Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Today we offer our CoWin platform to the entire world free, and have made it open source software: PM at Sydney Dialogue – United News of India

More News22 Nov 2021 | 10:50 PM

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) A 26-year-old man was arrested from Okhla area for allegedly murdering his 37-year-old woman friend, police said on Monday.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) The Kerala government on Monday told the Supreme Court that 12 Rohingya refugees were currently living in the state, however, they were not having any links with the terror outfit ISIS.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) President Ram Nath Kovind presented the gallantry awards for 2020, including a Veer Chakra to Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet a day after the Balakot airstrike.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the Bangladesh High Commission on the occasion of their Armed Forces Day, and said the relation between the two countries is going through a 'golden phase'.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar Chaudhary on Monday took a dig at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after the latter vowed to transfer Rs 1,000 per month in the bank account of every woman over 18 years of age in Punjab if AAP is voted to power in the upcoming Assembly elections and termed it as a "hollow" promise.

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Today we offer our CoWin platform to the entire world free, and have made it open source software: PM at Sydney Dialogue - United News of India

How to add alerts to your Twitch and YouTube streams – Polygon

A decent camera, mic, and working knowledge of OBS software is all you need to start a stream. But turning your stream into an interactive show is another step that will invite your viewers to cheer, donate, and follow along with you. Luckily, there are a few easy options for streamers looking to make streams more engaging, and they require little to no prior experience.

Stream alerts are the onscreen notifications that appear when a viewer interacts with a stream in some way. If someone donates, for instance, an alert naming the viewer and donation amount will pop up, often with a sound effect and gif. Alerts are an easy addition to engage with your audience: Viewers get to feel like theyre a part of the show when their donations, follows, and subscriptions get recognized. And the visuals and sounds you use for alerts are easily customizable, and can match your streams aesthetic or sense of humor.

Stream alerts typically consist of an image, a short audio clip, and a message that describes what a viewer did. Many streams use animated gifs for images, which gives the alert a more dynamic feel. If you havent already, think about how you want the alerts to add to your streams identity. If you have custom overlays and a logo, it tends to look consistent if your alerts match the same color palette or aesthetic. Maybe theres a funny, four-second audio or video clip that captures the essence of your streaming persona that you can use. Get creative with it, and choose audio and video that speaks to your streams personality.

If youd rather find premade visual/audio alerts and are willing to spend some money, Nerd or Die has a strong collection of alerts and overlay packages that vary from around $10 to $30. Some packages also provide instructions on how to implement them into your OBS software easily. But dont feel like you need to spend money to create great stream alerts a simple image with audio can be just as effective as a professionally-designed alert, and can be catered more specifically to your stream.

Stream alerts are provided by a number of free third-party services, which are largely similar. This guide will cover two different stream alert services: Streamlabs, which is a little more beginner-friendly, and StreamElements, which provides a few more options. Both work with livestreaming on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live. If youre looking for fast and easy, go with Streamlabs. If you have a specific image for your alerts that Streamlabs cant fulfill, then give StreamElements a try.

Streamlabs is the most popular choice for stream alerts, and for good reason. It provides one of the most user-friendly experiences for beginner streamers, with a quick and easy setup. This option is perfect if you only need a simple image + audio stream alert, or if youre new to stream alerts and overlays. Heres how to set it up.

Once your alert is customized to your liking, its time to add it to your stream. These instructions will differ slightly, depending on which OBS software you use to stream.

Conveniently, Streamlabs OBS provides a built-in source for Streamlabs alerts. When adding a new source in Streamlabs OBS, select Alert Box under Widgets. Then position the box wherever you would like the alerts to appear on your stream. Voila! Your alerts are all set up. If you change any alerts settings back on Streamlabs, theres no need to edit anything on your OBS; it will automatically update.

If you use OBS Studio, or another OBS software, there is one extra step to setting up your alerts. Back on the Streamlabs alerts options, right next to the Launch button we used earlier is the Copy button for your widget URL. Click that to copy the URL to your clipboard. Now in OBS Studio, add a new source and select Browser.

An options box will appear. Next to URL, paste the widget URL you copied from your Streamlabs settings. Click OK, and your alert box will be added to your stream. Position it wherever you would like alerts to appear onstream. If you then change any alerts settings back on Streamlabs, theres no need to edit anything on your OBS; it will automatically update.

StreamElements alerts are slightly more complex to set up, but they provide more options for customizing your overlay. Rather than providing an individual alert widget like Streamlabs, StreamElements allows you to fit multiple widgets into a big overlay, which can then be linked to your stream. Heres how.

Connecting your StreamElements alerts to your stream is relatively simple, and will be basically the same no matter which OBS software you use.

Back on the StreamElements alerts overlay editor, at the top right corner of the screen is a link button for your overlay URL. Click that to copy the URL to your clipboard. Now in your OBS, add a new source and select Browser.

