I went into the Apple store and bought something for the first time ever the other day. It was a small purchase, nothing more than a keyboard. In my dealings with Apple as a consumer, I almost always come away with something good to say. (As a developer, it's a slightly different story.)

When I told the employee helping me I wanted to check out, he pulled the cash register out of his pocket. It was an iPod touch with some Point-of-Sale functionality hardware attached to it. He scanned the item, swiped my card, and asked for my email to send me the receipt. He sent me on my way.

I'm not certain that returning anything is as easy, but Apple is trying to do away with the checkout line, which is arguably the most frustrating part of shopping in stores. Surely most retailers know the technology for a better experience exists...why haven't more of them done this yet?

I also wonder when the Salvation Army is going to scrap those red metal buckets and give their bell-ringers such a device for collecting donations.