AI Image Generators

Explore the best AI Image Generators — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step how-to guides, curated by Aizhi.

  • Dr. Sbaitso

    Dr. Sbaitso

    Dr. Sbaitso ( SPAYT-soh) is an artificial intelligence speech synthesis program released late in 1991 by Creative Labs in Singapore for MS-DOS-based personal computers. The name is an acronym for "SoundBlaster Acting Intelligent Text-to-Speech Operator." == History == Dr. Sbaitso was distributed with various sound cards manufactured by Creative Technology in the early 1990s. The text-to-speech engine used is a version of Monologue, which was developed by First Byte Software. Monologue is a later release of First Byte's "SmoothTalker" software from 1984. The program "conversed" with the user as if it were a psychologist, though most of its responses were along the lines of "WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?" rather than any sort of complicated interaction. When confronted with a phrase it could not understand, it would often reply with something such as "THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM." Dr. Sbaitso repeated text out loud that was typed after the word "SAY." Repeated swearing or abusive behavior on the part of the user caused Dr. Sbaitso to "break down" in a "PARITY ERROR" before resetting itself. The same would happen, if the user types "SAY PARITY." The program introduced itself with the following lines: HELLO [UserName], MY NAME IS DOCTOR SBAITSO. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU. SAY WHATEVER IS IN YOUR MIND FREELY, OUR CONVERSATION WILL BE KEPT IN STRICT CONFIDENCE. MEMORY CONTENTS WILL BE WIPED OFF AFTER YOU LEAVE, SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS. The program was designed to showcase the digitized voices the cards were able to produce, though the quality was far from lifelike. Additionally, there was a version of this program for Microsoft Windows through the use of a program called Prody Parrot; this version of the software featured a more detailed graphical user interface. The text-to-speech was also used as the voice of 1st Prize from the Baldi's Basics series, albeit slowed down. == Commands == If the user submits "HELP", a list of commands will appear. If the user then submits "M", more commands will appear. There are three pages of commands in total, with guidance on how to use each of the features.

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  • Google Messages

    Google Messages

    Google Messages (formerly known as Messenger, Android Messages, and Messages by Google) is a text messaging software application developed by Google for its Android and Wear OS mobile operating systems. It is also available as a web app. Google's official universal messaging platform for the Android ecosystem, Messages employs SMS, MMS, and Rich Communication Services (RCS). Starting in 2023, Google has RCS activated by default on participating Android devices, similar to the implementation of iMessage on Apple devices. Samsung Messages will be discontinued on July 6th 2026, with Samsung transitioning users to Google Messages as the default messaging application. == History == The original code for Android SMS messaging was released in 2009 integrated into the operating system. It was released as a standalone application independent of Android with the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop in 2014, replacing Google Hangouts as the default SMS app on Google's Nexus line of phones. In 2018, Messages adopted RCS messages and evolved to send larger data files, sync with other apps, and even create mass messages. This was in preparation for when Google launched Messages for web. In December 2019, Google began to introduce support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging via an RCS service hosted by Google, referred to in the user interface as "chat features". This was followed by a wider global rollout throughout 2020. The app surpassed 1 billion installs in April 2020, doubling its number of installs in less than a year. Initially, RCS did not support end-to-end encryption. In June 2021, Google introduced end-to-end encryption in Messages by default using the Signal Protocol, for all one-to-one RCS-based conversations, for all RCS group chats in December 2022 for beta users, and for all RCS users by August 2023, as well as enabling RCS for all users by default to encourage encryption. In July 2023, Google announced it would build the Message Layer Security (MLS) end-to-end encryption protocol into Google Messages. Beginning with the Samsung Galaxy S21, Messages replaces Samsung's in-house Messages app as the default text messaging app for One UI for some regions and carriers. In April 2021, the app began to receive UI modifications on Samsung devices to follow aspects of One UI, including pushing the top of the message list towards the middle of the screen to improve ergonomics. In February 2023, Google began to replace references to "chat features" in the Messages user interface with "RCS". In August 2023, Google announced that Messages will use RCS by default for all users unless they opt out, to allow them to benefit from secure messaging. In December 2023, with the arrival of several new features, the app was renamed "Google Messages". In July 2024, Samsung announced it would no longer pre-install Samsung Messages on its Galaxy devices in some regions, starting with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip, favoring Google Messages instead. In April 2026, Samsung announced that Samsung Messages would be discontinued in July 2026. It encouraged users to switch to Google Messages. == Features == Some of the most important features in Google Messages are: Send instant text and voice messages in 1:1 or group chat conversations over mobile data and Wi-Fi, via Android, Wear OS or the web. End-to-end encryption for RCS chats. Typing, sent, delivered and read status Reply and react to specific messages Share files and high-resolution photos Voice message transcriptions Schedule messages In-app reminders for birthdays and messages you didn't respond to after some time with Nudges Tight integration with the Google ecosystem, e.g. Google Calendar, Meet, Maps, YouTube, Photos, Contacts, Assistant, Search, Safe Browsing etc. Web interface: Users can visit https://messages.google.com/web and either sign in with their Google account or scan the QR code that is shown with their smartphone to access a limited web version of the app that allows them to send and receive messages, provided the smartphone remains connected. Phone number recognition: The app shows the country and province of the caller. Additionally, it can show the company's name or a warning for spam calls if the number is registered in a data base. Access to the Gemini chatbot on select Pixel, Galaxy and Android devices.

