The great thing about software is that it's pure thought-stuff. After that, the only limits are those set by your own ingenuity. That's why teenagers such as Shawn Fanning, the guy who invented Napster, are capable of moving mountains. Some people have a gift for programming, in much the same way as Mozart had a gift for musical composition. They can hack out computer code which has the power to overturn industries - and distribute it over the Net before its hapless victims even know what's happening.
Hackers can also take things apart, with equally embarrassing results.
The company plans to hand out 39 million more of the gizmos by this time next year. It works like this. Scanning the barcodes on a packet of breakfast cereal, say, will send the user's internet browser to the manufacturer's website. Each CueCat comes with a unique serial number. When installing its software, the user is required to register personal details such as name, email address, age, sex and postcode.