Mediaboss Marketing

Promo The era of the daily commute and the nine-to-five workday at the office is coming to an end. More organisations than ever before have been forced to adopt part- or full-time remote working and the ongoing global health crisis is swiftly completing the transformation.

If you havent yet done so, now is the time to consider which remote working strategies will best serve your organisation. What can you do to support your staff, keep them happy and productive, and connect them securely to resources regardless of where they happen to be seated?

When it comes to choosing the right technology, ease of use and widespread user demand have made numerous Apple devices, from Mac to iPad and iPhone, a common sight in offices around the world.

Apples free Business Manager service provides a simple, web-based portal for IT administrators to deploy all these disparate devices from one place.

However, Apple software management specialist Jamf offers products designed to take things to the next level:

Jamf Pro (formerly Casper Suite) delivers unified endpoint management for Apple devices and includes features such as Smart Groups that intelligently manage environments.

Jamf Connect promises strong device security, crucial for remote users who may be accessing valuable information over unsecured networks.

Jamf Protect extends Apples device security and privacy model with real-time activity analytics, by providing control over the data thats collected and by offering greater visibility into macOS-built security tools.

Gone are the days of unboxing every user device and manually personalizing and provisioning it with all the business applications the designated employee will need.

Staff keep their cloud-based corporate identity in sync with their Mac account password, and can access everything work related at all times.

To find out how Jamf can improve your users IT experience without compromising the underlying technology, download the free ebook How to Empower a Remote Workforce available right here.

Sponsored: Webcast: Build the next generation of your business in the public cloud

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Free ebook for every reader: Unleash the power of your Apple fleet with Jamf - The Register

Despite the dire circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, some people are spending their downtime picking up new skills, and these four free programs should help anyone interested in improving their ability to be creative using their computer. Inkscape, GIMP, Audacity, and HitFilm are all creative tools that, either in combination or separately, should help people create most kinds of content.

Social distancing due to the coronavirus has put many people in a scenario where they have more time than money. This has varying levels of gravity for each person, but typically, left with more free time, people are learning they can invest those hours into themselves. Learning any kind of creative skill is usually its own reward, but the variety of professional benefits one can gain from improving their digital artistry is hard to overstate. Developing efficiency with creative software right now could impact a person's career profoundly.

Related:How Much Money YouTubers Are Making During Coronavirus Crisis

Given that these are all free programs, there's little excuse not to at least try them out. Inkscape and GIMP are used mostly for static images. Audacity is for editing and recording sound. HitFilm is for creating and editing videos. There are too many practical applications for all of these programs to list, and each of them can be useful to a curious novice or a grizzled veteran.

Given that they're both used to create images, Inkscape and GIMP seem very similar. However, they function differently and create different kinds of visuals, which means learning to use them both requires learning two sets of skills. Inkscape uses vector graphics meaning it creates images using math. The outcome is that Inkscape designs can be scaled up or down without sacrificing quality. This is great for any graphics that need to be resized, like logos or Twitch effects. They can be made small for a screen or huge for a billboard, and maintain their fidelity. Inkscape can be compared to Adobe Illustrator.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a raster graphics editor and that means it's a more typical photo editing program. Compared to Inkscape, GIMP is the better program for editing and creating single images that aren't meant to be used for a wide array of purposes. Because GIMP can work with data on a per-pixel level, it's often used to touch up or edit existing images (although it's also good for making pixel art). The standard is usually to make logos with Inkscape and make photos with GIMP, but they can be used together as well. GIMP can be compared to Adobe Photoshop. Both programs are great for anyone looking to create visual content for the web right now, like YouTube thumbnails, memes, logos for a brand, or simply creative works of art.

Audacity is perhaps the most famous creative program in the world. It's an audio editing program with amazing tools. It can be used to record more subdued audio for podcasts and voice-overs. It has the tools to record on multiple channels for recording music. It can even be used to edit existing sound files. It doesn't do much sound creation on its own in the ways that a music-making program like FL Studio would, but for anything where the sound is created by humans and put onto a computer, Audacity is a staple. These days, it's primarily used to make podcasts or to record editable audio that is then used to create videos.

Video editing software is very common these days but HitFilm stands out mostly because of its tutorials. Anyone who knows how to edit can produce quality videos with any software, but HitFilm's prioritization of tutorials with examples makes it a great first stop for anyone interested in a YouTube career. Express is the free version but there are tons of ways to upgrade to a more feature-rich version. It's comparable to the more expensive options like Apple Final Cut and Adobe Premier, while also being more accessible.

More:Streamlabs All-In-One Streaming & Recording Software Launches On Mac

Watch: Robert Downey Jr. Shows OnePlus 8 Pro's Features In Water Fight With Kids

Hubert has been a journalist in spirit since age six, and can't see any good reasons to argue with that, so here we are. He spends most of his days working to leave the world a better place than it was when he showed up and trying to be better at Street Fighter.

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Inkscape, Audacity, GIMP, & HitFilm: Free Software to Be Creative While in Coronavirus Lockdown - Screen Rant

Mining software leader MICROMINE has come up with an innovative response as the mining community faces downtime because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The software supplier is offering the mining community free one-month access to its leading general mining package, Micromine 2020. The exploration and mining solution has proven invaluable for mining projects for more than 3 decades.

The mining industry is a major driver of economic growth, so it is imperative that business continues as usual, where possible. MICROMINE is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and believes it's important that their customers know MICROMINE stands behind them during this downtime.

Micromine's bundle offering is through a secure online platform issuing node-locked licences to your inbox within 24-48hrs - ready to use. Micromine 2020 offers integrated tools for modelling, estimation, design, optimisation and scheduling.

