Your smartphone, with its built-in camera, can help you take some extraordinary images—but the camera can also double as a pretty good flatbed scanner.
It's ideal for digitizing photos in albums, within frames or on a wall. But along with that, it can convert documents you need to keep, notes on projects, receipts for expense reimbursement and even whiteboards on which you've been brainstorming. You then can store those images or send them to someone via email or text.
A scan really means taking a photo, but the technology goes beyond that. Along with adding colour correction to photos and magically repairing tears, some scanner apps include optical character recognition (OCR), which can translate typewritten and even handwritten words into editable and searchable text. Without OCR, when you scan a newspaper article, it saves the story as an image file on your phone, but you won't be able to search for a keyword or copy specific sentences to text a friend.
Here's a look at how to turn your smartphone into a scanner, either with built-in tools or free apps.
What's built into your phone
With an iPhone, you can use the Notes app to scan documents and photos as well as add a...
Most of us grew up thinking that trick-or-treating is the gold standard in Halloween celebration, but not all kiddos are into the door-to-door candy mission. Here are some alternatives.
The difference between a brownie and a blondie? Blondies rely on a heavier splash of vanilla, forgoing the cocoa powder outright. However, both are delicious, chewy, easy and definitely a good use of your time. This recipe sees blondies studded with chocolate chips, which elevates them to very tasty levels. You should definitely make them.
Thanks to all the immune-boosting ingredients like fresh garlic, warming ginger, lemony thyme, fresh parsley, and tangy lemon juice, this is a fantastic soup to whip up when you have a cold coming on (but it’s also handy when you’re not sick, simply to keep your immune system humming along!).
For more than 100 years, Girl Guides has been helping girls ages five to 17 to develop new skills, build their confidence and make lifelong friendships.
Expecting a new addition? Congratulations! Overwhelmed by the amount of gear you need to buy? We get it. And we’ve got you. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite...
A vasectomy is often approached as a permanent birth control solution, and most of the time, it is. But what happens if circumstances change and a man ultimately regrets his decision to get snipped? To learn more and get some answers about vasectomy reversals, we spoke to Dr. Premal Patel, a urologist who specializes in male infertility, microsurgery and sexual medicine at the University of Manitoba.
In basic terms, how does a vasectomy work?
“The basic idea of a vasectomy is to stop the flow of sperm from the testicle,” Dr. Patel explains. “The vas, which transports sperm from the testicle, is blocked to stop this.”
“It does take time for the system to clear out, which is why the doctor performing the procedure requires the patient to perform a semen study to confirm there is no sperm present—or very low quantities of non-moving sperm—at around 2 to 3 months from the procedure.”
This means providing a sperm sample and waiting for lab results to confirm that the procedure was a success—and until then, using another method of birth control. “It is important to know that a vasectomy does not cause immediate sterility, and you can get someone pregnant!”
How common are vasectomies?
Roughly 55,000...
Despite the iPhone's immense popularity – it’s the number one device in Canada, and more than twice the market share of second-place Samsung, according to StatCounter – many still...
It wasn't so long ago that fatherhood had a straight-up Don Draper mentality. Now, more and more dads are flipping the script on their expected roles, taking paternity leave, being stay-at-home dads and pushing away breadwinner expectations.
Nobody’s head is perfectly symmetrical, but what do you do if your baby’s head is flat on one side? Flat-head syndrome isn't totally uncommon, here's what you need to know.
Dealing with diaper rash is one of the first tasks new parents master (because it comes with a lot of on-the-job training) but a raw, red case of diaper rash can quickly cause a crisis of confidence. Here’s some info to ease your conscience and help you soothe your baby’s skin.
With the ShiShu Creations Baby Coverall Bib, you'll no longer have to worry about a messy, wet baby. You'll never be nervous about stains and spills on your little one’s outfits after they’ve finished eating.
Each year, April 1 marks the start of International Autism Awareness Month. Mayors in many cities around the world raise a symbolic flag, and awareness campaigns are often launched on World Autism Awareness Day, April 2. But autism advocacy groups are calling on the public and media outlets to use a different word instead of awareness: acceptance. The idea is that this shift would push the general public to be even more inclusive of people on the autism spectrum.
Words Matter
Since the early 1970s, autism groups around the world have worked hard to educate schools and workplaces about the signs, symptoms and facts of autism. And while this has been largely successful, the autistic population is still extremely marginalized: Many are under-employed, suffer from depression and often live in poverty. General public “awareness” has had a limited tangible impact on the lives of people living with autism and may have even led to some of the negative stereotypes. A deliberate rebranding, however, aims to achieve specific goals like the following:
increased employment opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum
more positive, empowered and diverse portrayals of autism in media and entertainment
next-level inclusive classrooms, especially in secondary and post-secondary schools
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) started calling April Autism Acceptance Month in 2011, explaining that, “Acceptance of autism as a natural condition in the human experience is necessary for real dialogue to occur.”
Facts to Feelings
At three years of age, Avi was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He communicated mostly in three-word phrases and had an extremely active and creative imagination that kept him focused on acting out and repeating animated movies and children’s songs he had memorized. He struggled to socialize with his peers. Several years ago, I facilitated his transition into school in my role as Director of...
Summer time and the living is easy. Well, maybe not so easy with kids, but hopefully a bit more laidback. Behold, your essential summer activities checklist. (If we could add a checkmark emoji, we would.)
When the kids don't sleep, the parents don't sleep. The math is simple, for all to be well-rested, a positive sleep environment needs to be implemented. We pulled a few tips to get you started.
Meningitis B can be hard to spot in its early stages. Read on for one young woman’s battle with the disease, the symptoms to watch for and the importance of vaccination.
We spoke to four experts about how to best help kids learn to love themselves. (And if you could use a confidence boost, take a cue from these parents.)
Take stock of your medicine cabinet every few months and replace anything that is expired or
nearly empty. (You’ll thank yourself in the middle of the night with a sick kid!) Read on for medicine cabinet basics to make sure you have your bases covered.
In honour of National Indigenous History Month, we've rounded up 10 incredible Indigenous children's books about Indigenous culture, by Indigenous authors or acknowledging the Indigenous experience in Canada. With the recent discoveries of unmarked graces at residential school sites across the country, adding these books (and so many others!) to your child's library can help to start the conversation about this part of our country's history, as well as to introduce and celebrate the bright and vibrant cultures of Canada's Indigenous peoples.
To learn more about how you can get involved and give back to Indigenous communities, check out Reconciliation Canada, True North Aid and other registered organizations who are focused on providing different kinds of support to Indigenous groups across the country.
Kids get anxious. Hard stop. But news flash: cortisol (some, anyway) isn’t only inevitable, it’s good for everyone. It’s all about healthy ways to deal.
