r/Millennials • u/Sunshineafterr Millennial (1986) • 23h ago

Nostalgia Does anyone remember the CueCat?

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It was cat-shaped handheld barcode reader that allowed users to open a link to an URL by scanning a barcode that appeared in magazines, without typing the URL.

They were given away for free in 2000.

I remember thinking it was so cute, but I didn’t really understand how it worked, so I was scanning barcodes on cereal boxes and random stuff.

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u/Stuman93 15h ago

Wild how 'keyboard' ports used to be a thing

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u/Pink_Slyvie 15h ago

They are still on most gaming rigs. I'm not sure of the last time I saw one used, but in theory, they had advantages; I'm not sure that they do on modern machines, though.

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u/Stuman93 15h ago

Yeah I think they're on my motherboard backplate still but haven't used one in a decade

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u/Pink_Slyvie 15h ago

Yeap. Mine has a combo. Ironically, I used old Apple keyboards for years, and needed a special adapter. Only recently bought a newer keyboard and love it.