MICROMINE are committed to ensuring that all products and services will perform to the high standards valued customers have come to expect during this downtime, and as such Micromine's support and training will also carry on virtually where face to face events cannot take place. Please visit our webpage for more information.

The wellbeing of our customers, business partners and employees is our highest priority at MICROMINE, and we are dedicated to tailoring our service to best meet the needs of the industry and this offer is no exception.

The mining community can contact us to ask about accessing our free one-month mining bundles OR visit micromine.com for more details. Offer is available to the mining community until 30 April 2020.

For More Information Contact:Leah Heinzlheinz@micromine.com

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MICROMINE hits back at Covid-19 with free software offer - http://www.mining-journal.com

The outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19, has led to various sections of the society across the globe lend their hand to mitigate the impact of this pandemic either through financial donations, distributing food, or by providing shelter.

In such an environment, there are companies and organisations which have come forward to provide their software or the services free of charge. At a time when there is a nationwide lockdown with restrictions on the movement of people, technology has come to the rescue to provide the vital connect and also ensure that there is no disruption.

Below are some of the free initiatives by companies:

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABBs Robotics and Discrete Automation business will offer key software servicesfreeof charge to its customers until December 31, 2020.

According to ABB, through this, many of its customers and partners will be able to keep production lines going and enable businesses to continue to function.

Among the services included are diagnostics, asset management software, and remote troubleshooting and monitoring of production lines for the delivery of important supplies.

The software that are made availablefreeof charge include ABB Ability Connected Services and RobotStudio.

Singapore-based technology company Lark Technologies Pte said it has made its digital collaboration suite, Lark available for free in India. Lark is an all-in-one platform for collaboration that brings together a multitude of work tools, including messenger, online docs and sheets, cloud storage, calendar, and video conferencing.

The service is also extended for free to educational institutes including schools, colleges, and coaching classes across India. This enables remote working between teachers and students.

Hiver, a company which provides e-mail collaboration solutions, has rolled out its free plan for organisations providing essential services.It is offering its highest-tier plan free for two months to any small organisation helping control the virus or offering essential services at this critical time be it research institutions, grocery services, groups involved in the supply chain of protective gear, among other frontline businesses.

Co-founded by Niraj Ranjan and Nitesh Nandy, Hiver is based out of Bengaluru and San Jose. It has over 1,500 customers across 30 countries.

Limetray, a food tech SaaS startup, has rolled out an online ordering system to enable local grocery, meat as well as kirana shops to accept customer orders online through its platform.

According to Limetray, the use of this platform will be free for two months to help local stores tide over the challenges of COVID-19 outbreak.

Founded in 2013, by Akhilesh Bali and Piyush Jain, it has investors such as JSW Ventures and Matrix. It has clients across the markets of India, US, UK, UAE, and South Africa.

TheNational Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM),in partnership withMEITY,has launched on-demand courseware on Artificial Intelligence. Part of theNASSCOMFutureSkills initiative, the course allows individuals to upskill themselves over the next few weeks.

NASSCOMFutureSkills has curated deep learning programmes for its partner ecosystem that will be available for free on theNASSCOMwebsite for all users. The Foundational Big Data Analytics course from Digital Vidya, aligned to the industrys recommended Foundation BDA curriculum, will also be soon made available free of cost (retail price Rs 5000). Other than that, the website will also include microlearning content on AI as quick knowledge bytes.

The Foundational Artificial Intelligence course from SkillUp Online, is aligned to the industrys recommended Foundation AI curriculum (retail price Rs 6800), free for everyone till May 15, 2020.

How has the coronavirus outbreak disrupted your life? And how are you dealing with it? Write to us or send us a video with subject line 'Coronavirus Disruption' to editorial@yourstory.com

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Coronavirus: These companies are providing free software to help deal with the lockdown - YourStory

GitHub Inc., the popular open-source hosting and repository service owned by Microsoft Corp., is hoping to entice more developers to use its platform after making all of its core features freely available for anyone to use.

For the uninitiated, GitHub is a web-based version-control and collaboration platform for software developers. Its used to store the source code for a project and track the complete history of all changes to that code. It allows developers to collaborate on a project more effectively by providing tools for managing possibly conflicting changes from multiple developers.

GitHub has always been free to use, but nonpaying customers could only store their code in a public repository thats accessible to everyone. However, todays announcementfrom Chief Executive Nat Friedman (pictured) means that developers no longer need to pay to use GitHubs private repositories.

Until now, if your organization wanted to use GitHub for private development, you had to subscribe to one of our paid plans, Friedman wrote in a blog post. But every developer on earth should have access to GitHub. Price shouldnt be a barrier.

The company told SiliconANGLE that thanks to the strength of its GitHub Enterprise business, its now in a position to make a larger set of features available for free.

The platform still isnt completely free, though, as some of the more advanced, enterprise-grade features it offers, such as Security Assertion Markup Language, can be accessed only by paid subscribers.

The good news is that developers can now pay a lot less for those additional features. Thats because GitHub has simultaneously announced that its cutting the monthly cost of its paid Team plan by more than half, from $9 per user to just $4 per user.The price change is effective immediately and also applies to existing subscribers, whose bills will be reduced automatically going forward.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE that GitHubisplaying the freemium card with todays changes, amid a battle for market share with other code repositories such as GitLab and Bitbucket.

Allowing free usage for collaborators is a key move to help build applications with teams, and the move supports modern software development, Mueller said. It remains to be seen if the move manages to attract more developers and development projects to GitHub.

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Open-source software repository GitHub makes all of its core features free to use - SiliconANGLE