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Show HN: QR Codify, The Most Useful Snippet I've Ever Written
- colmvp 14y agohttp://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/ http://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/
- zacharyvoase 14y agoQR codes on billboards and in marketing are kind of rubbish, but in terms of moving a URL or a phone number from your PC to your phone quickly, they're actually pretty useful.
- franze 14y agonope, i run http://miniqr.com http://miniqr.com for that exact reason, and lets just say, it never took off (and nobody uses is that way)
- crynix 14y agoWhat determined the outcome of your service was the convenience factor. To use it, the user needs to select the information, go to your webpage, and then submit it. It's too much work for the user. OP's program removes 1/3rd of the steps, making it much easier for the user.
- evilduck 14y agoThat site also looks pretty unfriendly.
- masklinn 14y agoUnless you can share your clipboard between them, which works even better.
- corresation 14y agoQR codes on billboards and in marketing are kind of rubbish On a big billboard beside the freeway, sure. In a home for sale sign, or in a bus shelter, or anywhere else where people are either a) very interested or b) captive, they are fantastic.
- xlevus 14y agoThe best place I've seen QR codes is on the tube. Because hey, I'mma scan this QR code, and then remember about it when I'm topside.
- corin_ 14y agoMy favourite QR code use was from the tube: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AneZAsiCAAATy1Q.jpg:large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AneZAsiCAAATy1Q.jpg:large Keep your phone hidden (but check out this QR code!)
- jschulenklopper 14y ago> check out this QR code! Instead of trying to scan that QR code (in a corner of a billboard), here's the URL: http://www.btp.police.uk/pickpockets/ http://www.btp.police.uk/pickpockets/
- nwh 14y agoI've found them horribly useful for passing authentication tokens from desktop to mobile devices. It means that you can move tokens without having to type enormous screens or go through a normal login form. They're even pretty if you embed them with a bitmap using QArt — http://research.swtch.com/qart http://research.swtch.com/qart
- netcraft 14y agoI find it useful, it just needs to be easier on phones to get to the qr code scanner. I use an iphone, and if it was as easy as just opening up the camera app, pointing at the code which it recognized and put a box around (similar to the focus box perhaps) that I could click on, it would go a long way to getting more people to use them.
- nodata 14y agoYou can store WiFi access point credentials in a QR code: http://www.qrzilla.com http://www.qrzilla.com (click WiFi)
- angry-hacker 14y agoThis gets posted in every qr code topic. You can't deny QR Codes are popular in Japan and Korea...
- mef 14y agoGreat hack. Another way to get text quickly to your phone, if you have an iPhone, is to send yourself a message on Messages.
- d0vs 14y agoAnd if you have a Mac.
- mseebach 14y agoI just email myself. That works on any combination of computer/phone OSs :)
- IgorPartola 14y agoCan't do that with a password or other sensitive info. I have a web server that only responds to requests from my LAN. I put sensitive info into an HTML file there, then point my phone's browser to it to copy/paste it; then I delete the info from the file. This way the data never leaves my LAN, which I believe is reasonably well protected.
- raverbashing 14y agoWell, that's actually a pretty nice idea Maybe you can sign up for an SMS broker and send SMSs if you don't have a Mac (it's less expensive than you think)
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- zacharyvoase 14y agoWhat do you mean?
- cocoflunchy 14y agoWhoops I'm sorry, I thought you had some fancy js here but I think it was just a bug with my mouse... the page was scrolling down weirdly to the end of the header. Can't reproduce it after refreshing. My bad, I'll delete the original comment.
- Adirael 14y agoIt's vanilla scroll for me, nothing weird as far as I can tell.
- lepht 14y agoI've been using a Chrome extension I created for the same purpose. The nice part is that it does it without making an external web request, using javascript and canvas. Also, iPhone users should check out the Scan app[1] for a QR code reader. It's by far the fastest starting, simplest QR scanner I've been able to find; Most of the other apps seem to be cramming in price-checking features and have butt-ugly icons. [1]: http://scan.me http://scan.me
- fabriceleal 14y agoI also created a chrome extension, without web requests :) https://github.com/fabriceleal/chrome-extension-url-qr-encoder https://github.com/fabriceleal/chrome-extension-url-qr-encod...
- conradev 14y agoIf it's speed you're looking for, check this out: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016497 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016497
- marban 14y agoJust keep in mind that Google's QR Code (Infographic) API has been deprecated.