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  • Lemmy (social network)

    Lemmy (social network)

    Lemmy is free and open-source, social news aggregation software for running self-hosted discussion forums. These hosts, known as "instances", communicate with each other using the ActivityPub protocol. == History == Lemmy was created by the user Dessalines on GitHub in February 2019 and licensed under the Affero General Public License. In a 2020 post, Lemmy's co-creator Dessalines wrote about the origin of the name Lemmy. "It was nameless for a long time, but I wanted to keep with the fediverse tradition of naming projects after animals. I was playing that old-school game Lemmings, and Lemmy (from Motorhead) had passed away that week, and we held a few polls for names, and I went with that." According to the Fediverse statistics sites the-federation.info and fedidb.com, Lemmy had fewer than 100 instances prior to June 2023, but grew to 455 instances with approximately 48,600 monthly active users as of 22 December 2025, with the largest instances being lemmy.world and lemmy.ml, reporting about 14,144 and 1,982 monthly active users, respectively. == Description == Lemmy is made up of a network of individual installations of the Lemmy software that can intercommunicate. This departs from the centralized, monolithic structure of other social media platforms. It has been described as a federated alternative to Reddit. Users on individual instances submit posts with links, text, or pictures to user-created forums for discussion called "communities". Discussion is in the form of threaded comments. Posts and comments can be upvoted or downvoted though the ability to downvote can be disabled by the admins of each instance. Communities are local to each instance, however users may subscribe to communities, create posts and leave comments across instances. Moderation is conducted by the administrators of each instance and moderators of specific communities. Community names begin with c/ in the URL (e.g lemmy.ml/c/simpleliving) and are mentionable using the !community@instance format. On each instance, a front page presents the user with popular posts from several communities. These posts can then be filtered according to origin: posts from the instance the user is on, or from all federated instances. It can also be made to only show posts from communities the user has subscribed to. Lemmy instances are generally supported by donations. == Relations with other social networks == ActivityPub is the protocol used to allow Lemmy instances to operate as a federated social network. It allows users to interact with compatible platforms such as Kbin and Mastodon. In June 2023, following the announcement of Reddit API service changes intended to reduce the use of third-party Reddit clients, community members discussed relocating to Lemmy and other Reddit competitors. Reddit banned a user for promoting switching to Lemmy along with the r/LemmyMigration subreddit as a whole, leading to a Streisand effect after it garnered attention on sites like Hacker News. The ban was reversed a day later. == Third-party software == Prominent third-party Reddit clients Sync and Boost which had shut down due to changes to the pricing of Reddit's API began working on Lemmy clients, with them later relaunching as Sync for Lemmy and Boost for Lemmy. Multiple other apps and browser clients have also been developed.

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  • Netvibes

    Netvibes

    Netvibes is a French brand of Dassault Systèmes that previously ran a web service offering a dashboard and feed reader. Currently, the company offers business intelligence tools. == History == === 2005–2012 === Founded in 2005 by Tariq Krim, the company provided software for personalized dashboards for real-time monitoring, social analytics, knowledge sharing, and decision support. === 2012–present === On February 9, 2012, Dassault Systèmes announced the acquisition of Netvibes. As of 2024, Netvibes also contains the operations of two other software companies acquired by Dassault Systèmes: Exalead: founded in 2000 by François Bourdoncle, the company provided search platforms and search-based applications for consumer and business users. On June 9, 2010, Dassault Systèmes acquired the company. Proxem: Founded in 2007 by François-Régis Caumartin, the company provided AI-powered semantic processing software and services. On June 23, 2020, Dassault Systèmes acquired Proxem and integrated its technology into the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform to complement its information intelligence applications. Dassault Systèmes announced in April 2025 that Netvibes would retire its standalone web service offering on June 2, 2025. == Activities == Brand monitoring – to track clients, customers and competitors across media sources all in one place, analyze live results with third party reporting tools, and provide media monitoring dashboards for brand clients. E-reputation management – to visualize real-time online conversations and social activity online feeds, and track new trending topics. Product marketing – to create interactive product microsites, with drag-and-drop publishing interface. Community portals – to engage online communities Personalized workspaces – to gather all essential company updates to support specific divisions (e.g. sales, marketing, human resources) and localizations. The software was a multi-lingual Ajax-based start page or web portal. It was organized into tabs, with each tab containing user-defined modules. Built-in Netvibes modules included an RSS/Atom feed reader, local weather forecasts, a calendar supporting iCal, bookmarks, notes, to-do lists, multiple searches, support for POP3, IMAP4 email as well as several webmail providers including Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and AOL Mail, Box.net web storage, Delicious, Meebo, Flickr photos, podcast support with a built-in audio player, and several others. A page could be personalized further through the use of existing themes or by creating personal theme. Customized tabs, feeds and modules can be shared with others individually or via the Netvibes Ecosystem. For privacy reasons, only modules with publicly available content could be shared.

