I came across this interesting new campaign on the Weather Channel in the US which uses an onscreen QR bar code so you can just hold your Android phone up to the screen and it will take you to the website where you can download the weather applet.

QR codes are not new and have been heavily used in Japan for a while now. They have the advantage that you can just use something you already have with you – a mobile phone – to easily point at a poster, a TV screen, an article of clothing … to get taken to a website of interest.

As my mind works in odd ways I found myself pondering on what happens when we have augmented reality phones which are continually pointed at the wider world, how will we cope with a constant stream of QR codes taking us to all manner of websites?

And as we blur the distinction between human vision and the augmented vision of reality via mobiles and other personal technology, are we setting ourselves up for a world where just opening your eyes could leave you open to a viral attack?