you need a QR code reader in your smartphone

you need a QR code reader in your smartphone

Benefits of QR codes
A new coffee house opens and they have a huge advert. To get the location and directions to get there is just a click away.

The features of the code can allow the restaurant owners to integrate its directions into it, they load into the phone’s GPS and there...you get your directions.

For clients that visit a store regularly to make the same purchase each time, all one has to do is scan the code on the product pack and repeat purchase. For that order in the directory or on the online catalogue, scan and you are automatically connected to the customer agent on the other side and it can be delivered to your doorstep.

Transmission of data is made simple and the cost... well not so much.

For those without smartphones, the code can be broken down to a sequence of numbers that can be sent as a text message.
The data can be stored on a cloud to allow for its alteration without having to change the codes.

It is environmentally-friendly. Instead of handing out flyers, or walking around with tens of business cards, all one needs is one card or flyer, which people can scan and all the data is downloaded into the phone for access at any time. That saves on paper and also the hundreds of business cards stashed away in a box somewhere.

Shortcomings of QR codes
The more the data stored on the code , the more intricate the design. This is a problem to phones with lower camera pixel quality. When they try to pick up the code, they cannot distinctly identify the pattern and are therefore unable to read.

This Article Originally Came From The Internet

Green IT? Green IT!

Green IT

Last week, it was announced that Facebook has agreed to work with Greenpeace to promote clean energy, and encourage major utilities to develop renewable energy generation. So the goal is to run on clean, renewable energy rather than using traditional sources, thus saving money and becoming - at the risk of sounding extremely cliché - more environmentally friendly. 

The NGO is now trying to get other IT giants like Apple, Microsoft and Twitter to follow Facebook's lead and move towards clean energy. According to Greenpeace, the amount of electricity used by major IT companies to power their energy-hungry data centres is set to triple by 2020. 

Whenever I ask an IT exec whether they know the carbon footprint of the technology running in their organisations, the answer is invariably no. Or "we are working on it," but they rarely ever have real results to show in that respect. 

But some organisations have made progress. At Computer Weekly's UKtech50 event earlier this month, the technology director at Guardian News & Media Andy Beale was talking about the concept of digital sustainability, whereby companies would be able to measure the carbon emissions of a single click. More information about their work can be found here and here.

I found Andy's talk fascinating, but you could tell by the expressions on some of the attendees' faces that this is an extremely novel concept. How many organisations can say they are genuinely using technology in a sustainable manner AND using IT to reduce their employer's impact on the environment?

I would be very interested in hearing from any IT chief who is actively working on such initiatives.

Sure, the industry needs better and clearer guidelines on how to do this effectively, but those in charge of technology must be better informed and more proactive when it comes to green IT. If you are not working on it because you don't know where to start, then ask for advice. If you are doing this already, then share best practices openly. 

Given the CIO's powerful position to drive change when it comes to running a corporate environment in a more sustainable manner, rolling eyes and/or not doing anything about is not only irresponsible. It is simply not an option......more

This Article Originally Came From The Internet

Carrier IQ: How to remove the software from BlackBerrys

A senior executive at RIM has provided instructions on how to remove CarrierIQ software from its devices. The instructions are part of the BlackBerry Knowledge Base, under the general entry for removing third-party software. According to eWeek, the executive said that users would be able to remove the software just like any other third-party program. RIM said earlier this month that it does not install CarrierIQ software on its devices, and as part of its policy carriers are prohibited from installing it themselves — a policy that some carriers have apparently ignored. Check out the source link for the cure.

This article originally appeared on theverge.com as RIM provides instructions for removing CarrierIQ from BlackBerrys .