App on Ash Tewari

SPCHR: Speech To Text App for Windows

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 04:32:25 +0000

I’m excited to announce the release of SPCHR. Pronounced as “speaker”. I know, I know. My apologies, it was too late at night and that’s the best I could come up with ;)

It is a Windows desktop application for speech-to-text transcription.
You can use it to “add” voice input to applications that don’t natively support it. It works anywhere you can type or paste text.
You can use it entirely locally on your PC if you like, so it is private and secure.

Key Features

Flexible: SPCHR can use either Azure Speech Services or a local OpenAI Whisper model, giving you the flexibility to choose between cloud-based and local transcription.
Zero Configuration: The application works immediately with local Whisper processing - no account setup required!
Global Hotkey: Start and stop recording from any application with Ctrl+Alt+L.
Seamless Integration: Transcribed text is automatically pasted into your active window.

Getting Started

Clone the repository
Build the solution using Visual Studio and run it
Press Ctrl+Alt+L and start speaking
Watch as your words appear in your active window
For those wanting cloud-based transcription, simply add your Azure Speech Services credentials to the configuration file.

Open Source

SPCHR is released under the MIT License, and I welcome contributions from the community. Whether you’re interested in adding features, fixing bugs, or improving documentation, your help is appreciated.

Check out GitHub repository

What’s next

This is just the beginning for SPCHR. Several improvements can be done:

Additional language support
Customizable hotkeys
Installer
UI Enhancements
AI Enhanced Features

Try it out

Ready to transform how you interact with your computer? Visit the GitHub repository to get started with SPCHR today.

I’m excited to see how you’ll use SPCHR in your workflow and look forward to your feedback!

WhichBox - AI Assistant App

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 17:37:56 +0000

Do you remember which one of those boxes in the garage has your old phone? Or that toy your child wants to play with again? Or the tripod you need for your weekend trip? Oh what about that massager that you could really use right now! You would probably have to dig through those boxes to find it. Same problem when moving. There are always some boxes that you don’t want to open right away, but you wish you could open just the right one when you need something.

I have created WhichBox- your AI Assistant to find that box. It uses latest Vision AI models to help you find things quickly. Here’s what you do -

Take pictures of the content inside each labelled box to create an inventory.
Use WhichBox to easily identify the box containing the item you are looking for.

You can check it out here - https://whichbox.streamlit.app/

The demo has four photos of labelled boxes with some content in them. Note that there can be multiple photos of the same box. You can take photos as you are filling up the box to capture things at the bottom.

You can ask for a specific thing, like “Find Fitbit” or just “fitbit”

You can go for a general category, like “Camera Equipment”

You can get all boxes containing “USB Adapters”

You can look for “Groot” or if you can’t remember the name of a specific toy then you can look for “all toys of movie characters”

For now, you can bring your own API Key and use your own photos to try this out.

WhichBox : https://whichbox.streamlit.app/

Universal Apps

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 02:50:36 +0000

The story of Windows Universal Apps is the result of advancements in three areas:

The platform convergence between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1
The (ongoing) unification of Windows and Windows Phone stores.
Shared Projects and other enhancements in Visual Studio 2013 Update 2 to support cross-platform development.

I have written about my experience in converting an existing Windows 8 app, CensusMapper, to a Universal App on the AIS Blog. Read the article here. I have also created another Universal App, LRMS, using Windows App Studio. This app is available in both Windows and Windows Phone Stores.

I gave a presentation at the Raleigh Code Camp this past weekend : Creating Universal Apps for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1. Thanks to everyone who attended the presentation. The session slides for this presentation are available here : Download Slides.

Do not learn another programming language

Sat, 31 May 2014 22:43:20 +0000

As software developers, many of us agonize over which programming language we should learn next. I have a suggestion - don’t learn another programming language. Learn a creative design skill - graphics design, 3-D modelling or Game Development. Learn basic photo editing skills instead of F#. I know Jamie and Chip will agree with me ;).

I have a bit of a designer inside me. Not a lot. Just a bit. I was probably 15 when I learned how to do architectural perspective drawings. I created a few of the house renovation my dad was doing at the time. One of my dad’s friend asked me to create a drawing for the addition he was doing to his house. More recently, I have designed some logos (for my own use), as well as UI design of Windigo, a Windows Phone app I created a couple of years ago. These are some of the logos I have created :

The UI and UX design of apps is something that fascinates me and I can see myself indulging in that some more. I am one of those software developers who (think they) have some design chops. Although I have not asked her yet, but I am confident that my mother will completely agree with me on this. I think she is still saving some of the masterpieces from my kindergarten.

I am excited about the addition of Digital Tutors content in the Pluralsight library. I am drooling at the prospect of learning some new skills from there. I browsed the entire library to see if I can latch on to something. I started looking for a software in the library that I can afford. You will be lucky to find one that is less than a few grands. I am exaggerating, but only a little. I also noticed an interesting trend that some of this software is being offered for rent! Here is a list of four that I could start using a little or no cost and it is not a trial :

I think it is awesome that Pixar has made its RenderMan software available for free for non-commercial use. RenderMan has been used to create movies like Frozen, IronMan 3, The Dark Knight and Pacific Rim. Pluralsight has the RenderMan covered as well.

I will probably start with Unity first. I have already played around with it. I think it will be good to build on that. More on this later. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit : https://flic.kr/p/5FXV7r

Windigo 1.1 Released

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:59:47 +0000

Windigo is a windows phone app to access your diigo account on windows phone 7.

Create, edit and search diigo bookmarks. Slick, to-the-point interface. Browse and search public bookmarks of other diigo users. Tap on the bookmark for details, including tags. Tap on any tag to narrow your search. Trial version is available.

Windigo 1.1 is out on the windows phone marketplace now. Highlights of this update :

- Last SearchScope used is now persistent

- Fixed search when a search term is picked from suggested words

- Problem report now includes system info

- Handle crash on navigating from main page

- Fixed feature tracking for analytics

Last SearchScope used is now persistent
Fixed search when a search term is picked from suggested words
Problem report now includes system info
Handle crash on navigating from main page
Fixed feature tracking for analytics

Call For Windigo Beta Testers

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:06:36 +0000

Windigo is a windows phone app. It lets you access your Diigo bookmarks on the go from your windows phone. You can browse, edit and create new bookmarks. Search your and other’s (public) bookmarks. Drill-down using tags. Share your bookmarks with your friends.

I have completed developing this app and I would like to get it in the hands of a few more people to get some additional feedback before I submit it in windows phone marketplace. If you have a windows phone and a windows live id, you can help with this. Your phone does not need to be a developer (unlocked) phone.

If you are interested, contact me.

Here is what I will do for you : I will acknowledge your role in preparing Windigo for release. Your name and a link to your website will appear in the credits page for Windigo. I will return the favor.