IEEE-CNSV will have a booth on the Exhibit Floor at this event, allowing CNSV members with a great vehicle for publicizing their skills as well as the merits of our organization. CNSV members also receive special pricing for this conference, and two CNSV members will be awarded full conference admission as well. Many aspects of this event that are free, so register now on the conference website. In this dinner meeting talk, Dr. Karla Callahan will describe five important checkpoints for work in MEMS and electronics. Karla uses these checkpoints at her medical device start-up company as well as in her international consulting business. Nearly everyone thinks they have some idea what a patent is and what it's good for, but do you really know how to use patents effectively for your business? This talk will explore the patent world from the inventor's point of view: who, what, why, how, and when. Jonathan J. Sweet, a Los Gatos attorney, reviews contract language and clauses for your consulting agreements and those you are asked to sign. He will discuss applicable California law and factual circumstances of which you should be aware to help ensure that you get paid when you work as a consultant. FPGA Camp is a free event that brings local FPGA engineers together to discuss NextGen FPGA technology, applications, methodology, best practices and challenges. Talks from Xilinx, Altera, Lattice, Synopsys, PLDA and Altium will provide a glimpse into the future. RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) has become a part of everyday life in recent years. This talk will provide an overview of RFID, from its origins up through the current state-of-the-art. It will also provide insight into how RFID's newest capabilities will enable an inter-connectivity of everyday objects that will change our world even more. IEEE-CNSV will have a booth on the Exhibit Floor at this conference, providing CNSV members with a great vehicle for publicizing their skills as well as the merits of our organization. CNSV members also receive special pricing for this conference. Many aspects of this event are free, so register now on the conference website. While the current job market is hopefully improving, last year found many talented and motivated people looking for opportunities. This talk will describe how one group of people came together, found an opportunity with a low cost of entry, formed a company and -- despite greatly underestimating the task -- brought a product to market. As a way of describing the historic increase in density of integrated circuits, Moore's Law has contributed dramatically to the growth of electronics in the world today. Several of the contributing factors during 1960-2000 will be described in this talk, along with how these factors are just as important today. IEEE-CNSV is an Organizational Sponsor of the Tenth Annual Storage Visions Conference, which immediately precedes the International CES in Las Vegas. Storage Visions focuses on digital storage and the creation, production, distribution, archiving and use of commercial as well as user-generated content.