November 8, 2006. A new Windows era has began...

Windows Vista has been completed and has been released to manufacturing!

With the announcement of a new Windows Live service incubation called Windows Live Barcode, I have created my own Windows Live Barcode vCard and it works very well with the Dopod 838 Pro and Dopod D810 im using. Windows Live Barcode is based on QR Code, which is very popular right now in Japan, Taiwan, China and other Asian countries.

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are most common in Japan, and are currently the most popular type of two dimensional code in Japan.

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used for inventory management in a wide variety of industries. More recently, the inclusion of QR Code reading software on camera phones in Japan has led to a wide variety of new, consumer-oriented applications, aimed at relieving the user of the tedious task of entering data into their mobile phone. QR Codes storing addresses and URLs are becoming increasingly common in magazines and advertisements in Japan. The addition of QR Codes on business cards is also becoming common, greatly simplifying the task of entering the personal details of a new acquaintance into the address book of one's mobile phone.