Alternative To QR Code Uses NFC and Cheap Rectennas 164
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports researchers in Korea have developed a technology that can be used as a viable alternative to QR codes. Made of plastic and electronic ink, the rectennas cost less than one penny each to produce and use the NFC standards for wireless radio communication to devices. They are seen as a cheap, easy-to-print and environmentally friendly way to overcome the limitations and inconvenience of QR codes, the usage of which has greatly increased in the last few years."
Rectannas (Score:5, Funny)
Rectannas is just not an appealing word...
Re:Rectannas (Score:5, Funny)
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I always wanted a rectal antenna.
Re:Rectannas (Score:5, Informative)
A rectenna is a rectifying antenna, a special type of antenna that is used to convert microwave energy into direct current electricity.
(Boldface in the original)
Re:Rectannas (Score:4, Funny)
Quoth the 2nd link in TFS (I know, I'm relatively new here):
A rectenna is a rectifying antenna, a special type of antenna that is used to convert microwave energy into direct current electricity.
(Boldface in the original)
Absolutely 100% incorrect. This is a rectal antenna. I knew the cell phone companies would find a way to stick it up our butts eventually.
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Re:Rectannas (Score:5, Funny)
Short for Quantum Rectal Code.
It's complicated. All about qubits, existing in two states at once, and giant rectennas in uncomfortable places.
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Sadly, this is what first came to mind:
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57525/southpark/images/d/dd/CartmanGetsanAnalProbe21.gif [nocookie.net]
I'm sorry this is so off topic; the word distracted me so.
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indeed, their marketing department had concerns about certain unfavorable connotations, so with the next model they are rebranding the line to Poopchutenna(tm).
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Missing the point? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Missing the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
And its still quicker to type than to get the camera all lined up to QR code something you pass on a bus
Actually no, it's not quicker.just typing "tinyurl.com" takes more time than to acquire a QR code.Unless you use a catastrophically inefficient app/UI for the QR.
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It depends on the kind of keyboard and your experience. My teenage brother can type that before you even finished reading it, but he types dozens of SMSs per day.
For most people, yeah, QR codes are probably faster.
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Your teenage brother can type things faster than he can read (hint: no)? Because if not, he may get the tinyurl.com out quickly, but the rest he still has to transcribe.
Long story short: stop being a dumbass.
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If only that applied to the first comment.
Being a dumbass is being a dumbass... Pretending you didn't mean it later just makes it look even worse.
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And its still quicker to type than to get the camera all lined up to QR code something you pass on a bus
Actually no, it's not quicker.just typing "tinyurl.com" takes more time than to acquire a QR code.Unless you use a catastrophically inefficient app/UI for the QR.
Also I already use my cellphone camera to record things I want to remember anyway. QR codes are a pretty obvious extension of the concept.
Probably more importantly though, they leverage something which has other benefits to the user - i.e. an NFC antenna *just* does NFC. Whereas there are all sorts of reasons to have a cellphone camera.
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The problem with QR codes is you don't know what you're gonna get until you scan it. It could potentially be bad. (Not even viruses or buffer overflows -- could just be something that translates to goatse.cx.) Also, you don't know what the payoff is -- you scan, look, and go "Oh, it's just nike.com"
The problem with text is typing it in is a pain. The good thing about text is you can tell right away if it's something you want or not.
SO WHY DON'T WE JUST COME UP WITH A STANDARD SIZE AND SHAPE GLYPH WITH TEXT
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The problem with QR codes is you don't know what you're gonna get until you scan it. It could potentially be bad. (Not even viruses or buffer overflows -- could just be something that translates to goatse.cx.)
No that's the problem with TinyURLs. The QR code readers I have used provide you the output of the code and give you the option to follow it. That way before my phone does anything I know if it's just some text, a link to a website, a link to a market app, an email address.
What you describe is not a problem with QR codes but a problem in a specific implementation of a QR Code reader.
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QR codes are a scam by domain registrars to sell domain names with cute-looking QR codes.
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They are more a scam perpetuated by the printing and publishing industries in a desperate attempt to stay relevant in an increasingly online world. "Use QR codes to add value to your print adverts!" they whine as print spends and advertising revenue continue to spiral downwards.