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  • Robot learning

    Robot learning

    Robot learning is a research field at the intersection of machine learning and robotics. It studies techniques allowing a robot to acquire novel skills or adapt to its environment through learning algorithms. The embodiment of the robot, situated in a physical embedding, provides at the same time specific difficulties (e.g. high-dimensionality, real time constraints for collecting data and learning) and opportunities for guiding the learning process (e.g. sensorimotor synergies, motor primitives). Example of skills that are targeted by learning algorithms include sensorimotor skills such as locomotion, grasping, active object categorization, as well as interactive skills such as joint manipulation of an object with a human peer, and linguistic skills such as the grounded and situated meaning of human language. Learning can happen either through autonomous self-exploration or through guidance from a human teacher, like for example in robot learning by imitation. Robot learning can be closely related to adaptive control, reinforcement learning as well as developmental robotics which considers the problem of autonomous lifelong acquisition of repertoires of skills. While machine learning is frequently used by computer vision algorithms employed in the context of robotics, these applications are usually not referred to as "robot learning". == Imitation learning == Many research groups are developing techniques where robots learn by imitating. This includes various techniques for learning from demonstration (sometimes also referred to as "programming by demonstration") and observational learning. == Sharing learned skills and knowledge == In Tellex's "Million Object Challenge", the goal is robots that learn how to spot and handle simple items and upload their data to the cloud to allow other robots to analyze and use the information. RoboBrain is a knowledge engine for robots which can be freely accessed by any device wishing to carry out a task. The database gathers new information about tasks as robots perform them, by searching the Internet, interpreting natural language text, images, and videos, object recognition as well as interaction. The project is led by Ashutosh Saxena at Stanford University. RoboEarth is a project that has been described as a "World Wide Web for robots" − it is a network and database repository where robots can share information and learn from each other and a cloud for outsourcing heavy computation tasks. The project brings together researchers from five major universities in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain and is backed by the European Union. Google Research, DeepMind, and Google X have decided to allow their robots share their experiences. == Vision-language-action model == Research groups and companies are developing vision-language-action models, foundation models that allow robotic control through the combination of vision and language. Google DeepMind, Figure AI and Hugging Face are actively working on that.

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  • Contrast-to-noise ratio

    Contrast-to-noise ratio

    Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) is a measure used to determine image quality. CNR is similar to the metric signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), but subtracts a term before taking the ratio. This is important when there is a significant bias in an image, such as from haze. As can be seen in the picture at right, the intensity is rather high even though the features of the image are washed out by the haze. Thus this image may have a high SNR metric, but will have a low CNR metric. One way to define contrast-to-noise ratio is: C = | S A − S B | σ o {\displaystyle C={\frac {|S_{A}-S_{B}|}{\sigma _{o}}}} where SA and SB are signal intensities for signal producing structures A and B in the region of interest and σo is the standard deviation of the pure image noise.

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  • WiPay

    WiPay

    WiPay is a Caribbean-based payment technology company that specializes in electronic payments for businesses. WiPay was founded in 2016 by Aldwyn Wayne Jr., a Trinidadian businessman and graduate of Georgia Tech Institute. In September 2019, WiPay partnered with MasterCard. As a result, WiPay became the only licensed Payment Facilitator (PAYFAC) on both the MasterCard and Visa networks in the region.

