How to Transcribe Text from ANY Image with Gemini 2.5 Flash (A.I. Tech Tip)

Welcome to geoffmobile.com
Use this quick and easy prompt with Google Gemini AI to extract the text from any image.

Prompt:
“Please use OCR to extract the exact text from this image and format it nicely”

and then upload the image containing the text, as a PNG file
(Use on Gemini 2.5 Flash)

gemini.google.com

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A Quick Tech Tip: Extract Text from Images with Gemini 2.5 Flash

Hey everyone on YouTube. This is Geoff from geoffmobile.com back with a quick video with an awesome tech tip.

So, Google recently came up with a new version of Gemini, which is their AI chatbot, and it’s called Gemini 2.5 Flash. Many people have been experimenting with the image generation features—the ability to edit photos and images. You just ask it what you want to do, and it can change the image, such as adding or removing elements or totally changing the backgrounds or the clothing or the furniture. That’s one thing it can do.

But did you know that Gemini 2.5 Flash is also really good at extracting text from images? So for example, I gave it a photo I took of a newspaper article. P.S., a real paper-based newspaper with columns! And it was quite a nice article, actually. I think I took a photo of the article or I scanned it with the scanner, and then I uploaded—I converted the image to a PNG which is a lossless format—and then I uploaded that image to Gemini with the following prompt.

The prompt was: “Please use OCR to extract the exact text from this image and format it nicely.”

So that’s the key prompt. I’ll put it in the description below. You can use that prompt in Gemini. Give it any image with text, and then Gemini will extract the text and format it really nicely for you. I was amazingly surprised when Gemini did a perfect job of transcribing the news article from the photo or the scan of the newspaper, including all the text was correct. It even formatted the headings and did like a block quote for one of the callouts.

So, try it out! Let me know how it goes. Using Gemini 2.5 Flash on gemini.google.com with the prompt: “Please use OCR to extract the exact text from this image and format it nicely.” Let me know how it goes for you. And don’t forget to like, subscribe, and comment below the video.

Once again, you’re watching geoffmobile.com from Vancouver, Canada. Have a great day.

VSO School of Music Student Jazz Concert – June 11th 2025 – First Group

VSO School of Music
vsoschoolofmusic.ca

Student Concert Setlist:

00:00 Introduction
00:14 Oracle by Dave Holland
05:35 Introduction 2
05:55 Strollin by Horace Silver
12:13 Introduction 3
12:42 Recado Bossa Nova by Djalma Ferreira
18:15 Closing Remarks

Musicians:

Michel on flute
Chris on guitar
Neil on saxophone
EJ on drums
George on bass
Dan on piano

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Video edited and audio adjusted by Geoff from geoffmobile.com
Video edited in Shotcut. Audio mastered from the live stream, in Audacity with W1 Limiter.

Recorded June 11th 2025 in Vancouver BC Canada.

Thanks for watching!
Cheers,
Geoff
geoffmobile.com

Tips on staying healthy as a software developer

Hi there. This is Geoff from geoffmobile.com
I’d like to do a one-minute video blog about something that’s really helped me feel more comfortable, especially with my back issues, overall tension, stress, and stiffness.

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As a software developer, I spend a lot of time at my desk and computer, and that can definitely take a toll on the body—especially the back, arms, and everything. One solution is using an ergonomic mouse, usually the vertical style. There are some great ones made by Logitech, but I use one from 3M. A vertical mouse puts your hand in a handshake position, reducing stress on your wrist and lowering the risk of carpal tunnel.

Another thing that helps me a lot is using a foam roller. You can Google “foam roller” for details—they come in different sizes. Usually, they’re pretty soft, though some are firmer. I use a fairly solid one that’s still soft enough to ease tension. I roll it on my back, calves, and quadriceps. I’ll include links below to videos demonstrating how to use a foam roller effectively. Rolling my back and doing simple back extensions has significantly reduced my back pain, improved flexibility, and made me less prone to injury during lifting or awkward movements.

