Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Google’s ambient computing vision is changing how the company works – The Verge

The story of this years Google I/O actually started three years ago.

At I/O 2019, onstage at the Shoreline Auditorium in Mountain View, California, Rick Osterloh, Googles SVP of devices and services, laid out a new vision for the future of computing. In the mobile era, smartphones changed the world, he said. Its super useful to have a powerful computer wherever you are. But he described an even more ambitious world beyond that, where your computer wasnt a thing in your pocket at all. It was all around you. It was everything. Your devices work together with services and AI, so help is anywhere you want it, and its fluid. The technology just fades into the background when you dont need it. So the devices arent the center of the system you are. He called the idea ambient computing, nodding to a concept that has floated around Amazon, Apple, and other companies over the last few years.

One easy way to interpret ambient computing is around voice assistants and robots. Put Google Assistant in everything, yell at your appliances, done and done. But thats only the very beginning of the idea. The ambient computer Google imagines is more like a guardian angel or a super-sentient Star Wars robot. Its an engine that understands you completely and follows you around, churning through and solving for all the stuff in your life. The small (whens my next appointment?) and the big (help me plan my wedding) and the mundane (turn the lights off) and the life-changing (am I having a heart attack?). The wheres and whens and hows dont matter, only the whats and whys. The ambient computer isnt a gadget its almost a being; its the greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts whole that comes out of a million perfectly-connected things.

Which is a problem for Google. The company is famously decentralized and non-hierarchical, and it can sometimes seem like every single engineer on staff is given the green light to ship whatever they made that week. And so, since that day in 2019, Google has mostly continued to do what Google always does, which is build an unbelievable amount of stuff, often without any discernible strategy or plan behind it. Its not that Google didnt have a bigger vision; its just that no one seemed to be interested in doing the connective work required for the all-encompassing, perfectly-connected future Osterloh had imagined. Google was becoming a warehouse full of cool stuff rather than an ecosystem.

But over the last couple of years, Google has begun to change in order to meet this challenge. Osterlohs devices team, for instance, has completely reset its relationship with the Android team. For a long time, the company proudly maintained a wall between Pixel and Android, treating its internal hardware team like any other manufacturer. Now, Google treats Pixel like the tip of the spear: its meant to be both a flagship device and a development platform through which Google can build features it then shares with the rest of the ecosystem.

We really sort of co-design where things are headed, Osterloh said. I think thats just sort of the nature of how computers have changed, and computing models have changed. Both teams share visions of an ambient future, he said. And were working on it together.

Around the company, these related teams and products are starting to come closer together. Theyre building on unified tech, like Googles custom Tensor processors, and on common concepts like conversational AI.

As a result, Google I/O feels unusually coherent this year. Google is trying harder than I can remember to build products that not only work well but work well together. Search is becoming a multisensory, multi-device proposition that understands both whos searching and what theyre really looking for. Its also extending the search experience far beyond just questions and answers. Its making Android more context- and content-aware so that your phone changes to match the things you do on it. Its emphasizing natural interactions so that you can get information without memorizing a rigid set of commands. Its building the hardware ecosystem it needs to make all that work everywhere and the software to match.

Now, lets be very clear: Googles work is only just beginning. It has to win market share in device categories it has failed for years to capture. It has to build new experiences inside new and old devices. It has to figure out how to solve Android fragmentation between its devices and the market-leading devices from companies like Samsung, which might be the hardest part of all. And it has to become more present in users lives and extract more information from them, all without upsetting regulators, screwing up the search-ads business, or violating users privacy. The ambient computer was never going to come easily, and Google has made its own efforts harder in countless ways over the years.

But at the very least, the company seems to finally understand what an ambient computer requires and why it has Assistant! is not a sufficient answer and is beginning the work to get it done.

