I loved QRs since the first time I learned about them and couldn't stop thinking on the artistic possibilities they could had, and was really frustrated that nobody, except me and my nerd friends used them. But at that time, you needed to download an special app to use them and the normal ones on android had ads on them (yikes), no idea how it was on iPhone. But then it was implemented by default on phone cameras and it felt great.
I feel the same. When I learned about them, I used them for easy access (although a third party app was necessary at the time) to certain websites: I have several house plants at home. I made little signs with the latin name of the plant and a QR code that leads me to a website where care instructions are shown (how many times the plant has to be watered, how much of sunlight these plants have to be exposed to, etc.). It came handy sometimes, especially when leafes were turning yellow. Care instructions could be looked up easily.
Also on business cards: On the back side of my business card there is a QR code that - when scanned - puts the contact information into the adress book. This came in handy a few times when you have to work with workers at a construction site.
I think the major breakthrough came with the Covid pandemic, where these codes were everywhere. Also, later phones do not require a third party app which lowers the entry bar to make use of these codes significantly.
What I don't like is that restaurants start to use them exclusively, as a substitute for a printed menu.
I haven't heard of an actual direct initiative here, that 2027 date sounds more like marketing for IBN than an actual industry-wide push. Walmart is banking on RFID, for example.
Oh, it is. GS1 are driving it and by 2027 all retailers around the world are expected to be able to scan the QR code at checkout instead of a traditional barcode image.
Used to write software for reading QR Codes, and it was a fascinating process, dealing with increasingly bad customer images. They're pretty resilient though!
#Tournesol is an open-source web tool made by a non profit organization, evaluating the overall quality of videos to fight against misinformation and dangerous content.
Not that I know of. I think they automatically use the mask that works "best" while these codes are generated. I have tried some (free) QR code generators and there is no hint that the mask can be choosed.
If you have Affinity Designer 2, you are able to generate QR codes within the software. No need to sign up for a free one. But when creating a QR code with Affinity, there is no option to choose the mask.