Software engineer · Desktop apps for academics
Hi, I'm Alex Stein.
I build desktop applications for researchers, especially qualitative researchers who work with recorded audio, video and transcripts. I'm a Canadian living in Sweden, and I work at Aalborg University in Denmark.
Before software, I spent more than ten years as an audio engineer for live music and theatre. That career gives me a particular perspective on apps that process and analyse audio and video. Since the pandemic, tools for academics have been my focus.
Apps
What I've built
Each app has its own site with downloads and documentation. Click a card to visit it in a new tab.
DOTE
FreemiumThe Distributed Open Transcription Environment. Transcribe recorded talk and interaction against synced video, then export publishable transcripts or subtitles.
Co-developed with the BigSoftVideo team, Aalborg University
Visit dote.aau.dk (opens in a new tab) Coming soon
DOTEbase
LicensedOrganise, clip, tag and search DOTE projects across large audio-visual datasets, before or after transcription. Included with a DOTE licence.
Co-developed with the BigSoftVideo team, Aalborg University
Visit dote.aau.dk (opens in a new tab) Coming soon
DOTE Whisper
FreeTurn recorded interviews, meetings and fieldwork into time-stamped, speaker-labelled transcripts for DOTE, without your audio ever leaving your computer.
Visit dote-whisper.alexstein.ca (opens in a new tab) Coming soon
Video Alignment Tool
FreeLine up every camera and microphone from one event on a single timeline. Let the app align them automatically, or do it by hand.
Visit alignment-tool.alexstein.ca (opens in a new tab) Coming soon
Cairn backup
FreeSimple, encrypted backups for people who have never set one up. Back up to a drive, a server, any S3 bucket, Google Drive or OneDrive.
Visit cairnbackup.eu (opens in a new tab) Coming soonApproach
Why I build these
Built for researchers
Plain language, sensible defaults and a guide for every app. You shouldn't need to be a programmer to use the tools your research depends on.
Your data stays on your machine
Transcription runs locally, and backups are encrypted before they leave your computer. Participant recordings and unpublished work stay under your control.
Free where possible
Three of these apps are free. DOTE licence fees go to Aalborg University and, after its costs, fund further development of DOTE and DOTEbase. If the free ones help your work, you can support them (opens in a new tab).
Contact
Get in touch
Questions about one of the apps, or an idea for a tool your research needs? Email me.