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- Well, This AI Web Scraper Sucks!
025 - A REVIEW of the data scraper, AI Web Scraper. The Pitch Scrape data from any webpage; no coding is required. I've been looking for a low-effort way to scrape data from the web, so I was naturally excited to find this extension. Unfortunately, that excitement died quick. AI Webscraper is a Google Chrome extension that promises to allow you to scrape any data from a website using no code and minimal effort. If only that were true in my experience. Get used to seeing this message. The Experience Getting Started With AI Web Scraper To use the extension for free, you must sign up with your name, email, and mailing address—no credit card. You are then given a free API (application programming interface) key to use the extension with limited features. Assessing AI Web Scraper's Usability I was disappointed with this one, as the extension is simple from a user interface perspective. In the extension, you start by prompting the AI your overall objective with the data you are trying to scrape. You state the data fields and/or attributes you want to extract from the website. Fields and attributes like a product name, price, etc. Simply put, the extension did not work. After trying it on several e-commerce websites and a few blogs, the scrapper didn't extract the information requested. AI Web Scraper's simple user interface. The only thing that worked in my hands on. AI Web Scraper Standout Features AI Scrapper then scrolls through the web pages to scrape the data. Before scraping starts, you are warned not to close your browser, switch tabs, or have your computer sleep, all of which will cancel the scrapping. The issue starts when the scrapping is complete. I got an "error, please contact..." message, or the CSV-generated file was blank. While it's great that it auto-scrolls through a website to load "lazy loading" content and navigates to other pages in pagination, the constant errors marred the whole experience. The Verdict Why Should You Care I wanted this to work but gave up after trying it on several websites. The extension is free, so you can give it a go yourself. Please don't say I didn't warn you. But if it works, I'd love to hear about your experience. AI Web Scraper Facts: Free with limited features Monthly subscription Google Chrome Extension only Website: https://web.instantapi.ai
- AI Wrote My Cover Letter and It Wasn't Bad
026 - A REVIEW of the AI proposal generator, Proposal Genie. The Pitch Write the perfect freelancing proposal in seconds. AI has come a long way since the world first caught on to chat GPT. AI has stumbled along the way, from writing songs to stories, improving with each update. And here we are today, using AI to get us a job! This is one of the easiest AI productivity apps The Experience Getting Started With Proposal Genie Thankfully, setting up with Proposal Genie was a smooth process. You only need an email address to start your free trial, which gives you about 20 credits. With your email set, jumping into the dashboard will greet you with a brief onboarding tutorial highlighting key features. I wish the onboarding popups would automatically disable once you've seen them. They kept on popping up during my experience and got annoying. Assessing Proposal Genie's Usability Navigation happens through your standard left "side tray," which contains links to all app features and your personal settings. Features are clearly listed in your navigation, so finding things poses no problems. Crafting your proposals or resume works solidly as well. You may choose from crafting a freelance or business proposal or a cover letter. As I am familiar with the subject, I focused on cover letters for my review. Here, you paste or upload your existing CV or resume; below that, paste the "job requirements" and the company name of a job posting. From here, you generate the cover letter, and that's it! One aspect of the app that makes things easier is that you can save a resume profile. This allows you to re-use that resume for different job postings. They call it a "skill profile," where you can associate keywords relevant to your skills and job. Proposal Genie helps you along every step of the way Proposal Genie Standout Features I was impressed by how well it crafted my cover letter based on the job requirements. But, like with any prompt-based AI, the output quality may vary. My initial cover letter sounded generic and lacked personality or tone, which was due to my prompt being generic as well. When I improved and changed my prompt, I got a much better result after putting more thought into it. This begged the question: If I'm already putting time into crafting a better prompt, do I need to bother with AI at all? You can see my results below. Dear Hiring Manager, Having over 20 years of experience