Barcodes aid comms with dead

A Japanese tombstone maker, Ishinokoe, has started putting barcodes behind small, lockable doors on gravestones, allowing relatives of the deceased to access information and pictures about them, says The Inquirer.

The barcodes are not new in Japan, in fact, they're regularly used to upload road maps to mobile phones, printed on the back of business cards, and even on restaurant brochures.

The barcoded stones will be on sale from next month and will cost about $10 010.

Franco-American technology firm eProvenance has developed a tracking system for the wine industry, designed to preserve the quality of fine wines and trace their origin, says Food Production Daily.

eProvenance developed its RFID tracking system after wine companies form the Bordeaux region in France expressed concerns over the difficulty of ensuring that the quality of their wines was preserved during handling, transportation and distribution.

According to eProvenance's, its semi-active RFID tag placed inside each case enables wine producers and distributors to monitor and log ambient temperatures in each case three times a day.

Italian police have cast the nets and drawn in no less than 133 people who are allegedly involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit pay TV cards, says The Independent.

The three-year-long operation began after the discovery of a huge quantity of fake smart cards that enable holders to access SKY Italia.

Led by the Guardia di Finanza of Syracuse, the investigation led to police raids not just in Italy but also in France, Holland, Poland, Greece and Malta.