What are these square 'codes' for?

[Benchwayze]

Can someone please tell me WTH these things are for?

download/file.php?avatar=3245_1309466531.png

I see them everywhere, but they make as much sense to me as those 80's style pictures that dentists used to put in their waiting rooms.

:?

 

[Lons]

Barcodes John

You can (apparently) use your smart phone to scan the item. Never tried it myself :lol:

Bob

 

[JakeS]

You can (apparently) use your smart phone to scan the item. Never tried it myself :lol:

And if you don't have a smartphone to hand and you're still curious, there are websites you can get them decoded, such as this one:

http://zxing.org/w/decode.jspx

Just drop the URL to the image in the box, and fire away!



(The way the scanner picks up the relevant parts of the barcode is quite fascinating, at least to me; the three big squares and the little square are registration marks, and between the inner corners of the three big squares are rows of on/off repeating patterns so it can find out how big each pixel is and how wide the whole QR code is in each direction... easy to do by eye, but quite challenging to get a computer to do it!)

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks for that chaps. I don't have a smart phone. I have enough problems with my Nokia basic jobbie!
I'll make some enquiries though, as long as I don't pick up some 'norty' pictures by mistake. (I'm sure the wide-boys will have worked out some codes by now! ) :lol:

Thanks again.

 

[CHJ]

QR Codes

<<<< Linky Pic.


Make your own

 

[Noggsy]

If I was any good with pyro I'd try using one of those as a signature on the bottom of my bowls.

 

[CHJ]

If I was any good with pyro I'd try using one of those as a signature on the bottom of my bowls.

You could always have a branding stamp made, but I doubt it would be readable 9 times out of 10.

Most of us oldies would probably assume it had been made in the far east. :lol:

 

[Benchwayze]

If I was any good with pyro I'd try using one of those as a signature on the bottom of my bowls.

Now.. That's an idea! Very oriental! :wink:

 

[JakeS]

You could always have a branding stamp made, but I doubt it would be readable 9 times out of 10.

You may be surprised - QR codes are designed to be pretty resilient.



I don't know what kind of temperatures pyrography gear works at; perhaps it could be feasible to attach a wire mesh over the top of the surface to register the 'pixels' of the code?

 

[TheTiddles]

So long as a camera can find the contrast it'll work. Interestingly, iPhone camera with app often works better than a dedicated scanner

Aidan

 

[gregmcateer]

So long as a camera can find the contrast it'll work. Interestingly, iPhone camera with app often works better than a dedicated scanner

Aidan

Too true - my cheapo samsung galaxy ace, (and that's not a plug nor a diss of iPhone, just noting not need a flash phone), even manages to read off newspapers, etc - and VERY quickly.

It's clearly one of the many things that will turn us into fogeys, (or is that 'fogies'?)

Greg

 

[superunknown]

Love QR codes! They work a treat!

<<<<----------------------------------------

I have a bunch of these made up in little stickers. I put them on my power tools for security as a way of ID. I have some 10% off codes (can I offer this ok?) if anybody would like some. A book of 90 is around £6. (PM me!)

 

[Benchwayze]

I'm going to get some graph paper, make up my own, then scan them into Photoshop. Shrink them down and stick them on the beer bottles in the pub! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[TheTiddles]

I'm going to get some graph paper, make up my own, then scan them into Photoshop. Shrink them down and stick them on the beer bottles in the pub! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Try filling cells in Excel. The one's I couldn't get the barode gun or my iphone to scan, I read by eye, made the excel screen look the same then scanned the screen with the barode scanner. That was worth the years of university and professional development...

Aidan

 

[wcndave]

Qr codes are great cos you can put a lot of information in one, such as a long link, or business card. Ones i use the most are in papers where you can scan to see a video about what you are reading, great for news. Also special offers in magazines etc.

Also see scan to save a property on right move, scan for recipes on groceries etc. you can scan something and look at it later without having to remember the specific Web address.

One cool implementation i saw was a tshirt which had one and said "i am qr ready". if you scanned it, it was just pain text which said "i am a ****". Buyer beware!

 

[Benchwayze]

I'm going to get some graph paper, make up my own, then scan them into Photoshop. Shrink them down and stick them on the beer bottles in the pub! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Try filling cells in Excel. The one's I couldn't get the barode gun or my iphone to scan, I read by eye, made the excel screen look the same then scanned the screen with the barode scanner. That was worth the years of university and professional development...

Aidan

Ah yes Aidan. I'll stick to woodwork though. I don't understand Excel either, other than for my household budget, bank statements and my 'Tool-fund'.. :mrgreen: