As we previously noted, Coke has launched a contest revolving around a small number of cans outfitted with cell phones and GPS receivers. Winners who discover the cans call a prize center to win big prizes. According to the AP though, military bases are paranoid that soldiers might bring the cans into classified meetings where they could inadvertently be used as an eavesdropping device. For example, Sue Murphy, a spokeswoman for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, told the AP that her facility has "taken measures to make sure everyone's aware of this contest and to make sure devices are cleared before they're taken in." The special cans shouldn't be too hard to spot though–they have a big panel of buttons on the side.
Paul Saffo, research director at The Institute for the Future, a technology research firm, compared the concern about the Coke cans to when the Central Intelligence Agency banned Furbies, the stuffed toys that could repeat phrases.
"There's things generals should stay up late at night worrying about," he said. "A talking Coke can isn't one of them."
