Do We Need Them?
Ask any three people you know how to calculate the Code 128 weighted modulo 103 check character and they'll probably say "huh?"
Let's face it, folks are just plain ignorant about bar code technology. They can't comprehend something as simple as Code Sets A, B and C and here we are, leaping into symbologies with not only multiple code sets but user-definable sets that only three people in the world even pretend to understand [and they're not the three people you know -Ed.].
There are three misguided forces driving the interest in 2D symbologies: need, deed and greed.
Need
Those users who started with standard linear bar codes are now moving up to the harder stuff while most normal people still think 16K is a road race.
These hopeless addicts keep crying out "data, more data!" like some mad robot trying to reprogram itself. Face it, give these people an inch and they'll take 2.45mm. And still make bad decisions.
They don't need more data, they need a life!
Deed
The other group pushing these "checkerboards gone mad" are those who claim they don't have enough "real estate" for all the information they need on their labels.
This is the most spurious argument posed. Let me put it to you this way [in writing? -Ed.], if you can fit a whole hotel on a 2x2.5 inch space on a Monopoly(R) board, you can certainly fit a measly few thousand characters in the same space on a shipping label.
What motivates these people? I don't know. My guess is that they never learned to cheat well when they played Monopoly(R) as children.
Greed
Face it, the real reason we're seeing all this hoo-bah about 2D symbologies is that everyone wants to sell some new hardware and software [hey, don't forget all the consulting and education opportunities -Ed.]. Now that the recession we never experienced is over, everyone wants to cash in. History will show that this is the only reason various groups are trying to foist 2D symbologies off on a benighted, incompetent public.
A Viable Alternative
BertCode doesn't need fancy printing equipment, can be understood even by former presidents, and, most importantly, doesn't require users to wear really tacky cardboard glasses to read it.
BertCode offers relief from the increasingly complex world of ADC [aka MRC, Auto. ID, Keyless Data Entry, Intelligent Data Acquisition, and other things -Ed. (I came back early).]
So let's do ourselves, and the users a favor: toss 2D symbologies and go with BertCode!
[See related article elsewhere in this issue -Ed.]
Want to learn more about ADC and (seriously) how it can benefit your company? Copyright © 1996 Bert Moore -- Web site design by IDAT Consulting
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