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Microsoft South Africa, together with Intervate and 2enable, has created a portal for students to activate licenses for the Microsoft Office 365 suite and OneDrive cloud-based storage services free of charge.

Called Mahala.ms, the objective is to enable learners from grade R to 12 to become more productive and better prepared for the next phase of their academic careers or the workplace, by gaining free access to Office 365s services, including Microsoft Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint.

In addition, students receive one terabyte (1000 GB) worth of free OneDrive online storage to save their documents, class notes, assignments, research, podcasts and vodcasts.

Through the Mahala.ms portal, students and parents are able to self-provision their licenses and install the software on up to five devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

Students can organise their school and personal data in one secure location, and are able to create and share content as well as collaborate on documents in real-time.

Lionel Moyal, Office Business Group Lead at Microsoft South Africa, said: There are around 12 million learners and students in SA, but only a fraction of them have access to digital tools.

As such, there is an immense opportunity to change the fortunes of millions of young people through the Mahala.ms portal, enabling many more students to master the use of technology and acquire 21st century learning skill sets such as collaborating within groups and delivering captivating presentations.

Read: Make upgrades free or face more ransomware attacks in SA expert

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Microsoft SA launches online portal to give students free software - BusinessTech

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. were on track Friday for their worst one-day decline in more than two years Friday, after the company reported weak software and services revenue.

Though BlackBerry BBRY, -12.21% reported a surprise profit in its first-quarter, its revenue of $169 million in the software and services segment came in below some analyst expectations. In addition to the weak revenue, TD Securities Inc. analysts said they believed the stock drop came due to commentary around the companys free cash flow, which would be negative if its payment from Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, +0.78% were excluded.

The company received $940 million out of its arbitration with Qualcomm, in a case about Qualcomm charging phone makers excessive royalty payments. Without that payment, the analysts attributed the weakness in BlackBerrys free cash flow to the company moving away from its hardware business.

We expect this to normalize over the coming quarters as the company completes its hardware exit over the coming quarters, said Daniel Chan, lead analyst on the note.

BlackBerrys stock were sinking 11.1% in active midday trade, putting the stock on track for its worst one-day decline since Jan. 15, 2015. The decline would also be the biggest one-day, post-results selloff since the company reported fiscal first-quarter 2013 results on June 28 of that year.

Volume reached 27.4 million shares, nearly tripled the full-day average.

TD Securities analysts had software and services revenue expectations of $203 million. They say the next couple of quarters could be weak for the company, but they were encouraged by management commentary saying that they expect software and services revenue to grow 10% to 15% for the full year.

That growth is expected to come in the second half of the year, driven by strong billings as well as professional services.

This gives us confidence that management can hit its Software & Services target growth for the full year, Chan said.

BlackBerry said it expects to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis and to have positive free cash flow for the full year.

BlackBerry shares have gained 36% in the past three months, compared with the SPDR Technology Select Sector exchange-traded funds XLK, +0.63% 6.5% rise and the S&P 500s SPX, +0.16% gain of 4%.

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BlackBerry shares plunge after weak software revenue, negative cash flow - MarketWatch

Lightworks may not be a household name, but has established a proven reputation with Hollywood filmmakers over nearly three decades as the software of choice for editing award-winning feature films like Pulp Fiction, L.A. Confidential, and Moulin Rouge.

Originally tied to expensive, proprietary console hardware, Lightworks has adapted to the economic realities of modern editors, so much so that the core application can now be downloaded for free. While the gratis edition natively imports the same wide range of formats as the paid editionProRes, RED, and AVCHD to name just a fewexports are limited to web-compatible MPEG or H.264 files up to 720p resolution, with the option to upload directly to YouTube accounts.

For all other export formats, Lightworks Pro requires a $25 per month subscription, with annual and perpetual license options also available. The Pro version allows exporting in up to 4K resolution using any compatible file format, stereoscopic 3D output, and timeline rendering. Theres also support for AJA, Blackmagic, and Matrox I/O hardware, as well as the legendary Lightworks Console (now offered at the affordable price of only $2,800) for those who prefer more tactile control.

By switching to the VFX or Audio tabs, editors can spice up their videos using fast, intuitive tools and real-time effects.

With version 14, developer EditShare has taken great strides to make the Lightworks more consumer-friendly, consolidating the previously modular user interface into a fixed, full-screen workspace. (The flexible classic mode is still available from the Project Layout settings.) With the organized, single-window UI comes an easier to use application, but Mac users wont feel quite at home.