When I sat down with Osterloh over a video call a few days before I/O, he began to wax poetic about Googles hardware division, every so often glancing down just out of frame. I asked what he was looking at, suddenly suspicious it was a bunch of unreleased devices. I was right. This is Pixel 6, he said, holding up his current device. And then, I have a Pixel 6A, in a very disguised case, this time holding up a black brick of rubber surrounding the unreleased device. And I have a Pixel 7, also in disguise. He held up his wrist, too, with a Pixel Watch strapped to it.

As we talked, Osterloh reiterated the usual Google pitch for ambient computing, but this time, it came with a bit of a twist to the familiar. The long-term vision is still an always-there version of Google that works everywhere with everything all the time, but right now? Right now, its still all about the ultra-fast processor in your pocket. Certainly for the foreseeable future, we feel like the most crucial part of that is the pocketable computer, the mobile phone, he said. The smartphone is the center of the computing universe for billions of users around the globe, and so the first version of Osterlohs ambient computer will be built around a smartphone, too.

Thats why, when Google set out to make the Pixel 6A which is largely a cost-cutting exercise, trying to turn a $600 phone into a still-credible $449 one one expensive part survived the cut. The target of what Pixel is, is about having an awesome user experience that keeps getting better over time, Osterloh said. And with that as the core, what you realize is like the thing that is essential to have across these devices is Tensor.

The Google-designed Tensor processor was the key feature introduced alongside the Pixel 6, largely as a way to improve its on-device AI capabilities for speech recognition and more. And now, it seems, its going to be a staple of the line: Osterloh said all the upcoming Pixel phones and even the Android-powered tablet the team is working on for release next year will run on its Tensor processor.

The smartphone is the center of the universe for now, but you can already start to see how that might change. The new Pixel Buds Pro are a powerful set of noise-canceling headphones, for instance, but also a hands-free interface into a wirelessly connected computing device.

Devices that can be close to your ear and enable you to have real-time communication with the computer are an absolutely essential part of ambient computing, Osterloh said, noting that he now does most of his emailing via voice. Similarly, the new Pixel Watch is, in some ways, a phone accessory, delivering notifications and the like to your wrist and offering another interface to the same power in your pocket. But Googles also selling an LTE version, so youll be able to access Assistant or pay with Google Wallet without needing your phone nearby. And that tablet, whenever it comes, will have all the same Pixel capabilities in a bigger shell.

The point is that it doesnt matter, in the long run, which device you use. Where the computing capability is, and how powerful the devices themselves are, shouldnt matter to the user, Osterloh said. I think what they should see is increasing capabilities.

The Pixel and Android teams have recently adopted a sort of mantra: Better Together. Much of whats new this year in Android 13 is not whizbang new features but small tweaks meant to make the ecosystem a little more seamless. Through an update to the Chrome OS Phone Hub feature, youll be able to use all your messaging apps on your Chromebook just as you would on your phone. Support for the Matter smart home standard now comes built into Android, which should make setting up and controlling new devices much easier. Googles extending support for its Cast protocols for sending audio and video to other devices and improving its Fast Pair services to make it easy to connect Bluetooth devices. It has been talking about these features since CES in January and has signed up an impressive list of partners.

It sounds a bit like Google finally watched an Apple ad and discovered that making hardware and software together really does help. Who knew! But Googles position is genuinely tricky here. Googles ad business relies on a mind-bendingly huge scale, which it gets mostly thanks to other companies building Android products. That means Google has to keep all those partners happy and feeling like theyre on a level playing field with the Pixel team. And it simply cant control its ecosystem like Apple can. It is forever worrying about backward compatibility and how things will work on devices of all sizes, prices, and power. It has to engender support to make big changes, whereas Apple just brute-forces the future.

But Google has become increasingly bold in pushing ahead with the Pixel brand. It can afford to because Pixel is hardly a real sales threat to Samsung and others. (Besides, where are Android manufacturers going to go? Windows Mobile?) But it also has to because Google only wins if the ecosystem buys in, and Pixel is Googles best chance to model what the entire Android ecosystem should look like. Thats what Osterloh sees as his job and, in large part, his teams reason for being.

