Via Waxy, we enjoyed this look back at the briefly popular method of scanning code from paper from Cauzin Softstrip. A precursor to the modern QR-Code, programmes were printed in bands, highly compressed so encoding wouldn’t take up too much real estate in the periodicals that carried them (see also), most distributing computer games, like this early version of Minesweeper, Othello, Checks, Free Ski, etc. The scanning wand itself was about the size of a baguette and didn’t always produce the right output—and the games themselves in retrospect didn’t quite deliver in terms of play, though the cover art, illustrations and gaming manuals (plus a little imagination) completed the experience. More from Ironic Sans (previously) at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago:Django Reinhardt’s jazz band (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting
seven years ago: more links to enjoy
nine years ago: even more links to revisit
ten years ago: the linocuts of Edward Bawden
eleven years ago: more public outrage over mass-surveillance