RFID (McGraw-Hill Networking Professional)

Rating:
Summary: Ideal for both engineers and managers
Review: A year ago I was only occasionally reading about RFID, and primarily in networking and technology publications. Since then there has been a rapid increase in the frequency of articles on this topic in publications from IEEE Spectrum to the Wall Street Journal. I felt that I needed to quickly get up to speed not only on what RFID is and how it works but, more importantly, what its impacts are, and will be, strategically. Shepard's book satisfies all these needs admirably.

This volume provides loads of good information that provided not only the content I was looking for but also a context within which to fully understand the implications. A further bonus was frequently being entertained with real world anecdotes which amplified and clarified the detailed information.

This book will satisfy the engineer who needs a thorough overview of RFID-related technologies as well as the manager needing to understand how RFID is and will be influencing business processes and decisions. No matter what your role, if you find the term "RFID" coming up during your day and would like to be on top of the subject-read this book now.


Rating:
Summary: Not comprehensive enough
Review: After buying the book based on the reviews here, I found the book quite disappointing. It is long on providing historical perspective, appendices on terminology, acronyms and glossaries, but short on substance.

Technology coverage is limited to low-level communication protocols and the standard OSI 7-layer model. Those looking for integration of RFID into middleware, business applications and end-to-end architecture will find very little.

The size of the book is on the smaller side but uses a lot of print space for photos, which are not useful. Font size and paper thickness are also on the larger side.

Rating:
Summary: :RFID" Puts RFID in context
Review: As always with Steve Shepard's books, the subject is covered from all angles: the technology, the business aspects, the societal and personal impacts, the possible future implications and the history that got us here. RFID is a technology that is going to change our world and this is a book well worth reading. The RFID examples are clear, compelling and ones we can all relate to.

Many technology books have to be used as part of a set, buying one to get the overview and strategic outlook while another provides the technical details. "RFID" delivers both in a style that's easily readable while satisfying most interested readers' needs in one volume.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Primer
Review: Clear, lucid, and to the point.
An excellent introduction to RFID for both managers and engineers.

Rating:
Summary: Eminently readable and enjoyable technology overview
Review: I recently had the pleasure of meeting the author Steven Shepard at a telecommunications industry conference, and had the opportunity to engage in a wide ranging conversation on topics that will affect the telecom and high-tech industries over the next several years. As I learned during that conversation, and now in greater depth with the release of Shepard's new book, RFID is emerging as one of the most exciting and interesting opportunities across a wide range of business sectors including global commerce, retailing, supply chain management, and telecommunications.

Steven's passion for and knowledge of RFID and the impact it will have on society, commerce and communications comes through clearly in this excellent book. In his unique and eminently readable style, Steven weaves the links between technology, history, and human behavior to explain exactly why RFID is important, and how it might affect you, your business, and your life.

This volume includes a valuable list of RFID related resources, acronyms and dictionary of industry terms, so it serves as a valuable reference.


Rating:
Summary: Steve Does It Again
Review: Once again Steve Shepard has taken a complex subject and made it not only understandable, but interesting! As usual, Steve uses common, everyday applications to illustrate what the technology is, how it works, and, most importantly, the "So What?" factor. Anytime I want to understand and really relate to technology, I turn to the Shepard Library - he never disappoints!

Rating:
Summary: Understanding RFID and how it affects your life
Review: Once again Steve Sheppard has refined the art of making sense out of the tangled words of telecom. His new book on RFID follows his "easy to understand" style and explains where RFID came from, where it is going and how it applys to your life. This is a technology that has an effect in every corner of our daily lives without us even knowing it. Steve removes the mystery and adds the value to the misunderstood technology. This is a book that not only clears the path to understanding RFID, it clears the mental cobwebs and lets the imagination start pumping new ideas into the system for new applications.

Rating:
Summary: Why is RFID relevant?
Review: Steve Shepard well articulates the history, basic design, and applications associated with RFID Wireless Technology with his usual eloquence that his readers come to expect. He also explains an exhaustive list of industry jargon and acronyms and Shepard makes it easy for anyone to understand how RFID works and it's value to science, business, government and society. It's a must read for anyone involved in Supply Chain Management and/or Enterprise Resource Planning, to include those working with data warehousing, data mining, knowledge management and Customer Relationship Management. While RFID provides tremendous insights to a broad audience and could well serve as an engineering primer, it could leave the seasoned IEEE RFID Sub-Team Member wanting for more detailed designs, schematics, and equations. This book is a great addition to my collection and recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: Good history, confusing technology
Review: This book provides an interesting and sometimes entertaining discussion of the history of automated identification, and a simple and accessible introduction to enterprise resource planning and the management of supply chains. This book also provides a nice if quick survey of recent and prospective applications. The UPC/EAN bar code system's history and operation are well-described.

However, if you're looking for a well-organized, comprehensible introduction to the technology of RFID, you will be disappointed. Mr. Shepard doesn't appear to understand some key distinctions -- for example, the difference in operating principles between 'inductive' systems operating at frequencies of KHz to MHz, and 'radiative' systems in the UHF and microwave bands -- and his discussion of technology focuses almost exclusively on low-frequency technology without explicitly noting this fact. I don't know how anyone who wasn't already familiar with the technology would understand most of the discussion of modulation and coding techniques. He implies that public key cryptography is used to secure RFID communications, which is absurd for passive tag applications given the computational demands of that approach. Mr. Shepard also fails to clearly distinguish between applications that are readily achievable with today's technology and those that would require revolutionary improvements or are just flat physically impossible. So if you're interested in history, pick up this book; if you need to design or implement an RFID system, get Finkenzeller's handbook, which is less accessible but much more thorough and technologically astute.

Rating:
Summary: real-world RFID
Review: This book was very helpful to me! Here, RFID technology is explained as real-world applications are presented. As Data Solutions Manager for a cellular carrier, RFID is not central to my life, but it IS important to many of my Corporate and Government customers. For me, this book strikes the right balance between technology and business. I enjoyed it.