- elijahmanor 14y agoYeah, I was about to add that too. Sad, but fun to play with until it is gone ;)
- jackalope 14y agoYou can do it locally with qrencode[1], which is available via MacPorts and Homebrew. It would probably simplify the script, too (especially if converted to bash). On an X11 environment, I can select some text and get the same results on the command line with something like: xsel | qrencode -o - | feh -FZ None of these commands are standard on any distribution, but you can easily install them or use alternatives. You can also make this an alias, hotkey, etc. [1] http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/ http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/ Edit: No need for temporary file
- jfb 14y agoYou can use pbpaste on OS X in place of xsel.
- marban 14y agoBeen using http://code.google.com/p/pyqrnative/ http://code.google.com/p/pyqrnative/
- TheBindingVoid 14y agoFor Android users there is the Chrome to Phone extension which uses Web Intents. No need to scan a QR code. You can directly send selected text, web links, phone numbers or map links to your phone. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-chrome-to-phone-ex/oadboiipflhobonjjffjbfekfjcgkhco/details?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-chrome-to-p...
- franze 14y agoif you like URL "hacking" you can do something like this http://miniqr.com/http://www.example.com/ http://miniqr.com/"hello world" does mostly the same as mentioned above, does this for i think now 4 years (i coded this on a beach in mexico, lets say my memories are fuzzy) after looking at the market fo QR codes now for 4 years, i don't think i will get rich with just that side project. QR codes just do not fulfill any use case for users (they fulfill a use case for content publishers and advertisers, but non for users) p.s.: if you want to (really) see people scanning QR codes, there is a page for that, too http://replycam.com/browse.php http://replycam.com/browse.php
- zacharyvoase 14y agoFor me, it was more about sticking the whole process in an OS X Service available by right-click than actually generating a QR code. Of course you could also write one that sends a text message (via Twilio perhaps), or beams something over Bluetooth.
- dmd 14y agoWhy is replycam all QR codes? What am I missing?
- shawn-butler 14y agoCool, I like it and would use it daily. I sometimes use dropbox like a pastebin for same thing. QR Code transfer is probably patent encumbered (like well almost everything). Nokia has app to do this but in reverse. Look at photo gallery on phone in their app. When you find picture you want to see, open browser on desktop and see QR code. Point camera at screen and the QR code in browser is replaced by image from phone. http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/11/30/photobeamer-the-magic-picture-show/ http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/11/30/photobeamer-the-ma...
- netcraft 14y agoAccording to Wikipedia, QR code is free of any license. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
- wuest 14y agoIndeed; in order for any standard like this (or UPC, EAN, etc) to gain widespread usage as opposed to very narrow, single-organization usage, it has to be EASY to adopt. This means that while the standard's official documentation might require that it be purchased (this is the case with QR), or while software which interacts with it might not be free/gratis, it must not carry with it patent or licensing encumberances. While ISO allows "reasonable and non-discriminatory" patents/licenses to be enforced against technologies which are ISO standards, something like a barcode format is difficult to justify licensing restrictions in almost all cases.
- fulafel 14y agoyou can still patent applications of it.
- carignanboy 14y agohttp://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/ http://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/
- harel 14y agoI use Chrome to Phone with my android phone. One click on a button sends the current url to my browser, or I can select any text, right click it and send it to my phone where it is then available on my clipboard to paste wherever. It also keeps a history of all this on my phone so I can recall what I sent last week. That feature alone is why I'll probably never own an iPhone. Edit: Still a cool extension you've got there! Not taking anything away from it.
- felixthehat 14y agoYou mean like pastefire, the browser plugin that sends text to your iPhone clipboard, that I've been using for years ;) http://pastefire.com/ http://pastefire.com/
- jdotjdot 14y agoThis is exactly the kind of thing that Apple will likely implement one day as seamless integration is their speciality.
- kaolinite 14y agoThey haven't done anything with text yet but there's iCloud Tabs for URLs. Anything you have open in Safari is available on your iPhone/iPad too and anything on those devices is available by clicking the cloud icon in Safari.
- the_mitsuhiko 14y agoAnd just for the record: for firefox users there is fox to phone: http://www.foxtophone.com/ http://www.foxtophone.com/
- pdeuchler 14y agoChrome for iOS does this job beautifully :)
- lepht 14y agoIndeed. If only it weren't stuck with a slow js interpreter.
