Mobile Tagging

You may have recently noticed colorful, two-dimensional boxes appearing on the pages of your favorite magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Woman's Day. These graphics are used for mobile tagging. Mobile tagging is the process of providing data on mobile devices, through the use of information encoded in a two-dimensional barcode, meant to be read and inputted using a camera phone.

Microsoft Tags are an example of mobile tagging. Microsoft Tags are a machine readable web link. Users can download the free Microsoft Tag reader application to their Internet-capable mobile device with camera, launch the reader and read a tag using their phone's camera. The Tag reader then directs the user's mobile browser to the appropriate website. The Tags included in the issues of Woman's Day allow readers to gain instant access to sweepstakes, recipes, and coupons. The Tags in Entertainment Weekly allow readers to view movie trailers and music videos on their mobile devices.

Another mobile tagging option are QR codes. QR codes are two-dimensional codes also readable by mobile phones with cameras. The QR code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. QR codes were initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, but are now used for mobile tagging. Try scanning the QR at the left to see where it takes you.

There are currently about a dozen different types of two-dimensional barcodes worldwide. It is necessary to install the specific software for the reader on the mobile device.

For more on Microsoft Tags, visit their website here. For more about QR codes, go here.

Quincy Jones Will Not Let Vibe Die

Earlier today we learned that Vibe Magazine was folding. Now Vibe founder Quincy Jones is distraught over the news and determined to save the magazine. How? "I'm'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over."

Jones created Vibe back in 1993 to showcase rap and R&B music in a voice that was younger and edgier than other publications existing at the time, hoping to appeal to young, urban music fans. In 2006 the magazine was purchased by the Wicks Media Group.

[via Gawker]

Browse Magazines With Google Book Search

Curious about what Popular Science was covering in the 1940s? Are you doing popular music research and are having trouble tracking down issues of Billboard from the 1960s? A great place to look for this information is Google Book Search.

In December 2008, Google Book Search started to include full-scans of magazines. You can search for stories across all magazines, or can browse through selected issues. Some magazines include nearly the entire print run. For example, Billboard has issues from 1942-2008. Some like Men's Health, only include several years worth of issues.

You can access magazines in Google Book Search by going here and clicking on an issue listed under the magazine heading. To search within magazines, click Advanced Book Search, and change the content option to Magazines.

For magazines available in Google Book Search, check out this list from the blog Seeing the Picture.

Magazines: Hard Copy or Electronic Copy?

The debate about whether you like to read your magazines in their original hard copy form or in their electronic form is becoming a moot point as more and more magazines are closing shop.

Effective in March, Country Home, the popular country-style magazine, will permanently shut down. In addition, the magazine's website will also go dark. The Meredith Corporation made the announcement in January. Meredith blames the economy for Country Home’s demise.

Last year, Hearst’s O at Home, Condé Nast’s House & Garden, and Time Inc.’s Cottage Living all stopped producing issues and shut down their websites, victims of the poor economy.

The Kindle is So Yesterday...

Technology marches on. Today, the Kindle. Tomorrow -- literally -- Plastic Logic? Yep. Sorry Jeff Bezos of Amazon, but your 15 nano seconds of fame concerning reader technology appear to be up.

Imagine what comes after tomorrow.

[Hat tip to coolhunting.com]

The Benefits of Print Media?

Recently, The Tech Desk has been covering the switch from print to digital format in the news business. It seems more and more media are reducing or eliminating print and moving to all online, electronic publications. One publication that seems to want to keep a foot in both worlds is Entertainment Weekly. This ad recently appeared on the magazine's website, touting the benefits of print media.

Other ads on the site encourage readers to use the hard copy magazine as a keepsake to remember significant events (the passing of Paul Newman, the release of the Twilight movie).

Personally, I utilize both forms of the magazine. I read my hardcopy of the magazine during my daughter's dance class, but I also read the ew.com website for original content, such as recaps of popular TV shows and literary theories regarding the labyrinth that is Lost.

Weigh in on the debate. Do you prefer to read newspapers and magazines in their original paper format, or do you curl up in front of a computer screen to read your favorite periodical?

PC Magazine Ends Print Edition; Goes All Digital

One of my personal favorite publications, PC Magazine, will be no longer sold in print format. Editor-In-Chief, Lance Ulanof, announced today on his site that the magazine would be going 100% digital in February 2009.

From the PC Mag site:

An Open letter to PC Magazine (Print) Readers:

The January 2009 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new.

Starting in February 2009, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication. So, in addition to our popular network of Websites, which includes our centerpiece, PCMag.com, as well as ExtremeTech, blogs like Gearlog and AppScout, and audio and video content that includes PCMag Radio, Cranky Geeks and DL.TV, we'll offer PC Magazine Digital Edition to all of our print subscribers. The PC Magazine Digital Edition has actually been available since 2002. So for thousands of you, the benefits of this unique medium are already clear. And those benefits will continue to multiply in the coming months, as we work hard to enhance your digital experience.

Ulanof goes on to say that PC Magazine will now be accessible through the site www.zinio.com and will be available for all current subscribers . For now, readers can get a free issue and see what the new format will look like by visiting this site

This follows in the wake of the Christian Science Monitor's October announcement that, beginning in the spring 2009, it will be ending its print publication for a 100% digital publication. It is amazing to see how the way we read is changing daily with more and more magazines and news publications switching to all digital.