TechSmith Once Again Raises the Bar
SnagIt is one of the applications that I often think cannot be improved, but then TechSmith releases a new version and proves me wrong. That process was in jeopardy with version 11, but the just-released version 12 ground away version 11's rough edges and made several additional improvements that make it the must-have application for those who need a screen-capture tool.
When TechSmith released version 11 of SnagIt, there was a fair amount of push back from users about features that had been dropped. Granted, these were features that few people used, but it created some controversy. Then, late in version 11, TechSmith added what is called a Library view that changed the way older captures are organized. Users gathered (metaphorically) around TechSmith and raised the (metaphorical) pitch forks.
The changes in version 11 were on the road map to version 12, which has now been released. Perhaps users will put away their pitchforks because the latest version is well worth the $25 cost of the upgrade.
SnagIt has been the leading screen capture program for so long that I can no longer remember when it wasn't. If it's on the screen SnagIt will be able to capture it and that's probably one of the main reasons that most people who need to illustrate a process on a computer choose SnagIt. Computers have a built-in capability to capture a screen shot, but some things tend to disappear when you try to capture them. (Ever try to capture a menu, for example?)
For the past several versions, SnagIt has even had the ability to capture things that aren't on the screen: A website, for example, that doesn't all fit in a single window. SnagIt can automatically scroll vertically, horizontally, or in both directions to capture everything. When this feature was introduced several versions back, it didn't work very well. Now it does.
Screen Captures Are the Beginning
After capturing information from the screen, you might need to make it more usable by highlighting an area of the screen, using a arrow or a call-out, adding text, or applying sequence numbers. Or maybe you need to crop the image, blur a section for privacy, or combine multiple captures into a single image. SnagIt does all that with ease.
A late version 11 update changed the way the blur tool works. Although the new method is an improvement, I wish the older method had been retained as an option, and I thought that it might return in version 12. It didn't. The new method allows the user to increase, decrease, move, or eliminate the blur at any time, but blurring adjacent areas creates division lines that are ugly. Overall, though, the advantages of the new system outweigh the disadvantages of not having the old method.
The user can also convert an image to grayscale and add labels or other graphics. TechSmith calls these graphics "stamps" and makes hundreds of them available for free on their website. Topics range from education and seasonal to Windows cursors and smiley faces. If you don't find what you're looking for, you can create your own.
TechSmith now also has Fuse, an app for Android and IOS devices. Fuse is free and anybody who needs to document an Android or IOS application can grab screen shots there and then export them via Wi-Fi to a desktop system where SnagIt is running. Note that Fuse isn't a screen capture application; you'll have to use the built-in Android or IOS function for that. Instead, Fuse delivers images from your portable device to the desktop.
Most users will set up profiles that end with an image being saved in SnagIt's proprietary format so that any modifications made to the image can be adjusted later, but SnagIt saves all images even if you don't explicitly do so yourself. A new feature also records what application was running when the image was captured and this makes it easy to find specific images later.
SnagIt knows enough to get out of its own way. By default, the application will disappear before capturing an image. So how did I get the image of the SnagIt activator that slides down from the top of the screen? Easy: The hide before capture option can be turned off, so I used SnagIt to capture images of SnagIt.
Consider it kind of a high-tech selfie.
I have all captured images open in the SnagIt editor. This allows me to add various graphics or to crop the image. It also lets me confirm that the capture I got is what I wanted.
Although my default saves images in the SNAG format, you can also save the images in PNG or any of several other common formats.
Incidentally, if you don't like the activator at the top of the screen, you can turn it off.
SnagIt comes with more than a dozen sets of stamps and dozens of additional sets can be downloaded, or you can make your own.
The Library is a relatively new feature that was added late in the version 11 product cycle.
One of the best features of the Library is the ability to select an application from the list on the left side of the screen to see only images that were captured within that program.
When you've finished working with the images, you can select a group and rename them all.
On an Android device, you can select an existing screen shot, photograph, or video and send it to SnagIt.
When you use this process, you'll have SnagIt display a QR code on the computer and to point your mobile device's camera at the code. As soon as you've done that, the devices will be linked and transferring images is automatic.
