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E-CommerceHave you noticed those small black-and-white squares that are beginning to appear in magazines? Or maybe you have observed those small multi-colored triangles inside of a 3/4" square? This month Julie Kendall of Rutgers University will explain what they mean. Julie touches on a bit of barcode history, and then describes four of the many 2D codes that are beginning to appear in many places. She explores some of the imaginative uses for these codes, but warns that we have seen unsuccessful attempts to use barcodes in ads before. Read further to find out if you or your business should be embracing the 2D craze. [Kenneth E. Kendall, Feature Editor]. 2D or Not 2D: That Is the Barcode Questionby Julie E. Kendall, Rutgers University Barcodes are machine-readable optical codes. We are all familiar with the Universal Product Code, or UPC, widely used on products and the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) code found on books. These are linear codes, or one-dimensional codes. Both UPC codes and ISBN codes were first used in 1974. Linear codes required scanners to read them, but recently the camera in mobile phones or the camera built into iMacs has become capable of reading UPC codes. In last month's column, Ken Kendall used software called Delicious Library 2 to scan in one-dimensional barcodes and create a DSI Fellow's textbook collection. I'm sure that lately you've been seeing strange little barcodes appearing in magazines and newspapers. These barcodes are square and take up much less space than the older linear barcodes. The new codes are called matrix barcodes. Instead of one-dimensional or linear barcodes, these matrix barcode squares are two-dimensional barcodes. They are still optical, machine-readable codes, so they are cheaper than RFID tags and can appear in print. There are over 30 different types of these barcodes in existence. These different codes are known generally as 2D barcodes. Are these 2D barcodes the next greatest thing or are they just a craze? In this article I describe some of the more common 2D barcodes, explain how they are useful, and then explain why the time may be right for 2D barcode acceptance and use. Examples of each code can be found in Table 1.
Table 1. Four of the many types of 2D barcodes. You can get apps for your mobile phone that will read them and direct you to their respective Web pages.
QR CodesQR codes were first created in 1994 by DENSO WAVE, which was a Toyota subsidiary at that time. QR codes have been used in Japan and South Korea for some time. They are beginning to show up in the U.S. and have the potential of becoming the dominant 2D barcode in the world. The QR (for Quick Response) code is easily identifiable because it has a position marker (it looks like three nested squares) in three of its corners. QR codes are completely free and they are in an open format. 2D code readers will feature a couple of codes, but all (with the exception of the Microsoft Tag Reader—explained later in this column) will most likely read a QR code. You can easily find more QR creators available. One example of a QR user is Rutgers School of Law-Camden, a leading law school in the U.S., whose Web and Information Technology Development Team has implanted the use of QR codes in innovative ways by using the codes to expand the use of mobile technology by law faculty and students. QR codes are being generated for all school events and placed on the school's digital signage system. Each code provides the user with a link to the event's Web page, giving them a way to easily view event data, register for an event, and will soon allow them to add the event to their mobile calendar. QR codes are also being placed outside of student study rooms, allowing students to self-schedule reservations and activate videorecording capabilities. Study room recordings are then sent to the student's mobile device and can be viewed instantly (DiVito & Ryan, 2011). DataMatrix Codes DataMatrix codes have the advantage of being readable even though they are very small (2cm2). They will be in use for the foreseeable future because the U.S. Department of Defense has adopted the system and plans to permanently mark critical components with a unique identifier using the DataMatrix code. Microsoft Tags Microsoft tags, formerly called the High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB), now use four colors, making the code more aesthetically appealing than black and white codes. Microsoft tags will work if they are printed monochromatically, but this appears to be discouraged by Microsoft. Microsoft tags differ from other 2D codes in another way. Suppose that you wanted to create a code that directed the user to your website. The Microsoft system requires that the code be read by a server. Therefore, the code is really just a web link. Once the code is read and the reader app reaches the server, it is redirected to the intended website. This redirection has the advantage of collecting and storing analytics. It