48 thoughts on “go on… scan it…”

  6. I am trying my best to phrase this friends…
    No.
    I will not install a program that is converting white and black squares into greek letters on my Galaxy Nexus so I can hold it up to a monitor.
    Never. Ever.
    To be honest this makes me a bit sad. I am hoping that the QR-code at least _doesn’t_ just hand me a URL but I still won’t install a QR-Code reader to make a photo of my friggin monitor. It’s ridiculous.
    Sorry to be one of “those” people :-(

  9. Normally, I find QR codes sort of silly; 98.35% of all QR codes are just URLs, after all, and having a QR code on a webpage when you could just have a hyperlink is almost always pointless. And the printed QR codes, most people don’t really know what to do with them. Even the ones who do… who’s going to snap a photo of the QR code on the side of a bus? Maybe 12.46% of all people.
    (In a related note, precisely 73.42% of all statistics given to multiple decimal places on the Internet are made up on the spot, often for comedic value.)
    This, however, is a valuable enough life lesson to be on stickers to hand out at conventions. ;)

  12. To @Maddan’s defense, he did not click it so may not know the message (or wisdom behind it).
    Either that, or he’s really really not into facial hair (one viewing of Sparks may change that)…

  13. It goes to a link with a small box of Wil screaming and waving his arms with the words “Don’t be a dick” around the picture box.
    I want to make my own QR code like all the cool kids!

  18. I can’t get my scanner to get it! Nooooooooooooooooo!
    I wish I could be as cool as that Sparks McGee, he probably doesn’t even need a scanner for it.

  23. Have to correct myself there. Roman letters. Greek numerals.
    Anyway, I first read this page on my Galaxy Nexus, in GReader, a mobilized version cached with the help of Instapaper.
    I am very much into gadgets and I simply can’t understand the reasoning behind QR-codes. It’s basically breaking the internet (e.g. not using hyperlinks), in this case for comedic value (which is cool).
    I am so torn about this it annoys me. I mean look at me I came back hours later to read what I wrote again to check if I am being a dick about this. If I am – I’m so sorry. I just don’t understand why I am deprived of another stupid cellphone video because I am unwilling to use my cellphone for a stupid action. Next thing I’m holding up my iPad at a concert to make pictures. *pulls hair out*

  31. I just gave making my own a shot. It worked great. :-) Steps I followed:
    1) Create a QR code to whatever you want, with 30% error correction enabled. Lots of online places, I just Googled “qr generator error correction” and picked one.
    2) Cut out the image you want to overlay, convert to black and white and then stylize/simplify it. I used Photoshop’s “Sketch\Stamp” filter, and bumped up the contrast.
    3) Paste your stylized image over your QR code, shrink it down so it’s covering less than 30% of the image. Make sure there’s a little white space around it, and don’t cover the corner boxes.
    Alternatively, just Google: add image to qr code

  32. Sheesh, I’m a little surprised at the emotions involved in a simple QR code…. scan it and enjoy, or don’t and move along.

  33. It’s fantastic! If you follow the links like a proper little minion, you will get the joke that goes with it… I for one think I might just have to buy this shirt. Thank you again Wil (and Joel) for your awesomeness! You make the internets a better place!

  38. I try to adhere to the maxim of “Don’t Be a Dick”, but as I recently tweeted (or FB’ed… whatever), I also believe an appropriate corollary is “But if you’re a dick to me, I’ll be a dick back”. Put this into practice recently when responding to reviewer comments on a paper that I wrote :)

  40. It has to do with error correction. When creating the code jack the error correction up all the way, then up to 30% of the code can be garbage and it will still scan. You really have to play with the sizing and placement of the image you are super imposing. It’s a neat trick though.

  44. I feel like QR codes are something that happened while I was away for the Internet for some reason. One day, it wasn’t there, the next day, everyone seemed to know what to do except me.
    So this is as good a time to ask as any other: what’s the “right” QR Code reader to download for iPhone/iPad? Are there features to these things one must consider?
    Also: it occurs to me that if the iPhone shipped with a QR reader, these things would instantly be 100x more popular/useful.

  45. While I am a proud geek, I am one of the 58% of US cellphone users who do not use a smartphone. I don’t get to scan QR codes, so I’m left out of the sheer awesomeness that Mr. hWeaton reserves for geeks who buy into the system and use smartphones. Thank you, sir, for making me feel even more isolated as I know I can’t use Grindr either. YOU BASTAGE!

  46. Hmm what if I get a shirt and it doesn’t scan?
    Neat shirt, but I wish people could scan it. I guess my muscular chest is not flat enough for it to scan. (yea right)

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