Video, Too
TechSmith has a video capture program, but SnagIt may do everything you need. Called Camtasia, the video capture program is intended for documentation professionals. At $300, you won't buy it unless you have a serious need to produce screen-capture videos, but if you do need to create screen-capture videos, you won't find a better application.
Until version 12, SnagIt didn't include a video editor. Now one is present and you don't need a separate video editor to trim away parts of the captured video. The editor makes the process easy by doing almost everything automatically: Set an in-point and an out-point, click Cut, and the section you want to remove will be gone. Don't look for fancy effects or the ability to add titles, though. This is, as I said, not Camtasia.
In version 11, TechSmith switched away from using the AVI format for video and now uses the MPEG-4 format, which makes the video files easier to use in other applications.
SnagIt has several default profiles that specify what the program will capture, when, and what will happen to the image after it has been captured. The All-in-One profile may be all you need. Trigger it and you'll be presented with cross-hairs that you can drag to select a rectangle or hover over a window to select it.
Some of the other profiles will automatically insert the capture into Word or record a video and upload it to ScreenCast. Images can also be exported directly to Excel or PowerPoint. The defaults may be enough, but if you want to set up other profiles, it's easy to do.
SnagIt can be integrated with Google Drive but not with any of the other common storage services like Dropbox.
SnagIt is the screen capture utility that is missing only one thing: Serious competition.
Other screen capture applications exist; some free, some paid. No other application comes even close to offering SnagIt's broad feature set and ease of use because the developers at TechSmith continue to compete with themselves to continuously improve SnagIt.
Additional details are available on the TechSmith website.
Your Credit Card Faces More Threats
Another day, another data breach. This time it's restaurant chain PF Chang's that says thieves have apparently made off with credit card information from thousands of their customers' credit cards. As usual, the first warning came from security guru Brian Krebs.
Krebs reported that thousands of new credit card numbers appeared on a website that was used to sell credit card information following last year’s breach at Target stores. You can buy the information pulled from credit card magnetic strips for at little as $20, although information from some cards fetches more than $125.
Impertinent question: Why can't law enforcement shut down sites such as these?
Krebs says that bank investigators purchased information about the stolen credit cards and determined that the one factor they all had in common is that they have been used recently at Chang's.
A spokesperson for Chang's says the company is working with banks and investigators to determine what happened. Chang's operates 200 stores under the name Chang's and another 170 as Pei Wei Asian Diners.
Meanwhile at Target ...
Target has hired someone who knows something about data security to head its data security operation.
Brad Maiorino has been hired as the company's executive vice president and chief information officer. Unlike his predecessor, Maiorino has significant experience with data security. He headed the General Motors global information security division and earlier was the chief information security officer at General Electric.
Credit cards available from most US banks and financial institutions are weak when compared to cards available in Europe. Possibly hoping to find a bright spot in the middle of a disaster, Target says that it is moving quickly to introduce a more secure payment-card technology for cards that carry the Target brand.
Target lowered its profit outlook for the year in May after reporting a 16% decline in net profit during the first quarter. Following the data breach, sales dropped sharply.
Short Circuits
Will Google Offer a Slick Login?
Several months ago, Google acquired SlickLogin, a startup company headquartered in Israel. Since then, I've been trying to imagine how Google might use the technology. SlickLogin allows a user's smart phone to serve as part of a 2-factor authentication process. Most current 2FA systems require a second action by the user, such as entering a security code that is sent to a phone when logging in via the computer. SlickLogin reportedly eliminates the need for that second action by the user. But it still requires the phone.
At the time of the acquisition, the SlickLogin website noted that "Google was the first company to offer two-step verification to everyone, for free — and they're working on some great ideas that will make the Internet safer for everyone."
Security startups are big business now, in no small part because of revelations about activities by the National Security Agency and spying by the Chinese military. Israel is, perhaps understandably, the place where a lot of work is being done on computer security.
