Six QR Code Failures and Three QR Code Wins

QR codes. I hates ‘em. The Quick Response code (QR code) popped up in our lives a few years ago, a strange square that looks like what you get when you cross Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House textiles (as seen in Blade Runner) with 8-bit graphics. They came to us by way of Japan, which is obviously their revenge for our giving them hair metal bands and, in unrelated news, making them deaf. In a perfect world, QR codes are simple enough to use: Just align your smartphone QR reader with the corners of the code, and receive a wealth of information. Hot deals? Greater knowledge of a product or event? A bunch of other stuff I don’t care about that’s related to marketing? QR codes are there for you. At first blush, QR codes are a thoughtful way to disseminate...

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Posted on Jan 20, 2012 in HPIO, Technology

7 awesome bits of tech that just freakin’ disappeared

Recently, my husband and I were arguing about TiVos, and it’s not just because we like to argue. He says that our homegrown MythTV system is a customizable, open-source way to record television, and I say that I miss the chirpy little noise a TiVo remote control made when I fast-forwarded through the commercials. Then we paused to remember Tivo’s competitor, ReplayTV. What the heck happened to it?

HPIO
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Posted on Dec 12, 2011 in HPIO, Technology

12 types of bad tech names

Life is too short to want to punch a website in the face, but there I was, staring at Apple.com, feeling the rage. I was struck for the nth time by the sheer badness of the name iPad when I realized there were worse names of tech companies, products, and services. In fact, there are entire categories of bad.

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Posted on Aug 22, 2011 in Featured Articles, HPIO, Technology

How enterprise mobile communication can benefit from white space spectrum

When Kiely Cronin visits San Francisco, his cell phone drops his calls…on a good day. On a bad day, however, his device doesn’t work at all. “If I’m in a large crowd, I can’t even place a phone call.”

HPIO
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Posted on Jun 21, 2011 in HPIO, Technology

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