[[email protected]]

Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? Is there actually some
information inside of it? To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... But
for what reason????

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!
Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

Thanks

[DerbyDad03]

On Apr 30, 6:42*pm, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... *But
for what reason????

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. *But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!
Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

Thanks

They are called QR codes, short for Quick Response codes.

If you use a bar code reader app (application) on your smart phone,
they will take you directly to the website for the product the code
was on.

They were originally used in the auto industry (I think Toyota
invented them) to track vehicles as they went down the line. As far as
I understand it, they are faster than bar codes.

They are now used in various marketing venues, such as on products, in
magazines, store fronts, etc. Since anyone with a smart phone can
download a free bar code reading app and use the phone's camera to
read bar codes and QR codes, it's a great way for companies to get
consumers to visit their websites.

BTW...bar code reading apps are one of the reasons places like Best
Buy are struggling. A tech savvy consumer can go into Best Buy, etc.,
put their hands on various items, talk to the salespeople and gather a
lot of knowledge. They can then pull out their smart phones, scan the
bar code, find the best on-line price and purchase it before they even
the leave the store.

[Ed Pawlowski]

wrote in message

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!
Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

Thanks

I agree about Facebook, but I've changed my mind about smart phones.

You'd be amazed at how handy it can be to find information about many
things. I'm travelling right now and I stopped at a motel. They gave me a
rate and I told them it was not the best they could do. I had already
checked rates and showed the girl at the desk the rate on my phone. $10
saved!

At the hotel I'm at in Savannah, we were looking for a place to eat. I
went to the app called "Places" and found restaurants near us and reviews
for them.

The list goes on and on. I'm very happy with my Android based phone.

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:

Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? Is there actually some
information inside of it? To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. An "App" is a
small application program (applet). It runs on the cell phone's computer.

About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... But
for what reason????

The same reason. The camera takes a picture and decodes it. It can then hop
on the web and look for the product that matches that "code". With a cell
phone, you can walk into a store and take a picture of the 2-D UPC glyph, and
an APP will tell you where on the web you can buy it the cheapest. BestBuy
doesn't like these things. ;-)

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

I once though I didn't need a cell phone. I was wrong. In fact, I'm using it
now. I just moved into a new house and have no Internet or TV service yet. My
cell phone is connecting my laptop to the Internet now. I had to stick it in
a window upstairs to get 3G service, but it works.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!

It's not the technology that's getting useless.

Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

We agree there.

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:15:47 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:


wrote in message

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!
Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

Thanks

I agree about Facebook, but I've changed my mind about smart phones.

You'd be amazed at how handy it can be to find information about many
things. I'm travelling right now and I stopped at a motel. They gave me a
rate and I told them it was not the best they could do. I had already
checked rates and showed the girl at the desk the rate on my phone. $10
saved!

At the hotel I'm at in Savannah, we were looking for a place to eat. I
went to the app called "Places" and found restaurants near us and reviews
for them.

The list goes on and on. I'm very happy with my Android based phone.

Ditto, though it has done some goofy things.

[IGot2P]

On 4/30/2012 5:42 PM, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? Is there actually some
information inside of it? To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... But
for what reason????

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!
Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

Thanks


As other have stated they are QR (Quick Response) codes. If you would
like to make one or more just go to http://www.qrstuff.com/ and make
them free. In fact, you can even email them directly from that site. Now
go there, do it, and impress someone. :-)

Don

[DerbyDad03]

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

A QR code is not product specific like a UPC. It can provide a web
address, link, or even a phone number.



About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... *But
for what reason????

The same reason. *The camera takes a picture and decodes it. *It can then hop
on the web and look for the product that matches that "code". *With a cell
phone, you can walk into a store and take a picture of the 2-D UPC glyph, and
an APP will tell you where on the web you can buy it the cheapest. *BestBuy
doesn't like these things. *;-)

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. *But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

I once though I didn't need a cell phone. *I was wrong. *In fact, I'm using it
now. *I just moved into a new house and have no Internet or TV service yet. My
cell phone is connecting my laptop to the Internet now. *I had to stick it in
a window upstairs to get 3G service, but it works.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!

It's not the technology that's getting useless.

Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

We agree there.

[Tegger[_3_]]

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in
:

I've changed my mind about smart phones.

You'd be amazed at how handy it can be to find information about many
things.



Yep. The more functions they build into smart phones, the better those
phones get.

Since I got my BlackBerry, I haven't opened the map book that's in my
briefcase. The online map combined with the little moving dot that shows my
location is WAY handier than any paper map, and a lot more convenient than
a Garmin.