in graphic and UI design, I have honed my skills in leading teams of UX and UI designers through challenging projects to deliver digital solutions that not only meet critical client objectives but also foster the growth of team members. This journey has taught me that great work never comes easy, but with dedication, collaboration, and a customer-centric approach, success is inevitable. In considering the requirements for the User Experience Design role at JP Morgan Chase & Co, I am excited about the opportunity to leverage my expertise to drive user experience outcomes and propel the business forward. With advanced skills in visual design, UI, storyboarding, and data fluency, I am confident in my ability to create visually appealing and functional elements for digital products and services. Moreover, my proven leadership experience includes directing diverse teams of experience designers to promote culture + collaboration while fostering professional growth. I have a demonstrated success in inclusive design and accessibility guidelines to create experiences that cater to diverse users. By partnering with product management, researchers, content designers, and development teams on large-scale initiatives, I ensure that digital solutions are defined, designed, and delivered with a focus on user experience. My experience in managing UX/Design teams in end-to-end product development aligns well with your requirements for mapping flows at the outset with consideration of UX complexity. Additionally, my familiarity with leveraging Design Systems ensures consistency and efficiency across digital touchpoints and platforms. I am eager to bring my unique blend of skills and experiences to JP Morgan Chase & Co to contribute towards creating impactful digital solutions that resonate with users while driving business success. Thank you for considering my application. Warm regards, Kevin The Verdict Why Should You Care Like with many AI services based on prompting, the quality of output will vary. After spending time writing a better prompt, the results were much better. I also put it through the " did AI write this" test, and it faired well. With a free trial, this app is worth trying. Just know that the better your prompt, the happier you'll be with its results. Proposal Genie can be a time saver outside of CV or resume writing if you are on the business end of constantly writing freelance or business proposals. Most people overlook a company's blog postings. Still, I found the ones here helpful because they offer tips for crafting good proposals and resumes. Having a better grasp on those will play a part in how you leverage Proposal Genie's AI to craft your resume or proposal. Creating your skill profile Learning Curve: Very Easy Easy Moderate Difficult Very Difficult Proposal Genie Facts: Free with limited credits Monthly subscription Google Chrome Extension also available Website: https://www.proposalgenie.ai
- Finding A Meal with AI is A Little Undercooked
027 - A REVIEW of the AI meal finder, Find A Meal. Listen To The Article The Pitch Let AI find you the best places to eat. I'm guilty of eating out a lot. Seamless and Uber Eats are the apps I use the most on my phone. So when I came across an AI-powered search engine tailored to finding me places to eat, I was excited. Unfortunately, this experience felt a bit undercooked (pun intended). Find A Meal promises to find you the best place, with middling results. The Experience Getting Started With Find A Meal As with most AI apps I've reviewed, this one was simple. In fact, there's really no onboarding available. As simple as the app is, there should still be one, given how wide an audience could benefit from it. The app requires you to enter your email to create a profile, but not for the reasons one would think. There weren't any options to set your home location or the types of meals you like. There was no real way to set your preferences based on attributes around your eating and travel habits. This is a big miss and ultimately affects the experience in a big way, as you'll see in the rest of my review. Assessing Find A Meal's Usability Find A Meal feels really barebones and is not fully fleshed out. There are two ways to search for a meal. First, you can use the app's built-in chat, which works similarly to other AI-prompting apps. There is nothing special here. The other is like using Google Search, where you type in what you are in the mood to eat. Both options present the same outcome, so why two options are needed? Most, if not all, people will look for places to eat based on the habits they've already become accustomed to when using search engines. The app's results didn't provide anything that would make me quit my current apps for finding food. Frustratingly, when the app displayed my search results on the map, it showed locations