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It used to be that the only time you'd notice a bar code was at a store, maybe when a cashier scanned your groceries. But lately bar codes are showing up in more places around town — and getting more sophisticated. You might have seen one cousin of the traditional bar code: Known as a QR code, this jumble of little squares randomly arranged within a larger square is popping up on everything from bus stop billboards to restaurant windows. If you spot one and snap it with your cell phone camera, the device can show you a website, photo or video related to the advertiser. For example, Google Inc. is giving businesses stickers with QR codes that passers-by can scan. That brings up a link to a mobile version of a Google page where the business can post coupons and information about themselves. Soon the codes could lead to other avenues for connecting with customers in ways businesses can measure and control. That could help them target advertisements to the people who are most likel...

QR Codes As a followup to this post about my new phone I thought I'd offer this QR Code primer and offer some example images. My new phone ( details ) allows me to create these QR codes based on more or less anything. It's really rather cool, like modern hieroglyphics. Click here to generate your own QRCodes! More detailed info as well as some (Japanese) tools can be found here . What are QR Codes? QR Codes are basically 2-dimensional UPC or barcodes. As you can see on the manufacturer's page they're capable of holding quite a bit more data than a standard UPC code. It's an internationally standardized system of encoding information so that it can be read by a visual scanner. It's almost certain to be immediately superceded by RFID chips, assuming rabid anti-technology privacy advocates don't shift us back to the dark ages. ;)