Well, what do you know, Japan came up with an idea first, and it's America's turn to chase it. It's called design barcoding. A Tokyo-based company customizes bar codes for Japanese companies such as Wacoal, an apparel maker. Now, it wants to bring its business stateside. The idea is have bar codes with logos or images. These days, self-checkout counters are becoming hot, and millions of eyes are noticing those little lines as they turn and aim them at the scanner. Interesting idea, eh? Media buzz in Japan gave companies like Pacarc plenty of free publicity on the matter. I...