Google's Bar Code Advances

I recently read a very interesting article; again, it was about advances at google, but in this case, it was about bar codes. Google has been developing a new system for finding information called, "Favorite Places" which is a new subsidiary of Google Maps. Favorite Places allows users to acess all information about anything, simply by scanning their phones (downloaded with certain software) over a small scanner sticker, located in shops, products, museums, restuarants, etc. These one-by-one inch scanner stickers, known as QR codes, have been around Asia for a couple of years now. You could scan a food wrapper, and find out the exact calories, or a new recipe; you could scan a bus, and look for an updated route. The possibilities are endless, but as the article states "The idea sounds great on paper (or pixels), but because of privacy concerns in the United States, the process can be a little laborious in reality. First, you have to download the right code reader for your specific mobile phone." The article goes on to say that the user must agree to numerous privacy settings, and each scan can take up to 45 seconds in the US, but in Asia, these laws don't exist, making the process much faster. Google is also looking to start a coupon/ rewards plan throught this system. I find this fascinating, because in recent months, I've heard a huge amount of talk about scanning phones or cards to discover information, all from different companies; there are also couple of social networking sites that are based off this scanning system. It also reminds me of a recent product discussed in TedTalk, known as Sixth Sense, a scanning, sensing machines that can pick up information from any product, similar to "Favorite Places." I was also really interested to see one of the bar codes, as it seems to be a similar system to that of the Blackberry Messanger "Scan a Friend" system (one Blackberry scans another's bar code).
Here is a link to download a code reader for your phone, or test the bar code system on Google’s Favorite Places page.

[image; example of said bar code- http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/putting-a-bar-code-on-places-not-just-products/]