outside my city, NY. Every time I did a new search, I was required to input my zip code repeatedly. This is something that should already be associated with my profile. Lastly, one nitpick is that distance is measured in Kilometers instead of Miles, and there is no option to change this based on preference. The simple app makes little functions like this stand out even more when missing. Even after entering my zip code, the site continued to show my location as Philadelphia. Find A Meal Standout Features I couldn't find anything in this app that stood out well. Find A Meal needs more time in the oven, as it feels like an app in the early stages of Beta with barebones features and issues. The Verdict Why Should You Care Find A Meal is one of the apps where you can easily see the potential. Just imagine your AI assistant who knows and understands what food you like, when, and where you'd like to eat it. This app could have set itself apart from Yelp or any similar service. I wouldn't recommend it in its current state. The good thing is it's free! I get the popularity of chat, but the search bar gives the same result. So why chat? Learning Curve: Very Easy Easy Moderate Difficult Very Difficult Find A Meal Facts: Free Web and mobile app versions are available Website: https://findameal.ai/
- This AI Video Generator Works Hard For Its Money
028 - A REVIEW of the AI video generator, Fliz AI. The Pitch Make videos in one click. It's a touchy matter to use AI for creative purposes, especially when it comes to one's own creative skills. But not everyone has access to these skills, so AI video generator apps like Fliz can be a great boost in helping to bring some creative expression to a business or personal work. Three simple options to make your videos in Fliz AI. The Experience Getting Started With Fliz Jumping into Fliz was faster than it took me to write this paragraph. Fliz is an app that knows precisely what its features need to do. Getting started requires you to sign up with an email, followed by a brief onboarding tutorial. Assessing Fliz's Usability Fliz presents its main menus as a collapsible left-side navigation tray. At the top of the page, you are given three types of videos to create: Articles (for blogs), E-Commerce, and Ads. Each one tailors your video to that theme. I chose to go with an article video and chose one of my more popular reviews, "Create and 'Sext' Your AI Companion: Just Don't Fall in Love." With your video theme set, enter a URL for the content from which you want to make the video. The AI scrubs the site, creating a summary and script and generating images. This process worked flawlessly and didn't take much time to process. As advertised, you can generate a complete video in one click, but I advise you to use the other option, which lets you edit the script, animation, and images. You can also add images and choose from female and male voiceovers. Re-arranging your AI generated script in Fliz AI. Fliz's Standout Features The feature that most impressed me was how easy it is to edit your video and reorder the script. The AI breaks up your script into roughly eight chunks you can reorder and rewrite. Did I mention that the generated script is spot on as well? This flexibility goes a long way in fine-tuning your AI generation to get what you want. You can see my video results below with the first video being unedited. The Verdict Why Should You Care As I mentioned earlier, Fliz is a solid resource for anyone lacking the means to create video content for personal or business needs. But don't expect to produce videos with slick graphics, animation, and effects. The videos you get look more like animated presentation slides. That would be my only honest criticism. So, if you are happy with that, you'll be good to go. Editing your script, animation and images makes this a very flexible tool. Learning Curve: Very Easy Easy Moderate Difficult Very Difficult Fliz Facts: Free to sign up, but you must pay to create a video Monthly & yearly subscriptions Video sizes for all popular social platforms Website: https://fliz.ai/
- Can Fable Enhance Your Product Demos?
