optical character recognition Archives

AppWizard

January 5, 2026

5 Essential Productivity Apps Every Android User Should Start Using

Focus Friend is an app developed by Hank Green that helps users maintain concentration by temporarily locking distracting applications during focus sessions, which can last from five minutes to two hours. Users earn in-app currency by focusing, which can be used to purchase furnishings for their virtual Bean Friend's space. If a session is ended prematurely, the user's earnings are lost. Files by Google is a file management app that allows users to back up files directly to Google Drive, declutter storage by suggesting deletions, and includes a document scanner. However, it lacks advanced organization tools like tagging and color-coding. Adobe Scan is an app that transforms physical documents into PDFs by capturing them with a phone's camera. Users can edit, rotate, and annotate scanned images, but some features require a subscription. Notein is a note-taking app that allows users to create plain notes and checklists, with formatting options and calendar integration for reminders. It currently lacks support for images or drawings. Todoist is a task management app that combines tasks with calendar functionality, allowing users to prioritize tasks, set due dates, and add sub-tasks. Some features require a Pro subscription. All featured apps have over a million downloads and a minimum 4.5-star rating on the Google Play Store, ensuring they are user-friendly and effective for productivity.

AppWizard

November 22, 2025

‘We cloned Gmail, except you’re logged in as Epstein and can see his emails’ is the most impressively cursed tech project of the year

The 2018 text adventure game "You Are Jeff Bezos" highlights Jeff Bezos's net worth of 6 billion at the time, which has since surpassed 0 billion, prompting discussions on wealth distribution. Jmail is a new platform that allows users to explore over 2,000 emails related to Jeffrey Epstein in a mock Gmail interface, based on documents released by the US House Oversight Committee. Co-creators Walz and Luke Igel used AI technology for optical character recognition to make the emails accessible. Each email is linked to a legitimate document for transparency. Jmail includes a crowdsourced feature for users to highlight notable messages, with some emails receiving significant attention, such as inquiries about Trump and Denmark's financial status.

Winsage

November 10, 2025

Microsoft is updating Windows 11’s Snipping Tool with option to add text to screenshots

Microsoft has transformed the Snipping Tool into a multifaceted application, adding features like video creation and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for text extraction from images. Recently, new text editing capabilities were discovered, allowing users to insert text when editing screenshots. This feature was demonstrated by a user on X, and while Microsoft has not officially commented on it, the potential applications include simple annotations and creative projects. Windows Insiders are expected to be the first to access these new tools, although a release timeline is not yet clear.

AppWizard

October 13, 2025

Android Pixnapping attack can capture app data like 2FA info

Security researchers have identified a 12-year-old data-stealing attack known as Pixnapping, which targets web browsers to extract sensitive information from Android devices. This attack allows a rogue Android application to access and leak information from various apps, including Google Maps, Signal, and Venmo, as well as websites like Gmail, and can capture two-factor authentication codes from Google Authenticator. The attack utilizes a hardware side channel to access screen display pixels, employing techniques inspired by earlier research on timing attacks. A collaborative team from institutions like UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University developed the modern iteration of Pixnapping, which will be presented at the 32nd ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security. The Pixnapping framework enables a malicious app to push pixels into the rendering pipeline and read them by overlaying semi-transparent Android Activities. The attack systematically measures rendering times to infer pixel colors, allowing for the recovery of data through optical character recognition. Researchers successfully demonstrated Pixnapping on Android versions 13 to 16 across devices like the Google Pixel series and Samsung Galaxy S25. The attack does not require special permissions and exploits how the Mali GPU implements data compression, resulting in data-dependent rendering times. Pixnapping leaks only 0.6 to 2.1 pixels per second, which is still sufficient to recover Google Authenticator codes. Google has issued a patch for the underlying vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-48561, with another patch planned for December, although there has been no evidence of exploitation in the wild. Despite attempts to mitigate Pixnapping, researchers have identified a workaround and suggest limiting an attacker's ability to compute on victim pixels as an effective strategy. They also discovered methods for attackers to identify all installed apps on a device, a capability restricted since Android 11 for privacy reasons, with Google indicating that fixing this issue may not be feasible.

