Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

QRCodesDoneRight.com - let's teach people how to use QR codes right

qrcodesdoneright.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–26 of 26 posts

Re: QRCodesDoneRight.com - let's teach people how to use QR codes right

#21

Post by JacobAldridge »

panacea wrote: post #2

>Would you do it? Always try to stand in a shoes of a regular person and ask yourself would I scan it? Does this convince me to take out my phone and spend 10 seconds of my time to scan that QR code? Is it attractive enough? When the answer to this question is a 'No I would not', I fail to see the utility of these things.

At the Rosenbrg Castle in Copenhagen, they use QR Codes to provide information about rooms, items of interest etc. Alas, the free wifi is quickly overwhelmed so I gave up fairly quickly - but I tried, for the first time in a long time.

Re: QRCodesDoneRight.com - let's teach people how to use QR codes right

#22

Post by jonhohle »

ColinWright wrote: post #9
kolektiv wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question isn't "is there utility" but "is there sufficiently more utility than alternatives to justify their use". I don't think I've come across a situation where the answer to that is yes. The barriers are high. Most people a) don't have a reader b) don't really know what they are. Compare this to something like a URL/domain which people do recognise the format of, or a discount code ("use SUBWAY10 for 10% off!…

I've gone over all this several times before. It's great to have a facility to visit a website (or other text) that doesn't involve having to type in either a long piece of text, or a shortened piece of text that's some random mix of unusual characters. It takes me less than 20 seconds, including time taken to get the phone from my pocket, to scan a code. I've gone to stage shows, theatre productions and visited comp…

What would be wrong with OCR plus a marker or two to indicate a scannable area (and maybe content type) - human readable, phone scannable.

My biggest issue with QR codes is there is no indication of what they are before scanning. That, and I dislike most forms of advertising.

Re: QRCodesDoneRight.com - let's teach people how to use QR codes right

#24

Post by ColinWright »

jonhohle wrote: post #22
ColinWright wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've gone over all this several times before. It's great to have a facility to visit a website (or other text) that doesn't involve having to type in either a long piece of text, or a shortened piece of text that's some random mix of unusual characters. It takes me less than 20 seconds, including time taken to get the phone from my pocket, to scan a code. I've gone to stage shows, theatre productions and visited comp…

What would be wrong with OCR plus a marker or two to indicate a scannable area (and maybe content type) - human readable, phone scannable. My biggest issue with QR codes is there is no indication of what they are before scanning. That, and I dislike most forms of advertising.

  > What would be wrong with OCR plus a marker or two
  > to indicate a scannable area
Simple:

* There is no OCR that is currently sufficiently reliable

* It has no error correction ability, so is not robust against damage

* There are currently no apps I know that can perform this function

So go to it, create an app that works on all known phones and is robust against up to 30% damage, and you may have something with which to penetrate the market.

  > My biggest issue with QR codes is there is no indication
  > of what they are before scanning.
My phone tells me what it is and asks permission to open it, and the context usually tells me what it should be. I don't bother with context-less QR codes. Beside, this is not a problem with the code, it's a problem with the brain-dead manner in which some people use them.

  > That, and I dislike most forms of advertising.
I scan codes for shows, films, and shops. I know what I'm getting, and it's simple, clear, and my choice. I don't like advertising either, but sometimes I see notices of things I want to use, see, or get involved with.

Re: QRCodesDoneRight.com - let's teach people how to use QR codes right

#26

Post by rada »

kolektiv wrote: post #5
ColinWright wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I fail to see the utility of these things. Then I suggest that you are lacking in imagination. I scan QR codes quite often and find them quite useful. Not every day, and not outstandingly useful, but useful enough that I know of no suitable alternative, and I would miss the utility they provide. I've commented on this at length elsewhere, and will not do so again here. I doubt that you will change your mind, but I…

The question isn't "is there utility" but "is there sufficiently more utility than alternatives to justify their use". I don't think I've come across a situation where the answer to that is yes. The barriers are high. Most people a) don't have a reader b) don't really know what they are. Compare this to something like a URL/domain which people do recognise the format of, or a discount code ("use SUBWAY10 for 10% off!…

Example 1. We are about to send out a large shipment of equipment. Each machine will be outfitted with a QR code. When scanned, the QR code will link to an individual machine page so you can monitor test continuity in real time e.g. Rolls Royce testing the durability of a new tire or Medtronic testing the performance of a small titanium screw intended for use in the body. These tests need to run continually for very long periods of time. They are very expensive to restart. The number of machines is overwhelming to enter individual URLs by hand.

What would be a better approach?

Example 2. Whenever I shop for electronics, I always take advantage of QR codes to read specs and reviews. My local OfficeMax has the codes on almost all price tags, usually linking them to both the manufacturer's page and Amazon reviews.

What would be a better approach?

Post reply on HN