- keyboardP 14y agoI created a bookmarklet that does the same thing for any website you're browsing. Makes it easy to transfer from PC to phone, assuming the phone can read QR codes. http://keyboardp.tumblr.com/post/38976790879/send-webpage-from-pc-to-phone-in-seconds http://keyboardp.tumblr.com/post/38976790879/send-webpage-fr...
- dphnx 14y agoThis is excellent – I find this more useful than the parent article.
- keyboardP 14y agoThanks, glad you like it. I wanted an easy way to transfer the URL without installing plugins or having to be signed into specific accounts.
- wubbfindel 14y agoWould be even more useful if it could QR-ify any currently select text. I was just thinking of doing that myself.
- wubbfindel 14y agoOk, done it. Try this: https://gist.github.com/findel/5099737 https://gist.github.com/findel/5099737 Credit for the selection code: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4652734/return-html-from-a-user-selection/4652824#4652824 http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4652734/return-html-from-... [Edit: created gist]
- keyboardP 14y agoNice, thanks! Added to my bookmark bar :)
- duck 14y agoI can't recommend http://pushbullet.com http://pushbullet.com enough... it allows you to send anything to your phone and works very well.
- Guillaume86 14y agoThx, bonus points for the API
- batemanesque 14y agohere's something intended to serve roughly the same purpose for iOS/Mac: http://www.getbeamapp.com/ http://www.getbeamapp.com/
- busted 14y agothis looks great but both apps are free. once we have the apps how do they make money?
- dreen 14y agoQR sounds useful for some minor applications, but for anything serious placed in a public place on a physical medium (like a billboard) its a phishers dream: just put a sticker with your phishing url over the original one and noone will ever realise.
- Kudos 14y agoI remember temporarily sticking an A4-sized QR code linking to a mild shock image on my desk at my old job and tweeting a photo of said desk to see who I'd get a reaction from.
- claudius 14y agoLook, this even works when you’re offline :) qrencode -o - -l L -s 10 -- "$(xsel)" | display
- lorenzfx 14y agoI'm using a zsh function with similar functionality for exactly the same purpose: qrdisplay () { qrencode -o - "$1" | display }
- martinaglv 14y agoI read through the comments, expecting to see a JS version of this, but I didn't find one so I made it: javascript:(function(){ var i = new Image();i.src = 'http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl='+ encodeURIComponent(getSelection());i.onclick=function(){i.parentNode.removeChild(i)};i.setAttribute('style', 'position:fixed;top:50%;left:50%;margin:-150px 0 0 -150px;box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.2)');document.body.appendChild(i)})(); Create a new bookmark, name it "QR Selection" and add the above code as the URL. Only tested in Chrome. Edit: Added missing apostrophe.
- Hello71 14y agoMissing a closing apostrophe. javascript:(function(){var a=new Image;a.src="http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl="+encodeURIComponent(getSelection());a.onclick=function(){a.parentNode.removeChild(a)};a.setAttribute("style","position:fixed;top:50%;left:50%;margin:-150px 0 0 -150px;box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.2)");document.body.appendChild(a)}());
- wubbfindel 14y agoThat's pretty awsome, Better than mine: https://gist.github.com/findel/5099737 https://gist.github.com/findel/5099737
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- Groxx 14y agoI've been using something roughly the same as this for a few months. Surprisingly handy, especially since you can use it to send URLs to just about any device.
- chaosphere2112 14y agoFortunately, OS X now has Services This feature originates in NeXTSTEP, and I'm fairly certain it has been in OS X since the beginning. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Services_menu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Services_menu
- pablasso 14y agoYeah, that sentence should have been "Fortunately, I just discovered services on OS X".
- YPetrov 14y agoGreat idea! Never knew about the Automator. That got me inspired to create a HN Search service for myself: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5331370 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5331370
- yahelc 14y agoMy solution here is usually to just send myself a text message from Google Voice. For me, it's faster to open a new tab and paste my text than to find my QR reader and scan.
- pi18n 14y agoThere's also a few apps that can copy and paste between devices. I use Any Send to pass links and PDF's around.
