Coca-Cola Reserves a Massive Range of MAC Addresses 371
An anonymous reader writes "GNU MacChanger's developer has found by chance that The Coca-Cola company got a range of MAC addresses allocated at the OUI, the IEEE Registration Authority in charge of managing the MAC addresses spectrum. What would Coca-Cola want around 16 million MAC addresses reserved? What are they planning to use them for? Could this part of a strategy around the Internet-of-things concept?"
yep vending machines (Score:5, Interesting)
It's for wireless enabled purchases at vending machines.
I did an RFP for this in grad school. In our scenario the beverage company was working with AT&T to enable the wireless internet connection.
They'll probably "partner" with other vendors of consumer goods...whatever the marketing people come up with.
Re:Not cans (Score:5, Interesting)
On a slightly related note, there is a very nice Microsoft Research paper on password theft and bank fraud, and who actually gets affected.
I will admit that most of what I actually thought of this subject was quite wrong.
Linkage: http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/161829/EverythingWeKnow.pdf [microsoft.com]
FFS, Slashdot. (Score:5, Interesting)
What I read: "One of the world's largest companies has need of an allocation unique identifiers for network hardware".
Fuck, they sell 1.7 BILLION coke products every single day (their 2010 annual report, on their website FAQ too).
That means they sell over 1000 products a day for every MAC address they just reserved. They could use them to control the various parts of the fucking production lines via Ethernet and it still wouldn't be enough for their normal, everyday usage of such things. It's certainly no "Internet of things" heap-of-crap headline.
How the hell did this make it onto Slashdot?
Re:yep vending machines (Score:5, Interesting)
I believe it's for more than just vending machines. The new computerized soda fountains that have been popping up in various fast food restaurants all report back to the mother ship as well.
Re:Not cans (Score:2, Interesting)
The dancers usually use an empty beer pitcher for various games. She holds it somewhere (usually between the legs, facing forward or back), and you lob coins in. Once, I saw a dancer give away a "free" private dance (read: lap dance) by placing her pitcher in the middle of the stage and telling everyone that when the song ended, the last coin in would win. It then began torain money.
Alternatively, a little bit of moisture on a coin (she licks it) and a little bit of moisture on a cheek (or breast, stomach, etc) is practically a substitute for superglue - trying to knock that coin off a gyrating ass by throwing your own coins at it is extremely difficult (which is why the girls like it). Some of them will stick multiple coins to themselves, or use combinations of coins and pitchers for multiple targets.
Another popular game is to roll up a poster into a funnel (usually held between the legs) and use that as a target - get one in and you win the poster! If you're "lucky", one corner will even be wrinkled from moisture and have a funny smell. (Guys seem to like that)
Note that most girls don't actually like having coins thrown directly at their vaginas because it hurts (also, money is dirty as hell and infections are no fun), and there's always the risk of some asshole heating a coin up with a lighter before throwing it and burning the girl (this is a good way to have the staff help you remove loose teeth, or in the event that you really didn't want the use of your limbs for several months)
So don't worry - as long as women will expose themselves to men for money, the whole "how do I pay them?" issue will solve itself through necessity.
Signed,
- A Slashdotter who's actually been to many many strip clubs and was friends with a dancer (really).
Re:yep vending machines (Score:5, Interesting)
Fountains are a good bet. For instance, a certain large, well-known company that owns theme parks and resorts has recently added RFID chips to the soda cups they sell. When you go to a self-service fountain, the fountain checks if the cup is allowed to be filled. They check to see if the cup is from this location, if it is within an allowed 'free refill' time, and if it is being used too often (you must wait a few minutes before it can be refilled). No more buying a single cup and walking around all day getting 'free refills'. No more buying a single cup then giving all 8 kids a soda by pouring from the purchased cup into your own cup over and over.
Re:Not cans (Score:5, Interesting)
Some ticket/food/item only costs $2-3, I get 17 $1 coins jingling around in my pocket.
This seems unlikely. No vendor would give away all their change like that. They'd give you a ten, a five, then coins.
Re:Not cans (Score:4, Interesting)
Then put your dollar bills into the machine and never worry.
[rant]
For Christ's sake USA, get rid of the dollar bill already. There's nothing more freaking frustrating that trying to feed *paper* money into a vending machine - Especially crumbled torn and dirty American singles. I don't know what on earth you print your nearly-monochrome money onto but man it sure doesn't survive well... Get some $1 and $2 coins into circulation and make your smallest paper bill a five.
[/rant]
Nobody wants dollar coins. Its been tried and died a dozen times in the US.
Seems even Canadians, once fooled, are twice shy about converting paper to coins [wikipedia.org]:
In 2005, the Canadian government polled its citizens on the idea of retiring the five-dollar note, replacing it with a five-dollar coin. The money saved in making the coin would then fund the Canadian Olympic team. Canadians resoundingly rejected and ridiculed the idea of a five-dollar coin.
Paper folds. Its in a wallet without jingling and bulging.
And vending machines are very good at accepting even the filthiest of bills, because the vending companies have learned that accepting anything close is better than getting people in the habit of avoiding the machine. Especially when selling a product that costs less than the bottle it is sold in.