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In Reply to: No offense taken posted by E-Stat on November 18, 2006 at 07:27:12:
I didn't enter college until 1965. I those days I learned IBM machine language and Fortran 2. Once I learned flowcharting, it became obvious to me that you could learn to use any software by just learning the rules of the instruction set and syntax for that program language. To me, it is probably the most boring thing I could think of but to each his own. I could care less about devising do loops or programs with ten million lines of code but for some people that's a real turn on.
Follow Ups:
That is what SE is all about. You begin by analyzing a particular (in my case, business) problem and design a solution. There was a time that supply chains were handled with folks who were directed around a warehouse picking stuff by a piece of paper. Afterwards, they returned the piece of paper and someone else recorded the results . They picked and/or recorded the wrong stuff. Their day was fraught with redundant movement and inaccuracy.Warehouse management systems were developed by sofware engineers to completely address that problem. The solution is not only composed of various hard- and software components, but more importantly a complete change in the process workflow as a result of the analysis. Merely automating inefficient processes worsens the problem. Products are barcode scan verified for accuracy. Goods are picked in efficient "waves" to optimize the material handler's time. Two leaders in hard core logistics, Wal-Mart and the DOD, are now fully RFID compliant. That is a further evolution of the concept that involved yet another level of completely rethinking the process and arriving at various new components (both hard and sofware based) to fulfill the new process flow. Coming to a store or grocery near you in the not to distant future. The implications of RFID technology are enormous.
rw
What a coincidence. Around 1975 or 1976 I had to find a course for visiting engineers from the Taiwan Power Company who wanted to learn computerized inventory control (no bar codes yet in those days.) Apparantly keeping track of spare parts for power plants and distribution equipment all over the island of Taiwan was a problem.) Of three potential vendors, Stanford Linear Accelerator in Palo Alto, McDonald Douglas McAuto in St Louis, and one in Boston (was it Arthur Anderson?) we selected Stanford. I was only too glad I didn't have to take the course it myself.I also like problem solving. But not that kind of problem. It doesn't interest me in the least. Just keeping track of my own things is already too hard. BTW, most of the consultants I've seen who proposed and had business solutions implimented fell flat on their faces. I've come to the conclusion that good people will overcome any handicap no matter how bad the system they work under is while bad people will never succeed no matter how good their system is. Selection of the right people is far more crucial to business success than selection of the right system which is of marginal importance. It can make life harder or easier but it is not a determining factor in success or failure of an enterprise. When the boss is a jackass, nothing else matters.
I was just finishing up on how you like to make $hit up and here you go with yet another installment!Around 1975 or 1976 I had to find a course for visiting engineers from the Taiwan Power Company who wanted to learn computerized inventory control (no bar codes yet in those days.)
The real story is that the first bar coding system was installed in 1969 by Computer Identics. Crude, but effective. The first retail use was by Marsh Grocery in Troy, MI back in 1974. The Smithsonian has the pack of Wrigley's gum that was the scanned first.
Selection of the right people is far more crucial to business success than selection of the right system...
Sometimes, sometimes not. One of the benefits of WMS systems is that the accuracy and efficiency do NOT rely upon the expertise of the workers. Training can be accomplished in hours, not days or weeks when you have to possess product knowledge to work effectively. Would you rather rely upon the lady at the grocery checkout to key in the prices for everything? Not I!
rw
See, we are more equal than I thought :> )BTW, when is this new automated checkout system coming on stream? I had expected it to appear about two years ago. And do you know they will be able to drive by your house and find out that you still haven't eaten that box of Cheerios you bought three years ago...or at least you still have the box. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!
Cool.Industy experts say about five years. The primary challenge is getting the costs of the tags down. Currently in volume they are about $.20 - the magic number is said to be around a nickel and imbedded where the consumer is unaware that the tag exists. Some unexpected challenges were found. Bottled water, for example, apparently restricts the reception. Go figure. They didn't theorize that issue.
And do you know they will be able to drive by your house and find out that you still haven't eaten that box of Cheerios you bought three years ago...or at least you still have the box. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!
That is exactly what I was referring to. Stolen goods will be able to call out their presence.
rw
The sources I heard reporting it some years back said each tag would cost around 0.1 cents. What happened? $.20 is rediculous. BTW, I heard a program about a guy in England, a CEO who had a chip embedded under the skin in his arm. When he walked into his office at night, all the lights would turn on in whatever area he was in. I've thought about putting a chip in each of my dogs. Haven't decided yet.
SM: ""I've thought about putting a chip in each of my dogs.""Why?? Can't they reach the light switch??
Cheers, John
They still have light switches where you work?
SM: ""They still have light switches where you work? ""Yah, the physicists refused the implants, and there weren't enough dogs around to turn the lights on for them..:-)
Go figure..
Cheers, John
No infra red motion detectors used for occupancy sensors to save money on the electric light bills? No automatic after hours shutoff of lighting? How did your facilities manage to escape the local energy saver gestapo?
sm: ""
No infra red motion detectors used for occupancy sensors to save money on the electric light bills? ""Quite a few have been tried, then abandoned. Seems that the biggest problem with them was whenever somebody remained at their computer long enough, the lights would shutoff on their own. And some just failed in service.
Now, we just turn them off when we walk outside the office.
sm: ""
No automatic after hours shutoff of lighting? How did your facilities manage to escape the local energy saver gestapo? ""Again, we just shut them off.
Alas, our lighting bill is not really that significant w/r to the other loads here. Just putting a 15 Mw power supply on standby far exceeds the light useage here.
We do shut much off when the summer peaks require it, it's a contractual arrangement with the local utility.
Cheers, John.
ps...yes, putting implants in physicists would be easier, but..oh well.
"Quite a few have been tried, then abandoned. Seems that the biggest problem with them was whenever somebody remained at their computer long enough, the lights would shutoff on their own"I only had that experience once. It seemed the occupant had died.....Just kidding.
"And some just failed in service."
That's what your company gets for buying those cheap Chinese made units. Next time try one which is UL listed :> )
"Alas, our lighting bill is not really that significant w/r to the other loads here"
That didn't seem to bother them where I worked. The facilities managers were determined to get credit for saving money on lighting no matter how much it cost. Hey, they had to find something to put down on their annual performance reviews to justify a raise. There was precious little else they had.
"We do shut much off when the summer peaks require it, it's a contractual arrangement with the local utility."
We had that option and for cutbacks on AC as well but we rejected it. We didn't think anyone from the outside should tell our scientists and engineers when it was time to sweat...or when to keep them in the dark either.
Consider the fact that an RFID tag consists of an antenna, memory and substrate (some are more sophisticated and offer full read/write capability).Here is the perspective from only two years ago: 2004
Heres's a more recent evaluation mentioning the elusive nickel objective: 2006
This link begins with an ad - click the "skip" button to read.
rw
I tried unsuccessfully to find the program in BBC's archives. That's where I heard this number of 0.1 cents per unit. Either they got it wrong or they were projecting far into the future.
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