''Why and Why Not? Take a picture, instead of scan a page '' ThinkingOutLoud.DonaldNoyes.20111012
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The Past
* When scanning some documents, I came upon one which was to large to put on the flat bed or in the ADF. So I grabbed my N''''''ikonDEighty, put the document on the floor, zoomed to fit the viewfinder and Snapped It. Why, with the camera resolution and speed of processing a digital camera brings, are we still passing an array of leds as a line moving under a document on a piece of glass when we could be taking a picture of it instead?
The Now
* In a magazine today was seen an advertisement for an All In One device which used the SnapItInsteadOfScanIt technology: it still had the document glass, but behind it was an imaging device (camera) with 10 megapixel resolution which had focus on the paper plane of the glass (which was near verrtical, instead of horizontal - having some drawbacks including that of not being able to put multiple receipts, etc. for a single document image) and when the cover was closed and the touch screen was properly initiated, processed the image captured into a digital document in just 3 seconds (instead of perhaps 15 or 20 seconds on a scanner type).
* Price - shopping on the net, about twice the price of an equivalent All In One Scanning type.

The Future ( see IdeaImplementationGap )
* A snap it device which allows for small and large documents (up to perhaps 24x36 inches) which can be set up almost anywhere and operated much like the old technology we called Micro Filming. The difference being the result being digital instead of film. (Notion: One could convert an old microfilm machine?)
* Or an All In One which has a larger area (perhaps 11x17 inches) flat horizontal surface and an AutomaticDocumentFeeder.
* Or a ( DiySnapItCameraMount ) or commercial tripod or cantilever framework - with image surface below a device holder which could include either a WebCam, or a SmartPhone (either with wireless capability, with processing and storage conducted on the receiving device, not limiting the number of images one could then process)
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See:
* QuietChange
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CategoryHistory CategoryFuture