Microsoft offers second app for iPhone

I love the way Microsoft has to use Mac OS X to make these.

This would be even better if it were integrated into the camera app. That way you would take a picture like you normally do and the iPhone would say: "Microsoft TAG recognized. Would you like to open this URL?"

No chance of THAT happening though.

I know the concept isnt new at all, but how about we all come up with an massive easter egg hunt using only these tags? That'll be fun.

As for practical use, imagine a building with one side of the wall painted with this uglyass tag. It'll stand out for sure, and all you gotta do is take a picture of it which shouldnt be hard to do since its so damn huge.

Ideas ideas.

and this kids, is what "in-no-va-tion" means. Apple does it *all* the time.

MS didn't invent barcodes...or even the concept of using a cameraphone to snap a picture with embedded info...QC codes do that.

What MS did was make something that works, and works with a broader range of phone cameras with higher accuracy.

There is a business angle to this; IT people are mostly MS and *nix guys.

It will catch on...unlike something like cuecat...because you take your phone everywhere :)

-K

At first, I thought it was going to be lame too, then I tried it. It's amazing! :D I love it. Just takes a little getting used to.

I'm sorry, but what's a tag? what is this for?

Man, some of you guys seem to need to be jerks about MS by default without even thinking about it. "Dead on arrival" - christ, what's wrong them just trying stuff out? If it doesn't interest you then fine, but this kind of attitude - on both sides of the table - is really boring.

Not catch on? Perhaps not in the US, but QR code readers on mobile phones have been quite popular in Asian countries for a while now.

I can't believe how many people think this won't catch on. It's perfect for business cards. Look at all the devices that were supposed to squirt contact info from one to the other over a clunky IR channel. This could be implemented very cleanly on any device with a camera.

It gets you around awkward text entry on a mobile device. You're at the hotel and you want walking directions to wherever. The concierge has you snap a photo of the thingie and you've got a google map page.

You're at the gym and you want the pool schedule. Take a photo of the thingie and you have it.

There's an ad for a bike on the bulletin board. take a photo of the thingie and you have the info to call later.

this stuff has been around forever. It's just waiting for the right implementation. People used to FAX binary files to each other using this stuff. You got the thingie in a fax, scanned it, then used the software to retrieve the binary from the scan.

Still waiting for office.