Google Adds OCR for PDF Files and Images

Although accuracy can undoubtedly be improved, a free online, platform independent OCR solution could make a difference for many folks. For those who are wondering what the heck OCR actually is, it’s a process by which an image is analyzed in order to determine what text appears in the image. This text can then be read with assistive technologies such as screen readers, can be easily imported into word processors, etc… Let’s say you scan a page of a book, or even take a photo of a book’s page with a phone camera. OCR technology can look at that image and attempt to determine what text actually appears on the page. The text can possibly then be read aloud to a blind person, etc…. Anyway, you can’t beat the price of free and given its potential, this Google service is definitely worth a look.