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  • Clesh

    Clesh

    Clesh (clip load edit share) is a cloud-based video editing platform, created by Forbidden Technologies plc, designed for the consumers, prosumers, and online communities to integrate user-generated content. The core technology is based on FORscene which is geared towards professionals working for example in broadcasting, news media, post production. Video, audio, and graphical content is uploaded to Clesh via a standard web browser, a mobile device such as a phone / tablet, or desktop software for DV capture over FireWire. The hosted material can then be reviewed, searched, edited, and published online by anyone with a standard web browser or compatible mobile device. Clesh supports storyboard shot selection, frame-accurate editing, transitions and various other functions such as; pan, zoom, colour and light correction, and audio levels. Content can be published in formats for example; Podcast, Mpeg2, HTML video or in a proprietary Java format. Cloud-based software provides greater scope for sharing information and collaborating compared to LAN or desktop based systems. Users of cloud-based software rely on the cloud's owner for adequate security, performance and resilience. Clesh does not assert any rights over uploaded content in contrast to other platforms (such as YouTube). All rights to any content uploaded to Clesh remain with the Author. == Features == Some of the services available to Clesh users: Access via Java enabled desktops or Android smartphones or tablets Real-time video rendering including effects and transitions Multiple audio tracks Secured log-on Frame accurate timeline for fine cut editing Logging / meta-data annotation assigns text to portions of video (usable by Clesh and web search engines) Storyboard assembles rough cuts using drag-and-drop Import, host, organise and search for media (DV tape and various video, audio, and still image formats) Publish content to in formats such as podcast, MPEG-2, web (Java Applet), Flash, Ogg, HTML and JPEG Chatrooms to talk to other Clesh users Showreel (a gallery for publishing material visible to internet users) Moderation for approval of material prior to distribution downstream Re-branding and integration support for white-label deployment == Technology == Clesh is based on the same technology as FORscene. An array of servers on the internet backbone provide the cloud computing platform to host Clesh. As a white-label solution Clesh would be branded and hosted per the client requirement. == User interface == End-users access Clesh on clients such as standard Java-enabled Web Browsers and / or Android enabled mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. == History == Clesh was launched January 2006 and subject to several upgrades during the year to extend functionality including; storyboard, podcasting, moderation, chat and a showreel. During 2007 consumers are offered Clesh via a subscription model. Upgrades include Web Start and graphics upload. Mr Paparazzi selects Clesh as the platform to host its video offering and TrueTube does the same in 2008 by choosing to use Clesh to manage its video portal. Several further upgrades are applied and include; better audio quality, image enhancement controls, transitions, fades, titles, and additional publishing options such as JPEG. In 2010 a version of Clesh is demonstrated on an Android OS tablet device (Samsung Galaxy S Tab), and several upgrades are applied including; HTML publishing, pan, zoom, and overlays.

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  • Thinkfree Office

    Thinkfree Office

    Thinkfree Office is a web-based commercial office productivity suite developed by South Korea-based Thinkfree Inc. It includes Word (a word processor), Spreadsheet (a spreadsheet) and Presentation (a presentation program). They are compatible with Microsoft Office's Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. It also features collaborative editing. The product is hosted on the client's server. == Supported file formats == Thinkfree Office supports ISO/IEC international standard ISO/IEC 26300 Open Document Format for Office Applications (odf, odt, odp, ods, odg). It also supports Microsoft's XML formats (docx, pptx, xlsx) and Microsoft's legacy binary formats (doc, ppt, xls). == Naming == The software was previously marketed under different names, such as Thinkfree Server, Thinkfree Online, Hancom Office Online, and Hancom Office Web. Eventually, the brand was consolidated under the name Thinkfree Office. == History == In June 2000, Thinkfree Inc. released Thinkfree Office, based in Silicon Valley, California. It is recognized as the world's first online office editor (predating Google Docs and Microsoft 365) and attracted significant media coverage, including reports on CNN. In 2001, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlighted Thinkfree as a significant competitor in a magazine interview, considering it a potential threat to his company, second only to Linux. In November 2003, Hancom, a South Korean office software company, signed a memorandum of understanding and subsequently acquired Thinkfree. In January 2004, Thinkfree expanded into other foreign markets. Subsidiary Haansoft USA, Inc. was created in San Jose, California to begin formal commercial operations in the US market. At the same time, a partnership was established with Riverdeep with the purpose of improving marketshare. In February 2004, expansion into the Japanese market began. A commercial agency agreement was signed with PSI in Shinjuku, Japan, which allowed for localized distribution. In addition, a global agreement was entered into with Yamada Denki, one of the three main computer distributors in Japan, for a total of 180,000 units. In May 2006, Thinkfree Office received the "Product of the Year" award at the Well-Connected Awards, USA. In January 2009, Thinkfree Mobile was launched at CES 2009 in Las Vegas. In April 2009, Thinkfree Live, Korea's first web office service, was launched. In June 2018, a partnership was formed with Amazon Web Services to integrate Thinkfree Office into WorkDocs, an in-house office suite. In October 2023, Hancom split its online office business unit as "Thinkfree Inc.".

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  • MySocialCloud

    MySocialCloud

    MySocialCloud is a cloud-based bookmark vault and password website that allows users to log into all of their online accounts from a single, secure website. The company's investors include Sir Richard Branson, Insight Venture Partners’ Jerry Murdock, and PhotoBucket founder Alex Welch. The company and its founders have been featured in TechCrunch and The Huffington Post. == History == MySocialCloud was co-founded by Scott Ferreira, Stacey Ferreira, and Shiv Prakash in 2011. The idea for a one-stop password storage and login tool came when a computer crash left Scott without documents he used to store access information to his online data. In 2013, the siblings sold MySocialCloud to Reputation.com. == Services == MySocialCloud is cloud-based, and the platform lets users securely store passwords and automatically log into several social media websites simultaneously. The website auto-populates password fields, letting the user log into all of the sites at the push of a button. The service also provides users with security updates for the websites they have included in their profile, and informs users if a website has been hacked. Security played a major role during development of the platform. Passwords stored on the service are salted and hashed with a two-way encryption method known as AES.