An options box will appear. Next to URL, paste the widget URL you copied from StreamElements. Click OK, and your alert box will be added to your stream. If you change any alerts settings back on StreamElements, theres no need to edit anything on your OBS; it will automatically update.

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How to add alerts to your Twitch and YouTube streams - Polygon

Spotify Users Growing Impatient and Canceling Subscriptions Over Lack of Native HomePod Support – Mac Rumors

Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.

More than a year ago, at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be adding third-party music service support to HomePod. A few months later, Apple highlighted some of the apps that would take advantage of the new feature, including Amazon Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. A notable exclusion from the list - Spotify.

At the time in June of 2020, and more recently, Spotify said it plans to implement AirPlay 2 support into its iOS app. While AirPlay 2 support would allow users to play their Spotify content through their HomePod, it is not native HomePod support. Native HomePod support would allow users to use Siri to play Spotify content from their HomePod without opening the app and selecting the speaker manually.

Customers are not holding back their frustrations, with one user writing that Spotify is exhibiting "childish behavior," while another said, "this is a total joke - how can they still not be offering it how many people have come here, seen this and then just canceled. Why does Spotify make it so hard to support them."

"This is absolutely pathetic Spotify," another user wrote. Users are poised to turn their frustrations into action, with many saying that they have activated Apple Music's three-month trial and will renew their subscription unless Spotify adopts HomePod support before the trial ends. "Month with no information about the integration...why should I pay for Spotify when other Services are more interested in integrations," another user wrote, with many others saying they've moved to Apple Music (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

How many comments are needed to bring attention to this? More than 100 pages? Being a software engineer myself, I understand that such integration shouldn't take THAT MUCH time. Come on, it's hard not to conclude that Spotify has intentionally decided not to implement it. They haven't even said a simple "yes, we're on it."

It doesn't seem like Spotify cares about their users considering the number of votes on this.

Spotify has labeled the idea a "Live Idea" but has not provided any updates on where it stands. Spotify spokespeople have also declined to respond to several emails by MacRumors over the last several months regarding HomePod support.

The reasoning behind Spotify's refusal to adopt HomePod support remains unknown. Spotify has in the past called Apple "anti-competitive," accusing the tech giant of making it harder for other services to compete with Apple Music. However, when given a chance to join a level playing field with Apple's service, Spotify seems less interested.

Left Spotify, this was a dealbreaker for me - Nothing happened and they don't care about the consumer - waited for a year, but nothing happened. I got 6 months free subscription with my AirPods, so it was time to leave. It's Time to Play Fair Spotify, you can't complain about not being on the HomePod, and then when they let you in you don't even bother to support it.

While the HomePod remained a rather niche product at the time third-party support was announced, the product has slowly grown more mainstream thanks to the smaller $99 HomePod mini which just recently launched in new colors.

Apple is offering new customers a free three-month trial to Apple Music, which does include native HomePod support. New Apple Music customers who own select AirPods and Beats model headphones can get six months of Apple Music for free. We'll update this article if Spotify provides new information concerning HomePod support.

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Spotify Users Growing Impatient and Canceling Subscriptions Over Lack of Native HomePod Support - Mac Rumors

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro updated on the new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro; M1 Max – Apple Newsroom

October 18, 2021

PRESS RELEASE

FinalCutPro and LogicPro updated with powerful new features and unprecedented performance on the all-new MacBookPro with M1Pro and M1Max

FinalCutPro delivers huge advances in 8K video performance; LogicPro features a complete set of tools for creating music in spatial audio

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIAApple today updated Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro with powerful new features for creative professionals, and optimizations that take full advantage of the power and performance of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in the all-new MacBook Pro. Professional video editors using Final Cut Pro on the new MacBook Pro can perform tasks never before possible on a Mac, like the ability to play seven streams of 8K ProRes or color grade 8K HDR video with the new Liquid Retina XDR display a first for any notebook. Final Cut Pro also introduces a new Object Tracker that uses machine learning to automatically detect faces and objects, and match their movement to create beautiful, cinema-quality titles and effects on any Mac. Logic Pro, Apples pro music creation software, now comes with a complete set of tools for authoring spatial audio music allowing anyone to mix and export their songs in Dolby Atmos for Apple Music. And musicians can use up to 3x as many plug-ins for recording on the all-new MacBook Pro with M1 Max. Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are Universal apps that build upon the breakthrough performance and pro capabilities of macOS Monterey, and both are available today on the Mac App Store.

The worlds most creative people use Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and the Mac to make the memorable movies, TV shows, online videos, songs, and soundtracks that we all enjoy, said Bob Borchers, Apples vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. With the combination of powerful new features in Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, and the unprecedented performance from the MacBook Pro powered by the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max, pros will be able to push the limits of their creativity like never before.