QR codes are so incredibly niche they are pretty much pointless from a marketing point of view. Unless you are marketing specifically to tech sa
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Must be able to remember a short word or phrase consisting of a word which may or may not be some alteration on a standard english word, may or may not be the name of the product or company it refers to (steampowered, anyone?), an arbitrary extension (.com, .net, .tv?) then possibly some other weird characters and punctuation and words that may or may not be case sensitive. Then if you are mobile, you have to enter it on a crappy keyboard which will have a varying level of ease-of-use.
Or alternatively, touc
Re:Missing the point? (Score:4, Insightful)
Must know what a QR code is.
I had no need to know, just printed from the airlines web page, had no idea it was called a QR code.
Must have a smartphone
Nope
Must have a QR reader app
No, though the airlines and the TSA needed to be able to read the QR code, it was probably not an 'app'.
Must be close enough to scan code
True, I guess, but the TSA agent and the flight attendants were close enough when I handed them the boarding pass.
Must be quick enough to leap of the sofa and scan TV (for QR codes in ads
No, just had to find the 'Print' button in the confirmation page.
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From the GP:
Really. Gotta read the fine print.
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You can even put it in a corn maze! :P
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/07/27/edmonton-video-qr-code-corn-maze.html [www.cbc.ca]
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And its still quicker to type than to get the camera all lined up to QR code something you pass on a bus
Wait, QR recognition software doesn't rotate the image automatically? Isn't that what the three squares at the corner are for?
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It is dumb to put a QR code on a billboard.
What gets me is people don't use URL shorteners, and you end up with QR codes which no one can scan in. I have a new phone with a great camera and I can't scan half the codes I see in print magazines because the dots are too tiny to even resolve in print.
QR codes would be better if the people who put them on things actually used them.
And yeah, they are better than NFC in some cases. Few technologies are wholly superior to the ones they are purported to replace.
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Which is why you should always put the URL with the QR code. Even better - put an NFC tag behind the QR code as well and all bases are covered.
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Re:Missing the point? (Score:4, Insightful)
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... cell phones with "notes" functions that allow them to take down quick reminders...
I actually have found this to be the thing that is lacking on my Android phone. Of all the default applications that are available, not a single notepad. I've tried many different ones from the market, but they all have their quirks and I can't seem to find something that is just easy to drop in a line of text, automatically save, and later allow me to easily transfer it to my computer.
Re:Missing the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Works great... as long as you can turn it off. Now imagine if your phone was not configured to allow such choices by the user.
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Unless you Think different!(tm)
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He's implying that if apple thought it could make a buck off of it, they'd take the option to turn it off out.
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Re:Missing the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
The entire point of a QR-Code is that it can be placed where-ever anything visual can be placed. You can put a QR code on a billboard, on a streetsign, on a television image, in a newspaper, on a bus ad...
The entire problem of a QR-Code is that it must placed where anything else visual could be placed. You can put a QR code on a billboard, on a streetsign, on a television image, in a newspaper, on a bus ad... and there's that much less space for the ad art itself.
These rectennas can be covered by advertisement without impairing their function.
Re:Missing the point? (Score:4, Funny)
These rectennas can be covered by advertisement without impairing their function.
NFC == Near Field Communications.
You're going to look pretty silly climbing up onto that billboard with your cellphone.
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As several have pointed out...stupid notion this... This is the NFC version of a Que:Cat...
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Yes, and like Que:Cat it will have WAY more use for tech hobbyists then it ever does for advertisers. Imagine being able to pass your phone over a box and get an inventory of the contents without ever opening it. I can imagine it being especially useful for someone who is blind or nearly blind, just swipe your phone near a container and it reads you the contents aloud.
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You're going to look pretty silly climbing up onto that billboard with your cellphone.
I don't know if a QR code would be much better.
Recently I was at a music festival where they had some type of QR code hunt going on.
The codes were all behind the fences where drunk people couldn't reach and destroy them, and just that bit of distance made it quite difficult to read the codes, even outside on a cloudy day (the abundant difuse light should be perfect for this).
Granted the codes they were using were a lot denser than needed (they were embedding the clue to the next code in English and German i
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These rectennas can be covered by advertisement without impairing their function.