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  • IWork

    IWork

    iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website. iWork includes the presentation application Keynote, the word-processing and desktop-publishing application Pages, and the spreadsheet application Numbers. Apple's design goals in creating iWork have been to allow Mac users to easily create attractive documents and spreadsheets, making use of macOS's extensive font library, integrated spelling checker, sophisticated graphics APIs and its AppleScript automation framework. The equivalent Microsoft Office applications to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively. Although Microsoft Office applications cannot open iWork documents, iWork applications can open Office documents for editing, and export documents from iWork's native formats (.pages, .numbers, .key) to Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.) as well as to PDF files. The oldest application in iWork is Keynote, first released as a standalone application in 2003 for use by Steve Jobs in his presentations. Steve Jobs announced Keynote saying "It's for when your presentation really matters". Pages was released with the first iWork bundle in 2004; Numbers was added in 2007 with the release of iWork '08. The next release, iWork '09, also included beta access to iWork.com, an online service that allowed users to upload and share documents on the web, now integrated into Apple's iCloud service. A version of iWork for iOS was released in 2010 with the first iPad, and the apps have been regularly updated since, including the addition of iPhone support. In 2013, Apple launched iWork web apps in iCloud; even years later, however, their functionality is somewhat limited compared to equivalents on the desktop. iWork was initially sold as a suite for $79, then later at $19.99 per app on OS X and $9.99 per app on iOS. Apple announced in October 2013 that all iOS and OS X devices purchased onwards, whether new or refurbished, would be eligible for a free download of all three iWork apps: after device setup, the user can "claim" the apps on the App Store, after which they are permanently linked to the user’s Apple ID. iWork for iCloud, which also incorporates a document hosting service, is free to all iCloud users. iWork was released for free on macOS and iOS (including older or resold devices) in April 2017. In September 2016, Apple announced that the real-time collaboration feature would be available for all iWork apps. == History == The first version of iWork, iWork '05, was announced on January 11, 2005 at the Macworld Conference & Expo and made available on January 22 in the United States and on January 29 worldwide. iWork '05 comprised two applications: Keynote 2, a presentation creation program, and Pages, a word processor. iWork '05 was sold for US$79. A 30-day trial was also made available for download on Apple's website. Originally IGG Software held the rights to the name iWork. While iWork was billed by Apple as "a successor to AppleWorks", it does not replicate AppleWorks's database and drawing tools. However, iWork integrates with existing applications from Apple's iLife suite through the Media Browser, which allows users to drag and drop music from iTunes, movies from iMovie, and photos from iPhoto and Aperture directly into iWork documents. iWork '06 was released on January 10, 2006 and contained updated versions of both Keynote and Pages. Both programs were released as universal binaries for the first time, allowing them to run natively on both PowerPC processors and the Intel processors used in the new iMac desktop computers and MacBook Pro notebooks which had been announced on the same day as the new iWork suite. The next version of the suite, iWork '08, was announced and released on August 7, 2007 at a special media event at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California. iWork '08, like previous updates, contained updated versions of Keynote and Pages. A new spreadsheet application, Numbers, was also introduced. Numbers differed from other spreadsheet applications, including Microsoft Excel, in that it allowed users to create documents containing multiple spreadsheets on a flexible canvas using a number of built-in templates. iWork '09, was announced on January 6, 2009 and released the same day. It contains updated versions of all three applications in the suite. iWork '09 also included access to a beta version of the iWork.com service, which allowed users to share documents online until that service was decommissioned at the end of July 2012. Users of iWork '09 could upload a document directly from Pages, Keynote, or Numbers and invite others to view it online. Viewers could write notes and comments in the document, and download a copy in iWork, Microsoft Office, or PDF formats. iWork '09 was also released with the Mac App Store on January 6, 2011 at $19.99 per application, and received regular updates after this point, including links to iCloud and a high-DPI version designed to match Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina Display. On January 27, 2010, Apple announced iWork for iPad, to be available as three separate $9.99 applications from the App Store. This version has also received regular updates including a version for pocket iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and an update to take advantage of Retina Display devices and the larger screens of recent iPhones. On October 22, 2013, Apple announced an overhaul of the iWork software for both the Mac and iOS. Both suites were made available via the respective App Stores. The update is free for current iWork owners and was also made available free of charge for anyone purchasing an OS X or iOS device after October 1, 2013. Any user activating the newly free iWork apps on a qualifying device can download the same apps on another iOS or OS X device logged into the same App Store account. The new OS X versions have been criticized for losing features such as multiple selection, linked text boxes, bookmarks, 2-up page views, mail merge, searchable comments, ability to read/export RTF files, default zoom and page count, integration with AppleScript. Apple has provided a road-map for feature re-introduction, stating that it hopes to reintroduce some missing features within the next six months. As of April 1, 2014 a few features—e.g., the ability to set the default zoom—had been reintroduced, though scores had not. Due to using a completely new file format that can work across macOS, Windows, and in most web browsers by using the online iCloud web apps, versions of iWork beginning with iWork 13 and later do not open or allow editing of documents created in versions prior to iWork '09, with users who attempt to open older iWork files being given a pop-up in the new iWork 13 app versions telling them to use the previous iWork '09 (which users may or may not have on their machine) in order to open and edit such files. Accordingly, the current version for OS X (which was initially only compatible with OS X Mavericks 10.9 onwards) moves any previously installed iWork '09 apps to an iWork '09 folder on the users machine (in /Applications/iWork '09/), as a work-around to allow users continued use of the earlier suite in order to open and edit older iWork documents locally on their machine. In October 2015, Apple released an update to mitigate this issue, allowing users to open documents saved in iWork '06 and iWork '08 formats in the latest version of Pages. In 2016, Apple announced that the real-time collaboration feature would be available for all iWork apps, instead of being constrained to using iWork for iCloud. The feature is comparable to Google Docs. == Versions == === Major releases === === Updates === iWork '09 received several updates: iWork 9.0.3 DVD (for Mac OS X 10.5.6 "Leopard" or newer; released August 26, 2010) iWork 9.0.4 (for Mac OS X 10.5.6 "Leopard" or newer; released August 26, 2010) iWork 9.1 (for Mac OS X 10.6.6 "Snow Leopard" or newer; released July 20, 2011) iWork 9.3 (for Mac OS X 10.7.4 "Lion" or newer; released December 4, 2012) The Mac App Store version of iWork was updated on October 15, 2015 for 10.10 "Yosemite" or newer. It is the final release to support 10.10 "Yosemite" and 10.11 "El Capitan". Keynote 6.6, Pages 5.6 and Numbers 3.6 are included. iWork received a major update again on March 28, 2019 with Keynote 9.0, Pages 8.0 and Numbers 6.0. == Components == === Common components === Products in the iWork suite share a number of components, largely as a result of sharing underlying code from the Cocoa and similar shared application programming interfaces (APIs). Among these are the well known universal multilingual spell checker, which can also be found in products like Safari and Mail. Grammar checking, find and replace, style and color pickers are similar examples of design features found throughout the Apple application space. Moreover, the applications

