Double QR - The Power of Two QR Codes

My favorite Japanese Company in QR Code Business has recently released yet another innovation: The new service of IT DeSign Inc is called Double QR and is based on the same technology as their other services such as Design QR or Movie QR.

So whats so innovative about Double QR?

Just imagine the following possibilities:

• First of all the Double QR Code enables people to store twice as much data in a QR Code.
• It can be used to split an entrance for mobile internet users. For example a member of a community/website/whatever is supposed to scan the big QR Code while non-members scan the small one.
• Another possibility is that a Log-in ID / Password could be encoded in one code while the URL to a webpage could be encoded in the other code.
• You could also implement something like this with Double QR: If a person scans the two QR codes in Double QR, he can access a special site. The site cannot be accessed by scanning one code only.
• But i think the most amazing possibility is that Double QR allows one two incorporate two different kinds of codes into one huge code. For example you could have a Beetagg or a Data Matrix Code in a QR Code. Considering the fact that there is still not a single 2D-Barcode Standard in Europe this might be the most interesting use case for us. (see mockup-picture below / its just a mockup so it does not work! ;-) )
  

Now you may think a phone might have troubles with two QR Codes mixed into one code. But dont worry, according to IT DeSign Inc all Japanese cellphones capable of reading normal QR codes can also read Double QR. And i can also confirm that my Non-Japanese phone - a Nokia N80 running Nokias Barcode Reader application - can read Double QR Codes without any problems. :-)

You can get your own Double QR for a price of 30.000 ¥ right here.

Right upper image courtesy of IT DeSign Inc.
Beetagg in the mockup courtesy of S60.at

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Amazing Hack - Watch Youtube in High Quality

Have you ever wished you could watch your favorite Youtube videos in better quality? Thanks to the guys who figured out the following amazing "hack" you now can. :-)

Just perform these steps:

1. First of all make sure you have the latest Adobe Flash Player (that should be Version 9 right now) installed on your computer. The hack wont work with older versions of the Flash Player.
   
2. Then simply add &fmt=18 to the end of the URL of the Youtube video you want to watch and enjoy the improved quality.
3. Thats it. Really. Try it out with your favorite Youtube videos! ;-)

Here is an example that allows you to see the huge difference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJiIpwWY-rA (Old Standard Quality)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJiIpwWY-rA&fmt=18 (High Quality with hack)

What you cant see in the screenshots is that the sound quality also extremely improves.

Please note that the results of this hack are only (clearly) visible if the original video source was of high quality. A video that was originally recorded with a cheap cellphone wont look much better in the new HQ mode.

If you don't want to type &fmt=18 everytime you want to enjoy a video in high quality there is also a solution. As Firefox user you can simply use this Greasemonkey script that will automatically add &fmt=18 to every Youtube URL you open -> you automatically have high quality all the time.
Edit: I just heard that as an alternative you can also use this Firefox extension.

And now enjoy the hack and spread the word about it.

PS: I am pretty sure Youtube will make this new feature publicly available soon so that you don't have to use this hack your whole life long.

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Nokia N80 and the broken ribbon cable

Recently my 14 month old Nokia N80 started behaving weird. Sometimes the earpiece didn't work without any observable reason and then finally two weeks after this unexplainable behavior appeared for the first time the earpiece finally went dead. After that the same thing happened to the videocall camera and in the end also to the main display.

So what had happened?

I thought there could be only one part in the phone that could be responsible for this consecutive failure of three vital functions - all located in the slide part of the device. The part I am talking about is the most stressed part of the phone - the cable that connects the bottom of the phone with the slide part of the phone - also called "ribbon cable" or "dynamic flex connector".

Now that I had identified the source of the problem I ordered a new ribbon cable for my N80 from a German Internet shop (Gerry Mobilfunk). Two business days later the cable arrived and "Operation ribbon cable exchange" could begin without any further delays.

The exchange procedure itself was pretty simple since i had found some nice videos on Youtube beforehand that show the whole assembly and disassembly process in full detail.

Nokia N80 Disassembly Video:

[Video temporarily removed]

Nokia N80 Assembly Video:

[Video temporarily removed]

In the end my assumption about the broken ribbon cable turned out the be true (as you can see in the picture on the left hand side) and with 20€ money less in the pocket for the new ribbon cable and a revived N80 in my hands I learned two lessons:

1st) If you want a durable phone buy a candybar device and

2nd) Don't worry if the same thing happens to your phone. Things like that can be easily fixed at home. :-)

Hints:

* One can buy small Torx screwdrivers in every good electronic shop. (Example: Conrad Electronic)

* To avoid dust between display and front cover I suggest doing the whole repair work in a room with high humidity. If you cant keep the dust from falling onto the LCD i recommend a microfiber cloth for cleaning the display and front cover before you reassemble the phone.

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QR Code Update

I don't know where to start first, but there have been some amazing developments in the world of QR Codes in the last weeks and months - (yes!) outside of Japan. These developments make me think that QR-Codes could finally have a break-through around the world in 2008/2009. So what makes me come to that conclusion?

First of all I am starting to see websites featuring QR Codes (mainly used for download links) all around the world. For example one of my favorite Blogs - Symbian-Guru.com - has lately started to use QR Codes.

Then there was the release of an free QRCode Library for the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework called OpenNETCF. With this library Windows Mobile developers can easily add the ability to read QR codes to their programs. Since Windows Mobile Smartphones are especially popular in the USA this is a very important development.

And last but not least Nokia has finally an website up and running that allows you creating Datamatix and QR Codes within seconds.

Seems that QR-Codes are becoming more and more popular, right? And guess what, I will keep you guys updated. :-)

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The Internet Time Machine

Often i hear people complaining that a website they wanted to view has already disappeared. They think there is no way to view the things that were written on this website ever again. Information lost forever.

Stop!

What would you think if i tell you there is a time machine in the internet (the "WayBack Machine") that allows you to view lots of websites all the way back to 1996? (provided that they were indexed and archived)

You don't believe it?

Simply go to http://web.archive.org/ and enter the internet address of your choice. Choose a date you like to jump to (for example March 2000) and enjoy your trip through time.

Here are some examples:
Thats how my website looked in 2005
Microsoft's website in 1996
Apples website in 2001

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Essential Freeware / Open Source Software for Windows

I have been asked if i could compile a small list of all Freeware and Open Source Software I find useful / have on my computer. Wish fulfilled ... here is the list:

Browser
- Mozilla Firefox (with the extensions BugMeNot and Google Browser Sync)

Instant Messenger
- Trillian Basic

Video/Media Players
- VLC Media Player
- Media Player Classic

Video Encoder/Converter
- SUPER

File/Drive Encryption
- Truecrypt

File Compression
- 7-Zip

Various
- Google Earth

If you haven't heard of some of these apps yet try them out. They're very useful and don't cost a cent. :-)

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