I install IP telephony products, and need to scan the mac address from the boxes of telephone handsets. Usually we get a list of mac addresses from the supplier, but when we don't, a scanner like this is vital. The alternative is to read off the 12 digit mac address from every box, a total pain when you have 300+ phones to deploy. All you do with this scanner is point it at the barcode on the box, pull the trigger, and the mac address goes straight into an Excel sheet, or any other document you have open. It then does a carriage return so you are ready for the next scan. The scanner comes with a handy instruction book full of barcodes which allow you to customise the tool, eg. remove the carriage return or strip the last digit from the scan. Alternatively, the tool is programmable from the command line. The scanner behaves like another keyboard acting in tandem with your existing one. For very small barcodes, I've found that you have to get the scanner quite close to the code, almost touching in fact. Very easy to use and worked for me straight out of the box. You might need a USB extension cable.