Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make a physical object in the real world, like your car door, a street pole, your office front door, your product or your business card clickable so that it opens a link on the web when you click it?

Well – now you can – with mobile phone technology and these:

See below / full article for more.

What …
… you are looking at is a QR barcode … more on the technology here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

These barcodes can be printed, projected on screens and televisions or attached to anything in real life you would want to make clickable to a mobile phone. A mobile phone user needs simply to walk past, hover his phone camera over it and his phone browser will open the link contained in it. It’s true, I kid you not! No really! It will even make it clickable from a distance, if you print the barcode big enough

But why?
Why not just print a http://www.somesite.com link on your delivery truck? Well that one is easy – what if you want to link to a specific discussion or content on a website that has a long URL? Something like http://www.somesite.com/articles/may2010/qrcodes/? Who would remember that or want to type that into his cellphone?

Besides – you want to interact with your customer now – not when they get home and they are at a computer, if they then actually remember your link or remember to visit your site. People don’t want to type addresses in browsers. They want to click.

So how does sticking this barcode on your business card or product packaging make it clickable.
Enter the modern cellular phone. Modern cellular phones have cameras. Modern phones are now coming out with 2D barcode scanners as standard.  Here comes the magic: You hover the phone camera over the barcode, it scans the barcode and then opens the link in your phone’s browser. Fact. Done!

QR stands for “Quick Response” so it is almost effortless to “click” that lamppost

Including QR code scanner software in new phones by default (as is the case) is also going to quickly push the adoption of 2D barcodes becoming part of mainstream society. Should your existing phone not have a 2D scanner, no problem, many free 2D scanners, that integrate with your phone’s camera, are available for free. I personally like http://www.i-nigma.com‘s solution.  Simply point your mobile phone browser to http://www/i-nigma.mobile to detect your phone and install i-nigma. I like i-nigma because it scans all formats of 2D barcodes, not just QR codes, asks permission to connect, is easy to use and keeps a history of scanned items. Ask the great google if i-nigma doesn’t suit you. Come on, try it! Install that barcode scanner on your phone and scan the 2D barcode above (effectively clicking it with your phone) right of your screen now!

Creating QR must be a pain?
No!  Just ask google again for QR code generators Easy.

There’s more!
QR barcodes can also do more when scanned with a phone  than just open a website in the browser. Exchange of information is just not limited to text being displayed on the phone, but it could open a URL, download standard contact information to the phone and generate a pre-filled SMS message to you (the business / the owner of the QR code) on the user’s phone and they just have to hit send.

Can you see it?
2D barcodes have been all the rage for quite a while in Japan. With Western adoption taking place it is just a matter of time until they become as common as the barcode on the baked beans being scanned at the local supermarket.

QR barcode on a business entrance that can be scanned from the street. You are effectively clicking their building with your phone and then browsing their website.

Imagine scanning that loaf of bread to get to a product detail website with nutritional information. Imagine scanning a barcode at the entrance to a mall to get walking directions in text (so you won’t need an internet connection) to the store. Imagine scanning that code on the for sale sign on a house to get the text info onto your phone to peruse later … imagine!
Can you imagine?

Scan me to send an sms to michaelbain requesting information on the services michaelbain provides

michaelbain has developed and deployed a plugin for WordPress.

This plugin makes a function available to WordPress to that can be used in your WordPress themes.

Who would use this plugin?
Theme designers that would like to include post images (where they aren’t normally displayed by WordPress) in their themes for example:
1. A thumbnail list of the last 10 posts.
2. An index page with the image of each last post per category.
3. An archive page per category with the image of the posts in that category.

Read the below / the full article for information on what the plugin does and how to use it in your theme.

What does the plugin do?
1. Tries to get 1st image attachment from a post if available.
2. If that fails get the 1st image linked from the media or linked form a URL.
3. If that fails, get the specified default image.
4. Returns an HTML IMG tag, for the found image – which will display the im,age in your theme, where you use the function.

WordPress does not provide a function to get library or URL linked images from a post, just attachments (uploaded from computer when post was created).

The function is intened to be used “in the loop”.

How do I use the plugin?
To use the function in your theme, install the plugin and simply call:
<?php mb_get_post_image(postid, size, defaultImgUrl, atts); ?>
… in your theme (in the loop) where you would like the post’s image displayed

Options for postid: $post->ID or 0.
Options for size: ‘thumbnail;, ‘medium’, ‘full’.
Options for de3faultImgUrl: e.g. ‘http://www.server.com/deafaultimage.jpg’ or ”.
Options for atts: additional image tag atts eg. ‘class=”myclass” id=”7″‘ or “” or  for no additional atts.
Images are sized when they are attachments and media library images.

This plugin is available for free and can be downloaded here: mb-get-post-image

michaelbain has successfully completed an enhancement to the HAWS website. The enhancement enables HAWS to edit their own adoptions page content without having to understand web design or HTML and without having to use any special software.  The site administrator logs in, edits the content with a WYSIWYG editor and saves it.

HAWS is an independent, registered non-profit organization (WO No: 026-799-NPO) serving the community of Madibeng (Brits, Hartbeespoort and surrounding areas) – a large region experiencing rapid development and population growth. Since 2000 we have provided welfare services for abandoned, neglected and abused pets, farm animals and wildlife.

Please support this worthy cause.

michaelbain has developed a payment module for the popular WordPress e-commerce plugin, WP e-Commerce.

The payment module allows website owners that have a WordPress installation running the WP e-Commerce plugin for their online store to take secure online credit card payments in real time, processed by Virtual Card Services (VCS)

For sales enquiries, please contact michaelbain

See below / full article for features and screen shots.

Installation
Simply extract the zipped files to the correct folders

Configuration
Easily configure the module just like you would other payment modules through the WordPress admin interface

Usage
Seamless integration with your online store after installation – there is no more for you to do.

Screen shots

WordPress / WP e-Commerce admin panel

Customer Checkout

Secure payment through VCS gateway

Instant real time payment confirmation

michaelbain has completed yet another e-commerce project. This time for the Neigh-Bours website.

The Neigh-Bours shop features a categorised browsable electronic shop to registered members, with a shopping cart and checkout with EFT payments.

Visit the Neigh-Bours shop to get your Neigh-Bours branded items.

michaelbain, in conjunction with pixelmagic has completed a development project for www.vet2petnet.co.za

The project involved an e107 content management system install and configuration as well as a significant custom portion for the online shop.

Vet2PetNet is a full portal with forums, private messaging, blogs and much more.

The online shop incorporates  categorised browsing, a shopping cart and checkout that accepts secure credit card transactions.

michaelbain has successfully developed and deployed a Facebook chat application for Gigi, winner of Survivor SA.

The Facebook application allows Gigi’s fans to chat live with her, straight from Facebook. Gigi will be having a “Chat live with Gigi” event on Monday the 28th of June 2010 at 11am, so please join her if you are a fan.

You can find Gigi on Facebook here: Gigi on Facebook

You can find the Facebook application and details on the event here: Chat Live with Gigi

Happy chatting!