Final Cut Pro 10.6

Final Cut Pro comes with innovative new features that allow editors to create beautifully tracked motion graphics and edit Cinematic mode videos recorded on iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. The app also takes full advantage of the major performance gains enabled by M1 Pro and M1 Max in the all-new MacBook Pro. Video editors can now play seven streams of 8K ProRes at full resolution over 230 million pixels and export ProRes video over 5x faster than before. Todays update also introduces a new Object Tracker that lets video editors quickly and easily create eye-catching animated graphics that follow the movement of faces or objects in a video. Object tracking analysis is up to 5x faster on the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and takes advantage of the machine learning capabilities of the Neural Engine in Apple silicon to accelerate the detection of faces and objects in video.

Videos recorded in Cinematic mode on the new iPhone 13 lineup can be edited easily with Final Cut Pro and Motion, giving editors the ability to adjust the depth effect of any shot and use keyframes to change it over time. By simply clicking on a face or object in the viewer, editors can add or delete focus points, all without having to reshoot.

Final Cut Pro companion apps Motion and Compressor also received updates today. With Motion on the new MacBook Pro, a complex project renders up to 2x as fast and can play two streams of 8K video at 5x the frame rate. Graphic artists can now combine object tracking with masks, shapes, 3D objects, behaviors, and filters for stunning visual effects. And a new Neon filter adds an eye-catching glow to images, shapes, text, and more.

On the new MacBook Pro, Compressor can transcode HEVC video up to 2x as fast and transcode ProRes video up to 10x faster. Compressor can also transcode Canon Cinema RAW Light video files to other professional formats like ProRes and H.264 for the first time, and Watch Folders make it simple to automatically encode content placed in a selected folder in the file system.

Logic Pro 10.7

Spatial audio represents the next generation of sound with its revolutionary audio experience and true multi-dimensional sound and clarity. Now with a complete set of mixing and rendering tools, Logic Pro allows anyone to author their songs as Dolby Atmos music files compatible with Apple Music. Musicians, producers, and mix engineers can expand their stereo projects to the surround channels supported by Dolby Atmos, using new mixer and panner controls. In addition, 13 plug-ins within Logic Pro including Space Designer, Limiter, Loudness Meter, and Tremolo have also been updated to take advantage of this new creative capability. Once the songs are published to Apple Music, listeners will be able to enjoy the immersive audio experience on their devices with spatial audio support. With the new MacBook Pro, musicians get workstation-class performance for creating massive spatial audio mixes, can quickly load large sample libraries, and can use up to 3x more plug-ins for recording.

Logic Pro now comes with all the new Producer Packs1 introduced in GarageBand this summer. Musicians can use beats, loops, and samples created by todays biggest hitmakers, including Boys Noize, Mark Lettieri, Mark Ronson, Oak Felder, Soulection, Take A Daytrip, Tom Misch, and TRAKGIRL. Logic users now have access to 2,800 new loops, 50 new kits, and 120 new patches they can use in their own songs all royalty-free. The update also features the original multitrack project of the hit song Montero (Call Me by Your Name) by Lil Nas X including a Dolby Atmos spatial audio mix of the track.

Pricing and Availability

About Apple

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apples five software platforms iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apples more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Press Contacts

Starlayne Meza

Apple

starlayne_meza@apple.com

(408) 974-3391

Alex Bender

Apple

alex_bender@apple.com

(408) 862-6559

Apple Media Helpline

media.help@apple.com

(408) 974-2042

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Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro updated on the new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro; M1 Max - Apple Newsroom

Apple iOS 15.1: Next iPhone Update Will Have 3 Awesome New Features – Forbes

iOS 15.1 will bring new features to iPhone 13 Pro (left) and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

October 18 update below. This post was first published on Saturday, October 16.

Apples latest keynote took place today, Monday, October 18. And as expected there were MacBook Pro laptops with new Apple Silicon powering them.

But new AirPods were announced as well, which require updated software to support them, especially if they have new features on board. So, does this mean iOS 15.1 is almost here and if so, when and what will it bring?

October 18 update. Well, there was no mention of when iOS 15.1 would arrive, not a single solitary whisper, in the keynotenot surprising as it was fast-paced, jam-packed and ran at around 49 minutes.

But Apple has now revealed when its coming.

In a news report at apple.com/newsroom that accompanied the announcement of the AirPods third-generation, Apple has confided:

AirPods require Apple devices running iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1, or macOS Monterey, all available as free software updates next week.

Thats the week commencing Monday, October 25. But, though no exact date is given, theres a further clue as to when iOS 15.1 will land, because Apple says that the third-gen AirPods are available to order from right now and will be available in store from next Tuesday, October 26.

