by Chrysa Smith

QR=QUICK, RUN!
That’s my first thought about the latest, greatest technology that you need to know about (if you didn’t already). This electronic wizardry comes out about as fast as a race horse out of the gate. QR, aka Quick Response Reader, has taken the bar code to new heights.

Now, I have stood there in the ‘Self Check’ line of the grocery store, struggling with bar codes that wouldn’t ‘read’ through the scanner. And the fast lane turned out to need the help of the poor lady that stands behind a podium without a speech or big pay check. She is the quick-check troubleshooter; overriding computer problems, printing out receipts that wouldn’t print at the quick check control station–those stations that are complete with money taker, change machine, card reader, scanner, printer, scale and bagging area. Does it slice? Does it dice? I mean, you know that anything that claims to do it all, can’t do half of it any good. Sorry, my cynicism tends to creep in.
But QR has my curiosity peeked. And maybe that’s because it doesn’t require you to sit at your computer for hours, writing clever 150 character messages that get people to ‘follow you’ on Twitter; or ‘friend’ you on Facebook. All it requires is a Smart Phone—at least as of this writing.
A black and white garbled box, that looks like a cross-eyed crossword puzzle (or diagram for a wild optometrist) is printed on product ads and products themselves. By holding up your Smart Phone to the diagram, you have immediate access to information about the product or service. Think about it. Without having to ‘google’ for information on a product you see in your favorite magazine, the QR reader will allow you to just zap it with your phone, and have all of the information you need to know instantly.
Wouldn’t that be great fun for car lots after dark, so you don’t have to deal with salesmen until you’re really ready to make a purchase? How about a house for sale? Whether you’re in the market or just nosey, you can zap the QR reader with your phone and voila—-know all about it. More instant access to information at our fingertips…….Now we can only hope there is no QR reader embedded in us, indicating our vital statistics; like weight, age and IQ—unless of course, we can hack into the technology and input that highly-guarded info ourselves.