For starters, there are no menu options at all, and Lightworks shuns Apples traditional contextual menu shortcuts in favor of the Windows right-click approach. Likewise, the file browser has a distinctly Unix look and feel that makes macOS seem like a second-class citizen. Coming from years of experience with native Mac editing software, the transition was a bit jarring to say the least.

The rest of the Lightworks 14 user interface hews closer to what Mac editors have come to expect. Tabs at the top allow quick navigation between four different modes: Log for importing and organizing media; Edit, which offers a familiar dual-monitor, timeline-based approach to editing; VFX for applying real-time filters, transitions, and color grades; and Audio, designed for working with sound.

At launch, editors are greeted with a tiled grid of thumbnails where projects appear as theyre created. Click Create a new project to start fresh, or double-click any thumbnail to open an existing project. Tucked away behind a comically tiny gear icon are the Lightworks system settings. EditShare offers a downloadable demo project to get acquainted, along with a metric ton of tutorial videos, which novice users will definitely want to watch.

Editors familiar with native Mac software like Final Cut Pro will have a hard time adjusting to cutting video in the Lightworks timeline.

I found the Lightworks method of timeline editing to be less intuitive than Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, or even Media 100, the venerable NLE software which is also now offered free of charge. Editing relies heavily on angled brackets that appear at the head and tail of clips and change color based on the type of cut being made: White as you hover over clips, yellow while clicking and dragging, for example.

This approach can be powerful once you get the hang of it, especially when fine-tuning by disabling individual picture or audio clips to prevent them from being changed. But it has limitations: You cant simply drag the cursor to select a block of clips and move them all at once, a process that requires marking in and out points with Lightworks. There are a decent number of tooltip hints that pop up as you use the software, but youre on your own when it comes to digging up comprehensive help from the website, since none is available in the application.

I had problems editing videos shot with my iPhoneLightworks doesnt know how to handle content shot in landscape mode, which appears upside-down and requires manually adding the Flip effect from the VFX tab, which can be inserted onto an entire timeline, or applied to individual clips. On the plus side, the software is quite fast and includes built-in access to royalty-free music and stock video (from Audio Network and Pond5, respectively) for a wider range of creative possibilities.

Editing iPhone footage is an exercise in frustration, because Lightworks improperly displays footage shot in landscape mode.

Theres a lot to like about Lightworks 14and a lot of bang for no bucksbut the user interface isnt particularly Mac-centric and timeline editing requires a steep learning curve for those coming from native software.

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Lightworks 14 review: Free video editing software lacks proper Mac decorum - Macworld

Windows is more than a legend in the technology world. It can be rightfully said that the development of the information era began with the development of this particular operating system. Of course, now many people are obsessed with Android, and even more are crazy about iOS, but the fact remains as it was Windows still does not lose its positions. And while desktop computers continue to remain in our houses and offices, this trend will not change. However, Windows is simply an operating system without programs filling it.

In addition to the standard set, which the developers deemed absolutely necessary, each of us chooses his own unique kit of applications that will be most useful to a particular user. A computer can be a fun entertainment, as well as a tool for serious work. Therefore, the set of necessary apps is different for everyone. However, regardless of the purpose of using the desktop, Yum!Download contains the maximum possible number of useful applications. Intuitive separation of applications into categories greatly simplifies the process of searching and downloading. Here you can download applications for a variety of goals. The most necessary applications are placed in a separate column, so you can quickly view the list and to set what you need in two clicks. With the help of this website, you can quickly start using Google Chrome, Skype, Ccleaner, Avast Antivirus and other applications that are in the world top on demand.

Here you will be also able to find all kinds of music and movie players, photo processing wizards, messengers, games and professional programs. And the most important thing is that all the programs on this site can be downloaded for free and very easy.

Do not make a skeptical face. Yes, this player really was one of the first, developed for Windows, but time did not make it worse.

Internet Download Manager. This is an analog of uTorrent, but it is faster in operation, and also does not contain advertising.

If you have to deal with special programs, such as online banking or work time tracking, then they will not work without the latest and updated version of Java.

It is almost impossible to do without a convenient archiver in our era of the information boom. This program will help to solve problems with the transfer and storage of large amounts of information.

This is a very convenient and free application for viewing and processing photos. Special knowledge is not required to start using it. However, even professional photographers give likes to it. Now it is easy to improve the quality and appearance of the photo with just a few clicks.

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Where Can You Download Free Software for Windows in 2017? - Techworm

For starry-eyed pilgrims like this foot-sore columnist, the NAB Show is an endless spree of techno-splendor. But lets face it. The real purpose for exhibitors is to showcase their new products and sign mega-buck deals for new equipment.

So it was striking how many post-production companies this year have discovered that the road to fortune is paved with free giveaways to further the acceptance of the uniqueness of their products.

