Weaving Web Dreams

RFID Starts to Ramp

"United Parcel Service Inc. is working with supply chain customers to help them and it meet plans by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Defense Department to require passive RFID tags on all pallets and cases by January 2005..."

"American Express Co. has seen an increase in merchant and customer use of its RFID-based ExpressPay pilot program at more than 350 fast-food outlets and gas stations in Phoenix..."

"UPS has little choice but to incorporate RFID into its supply chain business, since that is a requirement for anyone who does business with Wal-Mart, the Pentagon and their top 100 suppliers..."

UPS ramps up supply chain RFID to meet Wal-Mart, Defense plans - Computerworld

So, why all the pressure to quickly implement RFID? Sure it will probably provide significant savings in terms of package handling, inventory and tracking, but is that enough by itself to account for all the urgency?

It turns out that there may be another significant payoff that the retail RFID proponents like Wal-Mart haven't been very vocal about. They expect that by being able to track products not only in the supply chain, but also within the retail stores themselves, the shrinkage and theft by employees and customers will be almost completely eliminated. That savings alone is more than enough to quickly pay off all the costs involved in implementing the systems.

Apples, Oranges, and Semiconductors

If you take a look at many of the common stock market indices you get the impression that market sectors tend to move in sync. Companies in the same broad industry sector are lumped together, and the results from a few of the leading companies are combined and adjusted to produce an industry index that is supposed to give some general feel for whether that sector is in or out of favor. The general investing public then tends to assume that if a particular index is moving up, then the related sector stocks are in favor and are good candidates for investment.

Unfortunately, life is never that simple and straight forward. Most of the industry sectors include a sort of miniature supply chain where some companies in the sector can be trending down while other companies in the very same sector are trending up dramatically. One interesting example is the semiconductor industry. People tend to view the whole industry as if it was one monolythic entity. The typical semiconductor development cycle is typically measured in terms of years, rather than quarters, and involves the cooperation and close linkage of up to sixty different suppliers. The front end of the process involves extensive investment in research and development, while the back end of the process is primarily manufacturing, distribution, and logistics centric. This results in cyclic business performance for companies within this sector. As a result, some of the 'semiconductor' companies, like those focused on electronic design automation (EDA) are going through a down cycle at the same time that many of the semiconductor chip and process equipment companies seem to be booming.

EDA industry tool sales decline in third quarter
Posted : 22 Dec 2003
EDA tool revenues declined in every major category during the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago. Still, the EDA industry managed to eke out 1 percent sequential growth thanks largely to the inclusion of new intellectual property companies in the report, according to the latest data from the EDA Consortium's Market Statistics Services (MSS).

EDA kept its growth streak alive, thanks largely to the addition of new semiconductor IP companies that did not report revenues to MSS in Q3, 2002. With the addition of two companies - Virage Logic and inSilicon - MSS reported Q3 of 2003 SIP revenues were $53 million, a 68 percent increase over last year's Q3. EDA overall numbers in Q3 were also helped by the first uptick in many quarters in design services, which grew to $63 million, a 3.8 percent increase over Q3, 2002.

EDA industry tool sales decline in third quarter

CEATEC Show - October, 2003 - Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan

I had the opportunity to visit the CEATEC Trade Show at the Makuhari Messe convention center on Friday afternoon. CEATEC bills itself as-

A leading and unique exhibition of the electronics and IT industries designed to:


• allow visitors to experience the newest technologies, products, system and software for the digital network age represented by the convergence of communications, information and imaging technologies.
  
• function as a highly specific exhibition that can capture the interest and respond to the needs of users by presenting the industry's latest achievements and trends.
  
• present the achievements, trends and vitality of Japan and Asia to the world as the largest interactive exhibition of industry-related information in the region.
  
• bring industry organizations together to present clear social messages, thereby supporting the industry's development and contributing to lifestyle, the economy and society in the digital network age.
  
  CEATEC Show Home Page

Every significant player in the Japanese electronics scene participates in force. If you are not there, then the impression is that you have left the field of play - essentially given up. Of course it's extremely expensive to mount an exhibit, and some companies question the expense - especially during these tough economic times, but proactive participation is even more critical now than ever before.

The physical layout of the show follows a supply food chain starting with individual components and raw materials and proceeds upward culminating with the latest electronic goodies from the majors like Matsushita, Hitachi, Sharp, and Sony. The tempo, energy and rhythm of the show also shifts as you move up the supply chain. The front end- component exhibits seem pretty conservative and low key, but once you reach the other end of the chain there's singing, dancing, flashing lights, and rock concert energy echoing off the walls.

Over the next couple of days, time permitting, I plan on posting several articles containing my observations and photos from the show. If there is anything that you have a specific interest in, or want more detail on, please feel free to email me.

• Things to Come
• Consistency
• Surprises - Positive & Negative
• Memory Card Wars
• Theme Color
• Buzzwords

Clie Flash Animation Performance

Here's a side by side comparision of the same Flash animation running on my Sony Clie NZ90 and my laptop computer. As you can see from the screenshot the image quality is identical. The execution speed was also identical. Keep in mind that this is a fairly simple file - just rectangles, a circle, and a star, with simple effects. The total Flash file size was 20k.

Transferring the file from my PC to the Clie was as simple as copying it to the Clie memory stick and then running it. With the Flash application on the Clie, you can rotate the image 90 degrees and hide the input pad allowing the full screen to be used.

Now I can run the same presentation on my laptop for a large group, or on my PDA for a 'group' as small as one client.

Butterfly Trucks

Suppose you lived in a country where the streets were narrow, always crowded; the population density was high; people were highly service oriented and expect multiple deliveries per day, and time is critical.

How would you design a delivery truck? What would you try to optimize?

(Click on the image to see more detail.)