I have not once ever felt the need to scan a QR code to "learn more" - and it's not because of incompatible code types.
I decided to see what it would take for me to create a very simple "tag" that I could use to direct visitors to my personal website. Note I didn't adequately document my steps before writing this post, so it is from memory.
1. Go to the Microsoft tag website: http://tag.microsoft.com/ 2. Click the tag manager 3. Log in with your live id 4. Consent to a bunch of terms 5. Click create 6. Follow the steps to create 7. Click render 8. Accept more stuff: http://tag.microsoft.com/resources/implementationguide.aspx 9. Get a PDF of your new tag
The URL for managing your tags is called "ManageAds.aspx".
Then looking at the implementation guide we find this little gem:
"Because the idea of scanning bar codes with a mobile phone camera is fairly new to most people, Microsoft requires you to provide basic instructions near each Tag that explain to users how to download and use the Microsoft Tag Reader application. [...]"
Instead with QR codes I go to http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ generate a tag, and place it where ever I want. None of my visitors first get redirected through a Microsoft website/URL which looks like this:
http://rs.tag.microsoft.com/U5SS544JBBGQWZDY5SO3SJJIX346OUSE.aspx?Level=1&VID=5%2B0%2B0&afid=0&TH=_exokqW8DE19hOgWheA%24&CS=U8&PL=qqEVoS0iWnsgtvRRahUwDpOP3lT4xjm1ZQhbA1v%2B33Y_XTYDgevcIqCcZPkuEjELB_S2dmR7FAfr_dAU7ZpsqHgSe3FE77BcYAwWfau1zELNpxfdJk1Vein5v3cjXUd7%2BOHZPti%2BEtwgRV8TLufSDUotLWae4rA4wq5i1EErTH1B89lyMg%24%24
I used QR codes to get data (usually text or URLs) onto my phone all the time. I've never once thought about using a 'ms mobile tag' instead. And I don't know anyone who has.
The death of QR is being greatly exagerated.
This claim that Microsoft's custom tags are "killing" other codes seems a little weird to me when I don't recall ever having seen one in the wild.
Don't worry, QR Code took over the rest of the world already.
While the article has a point, I don't like the misleading headline of this post. It went from what it should be, "Competing Implementations are Slowing 2D Barcode Adoption", to the blog post's slightly more sensational "How Microsoft, Mobile Tag, and AT&T are Killing Consumer QR Code Scanning In Utero", to this post's "How Microsoft mobile tags are killing QR codes".
Please try to phrase your headlines a little less sensationally, instead capturing the essence of the article.
if Android and Apple both integrate QR code scanning into their native camera apps, this problem would be solved.
For all of the "unique features" offered by each format, they all have the same primary feature in common, which is that they are primarily plastered on ads and take people with enough free time on their hands to scan them to yet more ads. Fragmentation isn't killing QR codes, businesses like ShareSquare are killing QR codes.
Mobile tags/QR codes/whatever will have more potential when people stop thinking of them as a way to take users to a webpage or show them something and start using them as a way to help users accomplish things. Show me a tag that adds a movie to my Netflix queue, adds a friend on Facebook or to a contact list, or puts a memo on my calendar.
As far as I know the Microsoft tags are patented, but the patents on the datamatrix codes lapsed in 2007, so that they can be freely used for any purpose without battles over royalties.
We chose to use Code 128-C one-dimensional barcodes--the same kind the United States Postal Service uses for Media Mail ZIP+4 routing--for our payment system (http://www.facecash.com) because they're cheap and easy to read. I can't imagine why anyone would want to use Microsoft Tag. Normal barcodes have done quite well since their introduction in the 1960s.
I can't imagine its hard to implement all of them on a device. Let the vendors decide which ones they want and the customers choose which they view as most valuable.
Though I agree that proprietary bar-codes are a no-no, I am not sure why QR codes are to be picked as the basis of a universal standard as opposed to datamatrix.
The two pictures shown on the right appear to be datamatrix barcodes....
I really don't understand at all. What's Microsoft's interest in pursuing an alternative format to the QR code? What could they possibly gain from it?
Can you imagine an internet with hyperlinks that only work on Windows computers?
great analogy about the codes being like URLs.
those tags are like the AOL keywords of yesterday. No matter how much they advertise it on TNT, it's dead.
Microsoft - Rebranding the wheel
Here's what Microsoft says:
Microsoft Tag vs. Other 2D Codes
Linking real-world objects to deeper experiences on mobile phones started in Japan with QR Codes. Microsoft Tag provides a next-generation solution that offers many useful improvements. Tag is an end-to-end system that provides many capabilities beyond simply opening a URL, and is built upon a highly scalable and flexible architecture.
The Tag system uses a cloud-based back-end that provides access to data that just isn’t possible with earlier QR codes, such as reporting on how frequently and where your Tags are being scanned. In addition, Tags allow you to dynamically change your data source – unlike other 2D codes that are associated with a single, permanent URL, Tags can be updated as frequently as you like to point to new websites, allowing you to reuse campaign materials.
Tags can be created in a much smaller size and can be read faster and under a wider range of lighting conditions. Tags can also be customized to your brand’s specific look and feel, creating visually exciting codes that enhance your message and brand. Learn more about creating Custom Tags.
The Tag Reader application runs on all major phone platforms, and unlike older formats, every Microsoft Tag can be read by every Tag Reader, so there is no consumer confusion from incompatible solutions. Tags just work.
http://tag.microsoft.com/overview.aspx