If you have an integrated webcam there's a nifty package called 'zbar-tools' in debian repos that has a utilty named 'zbarcam' that identifies barcodes from you

If you have an integrated webcam there's a nifty package called 'zbar-tools' in debian repos that has a utilty named 'zbarcam' that identifies barcodes from your webcam and outputs them to standard output. Too little too late, I know, but nifty to have in the future.