Windows Vista Speech Recognition software may not have rendered the keyboard obsolete, but it certainly has made it unnecessary for many people. The voice-control software translates speech into text with impressive speed and accuracy. Users can not only dictate, but also open programs, browse the net and do most functions that presently require keyboard or mouse actions in Windows. A compatible microphone and a sound card are needed to run the Speech Recognition in Vista.
In theory, the Vista Speech Recognition software doesn't need any training. You can install it one minute and begin dictating the next. In reality, it works much better if you spend thirty minutes reading pre-selected passages that teach Vista your verbal quirks. Once you've done that, the real fun begins.
You may think you speak coherently, but you don't. You speak in run-on sentences. You make ridiculous leaps of logic. You pad every sentence with meaningless words. Heck, you don't even get basic grammar right. It's deflating to see just how illiterate you actually are, but there is hope. If you force yourself to use Vista several hours a day, you'll improve quickly. Once that happens, Vista ceases to be a nuisance and starts to be a timesaver, particularly for e-mails and short documents. Anyone who writes a lot of memos should think about upgrading to Vista for this feature alone. This is doubly true for people who spend a lot of time transferring text from paper to computer.
So, after a few hours of playing with the Speech Recognition, I was ready to do a test.
When the program is started it generates a small UI containing a microphone.Once the computer is told to ‘Start listening’, the text feedback area will show if the computer understands what the person says. If it does not, it will ask the question ‘What was that?’ Errors in what the computer recognizes can be corrected, thereby helping it to better recognize one’s speech pattern. The computer can be corrected by saying ‘Correct’ followed by the incorrect words. It makes the program smarter.
A command that really helps is the ‘Show numbers’ command that can be used at times when, for example, one cannot recall the name of a toolbar button. This way, numbers appear over everything selectable on the screen and the person can say the number that relates to that option. Other actions supported include closing, maximizing, restoring or minimizing any active window. Programs can be opened by saying ‘Open’ followed by the program name. They can also be opened by using commands to navigate through the Start menu.
Here is an unedited test of the Vista software:
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse and nothing but particular to intensely on shore, I thought I would say a lot of a little and see the watery part of the world. It’s a way I have a variety of this clean and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it scanned, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily passing before cloth and warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I need; and especially whenever the high pros get such an upper hand of me, but requires a strong moral principle to prevail me from deliberately stepping into the street, and the vitally knocking people sat off—then, the county high time to get to the CIA soon as I can. This is no substitute for just a long ball. With a philosophical lorsch Kato throws himself on his sword; a quietly taped to the ship there’s nothing surprising in this. If they knew that new it, almost all men in their degree, sometime or other, cherished very nearly the same feelings course the ocean with me.
And here is the original paragraph:
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago -- never mind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.
Not too bad. This was after only 30 minutes of testing the software in reading the tutorials that came with it. The key is, the software will also scan your documents to look for phrasing as well as keys to how you write to better enable it to learn and anticipate your speaking styles.
Speech recognition is available in all versions of Windows Vista. I recommend using a good quality USB based microphone and a quiet room when working. 1 GB of free RAM is also recommended.
Now with the release of Google's Chrome browser and Microsoft's IE8 Beta, a new era of browser wars has begun. Firefox, Safari and Opera have made a bit of a dent taking about 20% of the market away from Microsoft but Google's Chrome browser threaten to be the first real competitor in the ring since the early days of Netscape.
What's good and bad about the browsers?
Chrome - The Likes -
Google Chrome represents a fresh look at the user/browser experience and design.
Fully isolated, multiprocess architecture should prove more robust than IE 8's.
I has a very clean and easy to navigate UI that will appeal to non power users.
There is some innovative JavaScript tuning that helps to make it fast.
Chrome is fast. Very fast.
I like the fact the during a right click paste of an address, you can choose the efficient "Paste and Go" feature.
The fact you can drag a tab out of Chrome into a new self contained window. Very nice.
Chrome is basic, spare and efficient, an antidote to the busy, cluttered look of Internet Explorer, and the anxiety it can provoke once you get lost within its menus. (ie: Minimalist Approach)
It blocks pop up ads... except, (bad for the advertisers), it still "opens" the ad, just doesn't show them. So the advertisers get to pay, but the ads aren't seen.
The Dislikes -
Privacy and licensing agreements. Seems Google assumed people don't read the End User License Agreement (EULA). We did and we were not happy.