So, here’s a quick recap:

If you’re a developer, invest in an ergonomic keyboard and mouse—vertical mice are excellent for reducing strain.

Try a foam roller for your back, legs, arms, or other tight areas.

You can also use a lacrosse ball to target specific tight muscles more deeply.

That’s all for now. Have a great day! Don’t forget to subscribe. Talk to you later—bye!

Thanks,
Geoff
geoffmobile.com

Pro-Tec Athletics Foam Roller: Quadriceps – YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QFX0U1msUA

How to Foam Roll your Hamstrings – YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=78ZE9Dznsfg

Wellness Wednesday: Roll the ache out of your tight calves – YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpVMZziJeY8

Open Book Exercise – YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlnTwM_CSyQ

Foam Roller Thoracic Extension – YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y11Kc0E0og

Usage of AI in schools – advantages and disadvantages – Toastmasters Table Topics

My name is Geoff from geoffmobile.com , and today I will share my thoughts on the topic: what are the good things and the bad things about AI that I’ve noticed.

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First of all, I’d like to start with the positives. When I was in elementary school, I did all my math questions by pen and paper—or pencil and paper. I did not have access to a calculator or a computer, say, in grade four or grade five. So when we got our first calculator given to us around grade seven, I was so excited. I could finally enter my math questions into this machine, and it always gave me the correct answer. I didn’t have to think so much anymore about doing math.

A similar thing is happening now with students who are getting access to AI. Before AI, they used their minds to answer questions, and perhaps it was more challenging. They could not necessarily get the best grade because it took a lot of work to learn how to write, how to think, and how to do math. With AI so available, students are using it as a shortcut to answer their homework questions. This means they are bypassing the learning process of how to actually understand and learn concepts.

So while AI is a very amazing tool—as Arthur was saying—for writing emails or improving your life, it also, if used incorrectly, can cause people to avoid learning some actual skills they need to learn. This is a really cautionary tale for any student using AI to do their homework: you’re actually missing out on the whole point of the homework, which is to learn something with your own brain, not just learn how to write a prompt.

Even though AI will become so commonplace that whenever we need to answer a question, it will always be there for us—just like we can bring up a calculator on our desktop anytime to answer a math question—to actually understand how things work and have a good sense of knowledge in your own brain is essential for navigating the world. Let’s say AI goes down; you won’t be able to do the most basic things.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Is taking a Staycation a good idea? Why I love Staycations – Toastmasters table topics

Fellow Toastmasters, my name is Geoff from geoffmobile.com and today I’ll be answering the question: What do I think of staycations? And is it a good idea to do a staycation?

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I had the great opportunity to do a very nice staycation a few years ago when our son was little. My partner was working full-time the whole week, and I had the entire week with my son to go around our city of Vancouver and spend time together visiting various attractions.

I researched interesting places to visit in Vancouver for tourists or visitors that are great for kids. Every day, we did a different activity. The first day, we went to the planetarium and learned all about space. It’s a really neat place in Vancouver with unique architecture—the building looks almost like a spaceship itself. You go inside, and they have awesome displays where you can learn about the Mars expeditions. They host a live science show about the moon. Then, you take a long elevator (instead of stairs) up to the observatory, where you can lean back in a chair, look up at the sky, and see beautiful star constellations. I’ve also been to the science center in Seattle many times, and I enjoy their little mini-planetarium too, which is quite fun to visit.

On a separate day, we visited something really close by to the planetarium: the maritime museum. There, you can learn all about boats. They even have a very historic boat that was used in polar expeditions in the early 1900s up in the north. This boat represented the government, traveling to different parts of the Arctic to deal with issues and provide assistance to the people living there. We got to walk throughout this historic boat and explore the many exhibits featuring detailed models.

So, I think a staycation is an ideal way for you to discover something new about the city where you live. There are so many cool things we might overlook living there. If we spend some time researching and visiting them, we can learn a lot more about our world—whether it’s space, stars, or even boats.

Thanks very much.