If Pixels never going to be a smash-hit bestseller (and it looks like it wont be), the only way Google can win in the long run is to use it as a way to pressure Samsung and others to keep up Googles features and ideas. Google has a chance to lead even more in tablets and smartwatches, two Android markets in desperate need of a path forward. Phone is certainly super important, said Sameer Samat, a VP of product management on the Android team. But its also becoming very clear that there are other device form factors which are complementary and also critical to a consumer deciding which ecosystem to buy into, and which ecosystem to live.

Thats another way of saying the only way Google can get to its ambient computing dreams is to make sure Google is everywhere. Like, literally everywhere. Thats why Google continues to invest in products in seemingly every square inch of your life, from your TV to your thermostat to your car to your wrist to your ears. The ambient-computing future may be one computer to rule them all, but that computer needs a near-infinite set of user interfaces.

The second step to making ambient computing work is to make it really, really easy to use. Google is relentlessly trying to whittle away every bit of friction involved in accessing its services, particularly the Assistant. For instance, if you own a Nest Hub Max, youll soon be able to talk to it just by looking into its camera, and youll be able to set timers or turn off the lights without issuing a command at all.

Its kind of like you and I having a conversation, said Nino Tasca, a director of product management on Googles speech team. Sometimes, Ill use your name to start a conversation. But if Im already staring at you and ask you directly, you know Im talking to you. Google is obsessed with making everything natural and conversational because its convinced that making it easy is actually more important than making it fast.

The same logic applies to search, which is quickly becoming a multi-sensory, multi-modal thing. The way you search for information shouldnt be constrained to typing keywords into a search box, said Prabhakar Raghavan, Googles SVP for knowledge and information products. Our vision is to make the whole world around you searchable, so you can find helpful information about whatever you see, hear and experience, in whichever ways are most natural to you.

That has forced Google to reinvent both the input of search, leaning on voice and images just as much as the text box, as well as the output. Some people really find it easy to process video, said Liz Reid, a VP of engineering on the search team, and other people will find it distracting. On the other hand, some peoples literacy is not as good, and so a long web page that you have to read through not only takes time, but theyre gonna get lost, and a video thats spoken in their language is really intuitive. Google built one hell of a text box, but its not enough anymore.

The most obvious outpouring of that work is multisearch. Using the Google app, you can take a photo of a dress in Googles examples, its always a dress and then type green to search for that dress but in green. Thats the kind of thing you just couldnt do in a text box.

And at I/O, Google also showed off a tool for running multisearch on an image with multiple things in it: take a picture of the peanut butter aisle, type nut-free, and Google will tell you which one to buy. We find when we unlock new capabilities that people had information needs that were just too hard to express, Reid said. And then they start expressing them on there. Search used to be one thing, Lens was another, voice was a third, but when you combine them, new things become possible.

But the real challenge for Google is that its much more than a question-and-answer engine now. Whats best isnt really, in many of these cases, a strict stack rank, right? Reid said. A lot of these newer use cases, theres a style or a taste component. Shopping has become important to Google, for instance, but theres no single correct answer for best t-shirt. Plus, Google is using search more and more as a way to keep you inside Googles ecosystem; the search box is increasingly just a launcher to various Google things.

So rather than just aiming to understand the internet, Google has to learn to understand its users better than ever. Does it help that Google has a massive store of first-party data that it has collected over the last couple of decades on billions of people around the world? Of course it does! But even that isnt enough to get Google where its going.

About the ads: dont forget the fact that even in a world outside the search box, Googles still an advertising business. Just as Amazons ambient computing vision seems to always come back to selling you things, Googles will always come back to showing you ads. And the thing about Googles whole vision is that it means a company that knows a lot about you and seems to follow you everywhere will know even more about you and follow you even more places.

Google seems to be going out of its way to try and make users feel comfortable with its presence: its moving more AI to devices themselves instead of processing and storing everything in the cloud, its pushing toward new systems of data collection that dont so cleanly identify an individual, and its offering users more ways to control their own privacy and security settings. But the ambient-computer life requires a privacy tradeoff all the same, and Google is desperate to make it good enough that its worth it. Thats a high bar and getting higher all the time.

