Windows Live ID

CES was much more than just Windows 7 for Microsoft. We also announced Microsoft Tag as a beta and like Seadragon it’s available on iPhone….though I’ve yet to find it on App Store even through http://gettag.mobi directs you there.

Now available from http://tinyurl.com/7jj3lb

Microsoft Tag is similar to some of the other barcoding tech you may have seen such as QR Codes. Long Zheng gives a good explanation of the differences but a key difference is the tag doesn’t store the data itself – it’s a redirector. What this means is you can provide a lot more info to people - especially in a world of more capable mobile devices where they can connect out to a website. Plus, you get reports on who is connecting and using the link you provide.

A very simple example is my Tag below which is you snap it using the phone software we provide will redirect you to my blog. Frankly not that useful but imagine this tag was on a huge billboard (lets say for Windows Without Walls) and snapped the image and then got redirected to a site that allowed you to enter a competition to win a hot new PC.

There are way more creative opportunities for this tehcnology and you can now go play with it for free. So here is what you need to get playing:

  1. To get Microsoft Tag on your phone - free of charge, visit http://gettag.mobi using your mobile browser. It’s available for Windows Mobile, J2ME, iPhone, Blackberry, and Symbian S60 phones.
  2. To create Tags head to the Tag Maker service

Tonnes more info at http://www.microsoft.com/tag/

myblogtag