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 e…
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I've recently released a couple of audio widgets. Inspired by the Instant Rimshot and Sad Trombone sites, these are "single serving" widget. For the "Family Fortunes" buzzer widget, you click the icon and you'll hear the famous "EURGH-ERRRR" noise. I'm also selling a "Dramatic Sound Effect" Widget - download it by scanning this code. Go on, it's a mere 50p! This is a quick tutorial showing…
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So much has already been written about the N8's atrocious software. It's a popular (and fair) stick to beat Nokia and Symbian with. One thing that is always mentioned is how amazing the hardware is. I disagree. The hardware is as poor as the software. I think this picture symbolises that problem. N8 and HDMI lead The N8 has an HDMI port. A mini HDMI port. The image is of a full sized…
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For a little while, I've been lusting after the Immortal Video Glasses. Sunglasses with a built in video camera - perfect for recording all my action/adventure exploits! But, at £300, I thought they were a bit out of my price range. Undoubtedly fun, yes, but not 100-pints-of-beer fun (or however you choose to measure your fun). I wondered if anyone was selling them second-hand on eBay. They …
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There's a delightful video doing the rounds of an Augmented Reality game for the iPhone. What better use of technology than to simulate the destruction of TIE Fighters? While undoubtedly cool, what amuses me about this game is why it has taken the gaming world so long to catch up with Symbian! Way back in 2003, I got my hands on the Siemens SX1. It was the first non-Nokia handset to be…
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I love nothing more that a tramp round a city. Taking the Metro in Paris is very simple - and fairly cheap - but the riches you discover wandering around make up for the extra time needed. A few years ago, Miss Geeky introduced me to Space Invader spotting. Dotted around the cities of the world are mosaics of Space Invaders. Placed there by a mysterious artist - seemingly at random. Before …
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Last NaBloPoMo, I wrote up my review of a Mitch Benn gig I'd seen. I know I’m not going to leave it ten years before I next see him. Indeed, I didn't even leave it a full calendar year. Mitch is back and better than ever - he even has a new single out. Buy the single for 79p at Amazon It's rare for Brits to get passionate without being cynical. Watching Mitch Benn sing "Proud of the BBC" is a…
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Several years ago, I was wandering round the Louvre on a wet Parisian afternoon. I turned a corner from one gallery to another when I saw a painting which would change my life forever. Like a good many of you, I was completely unaware of Íñigo Melchor de Velasco, the 7th Duke of Frías. But then, how many of us know the person we are destined to become? Looking at the picture, staring into th…
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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 …
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Census time is coming around - which brings with it the tricky question of religion. Regular readers will know that I self identify as an apathist - a peculiar sub-branch of atheism. Those with longer memories will have seen me self identify as a Jedi (Dark Side). So, when the 2011 census rolls around, how should I identify myself to the state? (more…) …
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🔊 Luncheon voucher boo🎤 edent 💾 Download this audio file. Hello, AudioBoo and Internet World. I'm just weirded out. I've been sent as payment for a small project I did... Luncheon vouchers! I know it's churlish to complain when people pay you, but I've literally in my life, in 31 years of living on planet earth, I have never even seen a Luncheon Voucher. I thought they died out in the …
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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…
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