Super Conducting Quantum Interference Devices, or SQUIDs, have been in use in laboratories for the last 40 years and since the discovery of high temperature superconductors are now seeing new applications in industrial settings. This presentation briefly introduces the SQUID as an ultra sensitive magnetic field detector as well as some of the difficulties presented when using the device in the field. It also looks at the application of MATLAB and Simulink as well as Xilinx System Generator to the design of a new type of SQUID signal readout system that has recently been developed by the CSIRO. Finally, the presentation examines a small selection of applications for these remarkable devices.