Acknowledgments

I could not have written this book without the support, cooperation, and encouragement from several people. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to Doug Hunt, Vice President, Global Application Innovation Services, IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS). I also want to thank John Baker, Service Area LeaderWireless Applications, for his active support during the writing of this book. John was also instrumental in providing several critical insights that were invaluable to the development of the content. Special thanks go to my colleague and team leader Naresh Malik, who acted as a guide and mentor.

I am also grateful to Wainwright Ballard for giving me the opportunity to craft the RFID Bootcamp training course, which was one of the motivating factors behind writing this book. My colleagues Christopher Madison and Brian Eccles were a constant source of encouragement, and I want to thank them for their support. Thanks are also due to John Dorn, my first manager at IBM, for introducing me to the world of RFID. I also want to say, "Thanks a lot" to the following managers and colleagues who have directly or indirectly contributed to this effort: Ranjit Balaram, Sandy L. Anderson, Rob Wiegmans, Hjalmar Halvorsen, Sriram Ramanathan, David Ritcey, Deepak Mahbubani, Matt Davis, Frederick Rowe, Subu Musti, Nicky Sandhu, Gerry Gudgel, Linda Rodgers, Gloria Adams, and Robyn Schwartz; I am also grateful to Soumya Basu, Prithwis Mukerjee, and Gopal Bhageria.

I am extremely thankful to the vendors who have graciously supported me in this endeavor. I am truly indebted to all the reviewers of this book, with Wayne Steeves deserving a special mention for his detailed criticism of the content. Huge thanks go to the absolutely greatest editorial, marketing, and production teams at Prentice Hall PTR, who provided unflinching support for this book.

Last but certainly not least, I want to thank my family and friends for their wholehearted support during the writing of this book. My wife, Anasua, and daughters, Sohini and Aishani, cheerfully put up with my long working hours in the evenings and on weekends; my in-laws, Jiban and Abha Chatterjee, provided wonderful hospitality; and my pal, Prasenjit Pal (pun unintended), eagerly helped me out on several book-related issues when I was working on this book. Finally, I sincerely apologize if I have inadvertently neglected to mention someone who rightly deserves a thank you here.