Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

I was contacted by one of the guys from this article, Ashton. Ashton was looking for a ACMT (Apple Certified Macintosh Technician) to help manage and get the Apple Authorized repair off the ground. I ignored him to begin with because I am extremely happy working for Round Table Toys.

But he persisted… and for a reason. The reason? There is no such thing as a coincidence.

Two years ago I made a decision to completely switch from what I knew and loved to something completely new. I was working in an IT department that supported mostly Macs and took a leap head first into Social Media. Some called me crazy – others told me to go for it. It wasn’t that they doubted me, they doubted my belief that Social Media was here to stay and that it was going to change the face of marketing – forever. Two years later, things look a little different with Facebook and Twitter plastered all over the place. Am I still crazy? Absolutely (but that is a different story).

I have always followed my passion even if it meant leaving the place I love.

My passion is tech and particularly Macs. Need proof? Look at my license plate or my recent tweets.

So with this in mind, I am leaving Round Table Toys to join Ashton at University PC Care.

I am going to deeply miss Round Table and all the awesome people that made everyday full of fun-ness. To my fellow Round Table Knights – thank you for the awesome two years and continue what you do best – enabling kids of all ages to have fun.

While I enjoy social media, I am a tech at heart. As was written about me in a newspaper article previously – “He bleeds binary code”

I am sure many people that were upset when I stopped working on computers will be happy to know the geeky, pimply face, teenager, with long hair is back and repairing computers. Minus the long hair and pimply face teenager part… my hair is kinda falling out.

The journey has only just begun….

First off lets dive into what is a QR Code? A QR Code, or Quick Response Code, is a two-dimensional barcode. They were originally developed by Toyota in 1994 for use in vehicle manufacturing. Specifically to track parts during the production process. Since then they have been used in many other facets including use in advertising.

QR Codes are able to display text, contact info, URLs and much more. Sounds great, right? An easily scannable barcode that will allow people to access more information than what is presented. Creates a perfect action step.

So where is the problem?

QR Codes are machine readable codes, meaning to the human eye (unless you are a freak) cannot decipher the information within. The reading of the code requires the code to be scanned or a camera equipped device to take a photo and process the data from the photo taken. So the code without a device is useless. It is just a black and white blurry box.

Seems okay considering everyone seems to have a device capable of scanning these codes right? Wrong. I asked several people today if they knew what this code was and they replied, no. Then I asked the same people if that had a smartphone. The response? An astounding, yes.

Here is where it breaks down. To scan this code you first have to know what it is and trust me many people have no idea what it is. In some cases it will say scan me with your phone below the code. Why not just print the URL or info?

The issue is NOT the learning curve. The issue is technology should not hinder us but provide us with assistance. At the point when you have to decipher a machine code using a machine that dream is shot. Without a device to read the code it is useless information and it breaks the very intended purpose of the code – to provide extra information.

So you may argue that we have UPC barcodes on all products. True, we do, but those exist for an entirely different reason. Products have UPC barcodes so we can easily scan and relate a product in a POS system or inventory system. Special equipment is used to scan and process these codes – not a consumer phone. Now we have recently created apps, like RedLaser, to scan these codes and get information. Notice the difference… UPC’s exists for an entirely different function. We have created software to read and use this info to our advantage – not the other way around. Using QR codes is backwards. QR codes are being used to present textual data in a code form that is not needed.

So what do I propose as a solution? It may shock you… When trying to find a way to connect a person from printed material to a digital location printing a code is not the way. Print the information (URL etc.) and let the hardware/software decipher what it is. What I am proposing is the use of more advanced OCR. OCR is the process of taking an image and converting it to text. Once the text is gathered then an action can be performed. So you may be thinking what is the difference? The difference is you can actually read the data in my scenario and copy it down… you know writing? It also gets the technology out of the way. The data is there and the user can use it how they wish but if preferred they can use an OCR app to collect and act upon the data.

In both scenarios you need an app to process the data. Although with my solution it is more about the action of the data than the data itself because it is already there in a human readable form. With a QR code the data is hidden and completely unusable until acted upon with a device.

The method I am proposing is very similar to the way apps that hear and determine what song is playing work. You are not scanning anything. You open the app, let the app hear the song and it figures it out. Why not do the same with text? Why use a code?

We need to let technology work for us not against us. QR codes are created by a machine to be read by a machine.

If this QR code craze takes off the world around us will begin to look like a manufacturing plant with machine readable codes all around. I find it kind of ironic that the phone OS with major support for QR codes is Android. If this continues we will all look and behave like Droids – scanning codes to decipher information.

-Brad

Before telling the rest of this story let me explain my hair “situation” first. I am loosing my hair. There I said it. I blame my early hair loss on the newspaper industry, as I had long flowing shoulder length hair until the crazy, intense, and in your face world of news industry hit me. Now on to the good part…

Bob came up to me and the conversation went a little like this…

Bob: Hey man how old are you?

Me: 25

Bob: Man, I didn’t want to say this in front of your buds but I have something that can help your situation.

Me(in my head): STOP… What situation? Buds? Help? Sleazy meter starts to rise.

Me: …Laughter…

Bob: Nah man really! All BS aside come in and we can stop the hair loss you are experiencing.

Me: …Laughter…

Bob: Here is my card. Give me a call or come see me.

Me: …Laughter…

Sleazy meter just went through the roof!

Here is the issue I have with Bob.

1.) Do not approach people with “situations” that are physical in nature. For instance I am not going to go up to an obese person and say stop eating and go exercise. Sleazy meter +1

2.) Why are you wearing a hat Mr. I Fix Hair Loss guy? Seriously take off the hat. Sleazy meter +1

3.) All BS aside? So some of your business is BS – I knew it! Again take off the hat. Sleazy meter +1

4.) While on stage don’t talk about how you partied the night before and had 2 red bulls before the event. FYI malnutrition can cause hair loss, dude. Sleazy meter +1

So here is my plan… Next time I see Bob I am going to be the hair color treatment salesman. Why? Because Bob has grey hair.

Steve said in response to Walt Mossberg

We try to create the best products we possibly can.

While we can get into the whole business aspect of this statement lets look at it slightly different…

When you buy a product of any kind you are purchasing an experience. You expect to experience something from using or consuming that product. If is food you expect to enjoy it along with your empty stomach being filled. When you buy a tech product that same logic applies.

Most tech products have two major pieces to the equation, hardware and software. In the PC/Windows world you have hardware manufacturers and then Microsoft. When you buy a PC with Windows installed neither Microsoft nor the hardware manufacturer have full control over your experience with that product. Which in turn does not allow either to ensure your experience will be superb.

For instance if you have an operating system issue then the hardware manufacturer points the finger at Microsoft and vice versa. To a non tech savy consumer this is both confusing and frustrating because they see that computer as one product regardless of whose fault it is. They just want it to work but instead they are stuck in a “it is not our fault it is a software problem” battle.

Now back to Steve’s response…

If you are not aware Mac OS X can only run on Apple branded hardware. So when you buy a Mac you are buying a full package, the hardware and software as one. Many people say this is because Apple wants complete control of their hardware and software – and I agree…

But why does Apple want complete control?

I think the answer is simple – if you control all aspects of a system you can ultimately control the customer’s experience.

By doing this they are able to ensure that they create the best products possible and offer the consumer the best experience possible.

Apple designs the experience they envision.