Strip of magnetic recording material on a card that contains data which can be read to identify the holder and or the associated account.

Requirements imposed by major client organizations such as Wal-Mart, the United States Department of Defense for vendors to place RFID tags on all shipments in order to improve supply chain management. The size and power of these organizations mandating RFID had an impact on suppliers worldwide. The original Wal-Mart Mandate required its top 600 suppliers to ship all products with Gen 2 RFID tags identifying each pallet and was supposed to extend to 1,400 stores by the end of 2007. However, the logistics of implementation for vendors have forced RFID deadlines to be extended. As the technologies become more user friendly and less expensive, most companies will likely use RFID tags on their shipments. (See Wal-Mart Mandate)

A machine readable symbol system UPS. Used for tracking and managing the shipment of packages. A MaxiCode resembles a barcode, but uses dots arranged in a hexagonal grid instead of bars. Because of its unique design, MaxiCode is often called "Bird's Eye" or "Target." The bull's eye at the center allows MaxiCode symbols to be scanned and read regardless of orientation, even on a package traveling rapidly.

Amount of data that can be stored on an RFID tag's chip. For passive tags, this typically ranges from 64 bits to a few kilobytes. Active tags can generally accommodate more memory than passive tags.

High frequency wave. Microwave RFID tags typically operate at a frequency of 2.45GHz.

Software that sits between the reader and enterprise applications. Generally resides on a server. Middleware performs operations like filtering and smoothing of the raw RFID data. It can also manage networked readers.

One one-thousandth of an inch (0.001"). Unit of measurement used in bar code specifications.

A condition which occurs when the data output of a reader/decoder does not agree with the data encoded in the bar code field.

The width of the narrow bars in a bar code.

A range of techniques for encoding and transmitting information on a carrier signal. Types of modulation include frequency modulation, amplitude modulation and phase modulation.

A device where scanning is achieved by mechanically moving a light beam through the bars of a bar code field.

MSI barcode with a single modulo 10 check digit.