Beware of legislation that short-circuits RFID.(radio frequency identification)(Column)

There was a time, not too long ago, when retailers actually knew their customers. When Mrs. Brown came to the market, the grocer greeted her by name. The owner of the neighborhood dry goods store extended credit to her, and the corner druggist was privy to her most intimate health issues.

These days Mrs. Brown is likely to buy bread at Wal-Mart, order prescription drugs online and shop for bloomies at, well, Bloomies.

There's nobody at any of these real or virtual retail establishments who remembers that Mrs. B likes raisin bread with frosting on the crust; not a soul who knows that she has been waiting to stock up on her favorite brand of lingerie when it …