QR Code – a 2d barcode format which is becoming quite popular with the new generation of Japanese cameraphones. Like ROT13 (a simple letter substitution scheme which encodes “secrets” as “frpergf”) the effect on the blog isn’t so much encryption as it is obfuscation – it requires a scanning program/device to return the text to human-readable form. (For example, the QR Code image here reproduces the next paragraph.)
Text which is optimized for machine use might not be human-readable, yet remain quite human-friendly. QRcode is designed so that cameraphones can quickly upload text from physical objects. I can imagine a QR Code print preview or a QR Code feed (something like an XML feed) available in browsers or via blogware. This would allow users to download text entries from a browser screen into their cameraphone/pda without having to establish any kind of wireless / bluetooth / cable sync. Read the rest of this entry »
