Reading barcodes with your smartphone

InfiniteChaos · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2009 2:38 am

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What’s black and white and read all over? Barcodes. And boy do you people like them.

The Web was buzzing about barcodes today because Google decided to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the first ever patent on them with one of their popular doodles.

Many commenters on Amy Farnsworth’s post talked of trying to scan the Google logo rendered in “Code 128″ with limited degrees of success – using everything from commercial barcode scanners to cellphone cameras. Others jumped in with conspiracy theories – that barcodes are somehow related to the devil, or would in some future time be used to catalog a society overrun by machines. It’s all pretty fantastic.

That got us thinking – how do you make your own barcode? A quick search (it doesn’t even have to be done on Google) brought us to this free online barcode generator. It’s running a bit slow after today’s miniature barcode renaissance, but visitors can use it to create barcodes in any of five formats to share with friends, post on a cubicle wall, or just generally geek-out with.

Told of the barcode’s humble origin – and that the original design was composed of concentric circles – many have asked about the more complex versions of barcodes now in use. You may have seen them on mail, retail packaging, or, more recently, in the pages of Golf Digest magazine.

UPS uses a two-dimensional barcode called MaxiCode. They include “offset rows of hexagonal modules arranged around a unique finder pattern,” and are capable of storing not only shipping class information, but the package’s intended address as well. The square codes even include error-detection technologies, so they may be read even when the bumps of a long journey obscure the image.

Those who pick up the November issue of Golf Digest magazine will see similar two-dimensional barcodes accompanying certain articles. These, when scanned with a smartphone equipped with the Microsoft Tag app, take readers to video tutorials related to the article they accompany. Some might say it’s surprising to see such innovation from a golf magazine, but the move makes sense – golf is one sport dominated by ever-changing technology. Why wouldn’t a publication committed to following it be the same?

Don't like the idea. Pings too much of a pseudo-movement of the Notsonew World Order. Too much 1984 for me. Okay okay, we create this innovative little trinket and then use it for what??? GOLF TUTORIALS? Everyone will be jumping on the band wagon and soon there will be tutorials for everything. They already have GPS in iphones. It really just goes downhill for me. The only purpose someone came up with for using GPS in there phone is they couldn't remember where the EFF they parked?! I mean it may make your life convenient now... but seriously think what they could/would use this for? Tracking you at all times unless you didn't have it on you which is going to be a necessity it seems because they are attempting to make the cell phone a second appendage.

Gammon · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:25 am

All cell phones already utilized a sort of GPS utility. It's how the signal is directed from a satellite to the ground tower nearest to your location.

If you're just now becoming scared of people tracking your whereabouts, you were better off in ignorance.

InfiniteChaos · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:21 am

No you missed the point entirely. It's the fact that they are wooing the public with it. Add this application to your phone because its cool and lets read barcodes, or it tells you your exact location. It's like our generation (the young adults between 18-28) are eating this shit up like its crack. Frankly, I would have been happier left in the dark. When I said:

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Everyone will be jumping on the band wagon

It was in reference to everyone jumping at the idea of being traced, or having the capabilities to read barcodes in your phone. Right now, its an application that you don't have to add to your phone....but it's just a few decades behind putting them on your hand, and inserting chips mandatorily at birth. All we really need is another 9/11 to finalize the deal.

So, no, I am not just now becoming scared of it. I loathe it in its entirety.

I miss the days when you had to rely on your sense of direction and not an electronic device to do all your thinking for you.

InfiniteChaos · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:48 am

On a lighter note, I went back to the sight because I was bored, and within 8 hours the comments went from 45 to 245... Not bad. Most of the people only said OMG I THOUGHT GOOGLE GOT HACKED or WHAT DOES IT SAY? which I thought was pretty fuckin funny. You'd think by now, people would know that any different picture up there always still means google. And the other one says, "be sure to drink your ovaltine" people posted it up there like 5 fuckin times and others were still asking. Okay I need to be working on my psychology paper.... Peace Gammon.

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Reading barcodes with your smartphone

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