BarCode

• open-source barcode / 2D barcode reader software – input from .png file or .gif file (from scanner or digital camera).

can an optical mouse be modified to read bar codes? http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000770073476/ http://sprite.student.utwente.nl/~jeroen/projects/mouseeye/

Wiki discussing barcodes: Wikipedia:Barcode, Visual:BarCode. (Alas, http://papertalk.wiki.taoriver.net/ no longer seems to have any bar codes).

Sourceforge has dozens of barcode-related projects. Some projects have fonts and encoders to turn text into barcodes. Other projects convert barcodes back to text – some use “webcam and desktop PC”; others run on a “Java-enabled camera phone”; and yet others operate on image files faxed or emailed from elsewhere.