase development and distribution of the CueCat software drastically in order to dampen the effects of whatever legal action Digital Convergence might take against developers. If you have the ability, please, mirror this software and help us coordinate efforts against this affront on innovation. Written by John Kew peri@logorrhea.com |
| Links to more information |
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Cease and desist Slashdot article Original Slashdot article annoucing the CueCat Lineo's CueCat notice |
| Local Files |
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Perl CueCat Decoder/ISBN (Kevin Fowlks) cuecat_decode.html / JavaScript (Daniel Hull) cat.py / Python (skiprosebaugh at email.com) cat.pl / Perl (skiprosebaugh at email.com) CueCat decoder - Linux (Michael Rothwell) read_cuecat - Linux (skiprosebaugh at email.com) cuecat-0.0.8.tar.gz : Pierre-Philippe Coupard (pierre at lineo.com) Table to decode CueCat output CGI script to decode the ISBN numbers of books and search online retailers catscan.pl -- by Andrew Stellman (roo at razorwire.com) |
| Mirrors |
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http://www.logorrhea.com/cuecat http://osiris.978.org/~brianr/cuecat/ http://www.barcode-search.com/Cuecatd1.0.zip ftp://ftp.tuniv.szczecin.pl/dsk4/Linuxberg/files/console/network/cuecat-0.0.5.tar.gz ftp://ftp.uakom.sk/pub/linuxberg/files/console/network/cuecat-0.0.5.tar.gz http://diddl.firehead.org/censor/ ftp://24.5.174.13/linux/cuecat-0.0.1.tar.gz http://blort.org/cuecat/ http://www.beau.lib.la.us/~jmorris/linux/cuecat http://www.ultradrive.com/files/cuecat/mirrors.html http://nanocrew.net/CueCat http://www.x.meme.com/cuecat/mirrors.html |