- seivan 14y agoI love the hacker in you. :)
- conradev 14y agoIf you want to read the QR codes just as quickly on your iOS device, check this out: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016497 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016497 http://youtu.be/HQNB9XZdPCk http://youtu.be/HQNB9XZdPCk
- gaving 14y agoUse pastebot from tapbots (authors of tweetbot) for this sort of thing personally. http://tapbots.com/software/pastebot/ http://tapbots.com/software/pastebot/
- ya 14y agobrew install qrencode http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/index.html.en http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/index.html.en
- klinquist 14y agoNice. I've built a web app that pushes a mobile provisioning profile to iOS devices with your wifi ssid & password - lets people easily jump on your wifi Works with Redlaser only as most QR code readers open web links in a viewport instead of pushing out to safari. http://www.getonmywifi.com http://www.getonmywifi.com
- BHSPitMonkey 14y agoInteresting. I wonder if there's a way for you get around having to actually host the profile, perhaps via some unconscionably long "javascript:" URL that creates the mobileconfig document and "downloads" it. Red Laser doesn't seem to recognize "javascript:..." as an openable URL, but maybe there's a way around that.
- klinquist 14y agoInteresting thought. I'll have to investigate, thanks.
- xlevus 14y agoWhat would make this perfect, is a "QR Keyboard" that reads from the QR code and dumps it into any other input field.
- peterhajas 14y ago> Fortunately, OS X now has Services This has been a feature for OS X for a long, long time.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- tucosan 14y agoI use a bash function to immediately display the code: function qrshow(){ qrencode -s 10 "$1" -o - | display - ; }
- ekarulf 14y agoGoogle's chart API also supports ssl: https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl=FooBar&chld=H|0 https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300...
- ssdsa 14y agoSince the selected text is sent to Google in plain text via a regular HTTP connection, you shouldn't use it on confidential data.
- ctdonath 14y agoI saw this, thought "yeah right, gonna be more of a pain than depicted, why bother", downloaded & installed it anyway because I've got a stupid fondness for the idea (if not the awkward reality) of QR codes ... and not 2 hours later was using it for real. Dang handy, nicely implemented. Thanks! Only quibble is: how big a code can this viably render? tried something not particularly large for fun and just got a big "PNG" icon instead.
- zacharyvoase 14y agoThanks a lot! It's feedback like this that keeps me releasing this stuff for free :P In terms of size: I think QR codes go up to 1024 bytes; anything larger and perhaps the Google Chart Image API would return an error, so you'd be quicklooking an empty file with a '.png' suffix, hence the generic PNG icon. The next evolution of this script is to store larger text strings in a pastebin and then just display a QR code for the URL to that.
- eliasmacpherson 14y agocan i get that in ascii please?
- eliasmacpherson 14y agoused qrencode and img2txt to get ascii.
- no_news_is 14y agoI followed your lead, but I didn't like the way the img2txt looked. I just wanted black and white. Then I saw it was unnecessary, qrencode provides ANSI support. echo foobar |qrencode -tANSI -o- #grey, blech So I threw some sed at it: echo foobar |qrencode -tANSI -o- | sed -e "s/\[47m/\[0\;5\;37\;47m/g" -e "s/\[40m/\[0\;34\;40m/g" But then I looked again, and qrencode provides this to you too: echo foobar |qrencode -tANSI256 -o- # pretty, yay You can double the output size with: echo foobar |qrencode -tANSI256 -o-|sed -e "s/ / /g;p" Very pleasing! Might actually use qr codes now.
- shill 14y agoNice work! This inspired me to create an Automator service for pretty printing JSON. http://random-seeds.tumblr.com/post/44730735573/a-useful-os-x-automator-service-for-pretty http://random-seeds.tumblr.com/post/44730735573/a-useful-os-...
- neilparikh 14y agoCan services be used on Firefox for Mac? It doesn't show up on my right click context menu.
- sandesh247 14y agoHow do I make the "Services" submenu show up in the right click menu?
- ispekhov 14y agoNow go generate tons of QR codes and scan them all with Qriket to earn money.
- Herald_MJ 14y agoIf you have an iPhone and Mountain Lion, you can just pass messages between devices via the Notes apps and iCloud.
- WickyNilliams 14y agoBeen meaning to look into Automator ever since I got my mac. Does anyone have a good guide on all the features available?
- vladocar 14y agoHere is also URL to QR Bookmarklet: http://www.vcarrer.com/2012/06/url-to-qr-bookmarklet.html http://www.vcarrer.com/2012/06/url-to-qr-bookmarklet.html