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Bigwords.page is a web app that turns any screen into a sign by auto-fitting text to the display size, from phone to stadium board. It supports Markdown formatting, slide rotation via a '||' separator, countdown timers, and in-browser generation of QR codes for links, Wi-Fi, calls, texts and email.
Retail standards body GS1 is phasing out the decades-old UPC barcode system in favor of two-dimensional codes, similar to QR codes, that can hold far more data than today's barcodes. The transition traces back to Masahiro Hara's 1994 invention of the QR code at Denso, which Denso chose not to patent-enforce, allowing free global adoption. GS1's 'Sunrise 2027' initiative aims to have retailers equipped to scan the new codes within the next few years.
QR codes were created in 1994 by Denso, a Toyota parts supplier, as a way to speed up factory scanning by packing far more data into a single code than a barcode could hold. Engineer Masahiro Hara led the project, drawing on the board game Go for the grid design and testing printed materials to find a black-to-white ratio that scanners could reliably detect. The format spread slowly through Japanese camera phones before becoming a global fixture in payments, tickets, logins and marketing.
The Brick device blocks distracting apps via an NFC chip that users tap to start and stop blocking sessions, but this functionality can be replicated using blank NFC tags costing about a dollar or printed QR codes. Free apps such as Foqos for iOS, built by developer Ali Waseem, let users configure app-blocking profiles tied to NFC tags, QR codes, barcodes, or daily schedules, and can prevent users from disabling the block by deleting the app.
Criminals in Portugal, France and Germany have been mailing counterfeit credit cards and letters warning recipients that their card is expiring, urging them to scan a QR code to "activate" a replacement. The code leads to a fraudulent banking site that harvests login credentials, giving attackers access to victims' real accounts. Some fake cards even bear the recipient's actual name to increase credibility, according to digital banking advisor Georg Hauer.
The developer behind PokerNexus built a custom shortlink service at go.pokernexus.com/app that detects a visitor's device and routes iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play, and all other devices to the website. The system uses a lightweight Hono-based server and a browser-based QR code generator that boosts error correction to level H so a logo can sit in the code's center without breaking scans.
A QR code hides its destination until you have already opened it. susQR is a free web tool that checks the link first, and it is worth keeping one tap away.
Quishing works because a QR code gives you nothing to judge before you commit. Here is what the scams look like in practice and the habits that defuse them.
Android Authority found new code in Google Photos version 7.93.0 that adds direct Copy and Download options to the app's QR code sharing screen for albums. Currently, the app only lets users take a screenshot of the generated code to share it, but this hidden feature would let them save or copy the code directly instead.
A developer explored the world of stylized QR codes, noting how logos and photos are often crammed into codes at the cost of scannability due to Reed-Solomon error correction limits. Inspired by AI-generated and hand-crafted QR art examples, they built their own design tool called QRFrame, which changes how the black-and-white modules are rendered while keeping codes functional.