--
Tegger

[Tegger[_3_]]

" wrote in
:


Do you know what a UPC is? These square thingys are 2-D UPCs.



The ones the OP is referring to are bar codes, but they're /not/ UPCs.


--
Tegger

[DerbyDad03]

On May 1, 10:05*am, Tegger wrote:
" wrote :

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs.

The ones the OP is referring to are bar codes, but they're /not/ UPCs.

--
Tegger

No, the ones the OP are refering to are /not/ bar codes. They are QR
codes.

First, note his description: "square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them"

Now do a Google image search on "QR codes" to see what the OP is
asking about.

[Bryan Scholtes]

On May 1, 9:52*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On May 1, 10:05*am, Tegger wrote:

" wrote :

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs.

The ones the OP is referring to are bar codes, but they're /not/ UPCs.

--
Tegger

No, the ones the OP are refering to are /not/ bar codes. They are QR
codes.

First, note his description: "square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them"

Now do a Google image search on "QR codes" to see what the OP is
asking about.

They ARE UPC codes, but not bar codes per se. They're actually called
2D or Matrix Codes. QR is a marketing term. They're used because they
hold LOTs more data than the 13 digits a "bar code" can hold. The UPC
organization is involved in their evolution. In 2014, they'll start
replacing "bar codes".

The bar code/matrix code technology is old. very old. It's the ability
of a smartphoen to read it that is recent.

[DerbyDad03]

On May 1, 1:53*pm, Bryan Scholtes wrote:
On May 1, 9:52*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:





On May 1, 10:05*am, Tegger wrote:

" wrote :

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs.

The ones the OP is referring to are bar codes, but they're /not/ UPCs..

--
Tegger

No, the ones the OP are refering to are /not/ bar codes. They are QR
codes.

First, note his description: "square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them"

Now do a Google image search on "QR codes" to see what the OP is
asking about.

They ARE UPC codes, but not bar codes per se. They're actually called
2D or Matrix Codes. QR is a marketing term. They're used because they
hold LOTs more data than the 13 digits a "bar code" can hold. The UPC
organization is involved in their evolution. In 2014, they'll start
replacing "bar codes".

The bar code/matrix code technology is old. very old. It's the ability
of a smartphoen to read it that is recent.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I beg to differ. I'll agree that they are not bar codes...that's
obvious.

However, I don't agree that QR codes are UPC codes.

http://www.davewentzel.com/content/qr-codes-vs-upcs

If you DAGS for UPC codes, you'd be hard pressed to find a site that
doesn't define them as "bar code symbology". Logic holds that if
UPC's are created using bar code technology and QR codes are not bar
codes (which you ahve stated) then QR codes can not be UPC's.

Besides, UPC code are used to identify a specific product or item,
using a code that can be understood universally, thus the name.

QR codes rarely specific to single item. They are used mainly to
provide information about a brand, a group, a website, etc.

Do a Google Image search on "qr codes" and scan some of the images
with a smart phone, then tell me why you feel that QR codes are UPC
codes.

[Tegger[_3_]]

Bryan Scholtes wrote in
:

On May 1, 9:52*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On May 1, 10:05*am, Tegger wrote:

" wrote
innews:mamup7
:

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs.

The ones the OP is referring to are bar codes, but they're /not/
UPCs.

--
Tegger

No, the ones the OP are refering to are /not/ bar codes. They are QR
codes.

First, note his description: "square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them"

Now do a Google image search on "QR codes" to see what the OP is
asking about.

They ARE UPC codes,



They are NOT "UPC" codes. UPC codes are only UPC codes if they are
generated in compliance with the GS1 numbering systems, and the GS1-issued
company-prefix license. Otherwise they are just bar codes containing
whatever information the publisher wanted to put in them.


but not bar codes per se.


They ARE considered (and referred to as) bar codes. Not all bar codes have
stripes on them.



They're actually called
2D or Matrix Codes. QR is a marketing term. They're used because they
hold LOTs more data than the 13 digits a "bar code" can hold.



That's right. Standard linear UPCs contain no information at all other than
the company prefix. The product ID in the code is arbitrarily assigned by
the company holding the prefix; it means nothing to anybody but that
company.



The UPC
organization is involved in their evolution. In 2014, they'll start
replacing "bar codes".



GS1 is the "UPC organization" you mentioned above. But I can't see any
mention of this new 2014 system. Got a link?

DataMatrix codes are already in use, and have been for several years. I
think they're used more in Europe than here. The GS1 document outlining
DataMatrix was translated from the French, and was originally written by
GS1 France.

