Jill, Thank you for the MS Tag/QR website. I am still thinking about what benefits a QR would have for genealogy purposes. If I come up with anything, I'll post my ideas. To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a QR tag.... 1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code line. -- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that website. -- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". -- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people begin associating the icon with "this website". -- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association with xyz website. A favicon is seen when you open your Bookmarks and look at the list. Some have no favicon; others have one. A favicon, in a sense, is likee the visual-aid provided by programs. As an example, open your My Pictures or My Documents folder and right-click to get to the Properties/Associations--- each program has it's own tiny image that identifies that program. A favicon looks nifty--- but-- eh-- doesn't do much other than creating a visual ID. http://www.addicottweb.com/2009/01/why-use-a-favicon-on-your-website/ 2. I've learned a QR tag is 2 or 3 dimensional. "Inside" the tag, the creator can type a web URL, a physical address, or a whole nunch of info, etc. -- QR was started in Japan, I think, where it has been used for over 10 years. But the inventor deliberately did not exercise his patent rights because he wanted it to spread, so the technology is free-use for anyone. -- A QR can be a basic black and white tag. Or, a creator can upload/design his/her own creative QR tag in color(s). -- The creator uses a QR generator to make the tag and embed info (like a web URL). The user needs to download an App on a camera-enabled, i.e. Internet-enabled cell phone to use the QR. -- The primary QR generator and primary QR Reader App is NOT Microsoft; MS is actually used less than another common App (I forget the name of the more widespead App). -- A QR is used primarily for marketing, but creative people are expanding its use. -- A QR can be saved as an image/picture, or copied onto paper (ex. a flyer), plastic (ex. store bag), fabric (ex. a T-shirt), or used in manufacturing (ex. incoporated into the plastic on a drinking mug, pencil, etc.) Some businesses create a coupon or a special sale for QR users. -- Some people are putting the QR onto their business website, or at the end of a blog message, an article, etc. Similar to RSS feeds, facebook, and the other "share" icons shown now on websites. -- A QR tag can hold a bunch of code in a tiny square. The viewer can watch a video or see typed info by clicking the QR. -- Since the QR is visual, it becomes a brand association marketing tool. Images are recognized by humans before anything else. -- The embedded info in QR can be re-done at will. So a business might offer a coupon today; next week a special sale; a video next time; or a highlight of a certain product, etc. The QR image stays the same unless the creator wants to change it. But the info can constantly change-- or remain static. That's about all I've learned so far. Judy On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:39 AM, Jill Muir <jill@shottle.plus.com> wrote: > Judy, Does this help? > http://tag.microsoft.com/what-is-tag/benefits.aspx > > > I had thought that you meant favicons at first. What is the difference > between favicons and tags then? > > Kind Regards, Jill