Printable interfaces and digital linkmarks

A method for linking a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded on a physical medium with a source over a global computer network, comprising:

• sensing, by a sensor, a first region on a physical medium including a hotspot encoding a uniform resource locator (URL) and a second region on the physical medium including a data link encoding separately from the hotspot encoded in the first region data associated with the URL;
• decoding the URL and separately decoding the associated data;
• storing the URL and the associated data in a memory for subsequent transmission;
• coupling the sensor with a computer system;
• transmitting the URL and the associated data from the sensor to the computer system;
• retrieving, by the computer system, a file from a remote server at the URL, over a global computer system;
• displaying the web page on a display;
• and
• using the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

A method for linking a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded on a physical medium with a source over a global computer network, comprising:

• coupling to a sensor;
• receiving a uniform resource locator (URL) and associated data from the sensor that previously decoded the URL from a first region of a physical medium and separately decoded the associated data from a second region of the physical medium, and stored the URL and the associated data in a memory of the sensor;
• transmitting the URL over a global computer network to a remote computer system;
• receiving, over the global computer network, a file at the URL from the remote computer system;
• displaying the file on a display;
• and
• using the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

A portable apparatus for sensing a region of a physical medium having a hotspot and associating the hotspot with a file, comprising:

• a sensing element to sense a hotspot and a data link on a physical medium;
• a decoder coupled to decode a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded within the hotspot and data encoded separately within the data link, the data being associated with the URL;
• a memory coupled to store the URL and the associated data for subsequent transmission;
• and
• a transmitter, when coupled to a computer system, to transmit the URL and associated data stored in the memory to the computer system for causing the computer system to retrieve a file at the URL from a remote computer system, display the file, and use the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

A physical medium including:

• a first encoded region comprising a hotspot including a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded therein;
• and
• a second encoded region encoded separately from the first encoded region, the second encoded region comprising a data link including data encoded thereon, the data being associated with the URL;
• wherein the hotspot and data link are for being sensed by a sensor, when coupled to a computer system, to transmit the URL and associated data to the computer system to cause a software program running on the computer system to retrieve a file at the URL from a remote computer system and use the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.