The only "new" thing I can find on GS1 is EPC/RFID, which is not really new
anymore either.
..


--
Tegger

[Tegger[_3_]]

DerbyDad03 wrote in
:



Besides, UPC code are used to identify a specific product or item,
using a code that can be understood universally, thus the name.



UPC codes are /ONLY/ UPC codes if they have been created using the GS1-
assigned company prefix (GLN) and numbering scheme.

Anybody can make and code a bar code, but only codes constructed in
compliance with GS1 rules qualify as UPC codes. Bar codes can be 1D linear-
style, or 2D DataMatrix-style. The linear type is the kind everybody sees
and knows.

GS1 is the industry-consortium organization that controls UPCs worldwide.
Each major country has its own branch, and it is that local branch which
assigns your GLN, and is whom you pay for your GLN.

GS1 is the proverbial horse's mouth. ALL UPCs /without exception/ come from
GS1, even though you get somebody else to print the image of the code:
http://www.gs1.org (this is the US site)
Lots of info there, even if you don't have a login.



--
Tegger

[Tegger[_3_]]

Bryan Scholtes wrote in
:

They're used because they
hold LOTs more data than the 13 digits a "bar code" can hold.


Your "13 digits" must refer to the GTIN-14 case code (minus the check
digit).

Linear codes /can/ actually hold quite a lot of information, not just the
GLN that I mentioned in another reply.

I have in front of me right now a product box with a US-market linear UPC
on it that holds about the same amount of data as the 2D square DataMatrix
codes. Its number is 32-digits long, and even contains a letter. We don't
use these codes, so I don't know what its type is without checking in GS1
again, which I don't feel like doing right now.



--
Tegger

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

A QR code is not product specific like a UPC. It can provide a web
address, link, or even a phone number.

Zzzz

About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... *But
for what reason????

The same reason. *The camera takes a picture and decodes it. *It can then hop
on the web and look for the product that matches that "code". *With a cell
phone, you can walk into a store and take a picture of the 2-D UPC glyph, and
an APP will tell you where on the web you can buy it the cheapest. *BestBuy
doesn't like these things. *;-)

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car.
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. *But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

I once though I didn't need a cell phone. *I was wrong. *In fact, I'm using it
now. *I just moved into a new house and have no Internet or TV service yet. My
cell phone is connecting my laptop to the Internet now. *I had to stick it in
a window upstairs to get 3G service, but it works.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!

It's not the technology that's getting useless.

Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

We agree there.

[Attila.Iskander]

"Tegger" wrote in message
...
"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in
:

I've changed my mind about smart phones.

You'd be amazed at how handy it can be to find information about many
things.



Yep. The more functions they build into smart phones, the better those
phones get.

Since I got my BlackBerry, I haven't opened the map book that's in my
briefcase. The online map combined with the little moving dot that shows
my
location is WAY handier than any paper map, and a lot more convenient than
a Garmin.


Only problem is that some of the Direction finders are quite stupid and will
often give you a far longer route and not be able to readjust when:
a) you don't want to go the way they "suggest"
b) you don't go that way.
Recent experience, I was directed to do a 30+ mile detour on trafficky
highways, instead of going straight down an unused secondary road, which got
me there about 10 minutes sooner. Not to mention that it was a more scenic
drive.

[DerbyDad03]

On May 1, 11:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:





On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. *Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.


Not different *at all*? At all? Wow!

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant that both
are means of "encoding a string of numbers, letters and other
characters"

Beyond that, the differences are huge, ranging from their intended
purpose, the amount of data that can be held, the error correction
schemes, the ease of creation, etc.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while *a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

I guess that makes them different from each other.


A QR code is not product specific like a UPC. It can provide a web
address, link, or even a phone number.

Zzzz


About all I can figure is that these are similar to a barcode..... *But
for what reason????

The same reason. *The camera takes a picture and decodes it. *It can then hop
on the web and look for the product that matches that "code". *With a cell
phone, you can walk into a store and take a picture of the 2-D UPC glyph, and
an APP will tell you where on the web you can buy it the cheapest. *BestBuy
doesn't like these things. *;-)

I'll probably never own a smart phone, since my standard cellphone is
all I need for emergencies or to make an occasisonal call from my car..
My computer takes care of my internet needs, and my digital camera takes
pictures, so I see no reason to have any need for a smartphone. *But
since I am seeing these things everywhere lately, I had to ask what they
are for.

I once though I didn't need a cell phone. *I was wrong. *In fact, I'm using it
now. *I just moved into a new house and have no Internet or TV service yet. My
cell phone is connecting my laptop to the Internet now. *I had to stick it in
a window upstairs to get 3G service, but it works.

