When SnagIt 13/4 was released in mid 2016, I was impressed with a number of things, not the least of which was that the feature set was nearly identical between the Windows version (13) and the Mac version (4). Now what looks, based on the numbering scheme, to be a small step upgrade brings several new outstanding features.
SnagIt is an essential application for anyone who needs to document computer applications, but it's also a winner for teachers, software developers, and anyone who needs to create an image for use on the internet.
Both Windows and the MacOS can capture screen images natively, so why do we need a program like SnagIt? Well, at the very least SnagIt can capture parts of a screen as well as scrolling or panoramic views that capture more than what's on the screen. SnagIt makes it easy to obscure private information, to add highlights and arrows, to number steps, and to crop, erase, or modify parts of an image. All of those features existed in version 13/4, but now there's more.
I'll refer to this as version 13. If you're a Mac user, just substitute 4 when I write 13.
Despite the marginal number change (13.0 to 13.1), it feels more like a major upgrade. There were some minor but vexing problems with version 13.0 and those seem to have all been resolved and the performance has been enhanced a bit. For example, the initial version 13 release was slow to react if the user happened to have a high-res system with more than 1 monitor. TechSmith developed some patches that largely corrected the issue, but in version 13.1, the problem is nearly gone.
The new features are the ones that make this feel more like a major upgrade, though. Particularly the magic wand and background auto-fill. Don't get me wrong -- this isn't content aware fill such as you'd find in Photoshop, but SnagIt now makes it possible for users to select objects or areas of a captured image and them move, remove, or fill the selection with another color or with the surrounding background.
Consider this as an example. This is one of the background images that I use for the screens on my desk. Obviously, I have the full resolution image -- but lets say that for whatever reason, I needed to capture an image of the screen to illustrate a point and I didn't want the icons. Perhaps the point I'm illustrating is SnagIt's ability to remove parts of an image. Or is that too recursive?
Side note: Mater programmers say that to understand recursion, you must first understand recursion. Software engineers find humor there. We'll just move on.
So here's my screen capture with the icons that I don't want. In the control panel, I've picked the free-form selection tool and I've chosen auto-fill.
Then I draw a marquee around the icons that I want to remove, use the selection tool to make the selected area active, and click Delete.
The result: Perfect. But note that the icons were in the sky, which has little variation. The more of a pattern there is, the less effective the tool will be.
You know that I always like to break things so let's give it an utterly impossible challenge. This is a butterfly at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Only a fool would try to select the butterfly and remove it, so perhaps that give you some insight into how my mind works.
Instead of deleting the butterfly, I just slid it to the right and, as you can see, the fill really isn't convincing. But it shouldn't be. The simple fact is that SnagIt now makes possible some functions that previously would have had to go to Photoshop for additional work.
The second big change in the 13.1 version is the ability to capture not only the name of the application the screen was captured from, but also its version number. It's unlikely that designers and documentation specialists will be excited about this feature, but anyone who works with software developers will be delighted to be able to capture screen images that illustrate problems with the software and to have that image carry along with it details about the application.
I've grabbed a screen shot of this article and when the image's details are revealed in the SnagIt library, I see that the application is the 64-bit version of UltraEdit Studio version 16. This kind of information could be highly useful to a developer.
The third of the primary new features is the ability to create localized call-outs. Localization is the process of translating program information for countries and regions. Text can be extracted from call-outs and in a format that is accessible for translation.
And, for those who work with a team and want to maintain consistency, SnagIt now has shared styles and themes. Once defined, styles can be shared with other users. In addition to maintaining brand consistency, sharing styles instead of having each user create their own is much more efficient.
Need Screen Shots? SnagIt Has You CoveredNormally step-version applications receive only a brief mention to describe what's new, but this step version took several very large steps. And the good news is that if you upgraded to version 13 (or version 4 on the Mac) there's no charge for this update. If you haven't
yet upgraded to version 13, the upgrade is $25 and the cost for new users is just $50. There are other applications that can capture screen images, but SnagIt is the only one that makes everything easy. And I didn't even mention that it can capture video, too, and convert the videos into animated GIFs for times when you need more than a picture but less than a full video.
Additional details are available on the TechSmith website.
There's a place where I store random thoughts and small stories that show up and have some promise, but aren't big enough for their own segment. When the collection grows large enough, I upend the box on the desk (figuratively), pick up each article and shake the dust off it (figuratively), and see if there's anything worth talking about. Some of the scraps get tossed into the trash as I mutter to myself "What was I thinking?" and others find their way to a collection like this.
Imagine your surprise if you opened your Dropbox account and found files that you thought you had deleted in 2009. That's exactly the surprise some users of the service received.
Dropbox says that it keeps files you've deleted for 30 days and then deletes them. Eight years is something more 2900 days and 2900 is somewhat more than 30. Keeping the files around briefly is a good idea because people have been known to delete files and then decide that they want to keep them. Thirty days is a reasonable period.
But not 2900 days! Files you thought you deleted years ago could still be on a server somewhere.
Apparently somebody at Dropbox noticed the problem and in the process of correcting the bug, the company restored deleted files to some users' accounts. A Dropbox employee posting on the company's public forum was quick to point out that this was an internal error and not a breach.
Dropbox says the bug has been fixed, so deleted files will be permanently deleted after 60 days (not 30 as was the case previously). The company was emphatic about the problem being just a mistake and not a breach, probably because an earlier attack exposed passwords for 68 million users.
Not long ago, I wrote about modest little Chromebook computers gaining in popularity at schools. Adding a stylus could make them even more popular.
Steve Jobs thought adding a stylus to an electronic device was stupid, but users of those devices seem to have a different view and soon 2 new Chromebook models will be released as "convertible" computers (meaning the keyboard folds back under the screen) and with a stylus.
