YouTube: https://youtu.be/w5ebcowAJD8

Invidious, alternative YouTube link without YouTube: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=w5ebcowAJD8


Video description:

How do QR codes work? The checkerboard patterns taking over the world, demystified. Go to Saily.com/veritasium and use the code ‘veritasium’ to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.

Special thanks to Mashiro Hara and Yuki Watanabe.

00:00 I was wrong 00:49 How Morse Code revolutionized communication 03:57 How barcodes work 10:34 How QR codes store information 18:16 Why damaged QR codes still work 29:54 Why are QR codes so common? 31:21 How safe are QR codes? 32:25 The future of QR codes

    • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
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      3 months ago

      While that works pretty well, I find it strange how little people use the ability to tap an NFC tag to instantly connect. Getting the camera pointed at a code only takes a second but tapping a sticker is even quicker.

      I guess most people don’t know about that feature.

      • Gaywallet (they/it)@beehaw.org
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        3 months ago

        I find NFC stickers often require an annoyingly close connection (unless it’s a rather large antenna) and can be particularly finicky with certain cases and other attachments people put on phones. Realistically they both take approximately the same amount of time and it’s way cheaper to print a tag than it is to buy a single NFC sticker

  • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    I use them for our printed version of our documentation, each document has a cover page with a QR code pointing to the latest version of the electronic copy.

    Handy during an outage, and you don’t have to search for the online copy.

    • Crotaro@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      Smart! If my company ever digitises enough to make this a possibility, I’ll implement (or at least suggest) it!

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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    3 months ago

    I’ve always found them to be kinda cool, but, like… I can type in a url faster than getting out a camera and getting it to scan most of the time. Especially when they’re using a shortener to have a URL that’s literally just 4 characters long. So I pretty much never actually do anything with QR codes.

    They can be used for more than just a website, but I’ve never seen one that does anything but act as a link. Can’t you fit, like, a small image in one? Rickroll someone with just Astley’s face instead of going to the YouTube link?

    • thingsiplay@beehaw.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      Agreed. Often typing out URL is just faster, but it depends on the URL. Also it depends on the situation and how good you are at it. In example to use the camera, I just hit one app and hold it to scan in a second. Compare this to click browser app, new tab, click url area and start typing. Maybe you make a typo or you did not, but read carefully three times so you don’t land on a wrong site. Maybe its cold days and you don’t like typing right now. Also helpful for people who have difficulties in typing for whatever reason. But if you were already holding the phone with the browser, then its less of a deal.

      Also there is this surprise effect (as you already mentioned), which makes people curious too. It has error correction as well. So if there is a missing dot in the “i”, then you don’t need to try lowercase L or whatever.