Whether you are already familiar with Aztec and Matrix, or even if you think they are the latest designs in a new range of carpet tiles - you will soon hear more about these two terms as data codes begin to appear more and more at an information hot spot near you.

Aztec and Matrix are, in fact, just two types in a very long list of data codes. Data codes are fast becoming an intrinsic and important part of how we share information - and they are everywhere. From phone bills to theatre tickets and groceries, these unassuming black and white squares, which look like mini crossword puzzles, act as a vehicle to transport more information than we probably realise. The codes actually provide a quick and easy way to decipher details, via the Web, about a product or service. Now, we can get directly to a targeted Web page, without having to take note of an unmemorable list of letters and numbers.

Barcodes were patented back in the 1940s, and then commercially tested in the 1960s, before coming into wider use during the 1980s. Today, these barcodes have evolved into data-matrix codes-which are a type of second-generation barcode technology.

The codes can be activated by using a cellphone. Providing your cellphone has the correct reader software, you can be directed and connected to a site effortlessly. By simply pointing your cellphone at a code and scanning the information in to your device, your phone browser will then automatically read the code, decode the Web address of the promoter's site, and take you there instantly. The codes save keying in huge amounts of URL information. Data codes are not now especially popular on billboards, posters and other ads you see while you're on the move.

As the codes are more widespread and become part of our daily data diet, cellphones with built-in data-matrix readers are leading to other, more exciting applications. Advertisers who want you to find out more about their products online simply print a data-matrix code in the corner of their ads for you to photograph.

QR - or "Quick Response" - was created so that this type of information could be decoded at high speed. Initially used in the vehicle manufacturing industry, QR codes are now utilised in commercial tracking and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users.

But it's also about having fun - fans of the Pet Shop Boys will remember how QR-code was reproduced in the artwork of their download-only single in 2007. Just as it's easy to use the codes, it is also simple to generate mobile codes for yourself. You could, perhaps, put codes on your website so that people can easily get the address of your RSS feed onto their mobile to make it easy for them to keep up with your site while they're on the move.

Also keeping up with technology on the move, Microsoft Office 2010 promises to deliver powerful new tools that will allow you to express your ideas, solve problems, and connect with people. With Microsoft Office Web Apps, you can access documents from virtually anywhere. Whether you're editing a document from home or collaborating with someone around the world, Office Web Apps will enable you to work the way you need to.

Microsoft Office Web Apps are online companions to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, enabling people to access and carry out light editing or sharing of Office documents from virtually anywhere.

The program is tightly integrated with SharePoint 2010 Products. When you install Office Web Apps, the Office Web Apps Services are added to the list of SharePoint Services and the Office Web Apps Feature is added to the available SharePoint Features. Office Web Apps services include the Word Viewing Service, PowerPoint Service, and Excel Calculation Services that are created and run within the context of SharePoint Services.

Using a Web browser, users have the ability to access and work on documents within an organisation with the aid of SharePoint's content management capabilities. When a user clicks on a document stored in a SharePoint document library, the document opens directly in the browser. The document appears in the browser similar to how it appears in the Office application. The Web App also provides many of the same editing features as an Office application.

Office Web Apps provides this representation of an Office Word document, PowerPoint presentation, Excel workbook, or OneNote notebook using native browser objects such as HTML, JavaScript, and images. Each document type is handled differently depending on the Office Web Apps services started and whether or not the Office Web Apps Feature is activated. Documents created in the Word Web App, PowerPoint Web App, or Excel Web App can be edited in the browser or can be opened for editing in the associated Office application.

With more of us sharing information on the move, it's definitely time to find out how Office Web Apps could help you on your journey through the mobile office.