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Barcodes and RFID

High-tech bar codes thwart counterfeiters
In fiction, counterfeiters are discovered when the detective cleverly spots a fatal flaw in the picture on a fiver or a tenspot. In real life, it’s not that easy to tell. Recently, a team of Pacific Rim researchers reported on their work on a new bar code format that they hope will make counterfeiting a […]

Libraries opting for RFID over barcode tags
Library patrons in Wallingford, Connecticut, now have the same checkout options that they do in the supermarket— person-to-person or automated self-checkout. Since the system’s inauguration at the beginning of the year, quite a few patrons are choosing RFID-powered self-checkout. In that respect, they are like library patrons across the country. RFID — Radio-Frequency Identification — […]

How Colorado will tag its marijuana
The ghosts of Woodstock must be watching in disbelief at the dawning of the age of legalized, recreational marijuana in Colorado — and they’re probably wondering about the state’s very un-peace-and-love mandate that every baggie of weed be tracked with an RFID tag. Medical marijuana was already legal in Colorado when a referendum on legalizing […]

Asset tagging for trees
In Canada, organized efforts to manage municipal assets are increasingly the rule rather than the exception. The town of Whitby is a good example of the trend. The municipality recently completed a two-year program to tag every one of the 40,000 trees that line its boulevards and public spaces as a first step in the […]

Using RFID tags to replant the rainforest
The majestic koa tree is one of Hawaii’s—and the world’s— natural wonders, but a century of logging and agricultural development has decimated that state’s tropical rainforests. One company is trying to bring the koa forests back, and they’re using RFID tags to do so. Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is a hybrid enterprise—a for-profit corporation that has […]

Can facial recognition technology replace RFID?
Facial recognition technology (FRT) is set to topple Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It’s less expensive and can be used in a greater variety of ways. Retail, events, marketing, and payment solutions are all using FRT. In fact, FRT and visual identification systems are being used to pinpoint people and inventory, too. FRT is more affordable […]

Employee theft is a sure thing, says CoC
It’s a truism of business that as you gain power, you lose control. Employers must relinquish responsibilities to their employees as a business expands. Finding employees who are trustworthy, then, is of the utmost importance.

Asset disposal security: an IT no-brainer
Which has more value: an armored truck or a van carting away a bunch of old computers? This is not a trick question. It’s one that Kyle Marks, founder and CEO of Retire-IT, asks his clients. And the answer is easy, says the Columbus, Ohio-based entrepreneur, but it eludes most businesses. “The armored truck might, […]

Asset management in transition at the DoD
Asset management has come a long way since the days when a Corporal Klinger type could pick up the phone and finagle a turkey — or a tank — for his M*A*S*H unit. But have the military’s procedures come a long way with it?

Thieves in transport: A side-by-side comparison of bike & car thieves
Whether you ride a bike or drive a car, I’m sure everyone would agree that there’s no bigger bummer than having your personal vehicle of transportation stolen. In my short life, I’ve already had one bike and one car stolen from me (though to be fair, the car was my Dad’s, a rusty blue 1988 […]