It's official now. SBB starts with QR Codes. You can now access the train timetable via QR code and on your mobile phone either use the online wap version or you can download a java application which is more userfriendly.
And I imagine already all the asian tourists going to Zermatt or Lucerne or anywhere else in Switzerland seeing the QR Codes and instantly feeling at home.
And in the near future, it will be the universal language for our mobile phones worldwide... (sorry for getting a bit sentimental here;)
If you understand now, what RSS Feeds are, think how cool it would be to read RSS feeds on your mobile.
So instead of a computer, you only need now a mobile phone with internet access. You can type http://feed2mobile.kaywa.com or you can scan the QR Code right here to get there:
Once on Feed2Mobile you'll see the latest ten feeds that have been mobilized. If you scroll down you'll find these options:
[1] Recently mobilized aka the home page
[2] Search (existing) mobilized Feeds, like for example boingboing
[3] My Bookmarks (needs a Kaywa ID)
[4] Create a new mobile feed.
The cool thing about [4] is that you can sit in a bus and read a magazine where they talk about a cool blog. Instead of heading home to check out this blog or spend large sums of money when directly accessing it (some blogs sites are very heavy in KB's), you simply click [4], enter the webaddress, add the captcha, click and then you can read the mobilized version immediately. Pictures are scaled down for mobile devices. Podcasts are also shown.
Please help spread this story. Today at the AIB (Association of International Broadcasters) awards ceremony a small African radio station, SW Radio Africa, won the award for the most creative marketing concept. But while they are doing wonderful work, this is something that needs immediate and urgent support.
Briefly, Zimbabwe is a poor African country where the economy has collapsed (latest inflation just during the month of October was 15,000 percent) and the government is very corrupt. And the government censors the media.
SW Radio Africa is the independent Zimbabwe news source broadcasting on shortwave radio out of neighboring South Africa. Except that now Zimbabwe of course also blocks their radio broadcasts.
So the Forox Mobile Applications bit? SW Radio Africa decided, if you censor my broadcasts, then I go SMS.. Pretty clever by the small radio station where TV is not a viable option and internet/PC penetration is nearly zero. But there are plenty of cheap old second hand mobile phones..
So SMS. Zimbabweans can't afford even to pay for the SMS. So SW Radio Africa sends the news free to anyone in Zimbabwe who signs up to the service. Over 6,000 have signed up and they are adding 100 new subscribers every day.
So they don't do advertising but someone has to pay for the SMS. SW Radio Africa asks for sponsors to cover the cost of the SMS transmissions.
So here is my request. If you think this is a worthy cause, that a free radio station broadcasting news into Zimbabwe is on a good task, and that since they are now blocked by the Zimbabwe government, SMS text messaging is a reasonable alternative to get past the censorship, then please do spread the story. Lets try to find some supporters and further sponsors for SW Radio Africa. Lets get some news and information to the poor devastated people in Zimbabwe.
This is a pure Java library, divided into several components of interest:
core: core decoding library, and the main component of the entire project
core-ext: more core functionality, but that requires functionality beyond J2ME
javame: J2ME client
javase: J2SE-specific client code
(Android client to be released later)
Status
"Version 0.1." Everything that's there, works, even if it could be improved. But not everything that we want to include is there, not by a long shot. We figured it best to release ZXing early while still in development.
After the news from yesterday, I just found a picture from Chika Watanabe on Flickr showing probably the first QR Code print ad in a american newspaper. I would be very interested to know what kind of address is encoded, but the image is too blurry to decode it. Anyone?
Google believes that technology can revolutionize traditional print advertising and make it even more useful for readers. This fits with our commitment to making advertising as useful as possible for the end user.
[...]
Why would newspaper ads include 2D barcodes?
For advertisers, using 2D barcodes in newspaper ads can be an effective and flexible way to engage with potential customers. The benefit to readers is an easier, quicker way to get more information about businesses that interest them.
How can I add 2D barcodes to my print ads?
If you're an advertiser who is interested in using 2D barcodes in a Google Print Ads campaign, please contact your Google representative.
Selected 2D barcode decoding software
You can find decoding software and lists of supported devices by visiting sites like these:
Skann fisken selv
Coop gjør nå gjør denne informasjonen tilgjengelig for publikum, og det betyr at du selv kan finne ut hvor fisken kommer fra.
Med nye mobiltelefoner med strekkodeleser, kan du selv skanne inn strekkoden og få opp informasjon om hvor fisken er født, hvor den er slaktet, og når den går ut på dato.
Når du står ved fiskedisken, kan du selv skanne strekkoden ved hjelp av en mobiltelefon med kamera. Strekkoden kan sendes via sms til en database, som så forteller deg hvem som produserte fisken og når den ble levert inn.
Flere nye mobiltelefoner støtter strekkodeskanning, og de fleste kameratelefoner kan i utgangspunktet gjøres til strekkodelesere ved å laste ned riktig programvare.
(Nokia lar deg laste ned leserprogrammer til enkelte modeller via sine nettsider, mens tredjepartsleverandører som Kaywas strekkodeleser tilbyr strekkodelesere for flere merker og modeller.)
If I understand correctly they put QR Codes on fish, so consumers can check on quality and where they have been fished.
There is also something about an SMS encoded in the QR code which is then sent to a database.
If anyone speaks norwegian, I would be happy you could translate some of what is written here. It got us a lot of hits today.