024 - A REVIEW of AI product demo generator, Fable. The Pitch Create stunning interactive demos in 5 minutes. Fable is a unique application. Few to no apps like it exist on the market. I looked and really couldn't find anything like it. Its primary feature is creating demos for your product or website. The demos created are typical product walkthroughs with popup annotations explaining the various features of your product. Although the AI feature isn't core to the product, I wanted to see how helpful it is, and that's the focus of this review. The Experience Getting Started With Fable First, this app is a Google Chrome extension only. For something that focuses on product demos and onboarding, I had hoped Fable would offer an easy way into the app, and it did not disappoint. After creating your login credentials, you land on your main dashboard, which walks you through a quick onboarding of its features. In addition, your dashboard has easily accessible user guides, making them easy to reference later. Overall, the setup was fast and easy. Assessing Fable’s Usability Working in Fable felt similar to using a whiteboarding application but without creative features like pens or shapes. Fable's interface will be easy to pick up if you've used any of those apps. When adjusting your product demo, there are two editing modes. The first top-level mode lets you see all your product screens to demo in a nice user flow. Clicking on your screens takes you to a second mode, allowing you to customize the annotations on that particular screen or create new ones. One of my gripes was the need for a zoom/magnifying feature. Fortunately, my mouse wheel has a zoom feature mapped to it, which made navigating the dashboard easy, but the devs should make that a default visible function. The other gripe is the need for hotkey commands to speed up workflow. Hotkeys would be a welcomed quality-of-life improvement in a scenario with many screens to set up and edit. Fable's Standout Features Fable works by recording your onscreen actions from any URL you visit. Now, it doesn't produce a video file. Instead, it records and plays back your action in real-time, overlying its annotations. Once your demo is built, you can edit and embed it into other destinations like a website. As I mentioned, I used this website to create the demo, but when my demo played back, none of the website images were visible and displayed as a broken link. This was quite annoying. Regarding AI integration, Fable has an AI assistant named Quilly. Quilly assists in auto-generating your demo annotations based on descriptions of your product and the purpose of the demo. Like most generative AI, your prompts will be key to getting the best results. The more descriptive your prompt is in detailing the product features and user interface, the more accurate the annotations will sound and be positioned relative to the features of your product. The Verdict Why Should You Care At its core, Fable works to simplify creating a product demo. But the AI features were nice to have and another bullet point to promote as an app feature. Quilly, their AI, performed well on my second try when I made the prompt more descriptive. However, the time spent writing a descriptive prompt is better spent creating the product demo annotations yourself. Then, there was the issue with my website images not appearing, which I couldn't figure out how to solve. Fable can be a good starting point for small businesses looking to create product demos quickly, but I wouldn't get too excited about its AI features, as building out the demo manually gives you a much better result. Fable Facts: 14-Day free trial AI features require separate paid tokens for each use Google Chrome Extension only Integrations with Mailchimp, Hubspot, Salesforce and more Fable Website: https://www.sharefable.com/
- Don't Get Suckered By Web Polices Again!
022 - A REVIEW of AI legal document summarizer, DocDecoder The Pitch Know exactly what you're agreeing to at a glance with DocDecoder . The Experience Getting Started With DocDecoder If you couldn't tell by now, I love simple, straightforward apps. DocDecoder is a Google Chrome extension you install from the Chrome store to your browser. It's 1-2-3, easy. Once done, depending on whether you are using the free version—limited to two summaries—or the paid version, the extension is ready to go. With the paid version, the extension will automatically detect a page's Terms & Conditions and Policies. There is no onboarding instruction, as the extension is easy to use and straightforward. This is one scenario where it does not bother me that there are no instructions. Assessing DocDecoder’s Usability As mentioned, DocDecoder is simple, and the interface reflects that. The extension does most of the lifting in the background and presents clear distinctions as to the cons (shown as red-colored thumbs down) and pros of the confusing legalise speak, which is a foreign language to me. It's a good thing I married a lawyer to help keep my brain from hurting with this stuff. If the extension cannot find the appropriate legal write-ups to summarize, you can enter a URL pointing to said write-ups. DocDecoder’s Standout Features I visited Walt Disney World's website (along with various others) and Disney+ to test this extension. The reason is because of recent news in which a widow is trying to sue Disney because his wife passed away from a food allergy at the park, even after they were assured the food did not contain the allergic ingredients. Disney states that because the man signed a