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Microsoft turns to barcodes to hyperlink to the Net on Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:30 am
Gryphon
News Team
Remember the CueCat--the quirky barcode reader that was going to connect magazine readers with digital material?
Well, apparently Microsoft does, too. And while the CueCat meowed into obscurity, the software maker thinks that the idea made sense--that is, using a digital scanner to link printed materials with online content.
You can think of Microsoft Tag as CueCat 2.0, though this time, it doesn't require a special device. Instead, Microsoft tags use a cell phone camera for scanning the bar code, and the digital content can pop up right there on the phone.
Over the past year, Microsoft tags have started showing up in magazines and newspapers. Tags can also be placed on business cards, products, and even large outdoor signs.
"It's the hyperlink in the physical world," said Marja Koopmans, marketing leader for Microsoft's startup accelerator unit.
Tags can link to anything from a Web page to an online brochure or electronic business card (see video below). Golf Digest magazine, for example, uses tags to link directly to YouTube videos that can be viewed on an iPhone or other smartphone. That allows the magazine to, essentially, include not just how-to articles, but also instructional videos within its publication.
MORE: http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2010/02/04/microsoft-turns-to-barcodes-to-hyperlink-to-the-net/
Well, apparently Microsoft does, too. And while the CueCat meowed into obscurity, the software maker thinks that the idea made sense--that is, using a digital scanner to link printed materials with online content.
You can think of Microsoft Tag as CueCat 2.0, though this time, it doesn't require a special device. Instead, Microsoft tags use a cell phone camera for scanning the bar code, and the digital content can pop up right there on the phone.
Over the past year, Microsoft tags have started showing up in magazines and newspapers. Tags can also be placed on business cards, products, and even large outdoor signs.
"It's the hyperlink in the physical world," said Marja Koopmans, marketing leader for Microsoft's startup accelerator unit.
Tags can link to anything from a Web page to an online brochure or electronic business card (see video below). Golf Digest magazine, for example, uses tags to link directly to YouTube videos that can be viewed on an iPhone or other smartphone. That allows the magazine to, essentially, include not just how-to articles, but also instructional videos within its publication.
MORE: http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2010/02/04/microsoft-turns-to-barcodes-to-hyperlink-to-the-net/
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