How to create a QR code business card

If you own a smart phone - or an even smarter phone you probably already know what an QR code is. If you don't know I a sure you will have seen this somewhere on the web or in a magazine.

A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode. A big part of it consists of error correcting code and it somehow looks funny. I was looking for a possibility to share my contact coordinates or even calendar entries for smart-phones when I stumled across http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/

With that webpage you can create these QR codes for your business card, for coordinates and for calendar events. When you try the calendar event, test the QR code before you use it. Daylight savings time is a real *****. When I tested it on my HTC Desire with Barcode Scanner I experienced a strange bug. Every calendar event I created lasted only for 1 hour. Even when it was supposed to be longer.

Anyone with Blackberry or Iphone experiencing the same behaviour?

How to use the power of the cloud on your Android

I think the buzzword of 2010 will be cloud. That was good. It means that we got all this nice gadgets who use the power of the cloud. And I am not talking about the fact, that you can use Google Maps to navigate around your hometown (if you are lucky and this service supported in your area / country).

I wanted to share the following observations/apps with you that enable you to sync information back and forth through the cloud.

1. Dropbox can make your life easier. Very easy. And you can even use it on your Android.
2. Chrome2Phone pushes links and phonenumbers from your browser to your phone
3. The other way around is possible by using android2cloud
4. I already wrote about Read It Later and how to sync it with your Android

There are plenty of other possibilities to sync with a clouded service. That is for sure.

So there is only room for the final question: If social media is like digital crack, what is the cloud?

Calculating without electricity

When going through old things today I rediscovered an old Brunsviga 15. An old mechanical calculator. It is bigger than a slide rule and also a little big heavier. The weight must be way over 10 kilograms.

As you can see it has been used. My children are usually amazed by the number of levers. And by the fact that the machine does a decent ring when turned through Zero...