The older I get, the more useless all this technology seems to be!!!!

It's not the technology that's getting useless.

Even the internet is becoming useless as everyone leaves the newsgroups
and websites in favor of Facebook, which (in my opinion) is totally
worthless.

We agree there.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

[[email protected]]

On Wed, 2 May 2012 07:36:00 -0500, "Attila.Iskander"
wrote:


"Tegger" wrote in message
...
"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in
:

I've changed my mind about smart phones.

You'd be amazed at how handy it can be to find information about many
things.



Yep. The more functions they build into smart phones, the better those
phones get.

Since I got my BlackBerry, I haven't opened the map book that's in my
briefcase. The online map combined with the little moving dot that shows
my
location is WAY handier than any paper map, and a lot more convenient than
a Garmin.


Only problem is that some of the Direction finders are quite stupid and will
often give you a far longer route and not be able to readjust when:
a) you don't want to go the way they "suggest"

Every one I've seen has a way of setting a detour. You can also set a
waypoint to a location on the desire route.

b) you don't go that way.

My wife's old GPS would nag incessantly. My cell phone notices that there is
another path the direction I'm headed and will adjust soon enough.

Recent experience, I was directed to do a 30+ mile detour on trafficky
highways, instead of going straight down an unused secondary road, which got
me there about 10 minutes sooner. Not to mention that it was a more scenic
drive.

My cell phone can give several possible routes and you can choose the one you
want just by tapping it on the screen.

[[email protected]]

On Wed, 2 May 2012 06:22:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On May 1, 11:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:





On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. *Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.


Not different *at all*? At all? Wow!

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant that both
are means of "encoding a string of numbers, letters and other
characters"

You're a member of Pendants of America, right?

Beyond that, the differences are huge, ranging from their intended
purpose, the amount of data that can be held, the error correction
schemes, the ease of creation, etc.

No, the difference aren't huge at all. It sorta makes sense that you can
encode more data in 2-D than 1-D, and that payload can have more uses. ...but
the idea is *exactly* the same.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while *a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

I guess that makes them different from each other.

You're an idiot, but that doesn't make you less of a person.

....can't even be bothered to trim posts. Figures.

[DerbyDad03]

On May 2, 10:24*pm, "
wrote:
On Wed, 2 May 2012 06:22:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:





On May 1, 11:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. *Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.

Not different *at all*? At all? Wow!

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant that both
are means of "encoding a string of numbers, letters and other
characters"

You're a member of Pendants of America, right?

Beyond that, the differences are huge, ranging from their intended
purpose, the amount of data that can be held, the error correction
schemes, the ease of creation, etc.

No, the difference aren't huge at all. *It sorta makes sense that you can
encode more data in 2-D than 1-D, and that payload can have more uses. *...but
the idea is *exactly* the same.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while *a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

I guess that makes them different from each other.

You're an idiot, but that doesn't make you less of a person.

...can't even be bothered to trim posts. *Figures.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ahh... the old "I can't admit I'm wrong so I'll start calling you
names" strategy.

That sure shows your level of maturity.

[Tegger[_3_]]

"Attila.Iskander" wrote in
:



Only problem is that some of the Direction finders are quite stupid
and will often give you a far longer route and not be able to readjust



The map function on my wife's iPhone and the one on my BlackBerry can
suggest a route if you ask them, but there's absoutely nothing to stop you
from ignoring that and simply making your own route, using the little
moving dot as your guide; you don't get scolded for changing the route.



--
Tegger

[[email protected]]

On Thu, 3 May 2012 05:23:38 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On May 2, 10:24*pm, "
wrote:
On Wed, 2 May 2012 06:22:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:





On May 1, 11:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. *Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.

Not different *at all*? At all? Wow!

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant that both
are means of "encoding a string of numbers, letters and other
characters"

You're a member of Pendants of America, right?

Beyond that, the differences are huge, ranging from their intended
purpose, the amount of data that can be held, the error correction
schemes, the ease of creation, etc.

No, the difference aren't huge at all. *It sorta makes sense that you can
encode more data in 2-D than 1-D, and that payload can have more uses. *...but
the idea is *exactly* the same.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while *a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

I guess that makes them different from each other.

You're an idiot, but that doesn't make you less of a person.

...can't even be bothered to trim posts. *Figures.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ahh... the old "I can't admit I'm wrong so I'll start calling you
names" strategy.

Wrong. It's the old "you're an idiot, so I'll call you an idiot", strategy.

