Wal Mart stores plans for RFID chips

Wal Mart has had RFID chips in some of their more likely to be shop-lifted merchandise for years!

Actually it doesn't bother me--it's been around in the Walmarts near me for years! I think expanding AND utilizing this technology will save the end consumer (you and me) a lot of money in the long run. Are you threatened by it, and if so, why?

It's a pretty standard anti-theft measure. My old library in Orlando has been doing it for over 5 years. A lot of stores do it as well.

They've done it for awhile in some stores. In the grocery store I work at, we have them in everything from electronics to meat. Yes, I said meat. People would come in and literally shove meat in their pants and try to sneak it out, so they started putting RFID and other electronic chips in the packaging, depending on cut and quality. The RFID chips are removable and/or capable of deactivation at the register. The range on the RFID chips is small - the best being not even 100 feet in range if memory serves, so it's not like they can track you. If someone's looking to upset by tracking devices, they can start by being upset with their computer. You're more at risk of being relentlessly tracked by the cookies on your computer than you are an RFID chip on your new pair of tighty whities.

So Wal-Mart wants to protects their stuff from being stolen. Doesn't sound harmful to me Also you can put them in the trash or get rid of them. They wouldn't have much of a way to track them also if you have purchased CD or DVD from Fred Meyers they have had the RFIDs in them for a really really long time. I had to look at one of them to realize what it was then yeah these have been in products for a really long time. They may have a good size lifetime if they aren't battery powered but really companies can already track your purchases without needing the massive amount of things that the video was talking about. Hello when you checkout and pay with your Credit Card the Company could attach your name to the things you paid for. They could then keep a record of how often you shop their and what you are most likely to buy how do you think they know one how much stuff to get and other merchandising things they use the purchase info of their customers to know what they need to get and how much as well as what would be a good thing to put on sale as a loss leader.

Just bringing us closer and closer to antichrist.

I see it as a pretty solid anti-theft measure. I don't see anything nefarious here really. It's just a chip stuck inside the product's packaging that basically says "hey, I'm such-and-such product and I have/have-not been paid for".

I an see the value of this to Walmart in terms of inventory control, but it would be better if they removed the tags at the register. Privacy concerns depend on whether the tags are left on and at how great a distance the readers can detect them. Although I think the intentions are harmless at this point, it's important that we keep on eye on these things that might later pose a privacy risk to individuals.

Well I am just glad that they will remove it after you bought it. In my country, it is already being used by some stores.