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Barcoding Billboards to Save Homeless Critters

Posted April 23, 2009
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Toronto-based Reasonpartners.org has integrated photo-enabled barcode technology into its wildlife protection OOH campaign. The eye-catching billboards featuring wild animals marooned in city settings were launched two weeks ago around Toronto.

One of the billboards in the campaign features Microsoft’s Tag High Capacity Colour Barcode (HCCB) technology, which gives smartphone users direct access to the organization’s website by snapping a picture of the barcode on the billboard, which is located at Eglinton Avenue and Markham Road in Toronto.

Reasonpartners.org is a philanthropic enterprise of Toronto agency Holmes & Lee that helps nonprofits raise money in a cost-effective manner, so more funds go directly to the causes. The general website links users to six different charities and non-profits pertaining to wildlife, giving a platform for concerned individuals to start informing themselves on the issue.

“We aggregate for different charities that happen to operate in the same space, in this case it is wildlife protection,” Peter Holmes, president of Holmes & Lee, tells MiC.

Barcode scanning with the new iPhone?

Posted April 22, 2009
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When iPhone 3.0 comes out later this year, we’ll see iPhone apps tied to special-purpose accessories.

Imagine a universal remote that lets you use your iPhone to control every box in your home-entertainment system. Or a portable RFID- and barcode-scanning module that turns your iPhone into a tiny store clerk — or comparison shopper — letting you find and buy stuff just by waving your phone at it.

These are just two suggestions from Wired.com readers for accessory-powered iPhone 3.0 applications — or, to use the term we coined, dongleware. We put up a call for suggestions, and you responded with loads of great ideas. We figured, what better way to give wannabe-millionaire developers ideas — and get what consumers want in return? Win-win.

iPhone 3.0 won’t be launching until summer, but developers can get plenty done in two or three months. To help speed up the process, here are your top-voted ideas in a nice and tidy list. Drum roll, please.

Barcode/RFID/Magnetic-Stripe Reader
This idea got the most votes — an accessory that acts as a barcode scanner and maybe triples as a magnetic-card and RFID tag reader.

Here’s how it could be useful: It would essentially turn the iPhone into a miniature checkout stand. The barcode scanner would register a product’s price, and then customers can simply swipe their credit card into the magnetic card reader. Similarly, the radio-frequency identifier would scan products containing RFID tags, such as library books, and send that information to the iPhone. In theory, the iPhone app transfers the data via the internet to complete the transaction.

Wouldn’t it be interesting (and a little weird) to see iPhones or iPod Touches at the checkout counter of every store?

This could also make a great tool for consumers to do on-the-fly comparison shopping while they browse brick-and-mortar stores.