And thanks for the kind words all, as I know we all carry what we can here. The industry is most definitely evolving out of fragmentation, yet at the same time, most assuredly consolidating.
There was a buzz in the rooms of these lectures that was quite real and decernable. The 'Interenet of Things' is here, and physical world barcode hyper-link will be the undisputed medium by which we all connect objects 'out there' to the the World Wide Web in here; meaning always on, all the time, accessable 7/24, from anywhere.
The mere fact that GOOG is launching a barcode reader SDK on Monday for there new mobile cell phone (due out in mid-FY08) speaks volumes to the players in the PWC, as most boats will be lifted in the process. However, there are still matters of fragmentation which exist, some of which involve the following:
Open source vs closed source Direct vs indirect connectivity Universal code standardization Proprietary vs non-proprietary codes European mobile network vs NA mobile platforms 3G unification vs 4G, Wi-Fi, etc.
Dave helped organize and promote the Mobile Bar Code Camp and provided an open forum regarding such topics as fragmentation, consolidation, security, law suits, infighting, etc. David is a free thinker, highly successful entraupenaur and on the cutting edge with regard to where the PWC space has come from and where he would like to see it go.
Dave Harper - Lecturer & Organizer
Jim Levinger - NextCode Pres. (2nd from left, front row)
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One question raised by Dave concerned barcodes which maybe somewhat nefarious in intent such as illegal solicitating or porn for the under 18 crowd. I found his lecture to be very interesting and presented an all encompassing view of the barcode industry today. Albeit, while Dave is a proponent of open source code, he also respects patents and believes that if a license is justified, then those fee's should be paid. However, he also feels that the suit brought against ScanBuy by NeoMedia has 'somewhat' inhibited industry growth, but he is also fair to reason that whatever form it takes, it is OK as well.
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