Actually, this whole process is full of high bars for Google. If it wants to build an ambient computer that can truly be all things to all people, its going to need to build a sweeping ecosystem of hugely popular devices that all run compatible software and services while also seamlessly integrating with a massive global ecosystem of other devices, including those made by its direct competitors. And thats just to build the interface. Past that, Google has to turn the Assistant into something genuinely pleasurable to interact with all day and make its services flex to every need and workflow of users across the globe. Nothing about that will be easy.

But if you squint a little, you can see what it would look like. And thats what has been so frustrating about Googles approach in recent years: it feels like all the puzzle pieces to the future are sitting there in Mountain View, strewn around campus with no one paying attention. But now, as a company, Google appears to be starting to assemble them.

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Google's ambient computing vision is changing how the company works - The Verge

Yoodli opens up its free website to improve public speaking and adds in some games – GeekWire

Yoodli co-founder Varun Puri demonstrates his companys speech analysis software. (Yoodli via YouTube)

Six months after coming out of stealth mode, a Seattle AI startup called Yoodli is raising the curtain on a free website thats designed to improve your public speaking.

And as if thats not enough, Yoodli is throwing in some free games as well.

Think of these as Wordle, but for communication skills, Yoodli co-founder Varun Puri said in an introductory video.

Yoodlis main training program can be enough of a brain-teaser by itself: You can upload an audio or video clip, or do a real-time recording of your speech using the app. Hit a button, and the software analyzes what you say to point out filler words (such as um or ah), repetitive phrases, hedging words (like, you know), non-inclusive words (such as saying guys instead of folks) and whether youre talking too fast or too haltingly.

At the end, Yoodli give you a confidence score and points out ways to improve. Check out this example, which picks apart a speech given by billionaire Elon Musk. (The talk earned a 2 on Yoodlis five-point scoring system).

Puri emphasizes the view that public speaking should be fun, not a chore. That attitude applies even to the companys name, which riffs on the word yodel. Six months ago, Puri explained in an email the name has a fun and catching ring and represents our playful company culture (try saying Yoodli quickly three times, youll end up smiling).

Yoodlis public-speaking games reflect that same sort of playfulness: One of the games challenges you to see how long you can talk without, um, saying a filler word. Another one feeds you seemingly random words to work into a real-time conversation. Yet another game asks you to make analogies on the fly. (For example, A blueberry is like a toilet because)

Building your speaking skills is like training a muscle, Puri said in a news release. The same way we warm up before athletic events, or calm our minds through meditation, we can train our bodies before we speak. At Yoodli, we think that speech preparation can be fun and stress-free. Thats why weve built daily AI-powered drills to help people improve their impromptu speaking and interview skills.

Yoodli, which was spun out from the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligences AI2 Incubator program last year, has already picked up some endorsements from experts in the field such as Craig Valentine, who won Toastmasters Internationals World Championship of Public Speaking in 1999.

But you could argue that one of the best endorsements comes from Puri himself, who said he uses the software to prepare for his presentations. Puri and his fellow co-founders were persuasive enough to attract $1 million in pre-seed funding last year from AI2 and Madrona Venture Group.

Puri and another one of Yoodlis co-founders, Esha Joshi, are among the finalists in the 2022 GeekWire Awards Young Entrepreneur of the Year category. Head over to the GeekWire Awards website to check out all the finalists, vote for your favorites, and reserve your spot for the May 12 awards ceremony at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle.

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Yoodli opens up its free website to improve public speaking and adds in some games - GeekWire

Convert VCF to CSV or Excel format using free software and online tools – TheWindowsClub

Looking for a solution to convert VCF to CSV Excel format? Here is a complete guide on how you can convert VCF to CSV and Excel formats in Windows 11/10. Virtual Contact File (VCF) or vCard is a standard file that stores the contact details of people including name, website, email, phone, address, photo, and more information. It is basically a contact file that saves phone numbers and other contact details.

