John O'Connell Profile picture
Jun 10, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Late night tech tip that I’ve just discovered :

if you’re thinking of installing some OCR software on your iOS or Android, don’t. I’ve just been playing around with Google Lens, which is built into Google Photos.

So if you have a Gmail address, you already have it.
@jdpoc … And Google Photos with Lens seems to outperform a lot of specialised OCR applications.

Text at an angle with reflections? No problem. Image
@jdpoc Some text is straight and the rest is curved? No problem. Image
@jdpoc Different lines of text in different fonts? Still no problem. Image
@jdpoc Hand written text on a banner, with uneven height and spacing? Still no problem. ImageImage
@jdpoc Antiquated fonts drawn by cartoonist? Works perfectly. Image
@jdpoc In short, Google Photos with Lens seems to “get“ more text in more situations for more images than bespoke OCR software. I’ve only tested it on about a dozen images, but so far it has excelled.

A very, very useful feature.

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More from @jdpoc

Aug 22
THIS DAY in 1945, as Paris was liberated from the Nazis, with street fighting still ongoing between Germans and Resistance, Alex Allegrier-Carton of the famous Lucas-Carton restaurant went down to his basement with a team of workers ... Image
Through the war, because his place was a favourite of the German officers (they'd read about it in guidebooks) he encouraged the Paris Resistance to meet in an upstairs room - the last place the Gestapo would ever think to check, and they never did ... Image
On this day he had a task to perform.

He pointed to an old wall, telling the workmen to knock it down.

Behind it was the greatest wine cellar in Paris, bricked up in 1940 using antique stones, disguised from the Germans throughout the entire war. Image
Read 6 tweets
Aug 14
Got a police update on a rogue landlord I tackled last year:

Changed locks on his tenants. No reason. No notice. (Trying to force them out as he had higher paying tenants lined up).

Panicking tenants called me. I called Police. They demanded he show up to unlock.

So did they. Image
He did so, but with smell of alcohol on breath and no insurance on his car: BUSTED.

Further examination of documents revealed multiple false identities : BUSTED.

False IDs being used for Tax Evasion purposes: BUSTED.

All because because he got a bit greedy.
So, update: Still awaiting trial - but now under investigation for money-laundering, too.

Some identifiable assets seized as proceeds of crime.

All because because he got a bit greedy. Image
Read 6 tweets
Jun 13
Short Thread on #Election24:

BEWARE THE ZINOVIEV MOMENT.

At some point in this campaign, an increasingly desperate Tory Party might drop the Zinoviev Bomb.

Let me give you some context. Image
The 1924 General Election:

Just 4 days before voting, the Daily Mail ran a story about a letter - the now infamous 'Zinoviev' Letter - from the Soviet Communist Party to the British Labour Party, suggesting (among other things) ... a UK and Empire-wide Bolshevik Revolution.
Image
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The Daily Mirror joined in the outrage ... Image
Read 7 tweets
May 20
Just came across this lovely little history story:

Back in 1962, EMI were working on various computerised systems for various purposes. Due to funding issues, the entire department was to be closed down. Image
EMI were losing cash and in real trouble.

Then their music division discovered a band in Liverpool that looked quite promising ... Image
The cash generated by the global success of the Beatles propped up other struggling divisions within EMI, including the division run Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield, allowing him to continue his research ... Image
Read 4 tweets
Dec 18, 2023
THIS DAY in 1916, the Battle of Verdun ended.

It was France's Somme, lasting from February the whole of the year until December.

303 days made it the longest and costliest battle in human history;

French lost 377,000, Germans almost as many. Image
General Pétain organised day-and-night transport by lorry and taxi, bringing a constant stream of troops into the town.

His narrow victory made him a national hero.

His reputation would be destroyed when in WWII, he collaborated with the Nazis in the Vichy Puppet Government. Image
Nine entire French towns were so completely destroyed they were erased from the map.

This is the High Street of the village of Bezonvaux, today. Image
Read 5 tweets
Sep 13, 2023
The Small Boat Crisis - How do we solve it?

Answer: We don’t. Bear with me.

Because we’re looking at the problem from the wrong end. Image
The small boats are not a crisis, only in that they add to the real problems:

- The rapidly growing shortage of hotels for asylum seekers;

- The interminably long delay for those people to have their applications processed. Image
Solve THOSE two problems … in an efficient, humane and legal manner … and the actual boats become a minor distraction, easily handled through a better process.

In addition, you solve the shortage of hotels … by solving the delays to processing of asylum applications. Image
Read 9 tweets

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