> I never thought it would go anywhere because who would buy hardware just for that? But I did kinda admire that they tried. I think they gave away the readers

> I never thought it would go anywhere because who would buy hardware just for that? But I did kinda admire that they tried. I think they gave away the readers for free. I had one at one point, and I certainly wouldn't have paid a penny for it. I think they were also the basis for quite a few barcode-based hobbyist projects at the time.