So, there we have it. It is inconceivable that Apple would release a product without the software required to run it being available, so the very latest Apple could release iOS 15.1 is next Tuesday.

Apple does like to release its software updates on a Tuesday, but my guess is that iOS 15.1 will be released in good time for the very first AirPods (3rd-generation) going on sale.

In which case, we can expect the update to be released on Monday, October 25, at 10AM Pacific.

Oh, and one more thing, as they say. An iOS 15.1 feature that every single human being with a Mac and an iPad is looking forward to is Universal Control, which lets you merge your two devices in a supremely cool way, controlling the iPad from the mouse on the adjacent Mac.

Apple has now confirmed that its not coming right now (after all, it needed macOS Monterey and thats here next week, too, for the AirPods as well as anything else). On the Apple website its been confirmed that this update is coming later this fall.

Lets not lose heart, though. After all, the Apple Watch was announced as coming this fall with no date attached and it turned up just a matter of days, just three weeks, after the iPhone 13 which was announced at the same time. So, maybe its just a week or three before Universal Control arrives in another iOS 15 update.

That doesnt mean its going to be the very next update, of course, as if any bugs surface which need urgent squishing, or if there are other features weve forgotten about which need to be added before then, well, we can expect more updates sooner.

Apple is making iOS 15.1 the next big update, and given its arrival in just a matter of days, I dont think iOS 15.0.3 is likely to see the light of day. Then again, anything is possible.

In the meantime, back to the great features we can expect in iOS 15.1 when its released just a short week from now...

Key features of iOS 15.1: SharePlay

SharePlay will finally launch, it seems. Over the past few years, Apple has often promised a key feature before launch only for it to slip back from the first edition of software, or to be re-labelled as being in beta, that is, not quite ready but good enough for us all to try.

The essence of this feature is FaceTime. When youre on a FaceTime call, and youre talking about a song or album you love, you can share it in the call. Open Apple Music and it can sync to everyones devices. Everyone on the call can add songs to a queue with shared play, skip and other controls. This will work for video as well, so you can open and play video content from Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, TikTok, Paramount+ and more. For a watch party it works differently from audio but the result is the same: everyone enjoying the same content simultaneously.

Youll also be able to share your screen with others on FaceTime calls, turning Apples video chat app into a Zoom challenger.

Key features of iOS 15.1: Lossless Audio

Lossless Audio means hi-fi sound on your iPhone or iPad, not to mention HomePod and HomePod mini. Which is the important bit here. Thats because it comes with HomePod 15.1 which will deliver support for Lossless and Dolby Atmos playback on the smart speakers.

If all this seems a bit dj vu, its because this is a feature which was promised in an earlier beta and then removed.

iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are among the phones about to get ProRes features.

Key features of iOS 15.1: ProRes Video

This will appeal to keen videographers: ProRes Video capture. Apple ProRes is a high-quality video compression format which is widely used professionally. Now, its coming to iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max in the native camera app.

But it takes up a lot of storage, which is likely the reason that its limited to 1080p quality at 30 frames per second on the 128GB storage iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models. If you have higher storage capacity on your Pro, then 4K ProRes recording at 30fps is possible.

Key features of iOS 15.1: What else?

Heres something that a lot of people have got hot under the collar about: Auto Macro Mode Toggle, If youve tried Macro mode on the iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max, youll know that the results are astonishingly good but that the execution of the switch to Macro is automatic, rather than controlled by the user. As you bring the iPhone camera in close, it recognizes what youre doing and switches to the ultrawide camera automatically, to create the brilliant Macro effect. But that switch causes a visible shift, a blurring effect as the lens switch happens.

Move too far away and youll be switched out again. Personally, I have never had an issue with this, it works great for me, but Id agree that extra control is better and the new software includes a toggle to turn the auto Macro effect off.

Virtual Vaccination cards will be implemented in the update, which is also very cool. Oh, and the fix for Unlock with Apple Watch, so your Watch could tell the iPhone to unlock when it sees youre wearing a mask was due for this update but has already arrived in iOS 15.0.1.

There could be more changes, such as the implementation of fixing the call issue which some users have found where audio drops followed by the call itself (currently sorted by toggling Airplane mode on and off again).

iOS 15.1 will benefit other iPhones, like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.

When will we see iOS 15.1?

My guess is it will land in the next few days, perhaps as soon as Tuesday. Apple does like to release software on a Tuesday. The software may be mentioned at Mondays shindig. Of course, it could be later: even assuming AirPods 3 are announced on Monday, it will take days before they go on sale, probably on Friday, October 22 or (more likely) Friday, October 29.

So, theres still plenty of time for iOS 15.1 to launch. None the less, I think its imminent.

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Apple iOS 15.1: Next iPhone Update Will Have 3 Awesome New Features - Forbes