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  • SurveyLab

    SurveyLab

    SurveyLab is an online system designed for creating and deploying surveys, questionnaires, web forms, tests, and quizzes. The platform functions as a web application, without the need for additional software installation. Founded in 2006, by the Polish company 7 Points, SurveyLab is used by businesses and professional users for market research, human resources assessments, customer feedback, and academic research. == History == SurveyLab was launched in 2006 under the name MySurveyLab, developed by the Warsaw-based company 7 Points. Early media coverage described the system as supporting online survey creation, real-time reporting, group collaboration and question logic, and noted that the platform was opened to custom feature development. MySurveyLab featured multi-user accounts, SSL-secured surveys, and support for right-to-left languages. Further 2010s updates improved reporting capabilities, expanded question types, and integration options. In 2020, the platform was rebranded to SurveyLab. By the early 2020s, the software supported integrations with external tools including Zapier, and offered additional analytics features. In 2025, 7 Points reported that SurveyLab had over 85,000 registered users and had processed over 7 million surveys. == Functionalities == SurveyLab is a web-based platform used for creating online surveys, questionnaires, and forms. Independent reviewers and software directories describe it as a tool used for market research, customer feedback management, and human resources-related assessments, including employee feedback surveys. According to the creators at 7 Points, SurveyLab supports customer satisfaction measurement, survey analysis, and 360-degree feedback evaluations. The platform allows users to create surveys with no limits on the number of questions or responses. Independent reviews describe SurveyLab as offering multiple-choice, matrix, rating-scale, and open-ended questions. According to 7 Points, the platform manages market-research workflows, including Net Promoter Score, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Effort Score questions. The tool can also re-use previous answers in later questions, and create A/B survey variants. SurveyLab can integrate with external services and applications through APIs and third-party connectors. According to its developers, the platform can connect with customer service tools, as well as CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce, and data-storage tools An industry review cited workflow integrations with CINT, Slack, Salesforce, and Zendesk Other integrations included Aquera (SSO), Sona Systems (internet research), and Synerise (customer data management). == Data collection and aggregation == Independent descriptions note that SurveyLab can combine results from emails, SMS, website widgets and pop-ups, QR codes, and social media. Its surveys are also accessible through mobile apps on iOS and Android, used for online and offline data collection in the field. Developers state that the tool supports exporting data as CSV, Excel, and SPSS, with independent reviews also mentioning PDF and PowerPoint. SurveyLab can automate response collection through a multi-channel survey distribution and reporting. It includes data trends, offline responses, and reminders to non-respondents. According to its documentation, newer versions include AI-based tools that detect and analyze sentiment, and a survey builder generating questionnaires based on user prompts. === Data security and compliance === According to 7 Points, SurveyLab provides password-protected surveys, token-based access, IP-address filtering, and two-factor authentication for user accounts, and it complies with the General Data Protection Regulation. == Awards and accolades == In 2017, SurveyLab was listed in Capterra’s Top 20 Survey Software ranking, among 20 highest-scoring survey tools based on market presence and user base. In 2018, a software review platform FinancesOnline awarded SurveyLab the Rising Star Award and the Great User Experience Award, distinctions given to products that demonstrate positive user satisfaction and strong usability characteristics.