is possible to get information about the tag usage from the Microsoft tag site. A drawback is that there is only one reader app, the official one from Microsoft. Of course, some may point out that then there is no confusion about the quality of the reader. So far, creating, publishing, and using Microsoft tags is free. One of the leaders in quality winemaking in the U.S. is Shafer Vineyards in Napa, California. Recently they began to place Microsoft tags in their literature. While they considered QR codes, their marketing design team liked the smaller size of the Microsoft tag. They also praised the easy sign up and creation processes, as well as the basic tracking of responses that is provided. Shafer Wines said the Microsoft tag is a perfect tool to create a bridge between their print and web-based efforts including video. They also have an obvious link to their online store (Kavish, 2011). Bee Tagg CodesAnother coding system trying to break into a crowded market (there are over 30 different types of 2D barcodes) is Bee Tagg. I included it because it shows an example of a 2D code that can include a company logo. The example in this article shows the DSI logo in the middle of the Bee Tagg. Uses of 2D CodesIf you scan a 2D code you can, among other things:
A Word of Caution I should caution the reader of this article not to get too excited yet. Here is the story of a proprietary barcode that had its own reader, shaped like a cat (to be alongside your mouse, presumably). CueCat debuted sometime in 2000. Many were given away free. The CueCat seemed like a good idea at the time. One could simply hook it up to a PS/2 keyboard (this was before USB ports) and read the unique barcodes in magazines like Wired, Forbes, and some newspapers. CueCat could also read UPC codes, in case you had a can of beans on your desk and wanted to scan it in. In the end a liquidator put up two million CueCats for sale at $.30 each. I never acquired one. In 2009, Gizmodo proclaimed CueCat to be the worst invention of the decade. 2D or Not 2D? We have pointed out that printing barcodes, like CueCat codes, in magazines may not be successful, but since 2000, the world has changed.
All of the above contribute to the argument that 2D codes will be widely used soon. For now you can download an app for your phone. I've used QuickMark, i-nigma, and TapReader with much success. Other apps like quiQR, Winq, and Bee Tagg will undoubtedly improve. I have also used the Microsoft Tag Reader, which only reads Microsoft tags. The opposite argument that 2D codes may not be widely accepted arises from observations about company behavior. In March 2011, Google stopped offering QR codes to businesses (Gohring, 2011). Prior to that they would send stickers bearing codes to the most popular businesses that updated their Google Places pages. Businesses were then to place the stickers on their store windows so that customers could scan them to go to their Google Places page. Speculation is that Google is experimenting with using Near Field Communication (NFC) in place of QR codes, so that people can use their phones to pay by waving it over a sensor, or download more information by waving the phone over an ad. In my opinion we may need to wait until code readers are pre-installed in all of our phones and assigned a button or an icon like Dial, SMS, or Maps. Then we will actually see the adoption of 2D barcodes take off. Some Android phones are indeed coming with pre-installed QR readers today. Expect to see more 2D barcodes in the future. You may begin to find 2D barcodes in magazines and newspapers, on business cards, on websites, on posters—even on t-shirts. You may find them on products or key components. But for now don't bet on any code winning out over any other code. There were many authors who predicted that Betamax would become the videotape standard instead of VHS, and others predicted that HD DVD would win over Blu-Ray as the successor to DVDs. They were wrong. It will probably be a little time before we have a dominant code that is universally accepted. References DiVito, T., & Ryan, T. (2011). E-mail communication regarding implementation of QR codes from the Web and IT Development Team, Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, July 28. Gohring, N. (2011). Google ends QR Initiative, IDG News Service. Accessed at: www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/223903/google_ends_qr_code_initiative.html, March 31. Kavish, Michael. (2011). E-mail communication regarding Shafer Vineyards promotional materials, July 28. Kendall, K. E. (2011). Walled garden or virtual prison: What you need to know about the app store's new approach to selling software. Decision Line, 42(3), May. Accessed at: www.decisionsciences.org/decisionline/Vol42/42_3/default.asp Related Links tag.microsoft.com/consumer/index.aspx uk.gizmodo.com/5431759/worst-gadgets-gallery/gallery/ www.boingboing.net/2005/06/12/two_million_cuecats_.html www.imediaconnection.com/content/28604.asp
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