Disney+ contract, he cannot sue them. This is very unfortunate. You can read about it here: Disney says man can't sue over wife's death because he agreed to Disney+ terms of service DocDecoder found and flagged the clause stating that you cannot sue or bring a class action against Disney if you agree to their terms. This is a game-changer for people like me, who may struggle to understand these clauses. In addition to flagging things, the paid version allows you to chat with the extension to delve further into the clauses or anything unclear. I love the "AI recommendation" feature, which gives you a great f.y.i. summary so you're better prepared before agreeing to anything. And if you’re wondering, the extension is powered by Chat GPT. The Verdict Why Should You Care I don't need to explain why I should care about DocDecoder. Simply put, it works, and unless you understand how to legalise speak, this extension can mean the difference in signing away your rights as a customer from big corporations. Education has always been our best defense, and tools like this only strengthen our knowledge. I don't say this often, but we should support products like this, as they benefit and protect us from corporations and their self-interest. DocDecoder Facts Free trial limited to 2 summaries Google Chrome extension only One time payment and you own for life Acknowledges that it is not a certified legal consultant DocDecoder Website https://docdecoder.app
- Steve Jobs and Taylor Swift Were My Life Coaches Thanks to AI
020 - A REVIEW of the journaling motivation app, Life Note The Pitch Journal with the greatest minds in human history with Life Note . The Experience Getting Started With Life Note Life Note offers a personalized experience from the start. Enter your birthdate to set the tone for your journey with the app. You can sign up to save your journals, requiring a secure connection to your Google email account. After logging in, you'll undergo a brief onboarding process to learn about the app's features. You can access this anytime. After onboarding, you'll reach your main dashboard, "Manifest," where you can document your life goals and ambitions for the year. These entries will guide your activities and tracking in the app. The setup was fast and easy! Assessing Life Note’s Usability The app has a main navigation on a sliding panel to the left of the screen, and journaling is easily accessible from most sections. You can speak your thoughts instead of typing, and the speech recognition works well. With only a few features, navigating Life Note is easy and should be picked up quickly. Life Note allows you to set different color themes to represent a calming mood. However, accessibility seems to have been an afterthought on some aspects of the app. The biggest culprit is color contrast, which makes reading difficult. Life Note’s Standout Features Life Note boasts that you'll journal with some of the greatest minds in history. This is possible because their AI mimics the personalities of inspiring people from history to the present. You'll find personalities like Taylor Swift and Nikola Tesla. I used Jim Carrey and Steve Jobs as my writing buddies for journaling, occasionally including Taylor Swift. They analyzed my entries on life/work balance and offered personalized assessments and relatable experiences to encourage and uplift me in their respective tones. Earlier, I mentioned inputting your birthdate. This is to track your "life" progress compared to the personalities/celebrities' accomplishments at their different ages. Reaching 100% feels like a countdown to the end of your life. Scary. Your journal entries are stored so you can view the history of your analysis and motivational assessment from each AI personality. And if you need help with what to journal, they have some topics to choose from to help get you started with writing. The Verdict Why Should You Care Life Note presents an interesting case. On one hand, I see the benefits of such a motivational tool. On the other hand, considering that AI is "simulating" these personalities behind the scenes, how much authentic advice would you accept from it? Your mileage may vary. I enjoyed the experience and am excited about this technology. It's hard to assess the output quality as I don't know the people personally. Still, based on documented accounts, the AI represents them well with advice and motivation in line with what you typically hear, just with a dash of celebrity personality. Overall, Life Note can be the confidence booster to get you through the day, but it all depends on your stance on taking advice from AI. Life Note Facts In beta with features not available Free trial limited to 10 journal entries Gmail login required Subscription based Desktop only Life Note Website https://mylifenote.ai
- Test Your Ideas With an AI ‘Shark Tank’!