I suggest removing the checkmark from the autosuggestion feature so as to not share your surfing habits (aka free marketing and data mining for Google) with Google.
It didn't take long for users to discover vulnerabilities in the beta browser. Several of these have already been patched.
Some sites and online services still don't work with Chrome.
IE 8- The Likes -
Internet Explorer 8 injects some much needed life into the old standard.
The sturdier, multiprocess design means that crashes will be isolated to a single tab.
The InPrivate Browsing tool allows you to easily switch to a secure browsing mode. Chrome requires you to right click the link and choose open in a private session.
Quick-access tools (Accelerators, Web Slices) make browsing more efficient.
Many add ons for translators, direct map look up, Wiki look up, etc...
Searching IE 8's Smart Address Bar offers similar functionality to Chrome's Omnibox, letting you type in URLs or search terms and taking you to the right place.
Excellent privacy features.
Internet Explorer 8 probably holds more excitement and interest for Web developers and IT managers than everyday Web users. Microsoft has added a lot under the hood to make IE 8 beefier in terms of security and Web development tools. (ie: Kitchen Sink Approach)
The Dislikes
IE 8's hefty system requirements will dissuade most users with a machine older then 3 cycles.
IE’s memory footprint was a beefy 195M, while Chrome’s was a comparably skinny 80M (average from 7 different sites).
While IE 8 does use separate processes for tabs, similar to Chrome's approach, it does not do so to the same degree -- still leaving room for a total meltdown.
IE is slower.
So what is the final thought. It does not matter. People will pick the winner based on good and bad experience. IE 8 will come in PC's, Google will become a download of choice and the war will rage on.
So what does all this mean for Microsoft and Google?
Nothing.
They are both still products in betas with many changes to be made before the final version is released. The proof is in the final product. The battle has begun but this will be a long war that will rage for awhile. No quick knockout here. The good news is that unlike most wars, the innocent bystanders get to be the winners while both sides battle it out to create a most favored product. C'est la gare!
When it comes to technology, every home-based business owner can feel a little bit alone from time to time. There’s no help-desk or IT staff to call when your PC, Internet connection, or other devices are on the blink. It’s your problem. These tech challenges are not something to be taken lightly.
So here are some of the biggest technology challenges for home-based businesses—and some tips for how to make sure you don’t fall victim to them.
1. Hackers, viruses, and malware… oh my!
Home-based businesses that store sensitive information, especially customer data—know that safety is a constant concern. We're not talking about the inconvenience of having a single home PC infected by a virus here. We're talking about a catastrophic loss or compromise of mission-critical data. Hackers know that small businesses lack the technological know-how to set up robust security and often look to small businesses as easy targets. Don’t skimp on the virus and firewall software. A package like Norton 360 can insure you have a virus free, secure environment.
2. Help Desk Less
Many small-business owners don’t know a lot about technology or don’t have the time to deal with it. Their best solution when something goes wrong is to call the manufacturer and wait on hold for hours, or call a friend who knows something about computers, fax machines, or telephones. Consult with a real IT professional when you buy your components not the 17 yr old kid at Best Buy.
3. Go business-grade
The High-speed Internet was built for someone’s home use. Ask the phone or cable company classify you as a business account. That way, you’ll get priority service during an outage. This also allows you to get more bandwidth for clearer VoIP calls as you surf.
4. Nice vs. Necessary
Most business owners are good at what they do and want to run their business, not be a technologist. Result: These business owners often make bad purchasing decisions. They buy the wrong PC, the wrong printer, or the wrong fax machine. Apart from hiring an IT consultant to guide you through major purchasing decisions, I suggest asking a few tough questions before buying any gadgets for the home office. What hardware is really necessary and at what point is it just bells and whistles? The minimalist approach is often usually best. Consolidate functions such as faxing, printing and scanning into a three-in-one machine. You don’t need a stand-alone device for everything. Remember, less is more.
5. Back It Up
Regularly backing up your data isn’t easy for any business. But when a home-based company runs out of hard-drive space, chances are pretty good the data will not get backed up for an indefinite period of time. As a result, many home-based and small businesses simply do not recover when data is lost. Another key is off-site backup. What happens if there is a fire or theft in your home office? Your data is gone. Off Site backup services can offer a 2nd level of protection. Also, try to restore your data as a test. I have seen problems with home businesses because they often don’t know how to restore from a backup, which means they lose time and potentially data. It is not a question of if it will happen, but when.