AppWizard

October 2, 2025

These are the 7 open-source apps I recommend to everyone starting with self-hosting

Self-hosting is gaining popularity, prompting individuals to consider what services they want to self-host. Key applications for beginners include: - Portainer: A web dashboard that simplifies Docker management, allowing users to pull images, set up containers, and manage networks through a graphical interface. - Nextcloud: A self-hosted file synchronization solution that offers a productivity suite with features like calendars and collaborative document editing. - Home Assistant: A platform that consolidates smart devices for automation and control, enabling users to create customized smart home experiences. - Jellyfin: An open-source media server that allows users to organize and stream their own media libraries without subscription fees or ads. - Navidrome: A music server for streaming personal music collections with features like playlists and album art support. - Paperless-NGX: An application that digitizes and organizes documents using optical character recognition for easy management of paperwork. - Immich: A photo management tool that helps users organize and search their photo libraries based on metadata. - Dockpeek: A dashboard that lists all running Docker containers, simplifying access to services and enhancing user experience. A gradual approach is recommended for newcomers, focusing on specific needs to avoid decision fatigue while exploring various self-hosting options.

Winsage

September 30, 2025

11 things I love (and hate) about Windows 11 after using Windows 10

The transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 has prompted users to reflect on the differences between the two operating systems. Key observations from a week-long comparison include: - Windows 11 features an upgraded Windows Explorer with tabbed browsing for better file management. - The Screen Capture tool in Windows 11 allows for seamless screen recording, improving upon the previous version. - Windows 11 includes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities in the Snipping Tool, enabling easy text extraction from images. - It comes with bundled applications like Clipchamp, Copilot, and an upgraded Photos app, which enhance functionality compared to Windows 10. - Performance metrics suggest Windows 11 can be up to 2.3 times faster than Windows 10. - Windows 11 is designed to offer better security for personal information and system integrity. Negative aspects of Windows 11 include: - Increased surveillance and personalized advertising, making it harder to use without a Microsoft account. - The Start button has been relocated to a central position, which some users dislike, though customization options are available. - The right-click menu has become more cluttered, making essential options harder to find. - Microsoft is phasing out security updates for Windows 10, raising concerns for users who have not transitioned to Windows 11.

Winsage

September 18, 2025

What is Click To Do? Meet Microsoft’s next AI headliner for Windows PCs

Click To Do utilizes optical character recognition (OCR) technology to make screens interactive by allowing users to select text as if it were tangible. Selecting an email address offers the option to “Send email,” while highlighting a website URL provides the choice to “Open website.” When more than ten words are selected, users can access actions powered by the Phi Silica language model on Copilot+ PCs, enabling text summarization, bulleted list generation, and content rewriting. The platform also features an “Ask Copilot” option to send selected text to Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot and a “Draft with Copilot in Word” option for initiating Word documents with AI assistance. The functionality is available only to users of Microsoft’s Copilot for home use or Microsoft 365 Copilot for business applications.

Winsage

September 15, 2025

4 Windows tools I miss while using Ubuntu as my daily machine

Ubuntu lacks a system reset feature, requiring users to use a live USB for clean installations. It does not support repair upgrades using the latest ISO image. There is no system restore function, meaning users must perform full reinstalls to recover from issues. Ubuntu also lacks Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities in its screenshot tool and image applications, forcing reliance on external solutions. Additionally, there is no seamless phone integration like Windows' Phone Link app, limiting productivity. Despite its user-friendly interface and package management, these missing features hinder Ubuntu's appeal as a leading Linux distribution.

Winsage

July 23, 2025

Copilot Vision on Windows 11 sends data to Microsoft servers

Microsoft is integrating artificial intelligence into Windows 11 with new features, including Copilot Vision, which serves as a remote assistant processing information in the background. Windows 11 is positioned as the home for AI, offering features like Recall, Click to Do, and enhanced search capabilities. Copilot Vision captures continuous screenshots for analysis using optical character recognition and a large language model, with data processed on Microsoft servers. User data is not stored long-term, except for conversation transcripts with the Copilot assistant. The update introduces an "agentic" AI capable of adjusting system settings based on natural language commands, currently available on Copilot+ systems with Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware, with Intel and AMD support expected. Microsoft has also enhanced the "Click to Do" feature and introduced AI capabilities in applications like Photos, Paint, and the Snipping Tool. The traditional Blue Screen of Death has been replaced with a Black Screen of Death, which promises a more readable error message format. Additionally, Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Laptop 5G, featuring a 13.8" display, Intel Core Ultra processors with a neural co-processor, and optional 5G connectivity, expected to be available in 2025.

AppWizard

May 17, 2025

Chrome for Android could be getting a major time-saving upgrade to make verification even easier

Chrome for Android is set to introduce an automatic detection and filling feature for SMS-based two-factor authentication codes, aimed at streamlining the user experience. This feature is currently available in the "Canary version" of Chrome but has not yet been activated for all users. Additionally, Google has released Gemini-powered accessibility updates, including expressive captions and an optical character recognition tool for screen readers.