Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft Tag’

Microsoft Tag – Part II

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Yesterday, I tried to make some Microsoft Tags at the Microsoft Tag website.   I was able to make tags for three of my four websites (www.parkterraceapartment.com, www.samadhicoda.com and www.samadhimuse.com).

But when I tried to make one for this website, www.samadhisoft.com, the tag making software told me that my website was “Blacklisted”.

I sent them the following message on their contact form this morning to see what this “Blacklisting” was about:

I tried to make a tag for several of my websites and one of them failed.   When I tried to make a tag for www.samadhisoft.com, the tag making application told me that my site was “blacklisted”.  What’s that about and how do I get un-blacklisted?   This is a private Blog and I’ve never, to my knowledge, been blacklisted by anyone before.

In the end, I got around their black listing block by creating a TinyURL in place of the full www.samadhisoft.com website address and their tag making software took that just fine and made me a tag.   But, I cannot imagine that this loop-hole will exist long.

TinyURL is a cool and little-known capability.   You’ll do yourself a favor to follow the link, above, and read about what TinyURL can do for you.  It’s cool.

So, I’ve been wondering why Microsoft might have me on a Blacklisted list?

The only possible reason I can think of is that I wrote a piece a while ago critical of the Gates Foundation and where they spend their money to make the world a better place.  Mmmmm.   ‘Critical’ is perhaps too strong a word.   In truth, I applaude their idealism.   I just question how and where they direct it.   It think there are more effective uses of their vast monies to make our world a better place.

But, I think it is much more likely that I’m probably on a blacklist because of some error rather than because the Gates folks think I’m a small and irritating thorn.  They are too big and I am too small for that to seem very plausible.

We’ll see what my contact form query accomplishes.  Stay tuned for Microsoft Tag – part III.

Cheers!

– Postscript – 24Apr 2009 – I received the following E-Mail from Microsoft today:

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Greetings:

We wished to let you know our team has removed your website “http://www.samadhisoft.com” from our blacklist.  You should now be able to create tags that work with this website.  If you still experience problems with such, please do not hesitate to contact us so we may look further into the issue.

Thank you for your patience and interest in Microsoft Tag.

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– Typical that there was no explanation as to why my site had been blacklisted.   But, better late than never and better something rather than nothing.

Microsoft Tag

Friday, April 10th, 2009

– I haven’t Blogged on technical stuff for quite awhile now.  After 25 years of IT, not much pleases or surprises me these days.   But this new Microsoft Tag idea is really cool and it’s amazing no one thought if it before.

= = = = = = =

Microsoft Tag creates unlimited possibilities for making interactive communications an instant, entertaining part of life. They transform physical media (print advertising, billboards, product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)—into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.

With the Microsoft Tag application, just aim your camera phone at a Tag and instantly access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!

More…

– Research thanks to David D.

– Here are four tags to various websites that I created on Microsoft’s Tag website just now:


Samadhisoft Website (as Tiny URL) Park Terrace Apartment

SamadhiCoda Website SamadhiMuse website

– My wife and I had a conversation about this article (above) a short while after I published it.   Her immediate comment was, “There will be a lot of scammers using these things.

– After I thought about it, I think she’s right.  Following the link within one of these is no different than following a link in an E-Mail you have received.   The link will only be as reliable as the person who sent you the E-Mail.  

– I’d never click on a link unless I was certain that I trusted the folks providing the link.   So, if you find one of these around and use it to go to a web site, how will you know where you’ll end up?  

– It’s a slick idea and, so long as cell phones are not being corrupted by viruses, following a link like this on a cell phone might not be dangerous.  But, I strongly suspect cell phones are vulnerable to viruses and other attacks. 

– I say this because I used to work at Motorola and helped to develop the software that went into their cell phones.   And what we put into those phones was, in every sense, a complex operating system.   Just the sort of thing viruses can get their teeth in.

Nuff said….

Nope, not enough said yet.   I wrote the following to a friend of mine this morning in an E-Mail.  He’s not a real technical guy so he was unsure what all of this was about.  If some of you are having the same problem, maybe the following will help:

R.,

Many cell phones these days have web browsers built in so you can surf the internet on your cell phone’s little screen from where ever you are.  The newer cell phones also have cameras on them so you can just point it like a camera and push a button and it records a picture digitally.

The Microsoft Tag idea combines these two capabilities.

Say you are out in public and you see a poster for a movie that’s being advertised.   On the poster is one of these ‘tag’ things.   You take your cell phone out and point it at the ‘tag’ on the movie poster and you take a picture of it with the built in camera on your cell phone.

If you have you cell phone setup to use Microsoft Tags, what will happen then is that the cell phone will take a look at the picture its just taken and translate it into an address out on the Internet and then the cell phone’s web browser will automatically go to that web site.    So, you take a picture of a Tag and then, boom, you are looking at the website represented by that Tag.

In this case, since the tag was on a movie poster, the website will probably be about the movie on the poster and you’ll be able to see, on that web site you’ve just gone to, where the movie is playing and when.

BUT, the concern is that these tags could be malicious and take the web browser on your cell phone anywhere.  To porn sites, to sites infested with worms and viruses or to anywhere.   Just by looking at the tag, you can’t tell where it is going to take you.   So, in that way, it is just like clicking on a link in an E-Mail you received from someone you don’t know.   It’s a very risky thing to do.

Dennis