The key to overcoming these technology challenges isn't just knowing about them, but having the right attitude about them too. Which is to say: Be proactive. Don’t wait until a disaster, hacker attack, or outage to do something about it. Heading off a problem before it impacts or shuts down a business is the key.
If you wait too long, you could be out of business.
Special thanks to the Microsoft Business Team for input and content!
My well loved, well used laptop died last week. I purchase a new one and as I was getting it back to a usable state, I opened a list of software I install after purchasing a new PC for my friends and family. After getting everything back to a usable state, I thought that it was pretty good list to share. So, here is my list of five essential downloads to get. The best part, they are all free.
Picasa - Transfer, find, organize, edit, print and share all from this easy to use product. Picasa will automatically organize all your pictures into albums by date. Even if your photos are in multiple locations on your PC, Picasa finds and organizes them. Having all your photos in one place means no more time wasted searching for folders or files. The program works with JPEG, GIF, BMP, PSD, and movie files. Editing tools include cropping, removal of red-eye, and color enhancing. E-mail photos with Picasa's built-in client. You can also make instant backups to CD (or to other hard drives) of your photo collections. Picasa is available at http://picasa.google.com
avast Anti-Virus - I was a Norton fan for many years. I still believe that Norton 360 is the best product for the "set it and forget it" set of users. I found avast when I was using the Vista Beta's with Office 2007 and there was no virus software available. I found avast and was hooked. avast! Home Edition is a complete anti-virus package, that is free for registered home users. It contains an on-demand scanner, an on-access scanner with Standard Shield (which protects against execution and opening malware programs) and an embedded e-mail scanner. You will download a 60 day demo, if you would like to continue free usage beyond that time, you`ll need to register from the home page to obtain a free activation key by email. avast uses few system resources and does not bog down your PC while providing excellent virus protection. avast is available at www.avast.com
iTunes - Simply the best music player, organizer and purchasing tool out there. iTunes has set the standard in digital media and has blazed the trail for many services that followed. The iTunes Music Store has more music titles and genres available than any other music service. Even if you don't have an iPod, iTunes is an easy to use tool for music lovers. The iTunes software is free. Songs are available for $.99 per song or complete albums beginning at $9.99 and up. iTunes is available at www.itunes.com
SynchToy 2.0 - There are a ton of backup and synchronization tools but none as easy or reliable as SynchToy. This easy to use, application helps you copy, move, rename and delete files between folders, drives and computers. SynchToy is a very clean, simple and effective tool that allows you to backup and synch your key folders (Music, Documents, Photos, etc). SynchToy gives you 5 different options, like a two folder sync, or a one folder copy, subscription method or contribution (no delete) mode. The application will only update what has changed (handles file renames as well), so it's efficient. The application can be setup to run as a scheduled task in Windows, so you can make it a "Set it and forget it" tool. SynchToy is available for download here.
Skype - By now, most people are familiar with Skype. If you’re not, Skype is a little piece of technology can connect anyone with a computer to another person — no matter if that other person uses Skype, a landline or a mobile phone. Skype to Skype calls are free. All other calls, including local, long distance and international calls to phones and cell phones, are charged a nominal fee. Users can send video, download video, send and receive text messages, and can use Skype for call forwarding. Skype is free and requires a high speed (DSL or Cable connection) to make calls. Sound quality is always excellent and you can purchase a package of unlimited calls to phones or cell phones for less than $30.00 per year. Skype is available at www.skype.com
Last week I wrote about several different companies using Twitter as a Business Intelligence tool. After I posted the article, I received a Twitter from Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh thanking me for writing about his company and their use of Twitter.
For those not familiar with Zappos, their vision sums up their goals as the premier online shoe retailer:
One day, 30% of all retail transactions in the US will be online.
People will buy from the company with the best service and the best selection.
Zappos will be that company.
Zappos has always been an a company looking for an edge in many areas, not the least of which is social media. They currently have 440 employees (know as Zapponians) that are using Twitter to create a more interactive customer community.
To quote Tony, “we started getting the entire company more involved with Twitter because we saw it as a great way to help build our company culture. But then we discovered it was also a great way to connect with customers as well. For Twitter, we don't really view it as a marketing channel so much as a way to connect on a more personal level, whether it's with our employees or our existing customers”
Twitter is great. But what is next for Zappos? I twittered Tony with some questions and he introduced me to Brent Cromley, their Director of Development.
Brent and I had a chance to chat about how Zappos is using technology in new and different ways. Here's that conversation.
