Advice on how a business can use a QR code as a promotional tool.

Have you seen a QR Code floating around?  Maybe you’ve seen them in magazines, posters or business cards.  I’ve seen them, as well, and wondered what I’m supposed to do with them.  Ignorance in technology is not bliss!  Today I crack the QR Code mystery.

What is a QR Code?

A QR Code is a barcode that can link to multiple kinds of data, including URL links, addresses, and text.  QR stands for Quick Response.  QR Codes became popular inJapan after Toyota developed them as a new way to ID their cars.

How do I use them?

To access these QR Codes, you need a smartphone with a QR Code Reader installed.  There is no “one size fits all” reader across different platforms.  Each smartphone has a variety of options when it comes to QR Code Readers.  With your smartphone, you scan a QR Code using the camera on your phone.  From there, the code directs you to a piece of information, usually online.  Each QR Code gives different data.  Businesses can use QR Codes to provide coupons, offer consumer advice and information, stage competitions, replace business cards or give access to company literature. Additionally, companies can use QR Codes for advertising, directing consumers to their social media sites, or giving consumers access to their company’s store via the web after store hours.  A major plus with QR Codes is that they can essentially be printed on anything, from paper to a t-shirt.

our Mac is capable of producing sound as well as playing sound channeled from outside sources—devices plugged into the Mac’s USB- and sound input ports as well as audio streamed from the Internet. Wouldn’t it be great if you could captures some of those sounds for later listening? You can. And you can for free with Soundflower. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Download Soundflower

The first step involves finding a way to grab audio playing in one application—a Web browser, for example—and route it to an application that can capture that audio. Cycling ’74’s free Soundflower is that way. Soundflower is a system extension that lets you channel audio from one application to another. For example, you can take the audio playing from a movie in your Web browser and channel it into QuickTime Player’s audio input where you then record it.

Apple on Wednesday released a quartet of updates, aimed at owners of new MacBook Pros and its recently released iMacs.

The Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for iMac (Early 2011) 1.0 is for the company’s new iMacs, with fixes for Back to My Mac, transferring files to SMB servers, Mac App Store bugs, FaceTime performance issues, graphics stability, external display compatibility, and Thunderbolt device support.

After new iMac owners install that update, they should be prepared to restart again, because there’s also the iMac EFI Update 1.6 to install. The update improves performance and stability for Thunderbolt.

MacBook Pro owners will want to check out MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4, which addresses graphics issues, external display support, 3D performance, and Thunderbolt device support.

Once MacBook Pro owners have installed that software update, they can install the MacBook Pro EFI Update 2.1, which fixes an issue with Turbo Mode in Boot Camp, and resolves issues with graphics and Thunderbolt. As is typical of EFI updates on laptops, you must plug in your MacBook Pro before beginning the installation.

Owners of other Mac systems? As you were.

http://www.itnews.com/operating-systems/31971/macbook-pros-new-imacs-get-slew-software-updates