No, you just impair the company using them. If you're an executive with a large corporation, and you want to put an ad in a magazine that includes a link to an online presentation of your new product line, which type of link are you going to choose -- A QR code in the ad art, which reduces the usable space on the ad somewhat, but can be worked into the design, and for which all the cost is a few cents of the graphics departments time modifying the artwork delivered to the magazine's publisher, or an NFC rec
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And thinking about people climbing up the billboard stand and then trying to figure out where the rectenna is on the billboard so they can wave their smartphone over it makes for an entertaining mental image. The whole point of NFC is that it is near -- you have to get your device close to the other device or rectenna for it to work, while you can point your smartphone's camera up at a billboard and capture the QR code on it from tens of feet away. This technology isn't going to be useful anyplace where you
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I fail to understand why the article thinks that QR codes are inconvenient? They're printed with actual ink, not "electronic ink", and thus are clearly more environmentally superior. Barcodes are superior to RFIDs as well for the same reason.
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Which is exactly why they invented the rectenna, because it can be "placed" where you wouldn't be able to see anything visual. QR codes for where the sun does shine and rectennas for where the sun does not shine. It makes perfect sense.
Environmentally friendly? (Score:5, Insightful)
They are seen as a ... environmentally friendly way to overcome the limitations and inconvenience of QR codes...
I'm mystified how that works. Its not like QR codes are inherently toxic by shape, like prions, nanoparticles, or asbestos fibers.
The only QR code I've ever used for a "real" purpose is holding my phone up to the screen to scan a google authenticator QR code. I'm not sure how that would translate to a NFC solution like this... have to print out on a 3-d printer or something?
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I'm assuming environmentally friendly vs metal/semiconductor antennas on existing NFC devices, not as compared to QR codes which are clearly very env. friendly.
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I find it handy to move links from my PC to my phone, just need an addon that generates the codes and it's taken care of. I have also occasionally used them to share contacts, but that's rarer.
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It's a problem looking for a solution (or how can we make a quick buck doing this...).
Kind of like QueCats, really. NFC isn't a good answer for everything- and a QR Code can be printed on a billboard, etc. Stupid notion- and not at all environmentally friendly like they're making it out to be. But then...they were stupid enough to think QueCats would take off.
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NFC isn't a good answer for everything
s/ever/an/
Really, for consumer devices it's the next better idea after printing both sides of your credit card on a T-shirt.
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The tiny antennas are supposedly "environmentally friendly" because they use very few rare earths & broadcast only a few nanowatts of power. Of course the best thing you can do for the environment is not have any antenna gobbling-up any power at all.
Re:Environmentally friendly? (Score:5, Funny)
What? Are you crazy! This is technology! We must embrace it because it's new and hip and the next best thing since sliced bread so you can be notified of the newest whiz-bang piece of technology which came out three seconds ago.
If you're not connected every second of every day, with the ability to instantly respond, you're not living life to the fullest. How are businesses supposed to notify you of their latest offerings if you're not connected?
Luddite.
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And I only need to use ink/paint to print a QR-code and can have it on things that I don't need to touch my phone to to have it work.
Fail.
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Well a QR code uses no rare earths and thus is even more environmentally friendly than "few" rare earths.
Best thing for these environments is to send out an army of old people onto the streets to administer dope slaps to the kids who think new gadgets are cool. Maybe give them a lecture or two, talk about the old days. If that doesn't get the point across, the old people need to actually use the gadgets in order to prove how uncool they are.
limitations and inconvenience of QR codes (Score:3)
limitations and inconvenience of QR codes
Which are what exactly?
The only limit I can imagine is the amount of data. Since they typically only store a URL, this is hardly an issue.
And how does this "Rectenna" relate to RFID?
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1. Consumer must actively perform a task (waking up phone and pointing the camera at QR code) to attain product advertisement.
2. Space limits; QR code can only go to URL, which may not be accessible depending on network congestion, losing delicious, delicious advertising opportunities.
3. Consumer can actually, heaven forbid, refuse to scan QR code (NOTE: legal team is working on making this degenerate activity unconstitutional, progress is slow).
4. QR codes make it difficult to take control of our advertisi
qrcode can only go to Urls?? (Score:2)
okay then explain http://www.laurencemartin.org/codeblock2.png [laurencemartin.org] the data is not an url by any means
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Warning people, NSFW! Some very adult action going on there.
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Rectifying Antenna. It allows the device that's providing the RFID info (which isn't environmentally friendly like the idiot article makes it out to be) pull power from the comms link. Basically speaking if you've got a non-battery "toll-tag" transponder, the device has a Rectenna in it either emitting RF on a different frequency or doing RF-backscatter comms- but the antenna powers the chip doing the RFID exchange on the tag.