Stephen Rose (SR) - Brent, what technologies is Zappos.com utilizing to give yourselves an edge over your competitors?
Brent Cromley (BC) - Generally, we will always choose an open source technology over something proprietary. That gives us the flexibility to really understand what is going on in the underlying system or library and potentially make modifications that are more suitable to Zappos. There are numerous open source projects out there that can give us a jump-start on development of a new project.
SR- What blogs and tech sites to you read to learn about the newer technologies?
BC- Techcrunch.com, Mashable.com, Alistapart.com, Highscalability.com and many more, but those are some of the big ones.
SR - Will there be a mobile enabled Zappos site?
BC - Yes - This is something we will be building on top of our new e- commerce platform we are internally calling Zeta (Zeta = Zappos + Beta). Look for a mobile-enabled Zappos site next year.
SR - What about photo to shoe or show barcode recognition (take a photo of a shoe or shoe barcode in a store and have the shoe waiting for you in your inbox ready to order)
BC- Definitely an idea we have been playing with - parsing a cell-phone photo of a barcode is extremely difficult - it will be a bit before this technology is readily available for us to use.
SR- What technologies especially interest you right now?
BC- Search, Twitter, Social Networking, Analytics, Mobile-enabled shopping applications
SR- What idea do you have that technology has not caught up with in new ways to reach customers and do business?
BC- Same-day delivery of packages, barcode scanning, mobile shopping (devices are just starting to get interesting)
SR- What’s on the horizon for Zappos.com?
BC- More interactive and collaborative shopping experiences for a Zappos customer - trying to emulate some of the social aspects of shopping in a mall with friends.
Special thanks to Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh and Director of Development Brent Cromley for their time.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on how Twitter was my new business secret weapon. After discussion that post with several other people and reading some other commentary from fellow blogger's (see Between The Lines- ZDNet 6.24.08) I decided it was time to write a follow-up on additional Twiiter business uses.
There are a number of easy to use tools that allow you to cleverly and effectively tap into the power of Twitter and leverage the information Tweeting through Twitter. You can track a keyword and have every message containing that keyword sent to you. You can search through the masses of Twitter messages and find all Tweets with a certain keyword. Try using Tweet Scan to search Twiiter posts for keywords or phrases.
The ability to track a keyword across the entirety of the Twitter universe is an awe inspiring and powerful business intelligence tool. Messages are flowing through Twitter that are representative of different groups, locales, professions, economic strata's and tastes, covering just about any imaginable topic.
How are some companies using this information? Comcast has used it for a way to search Twitters about Comcast. They look for comments and complaints about their company. Zappos.com uses it as a way to connect with their audience. Whether it be a chance to meet their staff and attend special events or even to message the Zappos.com CEO with a issue or problem. Once again, Twitter allows a more direct connection.
So a besides finding out what people are saying about you and your products or your competitors and their products, what else can give you a business or personal edge?
A few weeks ago I found myself at a dinner thrown by Freshbooks.com and I was chatting with their CEO Mike McDerment and their Head Of Magic Saul Colt about how they handle increased demand for support. They told me that a portion of the after hours support was handled via Twitter. That Twitter allowed the staff pool to see simple posted questions and answer back during non support hours. Great idea.
How does it work?
Create a Twitter account. For example purposes name it XYZCo. Have your employees add it to their twitter mobile updates. Perhaps offer your associates $1.00 for each Twitter question fully answered. A user Twitters a question and one of many associates see it and can respond. Happy customer, happy associate who made an extra $25.00 over the weekend while sitting at the pool
How else?
Political candidates (Obama, Clinton and Edwards) all use Twitter to send out updates on where they are speaking or where you can see or hear their latest speeches and interviews.
Celebrities and Columnists use it as a form of not only self promotion and self expression but a way to truly connect in a more one on one atmosphere.
Some of my favorites are Diablo Cody (the screenwriter for Juno who’s posts are funny and at times very NSFW), Lisa Loeb (who loves to chat about her favorite foods and where she’s playing next) MC Hammer (who is making a comeback and working with other groups), Leo Laporte (who is I now know is quite the homebody at times), Will Wheaton (of ST-TNG fame who has a very funny, bliunt sense of humor), Henry Rollins (Of Black Flag and Poetry Slam Fame), Roger McGuinn (of the Byrds), Soupy Sales, and Robert Scoble .
Twitter can be a focal point for insightful, real-time feedback.
How are you using Twitter Intelligence to your advantage? What tools and services do you use to maximize how Twitter helps you?
Curious to see more. Get a Twitter account. If you like, find me and Twitter me. I look forward to seeing what your Twittering about.
Vumber does one thing and does it well. Provide a cheap and easy to use, disposable phone number and voicemail product.
Vumber allows you to create a phone number from any area code you want, linked to your home, cell or work phone.
When someone calls your Vumber number you can: A) Answer it. B) Send it to a Vumber Voice mail. C) Give the caller an busy signal. D) Give the caller an out of service message. E) Give the caller an infinite ring, or F) A custom message you create.
You can call “from” your Vumber, too. Just dial your Vumber, and then dial the number. You still have your existing numbers, and you can still call and get calls from them. It provides true privacy protection when anyone calls your Vumber, and when you call anyone.
So how can this help you? In your personal life it would be good in dating circles where you are wary of giving out a phone number to someone you don’t know very well. Excellent for things like classified ads and subscription based services where you personal information might be captured and used. But what is really intriguing is the potential business applications.
Here are a few I came up with:
Local Customers, Long Distance Number- Customers scattered across the country? With Vumber, you can give them a local number to contact you even if your miles away.
Multiple Phones – I now see many people with two cell phones. One for business and one for personal. With Vumber you can separate your personal and professional lives without the hassle of carrying multiple phones.
Non- Company Provided Cell Phone – As a company, create a virtual cell phone number for your sales reps that points to their personal cell phone. If the rep leaves, point their Cell phone Vumber to the new sales persons cell phone. It’s that easy. No more worries that a ex-employee is stealing business.
Temporary Marketing Campaigns – Now you can have a phone number that rings at a central phone or gives a prerecorded message to callers. When the campaign is over, turn off the number.
Job Search - Job-hunting? Networking? You’re going to be giving your telephone number to a large number of people you may, in the end, not even want to talk to. Again, since the number is disposable, change it or delete it at the end of your search.
Vumber is $9.99 a month. You can add additional Vumbers for $1.99 per month. Each Vumber get’s a VumberMail – voicemail. You can change your Vumber number 3 times for free.
I had asked my readers a few weeks ago, that if they had the opportunity to ask Bill Gate’s any question, what would they ask. I was amazed at not only the amount of responses, but the quality and range of questions offered.
I am quite fortunate to know four of the sixteen attendees that were invited to the Bill Gates lunch. For this post, I chose to interview three of them I know quite well. Daniel Egan, Rob Zelt and Matthew Roche. All we’re chosen to attend due to their enormous contributions and dedication to the Microsoft development community. None of the attendees were Microsoft employees.
I sat down with Daniel, Rob and Matthew and shared the many responses on my blog. After several hour of debate, the questions that most stuck out to them were “You and your wife's foundation have done a great deal of work for America's schools. Are you planning to expand your global humanitarian efforts to include similar education programs? Or are there other goals your foundation has to accomplish first?” posted by Rachael King and a simple yet direct, “What’s next"?” from Lindy Wiseman.
The day finally arrived for them. Over a lunch of chicken and rice, the conversation revolved around topics of a technical nature. What Daniel, Rob and Matthew all said was that as soon as the discussion turned to his philanthropic ventures, his energy and passion shone through. They said that he would often cut a piece of chicken, go to take a bite and then get caught up in a thought and never finish the bite. His lunch went cold as the discussion heated up.
Bill Gates philosophy is quite simple. One, treat his foundation no different that any other business venture. Two, put the money where it does the most good and has the highest return on investment. Three, make people responsible for bottom lines and results.
Rob Zelt said an example that Bill Gates gave was how to get medicine at a low price to people who most needed it. Solution? Rather than bicker back and forth with the medical company over price, Mr. Gates bought the medical company and removed that obstacle. Finding the most direct use for dollars with the largest ROI is his key.
When asked why not put smart boards in ever school, Matthew Roche said Mr. Gate’s response was simple. He stated that they could. But all the smart boards, computers and technical tools pale to the most important tool of all, parental involvement. When parents get involved in their children's education, when they find out exactly what is going on every day, then the tools we place in the schools become effective.
When asked about a larger scale and in particular in regards to the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program Mr. Gates said without political will and social commitment, technology can just as easily work in the opposite direction. Just dropping a computer in the hands of a poor community is not, in and of itself, going to change the circumstances people find themselves in. To achieve the foundation's goals it's important to combine technology with the right market conditions. Technology to develop vaccines doesn't work without the proper market forces to make medicines more affordable.