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  • FloodAlerts

    FloodAlerts

    FloodAlerts is a software application, developed by software specialists Shoothill, which takes real-time flooding information, and displays the data on an interactive Bing map, updating and warning its users when they, their premises or the routes they need to travel could be at risk of flooding. == History == FloodAlerts was launched in 2012, originally as the world's first Facebook flood warning app. == Operation == FloodAlerts is made available free of charge to individuals. Users are able to set up their own monitored locations and receive alerts via the application or their Facebook wall if the locations they are monitoring are at imminent risk of flooding. Hosted in the Cloud, using the Microsoft Windows Azure platform, the FloodAlerts application processes the data received from the Environment Agency, automatically creates the required map tiles, pins and alerts and displays them on an interactive Bing map, updating the content every 15 minutes. Users are able to see the latest information on the map without having to refresh their browser. FloodAlerts can also be provided as a customised risk management solution to businesses that require infrastructure or asset safety monitoring in areas where water levels are rising or receding. == Awards and recognition == FloodAlerts has received The Guardian and Virgin Media Business's 2012 Innovation Nation Awards and was shortlisted as a finalist for a further two national awards: the UK IT Industry Awards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and The Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Awards for Information Technology. == In the press == The FloodAlerts application was reviewed on the BBC website. It was also reviewed on BBC Click.

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  • Cobocards

    Cobocards

    CoboCards is a web application for creation, study and sharing of flashcards. They also provide mobile application for Android and iOS mobile devices, to help study of flashcards on the move. Based on the freemium model, CoboCards provides users a free account with two card sets compared to paid subscription with premium features such as unlimited card sets, Leitner system based trainer and collaborative learning. == History == CoboCards is a project of Jamil Soufan and Tamim Swaid. Tamim Swaid has developed the concept and interface of a collaboratively usable e-learning platform in his diploma thesis at the University of Applied Sciences in February 2007. In January 2010 they founded the CoboCards GmbH (limited company) together with Ali Yildirim. CoboCards is supported by its strategic partners Prof. Schroeder (RWTH Aachen University), Prof. Oliver Wrede (University for Applied Sciences Aachen) and Prof. Klaus Gasteier (University of Arts Berlin). With the idea of creating and studying flashcards online and offering an active control of learning progress they won the start2grow business idea competition in September 2009 (€25.000 ). Additionally CoboCards was funded by German Authorities with approximately €100.000 .