That sure shows your level of maturity.

No, it shows that you're an idiot.

[Attila.Iskander]

"Tegger" wrote in message
...
"Attila.Iskander" wrote in
:



Only problem is that some of the Direction finders are quite stupid
and will often give you a far longer route and not be able to readjust



The map function on my wife's iPhone and the one on my BlackBerry can
suggest a route if you ask them, but there's absoutely nothing to stop you
from ignoring that and simply making your own route, using the little
moving dot as your guide; you don't get scolded for changing the route.


sigh
Some people are not too bright
Never said that
you can NOT make your own decisions
you can NOT follow a different route
you get scolded for not following suggested route.

[DerbyDad03]

On May 3, 10:53*pm, "
wrote:
On Thu, 3 May 2012 05:23:38 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:





On May 2, 10:24*pm, "
wrote:
On Wed, 2 May 2012 06:22:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On May 1, 11:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Tue, 1 May 2012 04:26:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them.. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

No, they're not different at all. *Both are means of encoding a string of
numbers.

Not different *at all*? At all? Wow!

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant that both
are means of "encoding a string of numbers, letters and other
characters"

You're a member of Pendants of America, right?

Beyond that, the differences are huge, ranging from their intended
purpose, the amount of data that can be held, the error correction
schemes, the ease of creation, etc.

No, the difference aren't huge at all. *It sorta makes sense that you can
encode more data in 2-D than 1-D, and that payload can have more uses. *...but
the idea is *exactly* the same.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while *a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

Two dimensions gives you more data than one, who wudda thunk!

I guess that makes them different from each other.

You're an idiot, but that doesn't make you less of a person.

...can't even be bothered to trim posts. *Figures.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ahh... the old "I can't admit I'm wrong so I'll start calling you
names" strategy.

Wrong. *It's the old "you're an idiot, so I'll call you an idiot", strategy.

That sure shows your level of maturity.

No, it shows that you're an idiot.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Scan this and then respond.

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl=Tell%20me%20how%20thi s%20is%20a%20UPC.&chld=H|0


....can't even be bothered to trim posts. Figures.

[Frank Warner]

In article
,
DerbyDad03 wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is
a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

A QR code is not product specific like a UPC. It can provide a web
address, link, or even a phone number.

Many companies are incorporating QR codes onto their business cards.
Scan the code with your smart phone and the data moves instantly to
your address book or contacts. No more mistyped names, phone numbers or
email addresses.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.sharpbywarner.com/

[metspitzer]

On Mon, 07 May 2012 15:24:22 -0700, Frank Warner
wrote:

In article
,
DerbyDad03 wrote:

On Apr 30, 11:38*pm, "
wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:42:57 -0500, wrote:
Everywhere I look lately I see these square boxes that are filled with a
bunch of dots and three of the corners have small boxes in them. *I had
no idea what they were until eating at Taco Bell, and there was one on
their packaging that said "scan with your smartphone app". *HUH?????

I must be too old to understand any of this stuff anymore. *My cellphone
makes phone calls and can send texts (if I knew anyone that knew how to
read or respond to a text). *There is no scanner, no camera, no
internet, nothing but a basic phone.

Anyhow, what do these square things do? *Is there actually some
information inside of it? *To me it looks like nothing but a bunch of
ink sprayed in the box randomly. *And while I'm asking about this, what
is an "APP"?

Do you know what a UPC is? *These square thingys are 2-D UPCs. *An "App" is
a
small application program (applet). *It runs on the cell phone's computer.

No, they are not UPCs. They are QR (Quick Response) codes. Two very
different things.

A QR code usually contains much more information than a UPC
considering that it can hold more than 4000 characters (letters,
numbers and symbols) while a UPC can only contain 12 numbers.

A QR code is not product specific like a UPC. It can provide a web
address, link, or even a phone number.

Many companies are incorporating QR codes onto their business cards.
Scan the code with your smart phone and the data moves instantly to
your address book or contacts. No more mistyped names, phone numbers or
email addresses.


Smart phones are cool. Companies are always looking for a way to
pitch there product. I was in Walmart and there was a display for
exercise equipment. I don't remember the exact instructions, but if
you had a smart phone, you could read a bar code or something and
watch a demo right there in the store. Most people pass it right up,
but it seemed like a clever idea for people looking for exercise
equipment.

I would love to be able to scan a bar code in the instruction manual
or from the box and be linked to the online version of the manual as I
can't see as well as I used to. It would also be nice to see a video
of how to assemble something instead of having to read the
instructions.