Who needs barcodes? Forum member that guy has cracked the code for determining which figures are inside the blind pack for Minifigures Series 3. It involves a series of raised bumps running along the bottom seal of the individual packs. The pictures above show a black dot for each raised bump for the corresponding figure when viewing the pack from the back.
that guy, the LEGO community thanks you. Your name will go down in history.
Update: Staff writer Rick threw together this cheat sheet: