http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/ Engadget Comments for Microsoft Tag comes out of beta, promises free colorful codes for all http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Several dollars short.

MS Manager: "Hey look, we have QR codes just like Google!"
Smart Guy: "That's very... colorful..."
MS Manager: "Yeah isn't it great? It's very aesthetically pleasing."
Smart Guy: "So if I want to print a bunch of these for any reason then I get to spend a bundle on color cartr--"
MS Manager: "IT'S LIKE A MAGICAL RAINBOW! WHEEEEEE!!!"]]>May 28th 2010 2:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/Did you know MS was working on tags way before google ever thought about the QR codes? Besides, tags are more than just the google QR codes.]]>May 28th 2010 3:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 3:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
I know; I just think this implementation is stupid and seems like a poorly-executed pissing contest to show how much more clever they are than everyone else, and Google is their main rival who makes frequent use of QR codes. And my point remains. Microsoft's implementation is far more expensive to print.]]>May 28th 2010 4:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
They have black and white version of the tags too. The purpose of the color tags is that you can scale them smaller and still have a mobile device pick up the values clearly. So it cuts down on the print space.]]>May 28th 2010 8:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 9:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
oh you should! It wont be a waste of a minute :)]]>May 28th 2010 2:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 2:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 3:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Wikipedia: "A Microsoft Tag is essentially a machine readable web link, analogous to a TinyURL link: when read, the Tag application sends the HCCB data to a Microsoft server, which then returns the publisher's intended URL."

Microsoft knows what tags you scan and where they link to.]]>May 28th 2010 3:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 9:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 11:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Really, I was able to create one for my vcard in about 30 seconds.
And that included the time it took me to log into my Live account. ]]>May 28th 2010 2:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 2:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Fair enough.
Though if you cut back on the coffee, time doesn't seem to pass as quickly. ]]>May 28th 2010 3:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 9:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Don't confuse things. This is Microsoft tag, QR-codes are the known black and white 2D codes.
QR-codes also don't have a direct link to google or apple, they where created in 1994 by a Japanese corporation, and are widely used in Japan long before android or the iPhone came out. There exist QR-code scanner apps for almost al (mobile) OS'es.

To answer your question: No, these are not better than QR and microsoft made it because... they wanted their own proprietary codes? I don't really get it why they did it, there's nothing wrong with QR-codes.]]>May 28th 2010 3:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
wow.]]>May 28th 2010 1:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
60 places for triangles, with each one having 4 values, that's 60 quadranary bits, or 4^60, which is 1.33 × 10^36 combination.

If that where bits it'd be about 20 yottabytes. Wow.]]>May 28th 2010 1:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
I believe there's only 50 places for triangles. Still, 1.27e30 isn't too shabby.]]>May 28th 2010 2:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/158,456 yottabytes. The coolest part for me is that if you convert this to just binary data, a 5x10 grid of triangles could represent, I dunno, the entire Internet as a zip file.]]>May 28th 2010 2:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Capacity_Color_Barcode

CS 101: an n-cell memory with 2 states per cell can represent 2^n states and holds n bits.

Bonus, a 1080p image can represent 24^2,073,600 states. Wow!]]>May 28th 2010 4:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
50 quaternary "bits" is the same as 100 binary bits, which is the same as 12.5 bytes (25 nybbles). I don't know where the contributor to that Wikipedia entry got the idea that 50 quaternary "bits" were the same as 105 binary bits, but anyone with a decent calculator can see that this is not right. Maybe the error correction allows you to squeeze in a few more bits, I don't know, but in terms of raw data, the math is pretty indisputable.]]>May 28th 2010 8:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 2:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 5:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
You can create Tags that include icons or logos. ]]>May 28th 2010 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 3:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
1) No need for a logo in a 2D code.

2) QR-codes actually allows some creativity with the codes. Search google images for 'QR-code'. ]]>May 28th 2010 4:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
True, but if, say the SnapTag is promoting some sale, or deal, and it's worth the trouble, they'll do it. Considering the current economy, MOST Americans are all about getting the best deal.

Assuming said consumer has a smartphone, these types of tags (QR codes/MS Tags) can be useful. The advantage to SnapTag is that the consumer doesn't have to download an app. As long as their phone has a camera and can text (which most phones can do), any phone can use it. Yes, a smartphone will give them more options (ie. link to a video, go to mobile site) but at least a basic phone with camera and text can still take advantage of it. So, broader user reach.

Also, with the use of logos, the advertiser can do more guerilla-type marketing (tent cards in food courts, t-shirts at concerts, etc) as the SnapTag is already branding for them. QR Code/MS Tags will need some sort of advertising to support the code, to at least identify the company.

But like anything, each one has their advantages and disadvantages. ]]>May 28th 2010 4:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
Off to stick these to everything.]]>May 28th 2010 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/
The least they could do it add QR scanning capability. I hope this fails, and I hate that I'm seeing it in some places like E.W.]]>May 28th 2010 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 5:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/microsoft-tag-comes-out-of-beta-promises-free-colorful-codes-fo/May 28th 2010 1:54PM