More and more I’m seeing QR codes around - in magazines, on books, even in retail environments. I did not know much about them, so thought I should find our more.
QR codes are 2 dimensional barcodes created by Japanese company Denso-Wave (a subsidiary of Toyota) in 1994, with QR standing for “Quick Response”.
The benefit of a QR code is the ability to store more information in the graphic than a barcode, a total of 7089 numeric only or up to 4296 characters*.
I have so far seen the following implementations of QR:
- Website link to product information
- Business Card / vcard details so that you can import the information straight into your SmartPhone
- Magazine subscription details
- Link to online photos on real estate signs
I think the driver for greater adoption of QR codes is going to be Smart Phones, as there is a requirement to have a camera, and apps that understand QR codes.
To generate your own QR code, have a look at Kerem Erkan blog, and for more information about QR look at the website 2d code. If you have an iPhone just search the store looking for QR – there are a number of free readers and I use BeeTagg.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_codes
I happily set my alarm clock to go off at 2:55am so that I could order my iPad 2! Ordered and on its way – I ordered the 32GB WIFI version, with a VGA adapter, Smart Cover and docking bay.
I didn’t go for the 3G version now that the iPhone (with iOS 4.3) has personal hotspot. This is such a cool feature, and if you haven’t upgraded your phone yet, I would recommend that you do so.
Kyle found a great site in the US to put a thin skin on the front and back of the iPad to protect it, made of 3M material and even the option to make your own customised version - http://www.gelaskins.com/
We often question if we are over engineering backups, as many people have an understanding of “backup” as something an organisation does once a day, to tape. Here, we’re a little more risk aware, and this is a guide to the many layers of backup we use to do our best to protect our clients’ information, and ensure the best uptime for them in the event of a problem.
Our primary level of backup is ShadowProtect. This is an “online” backup system, which runs at regular intervals (usually hourly) and “snapshots” the state of a server and all data to an attached hard disk drive. This is designed to restore files for our clients quickly in the event of anything from accidental deletion of a single file to complete unrecoverable hard disk failure of a server. It does NOT protect against physical destruction or damage at the site. For this reason, we retrieve the ShadowProtect drive to our premises every six months, and replace it with a new one. These drives are stored by us for years in case they are required.
Next, we utilise remote backup software currently Vembu Storegrid, but we are evaluating alternatives) to store critical applications and data “in the cloud”. This is an extra layer of protection for the most mission critical data and for some laptop users, and also allows for relatively rapid restoration in the event of a disaster.
Finally, there’s good old tape backup. Many consider tapes out-dated, and tape backup procedures error prone due to being reliant on people remembering to change tapes, but we find they are still the cheapest method of providing monthly point-in-time backups which can be easily removed from site and archived.
Although many (including some of our engineers) wish tape would go away, even one of the most technically advanced companies in the world still relies on it as a final “backstop” against data loss. Read an interesting article from VMWARE info.
The replacement for tape will most likely be Solid State Drives – small, portable, no moving parts, and increasing levels of reliability (we have had a few die in both servers and laptops).
Using IT as an integrated part of your business can add real value, especially when we understand what you do. Being part of your business is different to just turning up and dealing with break/fix issues.
Here are two recent examples from our clients.
We saw that payroll was printing payslips and posting them, so we discussed an upgrade which allowed the payslips to be emailed, saving time, printing, and postage costs.
We were discussing file structures for the new financial year with an accounting firm and they showed us the manual process they went through to create them. We then wrote a script to automate this, saving many hours of admin time.
NZ Autocar cover price: $9.70
NZ Autocar on a 12 month subscription: $7.91 per issue
NZ Autocar on a 12 month subscription, delivered to your iPad by Zinio: $3.75 per issue.
I now get all my magazines via digital subscription. I like the savings, but really it is the convenience of having the latest issue arrive, wherever I happen to be!
Zinio is easy to setup, and allows you to access subscriptions on just about any device (PC, Mac and iPad).