Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (16773)	2/5/2004 7:19:38 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

yes, checkout person was the next on the list for obsolesence, I've known about these new systems for awhile, because really this is just an extension of the warehouse automation we've had for 5 years or so. If we didn't have this tech offshoring problem there would be nothing wrong with removing these checkout jobs, because there would certainly be a tech company or two who would be providing the service and support for the new machines. If this new technology is largely produced and supported offshore though, which is probably the case today, then its more US jobs lost with no replacement. We've got a jobs report coming tomorrow, John Snow says "great things are a'comin'!" while Challenger Gray and Christmas say January was the worst layoff month since last fall when we lost 100K jobs in a month.

To: bentway who wrote (16773)	2/5/2004 10:24:13 PM
From: gpowell	Respond to of 306849

*OT* and then RFID tags. Unlike bar codes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually (you have to actually see a bar code in order to read it), radio ID tags do not require line-of-sight for reading. Within the field of a wireless reading device, it is possible to automatically read hundreds of tags a second. "This is the basis of the next 50 years of computing," said Kevin Ashton, executive director of MIT's Auto-ID Center. "The impact will be staggering." MIT's Auto-ID Center is developing ways to use the tags in consumer product packages with blue chip companies such as Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Gillette, Unilever, Target, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Retailing behemoths such as Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) are investing heavily in Auto-ID's technology to improve supply-chain efficiency and track products from the warehouse to the consumer's doorstep. wired.com