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  • Digital image

    Digital image

    A digital image is an image composed of picture elements, also known as pixels, each with finite, discrete quantities of numeric representation for its intensity or gray level that is an output from its two-dimensional functions fed as input by its spatial coordinates denoted with x, y on the x-axis and y-axis, respectively. An image can be vector or raster type. By itself, the term "digital image" usually refers to raster images or bitmapped images (as opposed to vector images). == Raster == Raster images have a finite set of digital values, called picture elements or pixels. The digital image contains a fixed number of rows and columns of pixels. Pixels are the smallest individual element in an image, holding quantized values that represent the brightness of a given color at any specific point. Typically, the pixels are stored in computer memory as a raster image or raster map, a two-dimensional array of small integers. These values are often transmitted or stored in a compressed form. Raster images can be created by a variety of input devices and techniques, such as digital cameras, scanners, coordinate-measuring machines, seismographic profiling, airborne radar, and more. They can also be synthesized from arbitrary non-image data, such as mathematical functions or three-dimensional geometric models; the latter being a major sub-area of computer graphics. The field of digital image processing is the study of algorithms for their transformation. === Raster file formats === Most users come into contact with raster images through digital cameras, which use any of several image file formats. Some digital cameras give access to almost all the data captured by the camera, using a raw image format. The Universal Photographic Imaging Guidelines (UPDIG) suggests these formats be used when possible since raw files produce the best quality images. These file formats allow the photographer and the processing agent the greatest level of control and accuracy for output. Their use is inhibited by the prevalence of proprietary information (trade secrets) for some camera makers, but there have been initiatives such as OpenRAW to influence manufacturers to release these records publicly. An alternative may be Digital Negative (DNG), a proprietary Adobe product described as "the public, archival format for digital camera raw data". Although this format is not yet universally accepted, support for the product is growing, and increasingly professional archivists and conservationists, working for respectable organizations, variously suggest or recommend DNG for archival purposes. == Vector == Vector images resulted from mathematical geometry (vector). In mathematical terms, a vector consists of both a magnitude, or length, and a direction. Often, both raster and vector elements will be combined in one image; for example, in the case of a billboard with text (vector) and photographs (raster). Example of vector file types are EPS, PDF, and AI. == Image viewing == Image viewer software displayed on images. Web browsers can display standard internet images formats including JPEG, GIF and PNG. Some can show SVG format which is a standard W3C format. In the past, when the Internet was still slow, it was common to provide "preview" images that would load and appear on the website before being replaced by the main image (to give a preliminary impression). Now Internet is fast enough and this preview image is seldom used. Some scientific images can be very large (for instance, the 46 gigapixel size image of the Milky Way, about 194 GB in size). Such images are difficult to download and are usually browsed online through more complex web interfaces. Some viewers offer a slideshow utility to display a sequence of images. == History == Early digital fax machines such as the Bartlane cable picture transmission system preceded digital cameras and computers by decades. The first picture to be scanned, stored, and recreated in digital pixels was displayed on the Standards Eastern Automatic Computer (SEAC) at NIST. The advancement of digital imagery continued in the early 1960s, alongside development of the space program and in medical research. Projects at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MIT, Bell Labs and the University of Maryland, among others, used digital images to advance satellite imagery, wirephoto standards conversion, medical imaging, videophone technology, character recognition, and photo enhancement. Rapid advances in digital imaging began with the introduction of MOS integrated circuits in the 1960s and microprocessors in the early 1970s, alongside progress in related computer memory storage, display technologies, and data compression algorithms. The invention of computerized axial tomography (CAT scanning), using x-rays to produce a digital image of a "slice" through a three-dimensional object, was of great importance to medical diagnostics. As well as origination of digital images, digitization of analog images allowed the enhancement and restoration of archaeological artifacts and began to be used in fields as diverse as nuclear medicine, astronomy, law enforcement, defence and industry. Advances in microprocessor technology paved the way for the development and marketing of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) for use in a wide range of image capture devices and gradually displaced the use of analog film and tape in photography and videography towards the end of the 20th century. The computing power necessary to process digital image capture also allowed computer-generated digital images to achieve a level of refinement close to photorealism. === Digital image sensors === The first semiconductor image sensor was the CCD, developed by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969. While researching MOS technology, they realized that an electric charge was the analogy of the magnetic bubble and that it could be stored on a tiny MOS capacitor. As it was fairly straightforward to fabricate a series of MOS capacitors in a row, they connected a suitable voltage to them so that the charge could be stepped along from one to the next. The CCD is a semiconductor circuit that was later used in the first digital video cameras for television broadcasting. Early CCD sensors suffered from shutter lag. This was largely resolved with the invention of the pinned photodiode (PPD). It was invented by Nobukazu Teranishi, Hiromitsu Shiraki and Yasuo Ishihara at NEC in 1980. It was a photodetector structure with low lag, low noise, high quantum efficiency and low dark current. In 1987, the PPD began to be incorporated into most CCD devices, becoming a fixture in consumer electronic video cameras and then digital still cameras. Since then, the PPD has been used in nearly all CCD sensors and then CMOS sensors. The NMOS active-pixel sensor (APS) was invented by Olympus in Japan during the mid-1980s. This was enabled by advances in MOS semiconductor device fabrication, with MOSFET scaling reaching smaller micron and then sub-micron levels. The NMOS APS was fabricated by Tsutomu Nakamura's team at Olympus in 1985. The CMOS active-pixel sensor (CMOS sensor) was later developed by Eric Fossum's team at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1993. By 2007, sales of CMOS sensors had surpassed CCD sensors. === Digital image compression === An important development in digital image compression technology was the discrete cosine transform (DCT), a lossy compression technique first proposed by Nasir Ahmed in 1972. DCT compression is used in JPEG, which was introduced by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. JPEG compresses images down to much smaller file sizes, and has become the most widely used image file format on the Internet. == Mosaic == In digital imaging, a mosaic is a combination of non-overlapping images, arranged in some tessellation. Gigapixel images are an example of such digital image mosaics. Satellite imagery are often mosaicked to cover Earth regions. Interactive viewing is provided by virtual-reality photography.

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