Now, you might want to convert a VCF file to a spreadsheet file like CSV or Excel for editing purposes or to use the details in your documents, or for some other reasons. In that case, you can refer to this post. In this guide, we are going to discuss two different methods to convert VCF to CSV or Excel format. You can use any of the methods to convert VCF files to CSV, XLS, or XLSX formats for free. So, without much ado, let us check out!

Here are the two main methods to convert VCF to CSV Excel (XLS/ XLSX) file format on Windows 11/10 PC:

One of the easiest ways to convert files is to use a free desktop application. There are multiple software that allows VCF to CSV or Excel conversion. However, most of them are paid and there are not many free ones. If you want to use free software, you can try this free software called Free VCF to Excel XLSX. It is a dedicated free desktop application that allows you to convert VCF to Excel i.e., XLSX format.

Here are the steps that you can follow to convert VCF to XLSX using this free software:

If you liked this software, you can download this software from here.

See: How to import Gmail or Google contacts into Outlook?

Here is a list of free online tools to convert VCF files to CSV or Excel online:

AConvert is a free online VCF to Excel converter tool. This website is basically a free file converter tool that allows you to convert files of multiple types. You can convert documents, eBooks, archives, images, audio, video, PDF, and more from one supported format to another. It supports a wide number of file formats to convert.

The good thing about this converter is that it supports batch file conversion. So, you can import multiple VCF files to it and convert them to CSV or Excel (XLS/ XLSX) at the same time. Besides CSV and Excel, it also lets you convert VCF to an ODS file. Let us check out how to convert VCF to CSV or Excel using it.

Try the below steps to convert VCF to CSV, XLS, or XLSX online using AConvert:

Try it here.

Related: How to Import Contacts from People App to Microsoft Outlook?

Convert-doc is another free online VCF to CSV and Excel converter tool. Using it, you can convert a number of documents from one format to another. It supports a variety of document formats including DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, RTF, PDF, HTML, JPG, PNG, etc.

It lets you convert a VCF file to CSV and Microsoft Excel formats including XLS and XLSX. Also, you can convert VCF to an ODS spreadsheet file.

Here are the main steps to perform VCF to CSV and Excel conversion using this free online converter:

It is a handy file converter tool that also lets you convert vCard files to CSV, Excel, and other formats.

Read: How to convert DBF to Excel (XLSX or XLS) in Windows 11/10?

You can also try tribulant.com to convert VCF to CSV. This website allows you to import a vCard file and convert VCF to CSV or LDIF format. It only supports CSV and you cant convert VCF to Excel formats using it. So, if you want to convert VCF to Excel, you can try some other tool from this list.

This online VCF to CSV converter tool offers a feature using which you can convert VCF to a Gmail compatible CSV file. Let us now have a look at the steps to perform the conversion.

Follow the below steps easily convert VCF to CSV:

Head over to its website to convert VCF to CSV.

See: Best Free Batch PDF to Excel Converter software for Windows 11/10.

The Web Vendor is yet another free online VCF to CSV and Excel converter tool. This website is entirely dedicated to converting vCard files to Excel and CSV formats. It allows you to convert vCard files to the most recent version of Excel i.e., XLSX as well as CSV. The good thing is that it also offers a useful feature to send the converted file to your email.

Here are the primary steps to perform the conversion:

You can try it here.

Yes, you can easily convert a VCF file to CSV format. It can be done using a free online tool or free software that let you convert VCF to CSV. There are multiple free online tools that we have mentioned in this article, so checkout.

To convert a VCF file to CSV, you can use a free online tool. There are plenty of free VCF to CSV converters available online such as AConvert, Convert-doc, and more. We have discussed these and many such online tools that you can use for the conversion of vCard files to CSV files.

To convert a VCF file to Excel for free, you can use this free software called Free VCF to Excel XLSX. It is a dedicated software that lets you convert VCF to XLSX format. Apart from that, there are several online tools that allow you to convert VCF to Excel (XLS/ XLSX) in a web browser. You can check out the post below to know more details on these free online tools and software.