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And how does this "Rectenna" relate to RFID?
A rectenna (or rectifying antenna) is a device for converting radio waves into electrical power. RFIDs use rectennas to power themselves. The device in the story *IS* an RFID, except that instead of transmitting an ID number, it is transmitting a URL.
The problem with QR codes is that they are square and ugly and take up a huge chunk of space in an advertisement. Then, to top it off, you have to print instructions beside, or beneath it, because few people know what they're for. With the rectenna, you c
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Gonna call FUD here.
I googled this and found several counties using QR codes as part of the restaurant health ratings, however; none of them use it as a replacement for the existing information. All (of the ones that google could find a link to) use it as an augmentation -it provides a direct link to the detailed inspection report for the location in question... no additional searching required. The basic information (grade, date, location, owner, inspector, etc.) is still stuck on the wall in front of yo
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With this new system though you still need to pull out your phone, open an app, and get the phone within one millimeter or less of the "rectenna". It's not more convenient.
limitations and inconvenience of QR codes? (Score:2)
Whatcha talkin bout Willis?
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Disclaimer: We have used QR codes somewhat at work.
QR codes serve a purpose but do it poorly. Phones aren't particularly good scanning devices, plus you're holding the phone at arm's length; so reading a QR code often takes several seconds. Then, afterward, you've got a URL in your phone - if you want it on your computer, that's another step.
That said, I have a bigger aversion to NFC. It has a different limitation, that being the requirement of proximity - not practical for use on a billboard, as people hav
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You're using a poor scanner then, or a crap phone (that wouldn't have NFC anyways).
My phone takes maybe half a second to scan a QR code, to the point that I don't even have to actually hold it still... I can *nearly* just wave it in front of the code and have it work, I do have to pause for the half second. By far the limiting time factor is finding the icon and launching the scanner, which would not change with NFC.
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The only feature I care about... (Score:2)
I just want to know how much malware I can pack into one. Runs any javascript? Pretty please?
Obligatory (Score:2)
http://xkcd.com/927/ [xkcd.com]
Of course, these "rectennas" aren't really a proper replacement for QR codes, since QR codes work at a distance (depending on size).
Rectenna (Score:2)
I know im in the company of friends when the first posts on this topic are about the goofy name thus rendering the immature joke i was about to make concerning rectums and where to shove antennas obsolete!
+1 for the Anonymous Coward submission (Score:2)
Never thought I'd see that happen.
Suggestion (Score:2)
Why not just text recognition? (Score:2)
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Good readers show you the URL before you click through.
And TinyURL is just as bad, FYI... If anything QRCodes allow for *more* transparency.
Rectenna == rfid tag (Score:3)
So... reading up on this stuff... it's *very* clear that what they are talking about is an RFID tag.
Yay, put rfid tags everywhere and have everyone tap their phones against them to "receive information". ...and who determines what information is transferred back and forth and what types of exploitable holes are there in their protocol?
WAIT wait wait. What the researcheres in Korea "discovered" is how to PRINT rfid tags with magnetic inks.
Jeezus, this is what you get when you cross marketing droids with non-technical reporters in news organizations.
This whole slashdot article should be deleted. And the BBC should be ashamed, aren't there some PhDs driving cabs that they could hire to cover their technology news stories?
QR Codes have an edge ... (Score:2)
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Plus, QR codes are inherently cheaper since they can be printed using normal ink while the rectennas need magnetic ink. Now I might not know the market rate for each kind of ink, but it's fair to guess that normal ink would be far cheaper. Plus, since you are using that ink to print the rest of your flyer, sign, billboard, etc, you won't need to have a second pass with magnetic ink. It's built into generating the rest of your item.
And plaintext shortlinks have an edge on QR... (Score:2)
It works on every device with a webbrowser, no code needed, with the additional bonus of having the user type in your URL by hand. Thas marketing!
QRs are just links that you can't click without launching a specific 'click a QR link' reader. Less of all this please.
How is this better? (Score:2)
Places where "nanoparticles", "rectennas", and "electronic ink" just won't work but QR codes are fine:
1) My business card - Scan the code and it can take you to my website or automatically add my information to your contact list. Is Kinko's going to start printing cards with electronic ink?
