On Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:31:26 +0100 (GMT+01:00), "Graham. "
<graham-usenet@mail.com> wrote:

>Isn't there some sort of rule about not deliberately triggering smart speakers, on mass, especially in the name of advertising as in this current "Heart" Radio campaign?

If not, it can only be a matter of time. I'm just waiting till it
occurs to somebody to bypass the current thoughtcrime laws by printing
their chosen slogans (commercial, religious, ideological, political or
whatever) in the form of QR codes on T-shirts. It'll be fascinating to
see the inevitable debate about how 'offensive' something can be said
to be in light of the amount of effort a would-be offendee has to go
to in order to decode and understand it. We live in crazy times.

Rod.

You might have a look at the app called navilens. It has been designed to be
a code read from a distance and it can read several at once. Very handy but
open to abuse, in my opinion.
Brian

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"Roderick Stewart" <rjfs@escapetime.myzen.co.uk> wrote in message
news:hcgcii1gs44kbduju3clldqke0deui3rnu@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:31:26 +0100 (GMT+01:00), "Graham. "
> <graham-usenet@mail.com> wrote:
>
>>Isn't there some sort of rule about not deliberately triggering smart
>>speakers, on mass, especially in the name of advertising as in this
>>current "Heart" Radio campaign?
>
> If not, it can only be a matter of time. I'm just waiting till it
> occurs to somebody to bypass the current thoughtcrime laws by printing
> their chosen slogans (commercial, religious, ideological, political or
> whatever) in the form of QR codes on T-shirts. It'll be fascinating to
> see the inevitable debate about how 'offensive' something can be said
> to be in light of the amount of effort a would-be offendee has to go
> to in order to decode and understand it. We live in crazy times.
>
> Rod.

Brian Gaff wrote:

> ou might have a look at the app called navilens. It has been designed to
> be a code read from a distance and it can read several at once. Very
> handy but open to abuse, in my opinion.

Do they still put them on cornflakes packets?

In message <hcgcii1gs44kbduju3clldqke0deui3rnu@4ax.com> at Wed, 11 Oct
2023 07:41:35, Roderick Stewart <rjfs@escapetime.myzen.co.uk> writes
>On Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:31:26 +0100 (GMT+01:00), "Graham. "
><graham-usenet@mail.com> wrote:
>
>>Isn't there some sort of rule about not deliberately triggering smart
>>speakers, on mass, especially in the name of advertising as in this
>>current "Heart" Radio campaign?
>
>If not, it can only be a matter of time. I'm just waiting till it
>occurs to somebody to bypass the current thoughtcrime laws by printing
>their chosen slogans (commercial, religious, ideological, political or
>whatever) in the form of QR codes on T-shirts. It'll be fascinating to
>see the inevitable debate about how 'offensive' something can be said
>to be in light of the amount of effort a would-be offendee has to go
>to in order to decode and understand it. We live in crazy times.
>
>Rod.

On the other hand, I remember many years ago concerns about young ladies
wearing T-shirts with writing on them, and then people trying to read
what it said, rather than staring at their chest. If (e. g.) QR codes
start appearing on that particular surface, needing people to point a
fobile at them, this could cause endless trouble - both ways (oglers
using it as an excuse, genuine trying-to-readers being falsely accused).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Look out for #1. Don't step in #2 either.

On Wed, 11 Oct 2023 09:18:22 +0100, "Brian Gaff"
<brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:

>You might have a look at the app called navilens. It has been designed to be
>a code read from a distance and it can read several at once. Very handy but
>open to abuse, in my opinion.
> Brian

I hadn't heard of Navilens, but it looks like a QR code restricted to
a resolution of 5x5 squares to make it readable from a greater
distance, but with coloured squares (which a normal QR code doesn't
have; they're just black and white) to make up for the reduced
information content that a 5x5 QR code would otherwise have.

It's a clever idea. Somebody has evidently thought about the QR code
and realised that since phone cameras can see colour, they might as
well use the extra information capacity.

It would be a particularly cruel form of mischief to print misleading
signs as Navilens codes, as it's likely that only blind people would
be using the app for them, but standard QR codes are used on posters
and labels everywhere and modern phone cameras seem to have readers
installed by default. I find that if my phone happens to catch sight
of a QR code anywhere in the frame when I'm trying to take a picture
it will show the decoded text superimposed on the image, and if the
text happens to be a URL I would only have to tap on it to open a
browser to go there. The opportunities for advertisers and/or mischief
makers are very clear.

Rod.