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Convert VCF to CSV or Excel format using free software and online tools - TheWindowsClub

Convert PowerPoint to eBook using free online tools and software – TheWindowsClub

Do you want to convert PowerPoint presentations to eBook format on your Windows PC? Here is a complete guide to converting PowerPoint to eBook on Windows 11/10. In this guide, we will be discussing two different methods using which you can convert PPT and PPTX presentation files to eBooks. You can convert them to different eBook formats including EPUB, MOBI, AZW, LIT, PDF, and some more. Now, without much ado, let us check out the methods.

Of course, you can convert a PowerPoint presentation to an eBook like EPUB, MOBI, etc. There are several free online tools that let you do so, like OnlineConvertFree, online2pdf.com, etc. You can also try free software to convert PowerPoint to eBook. We have shared a free desktop application below in this post, so checkout.

Here are the methods to convert PowerPoint presentations to eBooks on Windows 11/10 PC:

Let us discuss the above methods in detail!

Here are the free online tools that you can use to convert PPT or PPTX presentations to eBooks:

OnlineConvertFree, as the name suggests, is a free online file converter tool using which you can convert PowerPoint to eBook. It lets you convert PPT and PPTX presentations to EPUB eBooks. As it is a file converter, you can also convert various other file formats including DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, PNG, JPG, and many more.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook online using OnlineConvertFree:

Here are the main steps using which you can convert PowerPoint to EPUB eBook online:

You can try it here.

Online-Convert is a nice free online PowerPoint to eBook converter website. It is primarily a file converter using which you can convert different kinds of files including archives, audio, video, image, eBook, CAD, and more. This online tool lets you convert multiple PowerPoint i.e., PPT and PPTX files to different ebook formats simultaneously. You can choose different eBook formats as output because it supports a wide number of eBook formats. These formats include EPUB, FB2, LIT, AZW, LRF, MOBI, PDB, PDF, and TCR.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook online using Online-Convert:

You can try the below steps to easily convert your PowerPoint presentations to eBooks:

It is one of the best PowerPoint to eBook converter tools that anyone can try for free. You can use it here.

See: Convert PDF to PPT (PowerPoint) using these free software & online tools.

online2pdf.com is another good free online tool that you can use to convert PowerPoint to eBook. Basically, as its name gives away, this free website is used for the conversion of different file types to convert files to PDF and vice versa. In addition to that, you can also use it to convert multiple other files like DOC, DOCX, ODT, XLS, XLSX, RTF, JPG, PNG, etc.

Using it, you can convert a PowerPoint file to 3 popular eBook formats including AZW3, EPUB, and MOBI. It also provides a handy function that you can use to merge multiple PowerPoint files into one single eBook. You also have the flexibility to convert the presentation to separate eBooks. Now, let us check out the process of the PowerPoint to eBook conversion process.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook using online2pdf.com:

Follow the below steps to perform the conversion:

It is a really nice and easy-to-use tool to convert PPT and PPTX presentations to different eBook formats.

Convertio is a great file converter that also lets you convert PowerPoint to eBook. Using it, you can convert your PowerPoint presentations including PPT and PPTX files to several eBooks formats. The supported output eBook formats by this online tool are EPUB, MOBI, FB2, TCR, AZW3, PDB, LRF, RB, and SNB. It also lets you convert PowerPoint to images, documents, vectors, and other file types.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook using Convertio:

You can try the following steps to convert PPT and PPTX to eBook format:

GroupDocs is a free online tool to convert PowerPoint to eBooks. You can use this website to convert PPT or PPTX presentations to eBooks like EPUB, PDF, DOC, DOCX, etc. Other than conversion, you can also find some other handy tools on this website including file viewer, document comparer, watermarking, translator, annotator, etc.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook online using GroupDocs:

Here are the steps to convert PowerPoint to eBook:

Related: Best free Batch Word to PDF Converter software & online tools.

