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Sikuli is good for desktop automation. For browser automation an extension based solution (such as this one) is easier to use.


Such a thing already exists. The ui.vision extension is roughly the same, but it runs locally (no cloud):

https://ui.vision/rpa/docs/selenium-ide/capturescreenshot


I like the name. But how is this extension different from iMacros, Selenium IDE or UI.vision?

These extensions are some well-known browser automation tools, each with > 100K users.

Did you look at them and decided to do something different?


Yup, I've tried dozens of tools in this category, and here are some of the main differentiators:

- Ease of use: Most existing tools have pretty clunky UX and are hard to get started on

- Reliability: I've had issues with many tools simply not working, especially when it comes to more complex sites

- Cloud: Browserflow lets you deploy your flows to the cloud to run them on a schedule whereas many tools are local-only

Hope that helps!


I was skeptical at first, but your comment convinced me to take a look. It really is much easier and cleaner, and having it run in the cloud is amazing!

Nice job!


I’ve using iMacros, it’s not as easy as this one


Please be accurate. Correct would be: They removed a book they consider anti-semitic. That is quite different from what you stated.

But great to include the source.


That's their reasoning. Which doesn't mean at all that he's not right. In case of doubt read the book.


Funny enough the owner of Der Spiegel was himself considered an anti-semite by the Wiesenthal Center[1] a few years ago which stirred quite some debate back then.

[1] https://m.jpost.com/International/Wiesenthal-dean-labels-Aug...


He isn’t (and never was) the owner of Spiegel. He’s the son of the Spiegel’s founder and former editor in chief.


It's the same thing, isn't it?


No. Have you ever hard a joke that is racist or sexist but still made you laugh in spite of yourself?


How does this relate to removing books from a bestseller (or whatever) list?


The point is removing something you don't like is different from removing something that is anti-semitic. My example is a joke that makes you laugh but is inappropriate. It is possible to enjoy something and at the same time realize that it is offensive.


No, there is no difference. The reason there is no difference is that there doesn't exist a rulebook accessible to anyone containing a part about removing "things considered anti-semitic" for this particular case.


They claim (or at least claimed) to be a bestselling list. This makes that claim obviously false.


Both are correct. They removed a book they didn't like because they considered it to be anti-semitic. They are not exclusive.


Both statements are technically correct. One statement clearly transports the facts, the other is massively misleading.

The additional use of "books" is further misleading and technically not correct. It is one single book.

Is see no reason to defend this spreading of misinformation. Do you?


They were caught with one, that's enough. I am free and confident to interpret that as: The list is 100% made up.


I disagree that it's misleading, because the reason is not stated.

"Books" may not be correct in this context because it's been a single one thus far, but if another antisemitic book appears, they'd probably delete it too, so I'd argue it sounds more like a norm than a one-off event. By removing a book they didn't like, they opened a can of worms, so to say.


> I disagree that it's misleading, because the reason is not stated.

No, the reason is clearly stated. "Did not like" is a reason. I am sure there have been many books on that list that the people at spiegel didn't like. It's just that "I don not like that" is not the same as "this thing is considered by me and many others to spread antisemitic propaganda and I don want to support that".

The original statement implies that "we don't like it" is sufficient reason for the spiegel to remove a book from the list. That is just incorrect.

> ... they opened a can of worms, so to say.

Now you seem to be arguing that it is fine to spread a lie as long as you are sufficiently convinced that that lie will become truth in the future?


If they removed a book because they didn't like it because it was antisemitic, then it's clear to me that they will most likely do so again in the future for antisemitism and, maybe, for other reasons.

That's what happens with having editorial control: either you play sides (by removing stuff you don't want and maybe pumping up stuff you like[]) or you don't play sides (by publishing the rank without modifying it). And Spiegel is playing sides here.

[]I'm not saying Spiegel has done or will do this, this is just an example.


None of that makes the statement "the Spiegel list removes books it doesn't like" correct in a meaningful sense of the word.

But I think I argued my point as well as I can. If I couldn't convince you yet that the original statement should not be considered "correct" and should not be defended when somebody mentions the actual facts, I don't think any more of my words will.


You are looking at that sentence too literally/technically. As a reader, I never considered it to mean "they remove novels when they don't like the story". Instead, from the tone, context (an internet discussion) and knowledge of how the list is likely to work, it seemed likely to me that the link would refer to one or more books being removed for political reasons.

The words OP used are not precise, but they aren't wrong either - they communicate how he feels about the incident in question.


You and the others should consider that the reason the Spiegel gave was a lie. There is quite a heavy motive for doing so: the book is on the other side of the political spectrum, considering where the Spiegel lies.


> The words OP used are not precise, but they aren't wrong either - they communicate how he feels about the incident in question.

I think that is actually a great summary, thx.

I guess my long conversation here is just an expression of my underlying impression that political discourse should in general focus more on facts than on feelings.

People seem to be more focused on how they feel about an issue than its actual contents. But this is getting of topic.


How about https://ocr.space/tablerecognition

It returns table data line by line.


handled the non-printed whitespace but butchered the multi- line table headers, so re-building the headers is rough as it is line by line and you need to know what words go together and you have lost the structure.


Can you send me a copy of what you are trying to extract? We use proprietary stuff (we're in the business of extracting data and performing analysis on invoices for waste, recycling, cellular, etc... stuff that gets "lost" in the AP department.

Happy to see if our tools can help. I've tried everything on the market - DocParser, MediusFlow, KOFAX, Ephesoft, etc... none work well enough in my opinion.


I should be able to get you some files, getting approval now; can you let me know how to contact you?


I changed my about to have a phonetic spelling of my email address, hosted on a very popular domain name. Feel free to toss me an email


You can try the free ocr api at https://ocr.space/ocrapi


Looks interesting, but the free limitations are too restrictive unfortunately (3 page limit, 1 Mb), and I cannot justify paying this much for the paid option when I probably scan roughly less than 10 documents per month (which can be longer than 3 pages and larger than 1 Mb).


"The primary entry point for this API is a file picker (i.e. a chooser)."

...so what would be difference to today, where a user can "upload" files to the browser's local storage, and then the web app can work with the file(s)?

I get it that you avoid to have to "re-download" the file, but that seems to be a small benefit for the risks we get.


The browser retains the permission for the app to write the file back later, I believe.


With Abbyy and ocr.space Local there are good and (for companies) affordable local OCR solutions available. There is really no need to use online(!) OCR for sensitive data. Plus, local ocr is faster.


But the website says:

Your license comes with a year’s worth of updates. Once that year is up, you can keep using the last version of Sketch you downloaded, forever.

That sounds ok to me.


Ah yes I completely forgot about that and you're right, that does sound ok to me


What happens if there is a security hole in your version?


The same thing that used to happen to you before everything was a subscription--you will run insecure software.


I don't know about any software that is supported indefinitely. One day you need to upgrade, it's fair enough.


Air gap it.


Sikuli's big advantage is that it is cross-platform. If you are on Windows, KantuX does the same but optimised for Windows desktop automation.


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