Word on the street today is that the Redmond Behemoth that most folks love to hate has managed to “tag” upwards of 2 billion real-world objects with it’s colorful 2-dimensional bar codes… Hmm – last I knew, a tag was a territory marker that gang members left with spray paint. But I digress…
Personally, I think being able to point your phone at something and learn more about it is pretty cool, especially if doing so makes life easier or faster. That’s why I have a QR Code on the back of my business card – if you scan it, not only do you get a bunch of information about me, but you can also automagically drop that information into your phone’s contact list. In case you haven’t seen one around, QR Codes look like this:
Despite the rather troublesome relationship that Microsoft has with Android, they still want the growing Droid army to be able to consume their tags – so they’ve been nice enough to release an Android app that decodes them. And that’s where things get dicey. You see, when I install the open-source Barcode Scanner app on my phone – which reads QR Codes – it doesn’t ask for much. Internet access is an understandable request, in case the QR Code contains a web address; otherwise the list of permissions is pretty ho-hum. But when I look at what Microsoft wants? Not only do they want Internet access – which, in a closed-source app, could be used for good or mischief – they also want access to my fine-grained GPS location, permission to send and view text messages, and a free pass to view what accounts are set up on my phone. Last time I checked, that stuff isn’t necessary to convert a bunch of colored triangles into something I can use.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot more QR Codes in my occasional excursions into the real world than I have Microsoft Tags. Recent sightings have included store displays at Best Buy, banners at the Rochester Jazz Festival, as well as TV, magazine and public transit ads. For all the billions of Microsoft tags that are supposedly swarming around us, I haven’t seen any – and I’m perfectly content to continue ignoring them if Microsoft’s keen to get their hands on my Android phone’s innards.
[Image: MSDN]
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