Tag Archives: qrcode

Windows 10 ‘Blue Screens of Death’ adding QR codes to explain errors

Great example QR code use to simplify a lot of complex information down to a simple interaction, getting users quickly to a support page to help troubleshoot an issue.

Alibaba embraces new visual QR-style codes

A new twist on the traditional black and white matrix code has been done many times before. This time its by Visualead, who have featured on BAWS before. The ‘dotless visual codes’ (hmm), only require the corner dots to scan, leaving 90% available for logos or imagery. They have partnered with the giant Alibaba to help combat counterfeit goods, so expect this format to become commonplace. 

image-rendering | CSS-Tricks

image-rendering | CSS-Tricks

A new CSS property allows control of the way the browser optimises images. If you have small blocky images with sharp details, for example a QR code, you will have seen how increasing an images size often makes details blurry. 

The ‘image-rendering’ property allows you to specify the image needs to remain sharp at larger sizes.

img {
  image-rendering: pixelated;
}

Perfect for keeping responsive QR codes sharp and scan-able on the web.

Update: Sime Vidas has a comprehensive list of css properties for crisp pixelated images across screen resolutions.

The term often used is “扫一扫” (sǎo yī sǎo), “sweep a little” (as with a broom). I prefer this operative verb to our “scan”, which conjures images of tricorders and medical equipment.

Dan Grover, in his observations on ‘Chinese Mobile App UI Trends’, describing his experience of relocating to China, explains the term used by the Chinese for describing the act of scanning a QR Code.

mashable:

Facebook’s much-anticipated anonymous social app is finally here, and it’s called Rooms. The app allows people to create a “room” on any topic. The goal, according to the app’s blog, is to transfer the utility of message boards to the mobile world.

Rooms uses QR Codes to share invitations to specific rooms. You can print hardcopies for offline use, or interestingly, share the code via email / chat and the Rooms app looks for the codes saved in your devices Camera Roll and allows you entry to that room. 

springwise:

QR code badges could help lost seniors find their way home

QR codes are proving to be an enduring method for easily attaching digital information to physical objects, and we’ve seen them used in a variety of ways. Australia’s StrayHat has made it easier for parents to find their kids’ lost stuff with QR code labels, and now a local authority in China has now issued QR code badges to elderly people, enabling passersby to help them back to their home if they get lost. READ MORE…