WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:09.120 I'm going to tell you about something. Images with data stored inside them. And 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:14.880 you might ask, "What are you rambling on about now, Lionus? Are you talking about 00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:16.520 like crazy magic eye pictures or 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:20.640 something more sinister?" No, actually, what I'm 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:26.880 talking about is something very mundane. Barcodes. those like square liny images 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:31.679 found on everything from serial boxes to serial killers that store information in 00:00:29.439 --> 00:00:36.239 sequences of lines that can be read and interpreted by machines. But where did 00:00:33.760 --> 00:00:41.040 they come from? Well, Norman Joseph Woodland, inspired by a conversation 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:45.760 that he overheard and taking inspiration from Morse codes dots and dashes, 00:00:43.440 --> 00:00:50.640 theorized that by shining a bright light at a series of elongated dots and 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:55.120 dashes, then using a machine to read the pattern of light reflection back to a 00:00:52.719 --> 00:01:00.079 receiver, remember, black absorbs light and white reflects it, one could quickly 00:00:57.760 --> 00:01:04.239 read stocking codes for groceries, dramatically simplifying records keeping 00:01:02.239 --> 00:01:09.240 and speeding up the customer experience. in one fell swoop. Well, the theory was 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:15.760 solid, but in practice, while it did work, the first attempt was the size of 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:18.080 a desk and used a 500 W bulb that got so 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:22.080 hot it could light paper on fire. Not exactly practical to deploy for price 00:01:20.479 --> 00:01:27.439 checks in the aisles at the local Toys R Us. Am I right? But the proof of concept 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:32.799 was enough that when combined with laser technology, a 1 matt helium neon laser 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:37.439 in the early days and more recently those super awesome disco damp party 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:41.600 ones that be all like, "Yo, that's a jar of Marmite from any angle within a 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:47.439 fraction of a second, barcodes became the most efficient way to quickly read a 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:51.759 string of alpha numeric characters. But while all barcodes look pretty darn 00:01:49.600 --> 00:01:56.320 similar to the naked eye and share common features like a start and end 00:01:54.240 --> 00:02:01.119 code, so they can be read correctly regardless of orientation. There are a 00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:06.399 variety of different standards with different characteristics with UPC being 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:11.920 the most common that encode data in different fashions and can only be read 00:02:09.119 --> 00:02:15.360 by compatible scanners and software. So watch out for that when you're creating 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:20.239 barcodes to itemize your stamp collection. Another thing that all 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:25.280 barcodes share is that practically speaking they are limited to about 20 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:31.680 alpha numeric characters. That my friends is where QR or quick response 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.879 codes developed in 1994 come in. These 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.120 consist of black dots arranged in a 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:41.680 square grid on a white background. And they've got a couple of significant 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:46.640 advantages. While the venerable barcode functions in just one dimension, QR 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:53.519 codes work in both the horizontal and vertical and can hold up to 350 times 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:56.560 the information of a UPC barcode with 00:02:53.519 --> 00:02:58.879 finer or higher DPI prints capable of 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:03.200 holding more information than fuzzy ones. On top of that, they have built-in 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:08.400 error correction, making them less susceptible to damage from water, wear 00:03:05.440 --> 00:03:12.879 and tear, or killer penguins. And this was more relevant before phone cameras 00:03:10.239 --> 00:03:17.760 got so badass. They are much easier to read with a camera versus a specialized 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:22.159 reader. Meaning that throwing a QR code onto your product will allow a marketer 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:25.599 to direct smartphone equipped shoppers to see more detailed product 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:30.879 information, check out educational videos, and more. Cool, right? So, what 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:35.040 does the future hold for the barcode, though? It's hard to say. 40 years of 00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:39.760 dominance would suggest that it's not going to be completely overthrown 00:03:36.640 --> 00:03:42.720 anytime soon. But that doesn't mean that 00:03:39.760 --> 00:03:48.480 time is standing still. And 3D codes where height can also be used to store 00:03:45.040 --> 00:03:50.959 data already exist. But with the way 00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:54.799 that 24/7 internet connectivity and cloud-based image recognition are 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.799 advancing, I'd say a more likely long-term replacement, even if we're 00:03:56.799 --> 00:04:03.120 still a few years away from it, is simply pointing your camera, or looking 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:07.280 forward even further, your augmented reality glasses or contact lenses at 00:04:05.200 --> 00:04:13.120 something and having its key stats show up in your peripheral vision. So, it' be 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:15.280 kind of like Tinder, but for everything. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:19.280 Speaking of the future and looking forward, wouldn't it be cool if instead 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:22.639 of like sitting at your desktop computer at the end of the day and crunching all 00:04:20.880 --> 00:04:26.639 of your accounting for your small or home business, you could just do that 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:30.840 stuff while you're on the go with your smartphone using an online tool that's 00:04:29.280 --> 00:04:35.520 always connected. Oh, right. Fresh Books. All the little details about your 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:40.160 cash flow and your business can be kept in one place with Fresh Books. You can 00:04:37.919 --> 00:04:45.840 do things like log your hours, uh, show a full history of each invoice, and even 00:04:43.520 --> 00:04:49.759 snoop on your clients to see if they've viewed that invoice, which at which 00:04:48.080 --> 00:04:55.919 point there is no excuse for not having paid it, and billing them through 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:58.160 FreshBooks via credit card directly. So, 00:04:55.919 --> 00:05:02.800 FreshBooks is basically the tool that lets you spend the time doing what 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:06.800 you're supposed to be doing, working, as opposed to fussing about with paperwork. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:09.520 And you can get started today by heading over to 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:15.680 freshbooks.com/techquicki, entering techquicky in the how did you hear about us section, and starting a free trial 00:05:13.479 --> 00:05:18.240 now. So, thanks for watching, guys. If you like this video, hit that like 00:05:16.960 --> 00:05:23.199 button. 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