This is one of those posts that if you already know this, just humor me. I like to think I bring you this information. Have you been seeing all those black and white boxes in magazines, on products themselves, and in other forms of print? Those boxes that look like a secret message everyone knows but you? They are QR codes. QR stands for “quick response”.

Evidently we are now too lazy or inpatient to retype in a URL address. Along comes the QR readers, and you only need scan a code with your smartphone to be taken directly to the website the box is advertising. Some people are now even including the QR on their business cards, so you can scan and add their information quickly to your contacts. You know, without having to retype them.

I work in the legal field. Lawyers like to product lots of paper. I recall that responding to discovery meant boxes and boxes of documents. That transformed into one or two CDs, then maybe a flash drive or external hard drive, depending on how much information was stored. I predict some day all of those thousands of pages of discovery will be produced in one little code.

Most may be familiar with Red Laser, a barcode scanner that I have had on my iPhone for years. It works to scan both the barcodes of products and the QR codes. There are several different free apps out there that do the same thing.

I downloaded multiple QR readers on my iPhone and have to say that the i-nigma app seemed to work the best for me. It scans both QR codes and barcodes super fast. I found the difference between the i-nigma app and the others was that the i-nigma app takes you directly to the page coded in the QR box. It does the same thing for the barcodes, except gives you a list of available prices and stores for the merchandise.

It also appears to have a great menu bar with lots of options. I like options. I like menus. Even if they aren’t for ordering food. If you go to the app store for either the Android or iTunes, you will find lots of free QR code readers to choose from.

If you scan the QR code above with your smartphone, it should take you directly to my home page. Ain’t technology grand?