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"It's the hyperlink in the physical world" says a Microsoft PR man, giving us the most succinct definition of what Redmond's Tag initiative is all about. Having annouced its alternative take on the barcode at CES 2009, Microsoft has been working behind the scenes on proliferating the use of these multicolored Tags, which are designed to be snapped by nearby cameraphones. Once the pattern is recognized, you can obtain digital content directly on your phone -- whether it be a website link, YouTube video, or whatever -- and the uses are pretty much limitless: business cards, product packaging, magazines, anything that can benefit from supplemental online content and has a flat surface is a candidate to be Tagged. Such is the theory anyhow, and Microsoft's doing all it can to make it happen, with software for most mobile platforms, including the iPhone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG2NDPv-5tM&feature=player_embedded
CNet
Tags: barcode, barcodes, hccb, High Capacity Color Barcode, HighCapacityColorBarcode, microsoft, microsoft tag, microsoft tags, MicrosoftTag, MicrosoftTags, smartphone, tag, tags, video