On letters, stupid websites and Windows 7 OCR

I like many people get shed loads of letters from anyone who doesn’t care about the trees. Yesterday I got a letter from O2 (my mobile network) saying that they are going to stop sending me paper bills and instead I have use their website or iPhone app to check my bill.

Typical for big corporates stuck in old days, not only did they create a user name for me, they used my abbreviated name with a random four digit number as they user name. I now have to use this username and come up with a password that has at least 5 different “security” requirements. A website that I am going to use once or twice a year with a very bad user name and a worse password means disaster.

This time instead of putting the letter in my draw, I decided to use my Brother DC-540CN printer/scanner and scan the letters. This scanner has an automatic document feeder which makes it even easier. But the beauty of it was when I realised I can scan the letters to a TIFF file and turn on Windows 7 OCR feature. Seconds later, I could type O2, mobile or iPhone in my Start Menu and a scan of the letter from my stupid network provider popped up instantly. Brilliant!