Another Reason to Prefer an iPad Over a Mac
Microsoft has just rolled out a host of new updates including an amazing new feature that uses machine learning to import data into Microsoft Excel by using your camera. What?! That sounds amazing! It’s just been released for Android and is coming soon to iOS.
The new import feature uses image recognition technology to identify all of the information on the page and convert it into an Excel spreadsheet in the app. It should eliminate the need to manually enter or copy data, depending on its accuracy. The feature, labeled in-app as "Insert Data from Picture," can perform the conversion from analog to digital with a single tap.—AJ Dillinger, engadget
Now, I’m not a writer, I’m an accountant. So maybe that’s why I seem to be the only one who is as excited as a 12 year old kid waiting for Nintendo’s next version of Super Smash. But who in the office doesn’t have to deal with the following scenario almost on a regular basis? You ask someone a question and they respond by sending you a screen shot of some data from their spreadsheet. That screen shot may answer the question at hand but if you want to use the data in the picture you can’t. You either have to re-type the data or ask them to send you the spreadsheet and hope they respond quickly.
Apparently, the people at Microsoft also find this just as perplexing. This idea is brilliant and it solves a real problem. Take a snapshot of the data and, “Presto!” it’s in your spreadsheet. No need to re-type all of the data or wait for someone to notice your e-mail And if you happen to use an iPad it’s all the easier. Just take the picture and convert.
It’s no surprise that a feature like this comes from the people who make computers without an attached keyboard and include rear-facing cameras. Taking photos with a traditional laptop computer would be so awkward even if they did have cameras. I suppose that’s why it’s available on phones since most laptop users would have to reach for their phone to snap the picture and then transfer the data to their laptop.
There’s no shortage of tech writers who go on and on about how the iPad is unfit for their work. But if you look hard enough at any device, you’re going to find short comings. My iPad Pro replaced my trusty Moleskine notebook and sometimes when I’m taking notes, I find it helpful to add a picture. A picture is worth a thousand words. But writing with an Apple Pencil and snapping pictures are both items that can’t be done on a Mac. I have nothing against Macs. It’s just that they’re so limited from a hardware perspective.
Kudos to Microsoft for solving a pain point going on decades with machine learning know-how. This is machine learning that I can rally behind. When I hear some millennial journalist try to convince me that machine learning is going to make my life better by remember what my coffee order is or helping me remember when to stop consuming calories for the day all I can think is “Get a life”. I’m a fully functioning adult who doesn’t need a babysitter. But show me how I can make my job more efficient or remove an obstacle that I encounter on a regular basis? You have my full attention.
Now, I’m not a writer, I’m an accountant. So maybe that’s why I seem to be the only one who is as excited as a 12 year old kid waiting for Nintendo’s next version of Super Smash. But who in the office doesn’t have to deal with the following scenario almost on a regular basis? You ask someone a question and they respond by sending you a screen shot of some data from their spreadsheet. That screen shot may answer the question at hand but if you want to use the data in the picture you can’t. You either have to re-type the data or ask them to send you the spreadsheet and hope they respond quickly.
Apparently, the people at Microsoft also find this just as perplexing. This idea is brilliant and it solves a real problem. Take a snapshot of the data and, “Presto!” it’s in your spreadsheet. No need to re-type all of the data or wait for someone to notice your e-mail And if you happen to use an iPad it’s all the easier. Just take the picture and convert.
It’s no surprise that a feature like this comes from the people who make computers without an attached keyboard and include rear-facing cameras. Taking photos with a traditional laptop computer would be so awkward even if they did have cameras. I suppose that’s why it’s available on phones since most laptop users would have to reach for their phone to snap the picture and then transfer the data to their laptop.
There’s no shortage of tech writers who go on and on about how the iPad is unfit for their work. But if you look hard enough at any device, you’re going to find short comings. My iPad Pro replaced my trusty Moleskine notebook and sometimes when I’m taking notes, I find it helpful to add a picture. A picture is worth a thousand words. But writing with an Apple Pencil and snapping pictures are both items that can’t be done on a Mac. I have nothing against Macs. It’s just that they’re so limited from a hardware perspective.
Kudos to Microsoft for solving a pain point going on decades with machine learning know-how. This is machine learning that I can rally behind. When I hear some millennial journalist try to convince me that machine learning is going to make my life better by remember what my coffee order is or helping me remember when to stop consuming calories for the day all I can think is “Get a life”. I’m a fully functioning adult who doesn’t need a babysitter. But show me how I can make my job more efficient or remove an obstacle that I encounter on a regular basis? You have my full attention.
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