Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay • Hacker News Board

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#31

Post by franze » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:07 AM UTC

pak wrote: post #28

Here I'll give you a "real world hyperlink": print the damn URL in English so that I can remember it if I don't have my phone handy. If you're running a print ad you can afford a short snappy URL. Bonus, I can even use it on my laptop that doesn't have a QR code app! Or any other browser for that matter! The main problem I have with QR codes is that humans can't read them . Therefore, they will be relegated forever t…

>Bonus, I can even use it on my laptop that doesn't have a QR code app! Or any other browser for that matter!

hmmm, hmmm, well .. you actually can use QR codes from your laptop - and - any other browser (that supports flash, as the HTML5 webcam API is not yet ready) - i know this, as i created it myself - it's called http://miniqr.com/reader.php (with some paid help from http://www.peterelst.com/)

does it make sense? well, that's another topic.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#32

Post by noonespecial » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:10 AM UTC

QR codes also happen to be a fantastic way for devices to communicate when their primary peripherals happen to be cameras and screens. Both are now nearly ubiquitous on all phones and increasing in quality at a ridiculous rate.

I do not want to do a pairing dance to send you a link on my phone. Point a camera at a screen with a QR code, bam.

QR codes or something like them is a key step in augmented reality based on machine vision. May as well stick with what we've got(1). It seems to work.

(1) Unless its covered by a bunch of brain-dead "gif"-like patents in which case I suggest a grid of Pink Hearts, Yellow Moons, Orange Stars, Green Clovers, and Blue Diamonds. I've heard there's prior art for that scheme.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#33

Post by hxf148 » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:14 AM UTC

QR codes are apart of our strategy at Infostripe. For free (in beta) you get a web app designed to connect everything about your presence online, a virtual business card. Put the generated QR code on your business card, badge or home screen and bring it all together. It's worth a look. http://infostripe.com

We really like QR codes and hope for a day when smartphone software gets built in scanning and seeking.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#34

Post by artursapek » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:15 AM UTC

ethank wrote: post #19

artursapek wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think they're ugly? They've always reminded me of abstract expressionism, I enjoy seeing them. But I agree with you that they haven't seemed catch on, I think they're about as enticing as a TV ad flashing a Facebook Page URL for its product or marketing campaign during its last 3 seconds.

Would you rather compromise your design aesthetic with a URL (typeset even) or a massive graphic? http://whatever.com or http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&#3... Your conversion will be crap regardless. You'll get more through organic search.

I think they each have their strenghts. A QR code allows immediacy and loudness, it's more spontaneous and fun. There's a mystery to it because it can't be read by humans. A URL can be understood and remembered. It depends on what you're trying to do with the design. I wouldn't say a QR code is a substitute for a URL, it's more of an alternative. And it can be more than a URL.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#35

Post by cormullion » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:22 AM UTC

Another issue is the presence of competing technologies: I hadn't heard of Microsoft Tag before (the invisible elephant in the room?), but the presence of rival technologies might slow down adoption. Soon packaging is going to be covered with tags, bar codes, QR codes, etc.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#36

Post by grimen » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:25 AM UTC

bostonvaulter2 wrote: post #23

grimen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These algoritms can look for features in the image in a matter of milliseconds and match those against known ones (which is not a problem, the set can be huge withour performance impact if handle correctly). If you want to detect QR codes that works per definition of image detection, but you are not bound to such - a red shirt with a tiny tiny logotype is good enough characteristic. Not sure if I answered your questi…

But how do you know you can scan it in the first place?

Well, in our case we have the long-term vision of being the first choice for bying products via image feature detection. We believe that people in the future will expect anything to be scannable, in same way anything is searchable. In both cases you might get false positives with a rating how good match it was. Though, our view is that most people haven't seen the state of the art solutions in use for consumer products. We want to change that, very soon.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#37

Post by gerggerg » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:27 AM UTC

Why QR codes shouldn't be trusted for anything but shipping labels:

-

Say you bank at BofA. On the door of the branch you go to is a sticker that says "Bank online, it's easier" and it has a QR code for you to conveniently scan to access their website. Now say someone came along and put a sticker, the exact size of the QR code, over the QR code of a QR code of a malicious url. Not only do you have no way of verifying the url, but it would even be hard for employees of the bank to notice the change.

You could print 1000 of these stickers and place them on bank doors and ATMs all throughout New York City and I bet you at least 10% would never get taken down.

The malicious url could then easily mimic real sign in screens to harvest credentials, and even have a seemingly legit url.

The problem with QR codes is you have to place almost all your trust in them as they're hard for anyone to verify. When shipping packages, who cares? Whose going to try to change a shipping label while in transit. But trusting your internet browsing to some garble of black squares seems like a huge security flaw.

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#38

Post by softbuilder » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:28 AM UTC

Viva la Cue Cat!

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#39

Post by regularfry » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:31 AM UTC

ethank wrote: post #9

Mashable is kind of shameless with the "advertorials" lately aren't they? I said about QR codes on Twitter a while ago: "QR codes: like using a megaphone to seduce someone. The ugliest, stupidest, most useless (and used less) tech in a while." Background: I worked in the music business for a while, and we always tried to be at the forefront of trends. Because of the position we were in, where we were able to market t…

Unlike your other examples, QR codes actually have a utility beyond "mobile marketing".

Re: Why QR Codes Are Here To Stay

#40

Post by regularfry » Sat, Aug 27, 2011, 7:34 AM UTC

gerggerg wrote: post #37

Why QR codes shouldn't be trusted for anything but shipping labels: - Say you bank at BofA. On the door of the branch you go to is a sticker that says "Bank online, it's easier" and it has a QR code for you to conveniently scan to access their website. Now say someone came along and put a sticker, the exact size of the QR code, over the QR code of a QR code of a malicious url. Not only do you have no way of verifying…

    Whose going to try to change a shipping label while in transit

Depends on the value of the goods, and how easy it is to get access to the labels before they are directed on. I don't think that scam is unrealistic at all.