Two-factor authentication improves security dramatically, but few people are willing to bother with the extra work required. Anything that makes a computer harder to use will see only minimal acceptance and the need to deal with hardware tokens, external apps, and various other secondary authentication methods adds complexity that most people don't want to deal with. If SlickLogin can be used to simplify the process, it's more likely to be used. The need to have a second device nearby will keep some people from using it because not everyone has a smart phone in their pocket 24 hours a day; the phone might in a charger that's in another room, for example.
But this could be a start.
Google has been on a buying spree again. In January, the company acquired Impermium to obtain its product that fights spam and fraud. Nest was another recent Google purchase. The company creates intelligent devices.
At the rate things are changing, the average pencil is going to be smarter than I am before the end of the year.
11 Main Opens by Invitation Only
The nation that fuels companies such as WalMart with cheap goods is also home to the operator of a new website in the United States that intends to provide a Web presence for small business retailers, the kinds of shops that WalMart has driven out of business. Can China save smaller retailers in the US?
11Main.com opened on Wednesday in test mode. To shop there, you need an invitation. There's a button on the site's main page that will take you to an application form.
The site begins operations with more than 1000 shops. These have been selected from what 11 Main's owners say were thousands of applicants. 11 Main doesn't feature big retailers (they have their own sites), but instead intends to attract smaller stores that offer "US-made, sustainable goods". (Perhaps you sense a certain amount of irony in that statement.)
11Main.com is owned by Alibaba, China's largest website operator. In May, the Chinese company filed for an initial public offering in the US. Even with no presence in the United States, Alibaba is larger than Amazon, larger than EBay, and even larger than both of those Web giants combined. The IPO could raise $20 billion for the Chinese company.
The new site is based in San Mateo, California, and the parent company, Alibaba, is 15 years old.
There are no ads on the 11Main.com site and retailers pay no monthly or annual fees. They do, however, give the site operators a 3.5% commission from every transaction. The site's design reminds many of Pinterest and the site provides video clips that highlight the owners of some of the shops.
Google Buys Skybox
"Google buys" seems to be a catch phrase these days. The latest plum to fall into Google's big basket is Skybox Imaging, a company that provides high-resolution satellite pictures. Google picked it up for the low price of just $500 million. These days, that's chump change.
Google already has the most popular mapping service on the planet, Google Earth, and Street View. Skybox will add even better images of more areas because the 5-year-old company has developed a way to put cheap satellites in orbit. Google already has plans to use high-flying drones (and maybe balloons) to deliver the Internet to sparsely populated areas.
Google says the satellites will help keep the company's maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. The satellites Skybox launches are inexpensive because they use devices that can be bought at electronics stores and not specialized devices made exclusively for use in space.
Amazon Quietly Adds Music
With absolutely no fanfare, Amazon added music streaming to its Amazon Prime service this week. Prime is the $80 annual subscription service (increasing to $100 the next time you renew) that provides no-extra-charge 2-day shipping for many products and limited video streaming.
An Amazon page that appeared Thursday morning said that Prime Music will include unlimited, ad-free streaming. But how big is the selection of music? So far, that question is unanswered. There are hints, though, that the service will provide a relatively long list of artists, but only a limited selection from each artist, and generally not any current hits. Maybe we could think of it as the "oldies" station of online streaming.
Not all record labels will be represented. Universal Music, for example, has refused to allow the service to stream music from its most popular artists (such as Elton John and Lady Gaga). Amazon also hasn't reached a deal with Warner Brothers.
Because the music selection will be limited, Amazon Prime Music probably won't be much of a threat to Pandora, Spotify, and other larger players in the market space. Amazon is positioning the $100-per-year Prime service as a better deal that music-streaming services that cost $100 per year for just music. Approximately 20 million people subscribe to Prime.
Adding the streaming service will probably result in more online music sales via Amazon, which is already one of the top sellers of online music.
NPR on Internet Privacy: Worth Listening To
NPR reporter Steve Henn presented a series of reports on Morning Edition this week. Initially, the story was pegged on what an organization such as the National Security Agency might be able to obtain with its massive data-gobbling programs, but it also examined applications that seem to be encrypted but that can still "leak" personal information. I highly recommended listening to the series.