021 - An INTERVIEW with Scott Lichtenstein, creator of AI idea validation app FlowKitten The INTERVIEW It turns out that many users actually prefer harsh critiques to sugar-coated advice! Can you tell us about yourself and share your elevator pitch for your AI app? I’ve spent over 20 years working with founder-led companies in sales and leadership roles, helping them grow and navigate challenges. My passion for innovation and efficiency led me to create FlowKitten, a tool that provides instant, actionable pre-validation on startup ideas. It doesn’t replace true validation, but it helps entrepreneurs narrow down which ideas are worth deeper exploration before investing significant time and resources. What sets FlowKitten apart is its simplicity, no logins or complex setups, just immediate, valuable insights. Users can choose between supportive encouragement or a tough, no-nonsense critique. It’s designed for the busy entrepreneur who comes up with multiple ideas per day and needs quick, no-fluff feedback to determine which ones are worth pursuing. The name "FlowKitten" is funny! What's the story behind it, and what sparked the creation of this app? The name 'Flow Kitten' is a playful blend of two key ideas: 'Flow,' representing the creative process and how ideas need to continuously move and evolve, and 'Kitten,' which adds a lighthearted, approachable vibe. Startups can feel overwhelming, so I wanted a name that made the process feel a little less intimidating. The app itself was born out of a personal need. I often come up with multiple startup ideas a day, and I wanted a quick, reliable way to validate them without relying on friends and colleagues who might get tired of being my sounding board. FlowKitten solves that by giving instant feedback on ideas and helping entrepreneurs like me figure out which ones are worth pursuing. How does your AI keep up with so many ideas and provide unique insights? Any fun challenges in training it? The AI behind FlowKitten is designed to handle a wide range of ideas by analyzing patterns across different industries and business models. It’s not just giving generic feedback; it adjusts its advice based on the type of idea it’s reviewing. One of the biggest challenges was getting the AI to recognize and respond to the nuances of different ideas. For example, a product-based startup requires a different set of considerations compared to a SaaS business. A fun challenge we encountered was implementing ‘Roast Mode,’ where users get brutally honest feedback. I was surprised by how much people loved the tough-love approach. It turns out that many users actually prefer harsh critiques to sugar-coated advice! While developing FlowKitten, did you stumble upon any surprising revelations or "aha" moments that changed your approach? One big ‘aha’ moment came when I realized that users didn’t just want supportive, encouraging feedback; they wanted the tough, unfiltered truth. Initially, I thought the softer, more motivational tone would be the most popular, but I was wrong. The ‘Roast Mode’ and ‘Brutally Honest Friend’ ended up being a favorite! This led me to focus more on ensuring that even the bluntest critiques were actionable and helpful, not just harsh for the sake of it. Another revelation was how much value users placed on speed. They weren’t looking for a deep dive, just quick, relevant insights that helped them decide whether to move forward with an idea or not. Have any users shared memorable success stories or unexpected ways they've benefited from the app's advice? Yes, we’ve had some really interesting stories! One user shared how FlowKitten helped them avoid a significant investment in a product that didn’t have enough demand, saving them both time and money. Another user pivoted their entire business idea after the app pointed out potential roadblocks they hadn’t considered, and that pivot ended up leading them to a more viable opportunity. I’ve even had students using it for school projects, which was a surprise! It’s been exciting to see how versatile FlowKitten has been across different industries and stages of development. What's your dream for FlowKitten as you look to the future? Any exciting features or updates we should keep an eye out for? My dream is for FlowKitten to become the go-to tool for entrepreneurs to evaluate their ideas before making significant investments or material changes in their products or workflows. We're working on some exciting features, including more personalized advice that adapts based on your experience level and business type. I'm also exploring the possibility of integrating detailed market research so the feedback is even more tailored to your specific industry. Another big feature in the works is a community aspect, where users can share their results and get feedback from others. There's plenty more in store, and I'm excited to see how FlowKitten continues to evolve. In closing, how can someone interested in using FlowKitten or seeking advice reach you? I love connecting with fellow entrepreneurs and helping them along their journey! If you’d like to reach me directly for advice or collaboration, you can connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/slichtenstein or find me on X (formerly Twitter) @eNotifyApp . I’m always happy to chat with others passionate about turning ideas into reality. FlowKitten's Website https://www.flowkitten.com
- AI Organized 13 Years' Worth of My Computer Files