AVID MEDIA COMPOSER|FIRST

Even before the exhibit halls opened, Avids CEO Louis Hernandez told their Avid Connect pre-show gathering that the whole Avid MediaCentral environment would be extended to the cloud using Azure servers, thanks to their new partnership with Microsoft.

Hernandez also announced they would offer Avid Media Composer|First, a free version of their flagship NLE. Although its a fully featured version of Media Composer, Media Composer|First is limited to four video tracks and eight audio tracks and outputs to streaming social media channels. It joins their existing, free offering of Pro Tools|First, which has been available for download for almost a year.

Pro Tools|First is available from the Avid website now and is actively involved in cloud collaboration. You can register for Media Composer|First on the site today and download it beginning June 29. Its cloud component will be coming in the near future.

LIGHTWORKS FREE

EditShares v14.0 of their Lightworks NLE is available on Windows, Mac and Linux as a version gratis: Lightworks Free. It has all the same tools as Lightworks Pro, except you dont get advanced features such as project sharing, stereo 3D editing or Avid DNxHD codec support, and its output is limited to exporting to You Tube or Vimeo at up to 720P.

However, the Lightworks site provides a large library of tutorials to help you get started and there is an active community of users to share advice. As an editor you get to import a long list of formats, play with more than 100 built-in FXs and train on the same user interface that was employed to cut a whole bunch of feature films (such as all of Scorseses flicks).

MISTIKA

Another powerful edit system that is seeing the advantage of free training is SGOs Mistika. Actually, SGO has taken the Mistika hero suite and broken it down to its components, with the first to be released being Mistika VR for stitching equirectilinear virtual reality images together. The next will be Mistika Color. Once they are all available, you can reassemble the modules to get the original Titan, which will then be called Mistika Ultima.

This takes considerable learning to master. So SGO is also releasing Mistika Insight, a free software intended for education and training that lets students and freelancers learn the Mistika technology. Supported by weekly webinars and online tutorials, Mistika Insight runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.

MYNC

One of the niftiest freebies dangled in front of us at the 2017 NAB Show may only be available through June 30, although Grass Valley, a Belden Co., may extend the offer. This little pip is called Mync, a personal content management tool. Originally bundled with GV Browser in EDIUS v8 back in 2015, Mync has now been cut out on its own in two versions: Basic (free) and Standard (not much more).

Mync is a video player running on Windows, which is no big deal. But its also a video organizer, and one that can handle the kind of files youll get from smartphones, USB flash drives, memory cards and DSLR cameras. And that is a big deal. Imagine being able to browse and search files shot on your iPhone.

Mync can create a storyboard that can be shared with others over YouTube, FTP, Facebook or Vimeo, even trimming shots and exporting to an XML file. And thats with the free Basic version. The standard version adds the ability to import professional file formats, and export unlimited storyboards and MP4 movies.

But just being able to organize your cell phone photos/videos on the free Basic version is a gift in itself. Claiming absolutely no inside knowledge, but just judging from Grass Valleys nomenclature, Ill bet there is going to be a Mync Pro somewhere in our future. Until then, you ought to grab that Mync Basic while its still there for the downloading.

CINEXINSERT

The final unexpected gift from the video gods I found at the NAB Show was truly unexpected. Not just unexpected that its free. Unexpected that it works at all.

If there is one thing everyone in postproduction knows, its that once a master file has been rendered, you cant unmix the soup. So if even a single subtitle has to be changed, the whole production has to be remastered, re-exported, and, equally time-consuming, re-QCd. But somehow everyone didnt tell the folks at Cinedeck.

By treating the rendered master as data instead of video, they figured out a way to insert edit into it without having to remaster the whole kit-and-kaboodle. Its called CineXinsert, and this utility to their recorder has proved to be a rather disruptive technology in the post houses of Hollywood that specialize in making deliverables, although its gradually catching on.

So what does Cinedeck do next? Theyre giving a version of this technology away for free and calling it cineXtools BASIC. Ive spoken with them, and their goal is to reach more users to let them know the impossible is possible.

The catch is that cineXtools BASIC only works on rendered master files with two soundtracks. That pretty much eliminates the next Star Wars, but makes it perfectly applicable for corporate videos, house of worship productions, student projects and anyone who simply wants to see the way this magic works.

Of course, Cinedeck will be glad to sell you the full version once your budget is convinced its worth it.

Jay Ankeney is a freelance editor and post-production consultant based in Los Angeles. Write him at JayAnkeney@mac.com.

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Reaching Post-Production Users With Free Software - TV Technology