Ethernet, The De Facto Networking Standard for the 21st Century

I introduced Advantech’s white paper, Industrial Bus and Network Standards, in a previous blog post and highlighted the overriding advantages that standardization brings to industry as: Maximized Economies of Scale Constructive Specialization Facilitation of Strategic Alliances When it comes to enterprise and home computing technology, there is no better example of each of these advantages…

Industrial Network Standards

I like the white-paper form of business-to-business reporting, and Advantech has served up a perfect example of why with, Industrial Bus and Network Standards. Not only does it add interesting historical context to the communications formats that are by now so familiar to us all, but it reminds us just how critical such standards are…

2D or Not 2D… That is the Question.

How many times have you said, “This would be a lot easier if I had the right tool for the job.” Well, same is true for bar code scanning in your business. Great strides have been made over the years to improve the accuracy and speed of bar code scanners. The importance of choosing the…

Material and Printing Options for Barcoded Patient Wristbands

You’ve decided to deploy barcoded patient wristbands, but what wristband materials and what printing options should you select? Zebra Technologies’ recent white paper, It’s All in the Wrist: Improving Patient Safety with Barcode Wristbands, provides valuable insight into the competing considerations that will drive those decisions. Wristband Materials First and foremost, the wristband you deploy…

Of Pirates and Sunlight-Readable Platforms

In one of my favorite episodes, the MythBusters tested a theory on why pirates are classically depicted as wearing eye patches. Was it to cover empty eye sockets, or because of some more mundane aspect of their shipboard lives? The MythBusters concluded that pirates wore eye patches to keep one eye fully dark adapted, something…

The New L-Tron 4910LR Is Stopping Traffic In North America

The next generation of scanning has arrived for Department of Transportation, Law Enforcement and security agencies. The new 4910LR-151-LTRK (4910LR) from L-Tron, set to be released on April 1st, 2013,  is powered by Honeywell’s 6th generation of world-class image engine technology. The 4910LR delivers aggressive bar code scanning of 1D, PDF and 2D codes on…

RFID Tags and Privacy: When Enough is Enough?

We all know that change can be hard, but when it comes to technology, life has certainly become easier in many ways! Technology has enabled us to travel by car and plane instead of by horse. We flip a switch for light when the sun begins to set. If there is a chill in the…

Advantech’s Smallest Embedded Box PC Is Post-Apocalypse-Ready

When considering the ruggedness and overall fitness for challenging service of any high-tech equipment, I apply the Post-Apocalypse-Readiness Test. Will it stand up to lonely years of critical service in a fortified post-apocalyptic-wasteland bunker? When it comes to that well-documented environment, with all its heat, quakes, dust and hordes of slow-shuffling zombies trying to get…