The computers will be from Acer and Asus. In addition, all Chromebooks released this year are supposed to be able to run Android apps and Adobe has released apps that provide access to Creative Cloud files. Don't expect full-featured Photoshop or Premier applications on a Chromebook, but users will be able to make some modifications to existing Creative Cloud files.
Samsung announced Chromebook models with a stylus earlier, so now 3 of the main players in that market segment have them. Dell, HP, and Lenovo will probably follow before long.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 and the Asus Chromebook C213 will be available in late spring.
Google says that the machines are designed for students and that the stylus will work like a pencil in that it has an "eraser". The stylus isn't electronic, so it doesn't need a battery and it doesn't need to be paired with the computer.
Google's Keep function includes optical character recognition that's surprisingly good at deciphering handwriting. That gives these little Chomebooks a more secure future.
Instead of sending an email to your associates at work, a company called ViewedIt wants you to use their Vidyard application to send a video message. This doesn't strike me as desirable, logical, or workable.
Back in the 1960s, Bell (the telephone company) predicted that video phones were right around the corner. We've been around several corners since then and although some of our phones are capable to sending and receiving video, we still reserve video for conferences and many people don't like to use it even for that.
In the 1960s, people objected because they would have to be well dressed all the time if a caller would be able to see them. Today's concerns are similar. I wrote this segment on a Sunday morning. I was wearing yesterday's shirt because I hadn't yet taken a shower. To send a video message, I'd need to get cleaned up first.
In ViewedIt's defense, the company does seem to be positioning this as an enterprise service and presumably all of the people at the office would be presentable. That might not extend to people working from home, though. (Perhaps I should mention that Wednesday of this past week was Work Naked Day. Or perhaps I shouldn't mention that. Just forget I said that Wednesday was Work Naked Day.)
But let's assume all those concerns are resolved somehow. Is a video message really better than a written message? I don't think so. Many inter-office messages ask questions or provide instructions. The person receiving a list of instructions might conceivably need to write them down. Besides being a waste of time, this introduces the opportunity for transcription error.
I think I'll stick with email, thank you.
Most of the scams you hear about on the podcast on read about on the website are ones that use email and, more recently, phony telephone calls. Postal mail is being used, too.
The IRS doesn't use email to request information or payments, but it does send notices by mail and the crooks seem to be able to create good fakes.
Fake tax bills tied to the Affordable Care Act are common. Notices that look like legitimate letters from the IRS request payment because of reports received from a third party. That's exactly the kind of message that the IRS does send. The fakes are fraudulent versions of CP2000 notices that inform taxpayers about discrepancies on their tax returns.
The IRS says there are a few ways to spot a fraud.
First, the IRS always asks that checks be made out to "Internal Revenue Service" (the full name) and the phonies want you to use "I.R.S." instead. They can set up a phony company that uses those initials and cash your check.
Second, the payments are to be sent to a post office box, often in Austin. The IRS has mailing addresses in several cities. If you send payment without checking further, use the address where you send your annual tax returns.
Better still, pick up the phone and call the IRS to determine whether they have sent an inquiry. Just because it's on paper and looks like it's from the IRS doesn't mean that it really is from the IRS.
Popcorn Time Ransomware takes an unusual approach for ransomware: It apologizes. Then it offers you a choice: Pay about $1000 to get your data back or help to infect other users' computers. A better choice: Tell them to bug off, clear the malware from the computer, and restore from backup. But let's take a look at this unusual approach anyway.
The group that discovered this one, MalwareHunterTeam, says that victims are instructed to pay at least one Bitcoin (value varies, but currently it's about $970) or to use what the malware developers call "the nasty way". The nasty way involves sending a link to people you know and infecting their computers. "If two or more people install this file and pay, we will decrypt your files for free."
Image: MalwareHunterTeam
We all know that people who create ransomware always tell the truth, of course -- so this may be true or not: The developers say that the money you send will be used for charity in Syria. Possible? Yes. Equally possible: The scammers are in Russia or Bulgaria and the only "charity" is their own bank account.
When a computer is infected, the message that pops up apologizes and then says that the developers are "computer science students" living in Syria. The message cites the deaths of loved ones in the war. "We are extremely sorry we are forcing you to pay," the message says, "but that's the only way we can go on living."
The only real defense against these dark arts is full and complete backups. If your computer become infected with malware and your files are encrypted, getting back to normal is a 2-step process: First, you have to get the malware off the computer. Once that has been done, you can restore everything from backup -- but only if you have backup.
Finding and exposing fake news is becoming big business. A new startup company, Zetta Cloud, claims to trace back news articles and identify those that have been contaminated by deliberately false reports. The company is headquartered in Romania. Artificial intelligence company Basis Technology has provided software to the company.
Professional journalists vet their sources to ensure the information they're providing is accurate, but erroneous information can creep in. When multiple sources report the same information, the "echo chamber" effect makes even outright lies seem plausible. Incidentally, this is a technique that was used successfully by TASS, the Soviet news agency, during the Cold War.
The Zetta Cloud team has developed a trust algorithm that calculates trustworthiness scores in real-time for on-line articles. These scores can be used by readers to make decisions about whether to trust an article.
The company uses Basis Technology's Rosette "multilingual entity extraction, sentiment analysis, and text embedding" to establish profiles for reputable and not-so-reputable news by tracing references across languages.
Basis Technology's background involves verifying identity, understanding customers, anticipating world events, and uncovering crime. It has been in business for two decades and uses data analysis to improve sales, reduce risk, and save lives.
Zetta Cloud received a grant from Google's Digital News Initiative, supporting innovation in journalism. For more information, visit the company's website.