016 - A REVIEW of AI organizing app, Sparkle The Pitch Automatically organize your files using AI with Sparkle . The Experience Getting Started With Sparkle Unlike most AI apps I've reviewed, Sparkle requires you to download and install it on your Mac. Unfortunately, this is only available for Mac computers. Once installed, you must grant three security checks to allow the app access to a handful of your default Mac folders: desktop, documents, and downloads. Logging into the app requires you to use your email. You are then sent a link to the email, which you must click to run the app. It's a weird setup that gave me some trouble when I did it through my Google Chrome browser. Switching to the Mac Safari browser fixed the issue. With that completed, the AI was ready to work its magic. Assessing Sparkle’s Usability Sparkle is barebones and works in the background, so there is little of an interface to clutter things up. After you’ve installed the app, you can set it to run automatically whenever you boot up your computer. That said, some instructions are shown during onboarding that you can't ever access again, so pay attention. There is no help or FAQs to reference should you need to, except for an email you receive sometime after setting the app up. Sparkle’s Standout Features Outside of my issue with setup, things worked as advertised. I did not need to provide any additional input, as the AI cleaned up my file folders and organized them based on their context. Sparkle creates three main root folders inside your Mac's default Desktop, Document, and Downloads directories. Those root folders are AI Library, Recents, and Manual Library. And within each of those roots, you’ll have contextually organized subfolders. The AI Library folder contains all your loose files, now organized by file context. For example, it created a folder named "Tax documents" based on PDF Turbo Tax files I had floating on my desktop. The Recent folder collects all new files added to a Sparkle-organized folder and holds them there for three days before adding them to a contextualized folder. Finally, the Manual Library contains folders you've organized before installing/running the app. It's your original folder structure untouched by the AI. The Verdict Why Should You Care If you work a lot and save multiple unorganized files or have folders you've been meaning to clean up, Sparkle can make tidying up your desktop less tedious. I tested it on a Mac desktop and laptop using the same account, and it worked well. However, I discovered that the app does not work with partitioned hard drives. Sparkle only reads the main Mac HD and not your split hard drive(s). This was a bummer and knocked its usefulness down a few notches for me. Although it’s a lightweight app, there could be better documentation or FAQs to reference quickly. Regarding security, Sparkle leverages Chat GPT, so your file names (not the file itself) are temporarily collected and stored on Sparkle's server for 30 days and then deleted. According to its developers, this helps improve the app and fix bugs. Sparkle Facts 7-day Free Trial Does not recognize partitioned hard drives Your file names are temporarily stored on a company server Use one account on multiple computers Mac only Sparkle Website https://every.to
- Choose Your Own Adventure: Don't Cheat!
016 - A REVIEW of the generative AI story app, Talefy The Pitch Embark on endless adventures with Talefy , where your choices shape the story. The Experience Getting Started With Talefy Talefy starts with a promising introduction. You're given a brief tour of the platform, which is skippable and highlights its features. From there, you can start reading the "story of the day" by choosing your main character or even chatting with said character. You can also read stories from other authors for more traditional genres like romance and thrillers. Oddly enough, there is no horror genre. Outside of that, the interface is easy to navigate, and all your settings and options are neatly housed in a collapsable panel to the right of the screen. Talefy flows like this: You choose your characters, and the story is generated from that character's perspective in real time. As the story unfolds, choices arise, prompting you to select from three actions to move the story along. I started with a sci-fi story about a crew aboard a ship attacked by unknown hostiles. Images that do their best to depict key moments are also generated throughout the story. You can also adjust the frequency and rendering style of those images. One thing I found cool about choosing the different actions was the option to write your own rather than choose from a set of predetermined ones. If you stick to actions that are more in line with the story, they will play out as the story continues, but actions that are radically different will be ignored. Another prominent feature of Talefy is the ability to create your own stories. For this, I made a sci-fi story about a black hole in the middle of a forest that mysteriously started growing big, consuming everything around it. Creating your story was simple because it's all prompt-based. You make your character and story settings and set major beats that you want to happen in the story. The AI then fills in all the gaps, crafting the story as you or others read it. Yes, you can make your stories public to others on the platform. The Verdict Why Should You Care Reading a few of the stories tickled my nostalgia bones and brought back memories of Choose Your Own Adventure-style books. That said, I guess due to the nature of the generated stories, they feel like they go on forever—as if there is no end in sight. Between the story I created and the initial story I read, choosing different actions led me down paths that kept me going. It was like watching a movie that