I don't want this to be seen as an anti-Microsoft rant. I'm a great fan of Windows Phone 7, my Microsoft 4000 keyboard is the only device I'm comfortable typing on, and my Xbox hardware is still going strong years after release. I'm also heartily impressed with Microsoft's continuing support of the Creative Commons. True, I don't use Windows at home - but I don't blindly devote my life to knocking them unfairly. But I do have serious concerns about Microsoft's attempts to enter the 2D tag…
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Spotted all over the London Underground in the last few days, these QR enabled adverts from Eastpak for their I Am The Bag campaign. Close Up of the QR Code YouTube Video The code immediately directs the user to YouTube to watch a video. Two Ways To Make The Campaign Better Use a smaller URL to create an easier to scan QR Code. Eastpak currently use http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1fBMmR103Q - they could drop the www to make it slightly smaller, or use "m." so people know they're…
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Nick Burcher has done a great job detailing Lacoste's new QR code campaign. Being the curmudgeon that I am, I want to point out a couple of rather glaring flaws in its execution. Contrast See if you can scan in the code on this image. The image links to Nick's site if you want the full resolution version. I tried several different phones and scanners and wasn't able to get the code to scan. This is because QR codes are designed to be black and white. As I've explained before, most QR…
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There seems to be a lot of talk at the moment about how marketing can make use of QR codes. I wanted to highlight a few ways in which 2D codes can be used for slightly more practical usage. There's nothing wrong with selling more cheese - but I think that only scratches the surface of these little squares of brilliance. You may have seen these Ringo.co.uk ticket machines. They are meant to be a convenient way to pay for parking tickets - but could QR codes make them more useful? The…
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Designer Ming Ling has created the most wonderful QR code constructed out of Tetris pieces. The full size version is a work of beauty. As I've explained before, this works because the QR scanner sees the image in black and white - so light colours disappear. Anything else is covered by the fairly generous error correction. I'm nowhere nearly as talented as the above artist, but she has inspired me to continue with my Space Invaders QR Code. It could do with a more game like layout -…
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One of the lovely aspects of QR codes is the variable levels of error correction built in. On even the most basic code you can obscure or deform up to 7% of the code and most readers will still decode it. This leads us in to the amusing territory of "hiding" human readable data in the code. I say "hiding" because we are hiding it from the scanner - not from the human. One of the more famous examples of this is Duncan Robertson's BBC logo. What works particularly well is the fact that the B…
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I've just come back from a delightful weekend in Paris. Delightful for me - not so for my wife. Rather than quietly admiring the artwork in the Louvre, I ran around gawping at the huge range of 2D codes on offer on the streets of Paris. There are some great examples of how to do 2D code marketing - and how not to do it. I'd like to run you through a few of examples I found. I've enhanced the photos to make the codes a bit more obvious - that should make scanning them easier. QR QR Codes…
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It's great seeing QR codes going mainstream. First ASDA, then ITV2, now Tesco are creating print adverts with QR codes. After years of me banging on about how they were poised to take on in the UK - it looks like they've made it. The advert is a pretty good start. I'm a bit confused about why it says "Use your iPhone or Blackberry to scan the barcode" when both Android and Nokia also have barcode readers (I guess Windows Phone 7 will have one too). I left this comment on the site. Looks…
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...And ITV2 screw them up... I wasn't allowed to watch ITV as a kid. More out of a desire to keep me from pestering my parents for He-Man action figures than a commentary on their shows. But my old biases have stayed with me. I rarely venture on to ITV - except for nature documentaries. The Only Way Is Essex I've no idea what "The Only Way Is Essex" is. Frankly, I've no desire. It confirms all my worst prejudices about ITV. Cheap and tawdry trash. What does interest me, it their use…
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QR Codes are big news at the moment - both Google and Bit.ly announcing URL to QR services. What's interesting is their differing approach to error correction. From the creators of QR Codes, Denso Wave QR Code has error correction capability to restore data if the code is dirty or damaged. Four error correction levels are available for users to choose according to the operating environment. Raising this level improves error correction capability but also increases the amount of data QR Code…
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Two of the biggest "mass market" brands are using QR Codes in their advertising. ASDA - the UK arm of Walmart - and Martina Cole - one of the UK's best selling authors. Here's the poster in situ Here's a close up of the code It's a reasonable physical size and the information density isn't particularly high - so well done on that front. I'd place a bit more whitespace around the code - but it scanned easily enough on my phone. The website itself is ok. Nothing stunning. It's a great…
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This is the presentation I gave for Charity Hack 2010. Charity hack qr codes from Terence Eden If you're on mobile, you can view the mobile friendly version of the slides. Audio and video coming later. The gist of the talk is - use QR codes to drive mobile donations. Use return SMS to encourage people to share with their friends. …
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