Daniel Egan asked how user groups like INETA (The International .NET Association) for which Daniel serves as the North American president, can harness their resources and members to make a difference. The response was simple. If a very small amount of time was donated by each developer towards a large scale software project that could measure crops, rainfall, infrastructure, growth, etc… imagine the result. It is not money that solves these problems (all though lack of it will always be an obstacle) but imagination and a personal commitment towards change and making planet a better place. Technology is a tool that helps change. But it’s the individuals that will always drive change.
Today is July 1st. It is the first day that Bill Gates will no longer be the head of Microsoft. He now finds himself in a transition as he goes from driving Microsoft to driving the Gates Foundation. He will now begin to build a new brand. He will visit China, India and Asia this year. He will lead the fight in finding vaccines for HIV/AIDS. He will work with the UN to create a clear cut agenda and with clear cut goals and objectives. Objectives with metrics that must be met. Gates has said he'll bring the same optimism, focus on scientific breakthroughs and rigorous measurements that has characterized Microsoft to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
And yes Calvin Cato, he does own and Xbox and is a Halo fan. :)
PHOTO
Matthew Roche (2nd Row Center -White T-Shirt and Glasses) Daniel Egan - (1st Row – White shirt/Black Pants) Rob Zelt - (Back row- Glasses, White and Blue Shirt on the end) Bill Gates - (Center)
Before I start this weeks post, I wanted to thank all of your for you amazing response and questions regarding the Bill Gates lunch (Post Title: WWBGD- What Would Bill Gates Do?). I am in the process of interviewing three of the lunch attendees who all read your questions and used them directly or indirectly when speaking with him. So please keep on the lookout for that.
This week, scanR. scanR allows you to scan, copy and fax with your camera phone. Impossible you say. Not at all.
When I return from a conference, I usually spend my first day back scanning business cards into my expensive business card scanner and then adding them to my Outlook so I can send out thank you's and such. Then I found scanR.
scanR offers the following:
Allows you to take a photo of a whiteboard, and have the text converted to a pdf (Whiteboards: 1 megapixel minimum photo)
Allows you to take a photo of a document , and have the text converted to a pdf (Documents: 2 megapixel minimum photo )
Allows you to take a photo of a business card, and have the text converted to a Outlook vCard (Business cards: 2 megapixel minimum photo)
Just take the photo (jpg format) and send it to the scanR email. Within minutes you will recieve an email with your ready document or vCard. From there fax or email directly to others if you choose.
scanR make it easy to capture information using camera phones. scanR's services are based on proprietary image processing and data refinement technology and are designed to work with any mobile phone platform. The founding management team comes from Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Internet Pictures and Kodak.
The cost? Only $4.99 per month or $29.99 for a 1 yr subscription. Very reasonable.
I used to take photos of whiteboards with my digital camera (you can send photos from digital cameras in as well) and then have to come home and transcribe the photo. This saves me a ton of time.
I even used it to photograph article text from a magazine I was reading. I photographed the pages and sent the translated pdf to my friend. He loved it and was amazed that I did it from my phone and all while in a doctor waiting room.
scanR is one of those tools that you never knew you needed, but can’t live without once you have it. To learn more about scanR visit: http://www.scanr.com
In the past my articles have been centered around technology, products and applications used within the business world. This weeks entry is a bit different. My friend and business partner at Odyssey Consulting Group, Daniel Egan has a once in a lifetime opportunity this week. To be one of fifteen people who get to have lunch with Bill Gates.
He found out last week and called me directly. After the initial excitement died down, I posed a simple yet poignant question to him. "You have this amazing opportunity to meet a true pioneer in the technology and computer industry, a world class humanitarian, and the third richest man in the world. What question will you ask him?"
He stopped dead in his tracks and realized he had no idea.
So, my Fast Company readers, if faced with the same opportunity, what question would you ask Mr.Gates? Would it be about a Microsoft product? His long battles with Apple, Intel and the EU? The future of Windows, Cloud Computing and WiMax? His work with One.org, RED, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? Perhaps what it's like to have Bono and Al Gore as friends? Maybe ask why he drives a Saturn when he could own any car on the planet? What would you ask?
Post your questions below. The best question will get asked and your answer will be posted below. I am very serious. I will post a photo of Daniel and Bill next week from their lunch.