2) Flyers - I can print out a flyer with a QR code. Hell, gimme some graph paper and a Sharpie and I can build a QR code. I don't think any store-bought inkjet or laser printer will be printing these any time soon.
3) T-sh
QR (Score:2)
QR codes are "enticing" to some people. I recently heard a kid say "Mom! It's a QR code! can I borrow the phone?". Their distinctive appearance is often more important than their ability to carry data, and they are mostly used for marketing. The most interesting applications which are not for marketing are when QR-codes are displayed on a screen, and this NFC tech can't replace that. (There are some valid applications for printed codes, like in museums, but usually it's better to print a URL). If the resea
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We used QR codes to check in users at an industry conference. The users just presented a printed invitation or placed their phone or tablet under the scanner and it brought up the checkin URL on the receptionists machine which automatically informed the person they were having the meeting with that their guest had arrived. Very clever and MUCH faster than the process used at previous conferences.
Watermark it! (Score:2)
The number of mobile phones with low-resolution image sensors is going to approach zero over time. There's enough data in a typical smartphone image sensor to pick up subband-coded watermarks in a printed image and very transform-resistant image watermarks have been known science for at least a decade. QR codes, radios, etc. are all unnecessary. Point your phone at the poster and let the image app work out whether there's information embedded in it.
Since this isn't already the norm, there must be a paten
Rectennas? (Score:2)
NFC sucks (Score:2)
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Why would I bother enabling this hardware and wasting battery. I used my $10 free from Google Wallet to buy a 6-pack and then disabled NFC. I'll re-enable it when/if Google restocks my account with free money.
Well, 'you' wouldnt bother, so end of story.
On the other hand, the rest of us aren't cynical freeloaders, and will continue to use it where possible.
Dadaist QR code (Score:2)
Aren't QR codes over? (Score:2)
I thought the QR code thing in advertising was over. I saw more QR codes two years ago than now.
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QR codes over? First ive heard of it.
Has Netcraft confirmed it yet? Id like to know if it is official.
Rectenna (Score:2)
Rectennas? really?
What is the first thought that goes into ones head at first seeing the word 'rectennas'?
Exactly.....this is a poor choice of word that will only cause derision and child-level jokes at every mention of the word.
And on another note, can any Americans here please explain what a 'penny' is? 1c? 5c? 10c? 20c? 50c? a dollar?
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Not from the U.S., but Canada uses them too...they are 1c.
Re:Is it Cheaper? Easier? (Score:5, Insightful)
No kidding. The summary quoted(?) this nugget: "...to overcome the limitations and inconvenience of QR codes, whose usage has greatly increased in the last few years."
I'd say that the reason usage QR codes has greatly increased in the last few years is because they are not so limited or inconvenient as the article asserts. The QR code may contain several types of information, but in a 2D bit array, you are inherently limited. QR codes are not a high-bandwidth transport, but even if all they contain is a vcard or URL, the URL is the gateway to larger content.
I like QR codes because they are inherently opt-in. Screw the NFC based ad network!
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I'd say that the reason usage QR codes has greatly increased in the last few years is because they are not so limited or inconvenient as the article asserts.
Not to mention the fact that it's a lot easier to download a QR scanner app to your smartphone and process the QR captured with its the smartphone's camera code than it will be for people to download an app to process the NFC signals... on smartphones lacking NFC functionality.
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So is NFC. The range on NFC is miniscule. I have to practically mash my phone into something to get the NFC to work. In fact, its designed that way beleive it or not. It wouldn't work well if you had 10 things at a time being detected by your phone. It's not a "push" system.
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I like QR codes because they are inherently opt-in. Screw the NFC based ad network!
Opt-in? Hah, just you wait! When you'll get your eyePhone, one glance at a QR code and - bamf! - ads are streaming directly into your brain.
Shades of Hugh the Borg! We'll all be spending all our brainpower trying to solve impossible QR codes, created by some misprint.
Of course, that QR codes are inherently opt-in is one of their worst features, at least to those buying the adverts.
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This could indeed be the drawback of QRs; the marketting overlords do not want people to be able to opt-out.
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Although, non-techies are often confused by the name QR Code, but immediately guess at 'that funny box type barcode thingie' if you say 3D Barcode.
Oh well, at least I don't have to deal with the snickers for 'rectenna' yet.
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Not much different than referring to them as 2D barcodes, as if a linear barcode doesn't exist in two dimensions.