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Just off the wire

Shipments of smartphones using the Android operating system beat all-comers..

Blot Links

Got any idea what the graphic on the right is?

It's a QR code or Quick Response code and they're starting to crop up all over the place.

Our friends at Leith printing.com pointed one out on a brochure run they had just completed.

They're a bit like barcodes and the reason they are becoming popular is that QR readers are becoming readily available on smartphones like iPhones and Android devices.

Can you afford to be without them? Maybe.

Read about QR codes and how to create one for your company. . .

If you're interested in art and art museums, here's a project that might catch your interest.

It's the Google Art Project - a collection of virtual walkthroughs through some of the world's most famous art museums.

The project uses Google's Street View technology to allow you to move around the museums and zoom in on the works that you like. The artworks are in high resolution so the detail is pretty good.

You can also do things like building up your own collection and watching related YouTube videos.

But if you simply want to spend an hour at the Tate looking at some classic art without leaving your chair, this will suit you down to the ground.

Go to the galleries. . .

Alternative search engine provider Blekko have announced that they will be blocking content from a list of 'content farms' that dominate search results and who they consider to be spam.

Big deal you might say, and who are Blekko anyway?

Well, the point is that Google have been making similar rumblings - they are concerned that articles from these content farms are slewing the quality of the search results. They've already launched a Chrome extension that will let users block such sites.

Do we want the search engines deciding what we can/cannot see? Whatever your view, there might be a few SEO companies worrying about where they will be placing their articles in the months to come.

Read the article . . .