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Capture Text Anywhere on Your Mac with TextSniper (Sponsor)

My thanks to TextSniper for sponsoring MacSparky.com this week. This is an app that I use … often. Just a few examples from the last week:

  • I got the serial number from a picture of a tool
  • I pulled text off of a donation receipt for my taxes.
  • I pulled some text from an unfriendly website about my Japanese maple bonsai.
  • I got nutrition data off a box of cereal.

TextSniper is a Mac OCR app that can extract text anywhere on your Mac’s screen and automatically save it to your clipboard so that you can paste it anywhere you need it. It can even read the text to you. The whole thing works a lot like the built-in screen capture on the Mac, just way more powerful.

Also, TextSniper doesn’t collect your data. The text recognition is processed on your Mac and does not require an internet connection. 

With TextSniper, you can:

  • Quickly get a text from PDFs, Zoom calls, Presentations, and Videos. 
  • Copy text from anywhere, even images and websites that don’t let you select text.
  • Quickly grab data like email addresses, phone numbers, and links.
  • Read QR codes and barcodes.
  • Get text out of just about any image format, including JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and BMP.

TextSniper works with macOS Catalina and later and also works with Parallels Desktop

Get TextSniper now and enjoy the fastest way to copy uncopyable text, wherever it may be. Use promo code TS2023 to get an additional 25% off. 

The Looming Threat of AI-Generated Voice

I read this post by John Gruber, and I couldn’t agree more about the shenanigans that will come from AI-generated deepfakes. The computers are so good at duplicating your voice at this point that a determined jackass could “produce” a tape of you saying anything. Conversely, an insolent jackass will deny an actual recording of him and claim it is a deepfake. Down is up. Up is down.

I don’t know that we’ll ever have “smoking gun” audio again. It’s just a question of time before that is true for video, too. The bad guys are certainly going to use this to further polarize us. Be warned.

AI-Generated AppleScript

I enjoyed this article from Dr. Drang about the robot-created AppleScript. I think AppleScript will be one of the most difficult languages for AI models to write because it was created to make it more human-readable, and that makes it quirky.

The other thing about AppleScript that will likely trip up the AI models (it certainly trips me up) is the modular nature of the language. Every app that implements AppleScript uses its own dictionary calls. From one app to another, these dictionaries vary greatly, and every script involving a new app requires a bit of spelunking.

Good luck with AppleScript, Robots, you’ll need it.

Avoid Email Overwhelm with SaneBox (Sponsor)

Email can get overwhelming for all of us. It just keeps coming. And the more emails you reply to, the more people write you back, generating even more email. When you get down to it, however, for most of us the truly daunting thing about email is sorting the wheat from the chafe. Where are the five email messages that truly matter in that inbox of 267 items? That’s where SaneBox, this week’s MacSparky sponsor, will save you time. 

Those newsletters and other unimportant emails you receive that you don’t need to read right away? You can stop them from interrupting your flow. With your training, SaneBox’s A.I. will analyze your email history. After learning what’s important to you, it ensures that only important email stays in your inbox. Those pesky emails that don’t require your immediate attention? You can get a daily digest from SaneBox at the time of your choosing and deal with them later.

Tidy up your inbox and let SaneBox deal with the clutter by sending them to your Sane folders. If you’re not quite sold, you can try it out for yourself. For MacSparky friends, SaneBox has a special offer. You can sign up for a free trial, and you’ll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription. Welcome to email sanity, it’s that simple.

Home Screens: Brett Burney

This week’s home screen features my friend Brett Burney (website)(Apps in Law site)(podcast). Brett is a lawyer that helps other lawyers master their technology stack. He’s a great friend and a swell guy. So Brett, show us your Home Screen.

What’s your Lock Screen / Wallpaper and why?

Love changing out my wallpapers every 2-3 weeks and really enjoying the customization options that came with iOS 16. Current lock screen/wallpaper is a picture my daughter took while we were on vacation in New Orleans.

Main screen walk-thru / Today View widgets

I keep asking myself if I should move things around, but this main screen arrangement has stood the test of time for several years. Most apps are non-foldered for quick access, but I’ve got two folders at top: One has all my store/food apps with a toilet to remind me that’s my money going down the drain; the second folder has all my social media apps so it’s a “lying face” emoji. 

I keep the Calendar widget in upper left so I can see the full month. Bottom left is a Widget Stack that primarily shows the weather, but I can rotate through Fitness and Photos (I find having more than 3 widgets in the stack take me too long to rotate through). But I also have “Smart Rotate” turned on so it’ll show me what I need throughout the day.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

How much is too much? That’s like asking how many times a day I take a breath – I don’t even think about it. The “phone” is the new personal computer and it’s become an extension of my brain, daily workflows, and personal/professional communication.

What are some of your favorite apps?

Notes, Microsoft To Do, and OneNote are critical for capturing thoughts & tasks throughout day. Spotify and Reeder get fired up every day. Overcast regularly. 1Password is my digital safe. My iPhone’s second screen has Apple Fitness, Scanner Pro, and all my hotel, airline, and travel apps along with banking and credit card apps. 

On my iPad, PDF Expert and Documents (both from Readdle) are always used to access and organize my files. I use the Files app a lot as well. Notability on my iPad is for taking notes. Also enjoy using iThoughts to brainstorm.

What app makes you most productive?

If I had to pick one it would be Microsoft To Do, but I use Notes and OneNote quite a bit as well. To Do gives me the freedom to forget what I have to remember. And I regularly use the iOS timer to keep me on track and avoid the “SQUIRREL!” syndrome. Dropbox gives me confidence I can find files when I need them.

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

Oh, so many. I’d probably pick Freeform right now from Apple, but I’m also woefully underutilizing Shortcuts which is why I need to dig into my friend David’s Shortcuts Field Guide!

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Not a spicy pick, but I would say Reeder for all the blogs and sites I follow. It’s my “guilty pleasure” because I look forward to reading through all my hobbies including coffee, styles, bourbon, travel hacks, tech tips, deals & sales, hiking, etc.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

Probably these days all the Fitness integration between the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro. I’m no fitness guru, but I can quickly filter to a workout on my iPhone or iPad, shut out the world on my AirPods Pro, and have the workout tracked on my Apple Watch … which also now funnels into my Health app. It’s a pretty amazing ecosystem that delivers a consistent experience.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face tell us about it.

Got an Apple Watch Ultra at the end of 2022 and I completely enjoy it, but need to work on customizing the watch face. Currently using the Ultra-specific “Wayfinder” face because it lets me put on the most complications (although I keep wanting to put MORE complications on there).

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

Give me more capabilities to customize my Apple Watch face! I want to take maximum advantage of the larger face in the Apple Watch Ultra.