opticalcharacterrecognition
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Gmail can scan images to stop confidential data being leaked
Businesses do a lot to secure their operations, but often it just takes one rogue employee to send themselves confidential files and they're doomed. Google launched its Data Loss Prevention (DLP) service to help companies avoid such a calamity, and now it's getting even more powers to avoid data losses. With the update, Gmail will be able to scan documents with optical character recognition to make sure attached images don't contain sensitive information like social security numbers or passwords.
Microsoft shows off optical character recognition for Windows 8
Microsoft already showed off a new Bing platform and 3D maps for Windows 8 today at Build 2013, and now it's revealed that optical character recognition (OCR) is coming to the OS as well. Of course, OCR has been available on Windows Phone for some time, but the feature has now finally made it to Win8 as a part of Bing's new capabilities. In the demo, Microsoft showed a Surface tablet using OCR scanning Spanish text on a sheet of paper, then translating it to English. A quick verbal command later, and the info was added to an itinerary within a travel app. Of course, we assume with all those new APIs, devs will be able to find many other ways to use this newfound feature. Time to get creative, people!
IRISNotes 2 looks to undercut Livescribe, digitizes your scribbles for $99
IRIS is trying to make a big name for itself in the OCR world. But, top notch software alone isn't going to put its name on the tips of consumers tongues. For that they're gonna need something sexier, more... tangible. With its portable scanner line already on shelves the company is pushing out an update to its digital pen series IRISNotes. The IRISNotes Express 2 and Executive 2 are very similar to the intriguing Livescribe that, while compelling, never seemed to fly off the shelves. IRISNotes ditches the special paper required by its more popular competitor, and instead uses a small receiver that clips to the top of a standard sheet to record your scrawl in digitized form. IRIS hasn't specified how much storage is on board, only saying that it can save 100 pages worth of notes before you'll need to download its contents to a PC. The $99 Express undercuts Livescribe's cheapest offering by $20, but it's worth noting that it doesn't have support for voice notes or a stable of applications that tie into its ecosystem. The Executive model retails for $149 and sports a more elegant finish, befitting its name. It also comes with a 30-pin adapter that lets you dump your missives directly to an iDevice. Both are available now, and you'll find complete PR after the break.
Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous
If you've enjoyed decrypting the often frustratingly skewed (and occasionally humorously juxtaposed) reCAPTCHAs, you might be a bit sad to learn that Google is mixing things up with some rather more boring numerals. The combinations of two words are typically used as part of a registration form to ensure the registrant is, indeed, human. Google is now replacing one of the words in some of its reCAPTCHA forms with photos gleaned from Street View service. Google says it uses these numbers internally to improve the accuracy of Street View and that pulling them into reCAPTCHAs is part of an "experiment" to "determine if using imagery might also be an effective way to further refine our tools for fighting machine and bot-related abuse online."In other words, Google's bots are already capable of decoding these numbers, which makes this all sound like a bit of a challenge to the rest of the OCR-loving coders in the world. Any takers?[Image Credit: dirtbag]
Doxie Go portable scanner creates searchable PDFs without a PC, syncs to almost anything
As far as scanners go, Doxie makes some of the more interesting products on the market. There's one problem though... the bright trail of hot pint hearts splashed across the front. Thankfully, the upcoming Doxie Go dons a more conservative shell that will look just as at home in a CEO's office as it would in a 16-year-old girl's bedroom. The Go is a portable scanner with built-in memory for up to 6,000 pages, and you can even add on more storage through the USB port or SD slot. All scans are automatically fed through OCR software and turned into searchable PDFs. To get the scans on your PC you actually sync the Doxie Go to your Mac or Windows machine. You can also sync with your iPhone, iPad or send your documents straight to Dropbox, Evernote or Google Docs from the Doxie 2.0 desktop app. You can pre-order the Go now for $199 and it'll start shipping in late November. Check out the gallery below and PR after the break. %Gallery-136890%
Google Docs gets an Android app, we go hands-on with tiny spreadsheets (video)
Staring at spreadsheets crushed down to unreadable sizes on a 4-inch phone screen is far from pleasurable but, clearly there is a demand. In fact, we've been clamoring for a proper Google Docs app for ages, even though sometimes we're not entirely sure why. It was only a matter of time before Google finally got around to appeasing us mobile workaholics and put an official app in the Android Market. Well, our masochistic prayers were answered -- the Mighty Goog unleashed the new, native Google Docs for Android app and we rushed on over to the Market, clicked the install button, and gave it a whirl. %Gallery-122400%
