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John Pickering - 8 July, 1999

Athens, Monday + Code 49 barcodes

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 12:59:34 -0400
To: sackley@compuserve.com
From: pick@pick.uga.edu (John Pickering)
Subject: Athens, Monday + Code 49 barcodes
Cc: christine.deal@intermec.com

Sprague,

Thanks for your help.  Several things:

1) Monday is on.  I'm planning to return from the Smokies on Sunday
evening, in part to meet you.  My schedule is completely flexible, so plan
our meeting at your convenience.  I'd enjoy either lunch or a brew at the
end of the day.  Schedule time to visit my lab and see your barcodes in
operation.  Call me on Monday when your free.  I'll be in my office
(706-542-1115) from 9:30 AM until late.  If my line is busy try 542-1388
(lab) or 542-6676 (secretary).   I'm in Room 538 of the Biological Sciences
Building, which is the building immediately south of the football stadium.
My room is in at northeast corner of the 5th floor.  I could also meet you
downtown or elsewhere if you wish.  I often skip lunch so there isn't a
problem if you don't call until late in the afternoon.

2) Christy Deal of your Atlanta office called, and we are working together.
She is a print and media specialist who works closely with Tom West.  I
think that the two of us can figure out how to generate insect barcode
labels on either the 3240 or 3440 printer.  I've sent her samples of what
we are using currently.  Thanks.

3) Thanks also for the info about USB interface.  However, we may be
barking up the wrong tree.  While I wish to connect to an iMac, which has
USB, my primary concern is that we find a general solution that reads code
49 through a wedge that connects as a keyboard to multiple platforms.   If
we connect directly by either RS-232 or USB, then each of our sites will
have the nightmare of having to write the software interface to each of
their different applications.  The beauty of your wedge readers are that
their input is as if it were from a keyboard -- it is effectively
compatible with all software interfaces and databases.  As folks move
towards using browsers as interfaces to databases, we'll need an interface
to each browser, its versions and platforms.  Software costs would become
prohibitive trying to support each combination.  Supporting something that
looks like a keyboard is much more efficient and requires no programming
skills on the part of the user.  Hence, my desire to get a code 49
scanner/imager with wedge reader.

Are any platform's supporting a wedge for the Imager 1470?  Or does it only
interface through RS-232 currently and USB in 4 months?

4) FYI, I'm currently using a 9710 wedge reader with a 1545 scanner.

5) By seperate email, I'm forwarding an email to the museum community from
Jack Longino concerned with using barcodes on insects.  He is under the
false impression that Code 49 is not being supported by Intermec and is
dead -- something that we need to get your sales force to know and correct!
It gives you background on the problem.  I hope that we can come up with a
rapid solution to keep code 49 as the standard, possibly using the Imager
1470 with a suitable wedge.

Looking forward to meeting you on Monday.

Cheers,
Pick
_________________________________________________________
John Pickering
Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2602
Office: 706-542-1115                                 Messages: 706-542-3379
Laboratory:  706-542-1388                              FAX: 706-542-3344

e-mail: pick@pick.uga.edu                              Home: 706-353-7076
Web sites:            
_________________________________________________________


>Pick,  It turns out that the IMac keyboard is not supported as a wedge, but
>USB will be (cable ready in 4 months).  However, there are USB boxes
>available today that can convert a standard RS-232 cable to USB.  I have
>attached a document describing the process called "USB2.doc".
>
>Regarding a printer, the sales person for Athens is on vacation this week.
>His name is Tom West.  His phone number is 770 641 5030.
>
>I still plan to be in Athens on Monday, in case you return from the
>mountains in time.  I will be busy until about noon, then will check my
>voicemail (425 348 2704) before going to Atlanta.  If we miss in Athens,
>please consider meeting in Atlanta for dinner Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday
>evening (I will be staying in the North Perimeter area).  Thank you.  SA
>
>Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:USB2.doc (WDBN/MSWD) (0000511E)






Discover Life in America | Science | Unique Identifiers & Barcodes | Correspondence | John Pickering - 8 July, 1999