drags on and leaves you screaming at the screen to hurry up. Because of this, I lost interest in reading. The quality of stories felt more in line with what you read in the young adult genre of novels. So, your mileage may vary there. Additionally, while reading the stories, the writing sometimes felt redundant in describing things that happened already. Admittedly, some aspects of Talefy are in beta, so these results aren't too surprising based on this. Regarding subscriptions, they offer two options. You can purchase individual tokens called "Taleys" or pay monthly for a recurring stash of Taleys and access to beta features and giveaways. Taleys are what you spend to create the generations used when you create characters or images in stories. They could do a stronger job onboarding people on what and how to use Taleys. I recommend giving this a shot if you're into young adult novels and branching stories, but the generative nature of the stories may be off-putting, as it can sometimes feel like there is no end. Talefy Facts Read one story for free and monthly subscription Some features are still in beta Purchase tokens to generate images and characters Publish your own stories to the public Talefy Website https://talefy.ai
- Instantly Make Products Look Beautiful, but It Won't Make Them Any Better
004 - A REVIEW of the image editing software, Claid.AI The Pitch Claid.AI is a web-based image editing platform that lets you create beautiful product photos in seconds. The Experience Getting Started With Claid.AI Claid.AI is a relatively straightforward, simple AI-based image editing tool. To start, you may sign up for a free trial, which limits the number of images you can upload and edit. You get five credits, one per image. Navigating the tool is easy but feels bare bones. After uploading a product image, you have a few options to improve it. Once satisfied with the results, you may download it in several web-friendly file formats. You have various standard options when editing your photo, like improving colors, contrast, saturation, and upscaling the image size. However, the most impressive feature is removing image backgrounds and using text prompting to generate a new one or scenery. Free stock images are also available if you need more ideas. I found it frustrating that you could not see any changes to your photos in real time. Every adjustment requires you to press a button to execute, even though there are sliders to adjust values. This UI functionality feels cumbersome compared to what would otherwise be a simple and fast tool. The Verdict Why Should You Care Claid.AI offers a simple way to improve your product shots on a budget. Its standout feature generates background scenery for your products using text prompts. It does a surprisingly solid job of blending your product into the generated background. If you want more refined control of your images, you may be disappointed with its current options. Claid.AI Facts Subscription-based with a free trial period The best feature is removing and replacing backgrounds for your products Does not display image adjustments in real-time as you change settings If you routinely need product shots, this is a cheap editing solution No image retouching Calling it a “photography suite” is a stretch when compared to other editing solutions Claid.AI Website https://claid.ai
- Make TV Episodes From a Single Prompt: It's Must-Read TV
005 - A REVIEW of the gen AI streaming platform, JARS AI The Pitch JARS AI is a web-based streaming platform that creates real-time 3d generated TV episodes based on your text prompts. It’s Twitch meets Chat-GPT. The Experience Getting Started With JARS AI JARS AI reminds me of a scaled-down version of TWITCH.tv. It has a similar interface but is stripped of all but essential functionality. You pick a channel category and can start watching the infinitely streaming content. Engagement is at the heart of JARS AI. As you watch a channel, you can enter a subject prompt. JARS AI then weaves a fully dialogued episode around your prompt. The available channels span from a dynamic newsroom with two news anchors to a courtroom that delves into an infinite array of cases based on user prompts. The episodes are structured to run endlessly, and their topics are changed based on a prompt. For example, there is an endless newsroom channel where 3D AI news anchors will talk about whatever they are prompted on (for better or worse). The results are often hilarious in a surreal way. Overall, playing around with JARS AI was a simple experience. It felt less like a product and more like something to kill time with and get lost in the hilarious effect of prompted-gen AI. The Verdict Why Should You Care These experimental uses of AI excite me about technology and its role in content creation and entertainment. I had a lot of fun noodling around with the different channels on JARS and can see the potential if/when the platform matures. That said, there needs to be more instruction on how to create your show or channel on the platform. My initial impression is that you are currently limited to just interacting with the existing shows available. I’ll keep an eye on this one as we are now seeing a rise in user-generated gen AI content creation. JARS AI Facts Free to create an account and use Limited to only a handful of shows centered around open-ended themes If you can get past crude 3D NPC animations and AI voices, you’ll get a chuckle out of the content Not entirely clear on how to create your own show from scratch No onboarding instruction on how to use JARS AI and all its features JARS AI Website https://www.jars.ai