You can use free software to create eBooks from PowerPoint presentations. There are multiple such software available on the web. However, if you want to use a free one, there are not many options. To help you out, we are going to discuss this free software called Filestar.

Filestar is a free file converter software that you can use to convert a variety of file types from one format to another. Along with several file formats, it also lets you convert PowerPoint presentations to eBook formats. Besides that, it supports over 8020 file formats to convert images, documents, font, audio, video, spreadsheet, presentation, and more.

How to convert PowerPoint to eBook using this free desktop application called Filestar

Here are the primary steps to convert PowerPoint to eBook on PC:

It is a great file converter desktop application that lets you convert a variety of file formats. However, its free plan doesnt support batch file conversion and has some limitations. To download its free version and know more about it, navigate to filestar.com.

Read: How to convert Google Slides to PowerPoint and vice-versa?

To convert a PowerPoint to a flipbook, you can use a free online tool e.e., 1stFlip flipbook maker. Just open the website in your web browser, import the source PowerPoint presentation, customize the output options, and then convert the presentation to a flipbook.

You can easily convert a PowerPoint presentation to a PDF in Microsoft PowerPoint. It provides a direct option to print the presentation or export it to a PDF document. Apart from that, you can use a free batch PowerPoint to PDF converter to convert multiple PowerPoint presentations to PDFs simultaneously.

Thats it!

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Convert PowerPoint to eBook using free online tools and software - TheWindowsClub

CANON ANNOUNCES NEW SOFTWARE THAT EXPANDS FUNCTIONALITY OF 4K PTZ CAMERAS – PR Newswire

Webcam Driver delivers benefits for online meetings and classes

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today the launch of Webcam Driver, a new free-of-charge software for Windows that allows three models of Canon 4K PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras to be used as webcams.

Canon's new Webcam Driver software is compatible with the CR-N500, CR-N300, and CR-X300 4K PTZ cameras, and allows them to be used as webcams. By simply connecting the cameras via IP to a Windows PC with the Webcam Driver installed, the cameras can be operated as webcams.

There has been a rapid increase in demand for video content with the widespread adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices and, as a result, a significant amount of live and pre-recorded video content is being created and distributed to meet this demand. In addition, remote alternatives to in-person events have increased, leading to widespread adoption of online content distribution.

With the wide variety of uses made possible by this software, users of the CR-N500, CR-N300, and CR-X300 4K PTZ cameras can adapt to new communication styles in the "new normal" and beyond by utilizing video streaming for such events as online meetings, classes and worship services.

Additionally, Canon is announcing the Mac OS supported Search Tool software. This software was previously only available for Windows systems. The Search Tool software is used during PTZ setup and configuration. When the software is utilized it will search the network for existing Canon IP supported PTZ cameras and quickly provide information about the camera such as IP address, model name and serial number making it easy for the installer to set up.

Canon will showcase its latest digital imaging solutions and products at the NAB Show 2022 (Booth #C4432) in Las Vegas, April 24th-27th. For more information about Canon's presence at the show and the Webcam Driver, please visit usa.canon.com.

Canon's Webcam Driver will be provided free-of-charge starting in early June 2022.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets.With approximately $30.6 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), as of 2021 has ranked in the top-five overall in U.S. patents granted for 36 consecutive yearsand was one of Fortune Magazine'sWorld's Most Admired Companiesin 2022.Canon U.S.A. was featured in Newsweek'sMost Loved Workplaceslist for 2021, ranking among the top 100 companies for employee happiness and satisfaction at work.Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to itsKyoseiphilosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visitingwww.usa.canon.com/rssand follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA.

Number of patents for 2021 are based on figures released by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. Figures for 2005 to 2020 are based on information issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

SOURCE Canon U.S.A., Inc.

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CANON ANNOUNCES NEW SOFTWARE THAT EXPANDS FUNCTIONALITY OF 4K PTZ CAMERAS - PR Newswire