Not to be outdone, Walmart has their own invasive program, aimed squarely at those who can’t be bothered with a cashier.  They are introducing a program that scans the items as they enter your cart, and then you quickly pay as you leave, through self-checkout kiosks.  Depending on the success of this program, it will be paired with a mobile paying program (See Part one), thus making the circle complete.

*WARNING Rant to commence in 3, 2, 1…*
As I am sure you have seen wit hAmazon’s one-click program, the easier you make something like this, the easier it is to make impulse purchases, go into debt, etc.  These are very superficial things, but important nonetheless.  The real danger is letting companies (yes COMPANIES plural) have this sort of tracking information on you.  Not only to they know what you shop for, how much you are willing to pay, when you shop, where you shop, where you are (don’t forget all smartphones are equipped with GPS) they can ascertain who is in your family, how many, your psychological profile, and a myriad of other bits of personal data that I don’t think you WANT these megalith companies having.  The US government requests this information, sometimes under the patriot act or the other Bill of Rights shredding laws, but they don’t have to.  Google has a dossier on you whether you use them or not.  Ever receive an e-mail from a gmail account?  Tracked and read.  Just think about this, and see if you want Uncle Sam looking into all the private things you do.  They don’t need it, it doesn’t make the world safer, but they will sell it to you as making your life easier.  Don’t take the bait!

*Rant Complete*