Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Commerce Adds 33 Chinese Companies to the Unverified List – JD Supra

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) has added 33 China-based companies to its Unverified List, which now includes more than 100 entities located in China. A listing of these companies is provided in the appendix below.

Effective February 8, 2022, the export, reexport, or transfer of any items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) including goods, software, and technology to any of the companies added to the Unverified List will require enhanced diligence and documentation, including in some instances a certified UVL Statement from the listed entity. Inclusion on the Unverified List also precludes reliance on any license exception, meaning that the exporter must seek an export license from BIS before exporting controlled items to these entities.

A company doing business with an Unverified List designee must first determine whether the transaction involves an item subject to the EAR including even non-dual use items and those designated EAR99. (The provision of services and certain published materials are generally excluded.) If so, the company must then determine whether a license is required for the intended destination (e.g., China), end-user, or end use; and even when no license is required, the company must still obtain a UVL Statement from the listed entity certifying its compliance with the EAR and committing to cooperation with end-use checks by BIS. Records relating to the transaction, regardless of whether a license is required, must be kept for at least five years.

The exclusion from license exception eligibility impacts items that, although subject to a license requirement for certain destinations such as China, can ordinarily be exported without a license, provided the requirements of an applicable license exception are met. For example, technology companies that supply encryption software classified under the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 5D002 routinely rely on License Exception ENC to lift a license requirement for end-users located in China. Those companies will now need an export license from BIS before providing the same software (and potentially software updates) to the Unverified List entities.

BIS added the 33 China-based entities to the Unverified List because it has been unable to sufficiently determine the entities legitimacy or reliability as end-users of items subject to the EAR. While additions to the Unverified List are not necessarily predicated on specific national security or foreign policy concerns, this action reflects the U.S. governments increased scrutiny of Chinas business practices and continued focus on perceived threats from China. BIS indicated the Unverified List update, which follows the addition of 34 Chinese companies to the Entity List last December, is intended in part to signal to the [Chinese] government the importance of their cooperation in assisting BIS with verifying the legitimacy and reliability of these parties to receive U.S. exports. Delays in the ability of BIS to conduct such verification checks may have also resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although designations on the Unverified List may not reflect wrongdoing by the listed entities, these listings are in some cases confused with other U.S. government prohibited party listings having broader impact (e.g., BISs Entity List and the Office of Foreign Assets Controls Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List).

Entities seeking removal from the Unverified List may petition BIS and supply information to verify their legitimacy and reliability.

Appendix: List of Companies Added to the Unverified List on February 8, 2022

The names and websites of the companies recently added to the Unverified List suggest operations in a wide range of industries, including electronics, optoelectronics, semiconductor manufacturing, wind and solar energy, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), industrial equipment, heavy machinery, specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, among others. Universities are also among the recent Unverified List designees.

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Commerce Adds 33 Chinese Companies to the Unverified List - JD Supra

Best free Online Tools and Software for creating Digital Art on Windows PC – TWCN Tech News

Digital Art is a rage nowadays, whether you want to leave it just as a hobby or make it a professional, you would need a good platform to work on. In this article, we are going to see some of the best free online Tools & Software for creating Digital Art on Windows 11/10.

Following are some of the best free Online Tools and Software for creating Digital Art on Windows 11/10.

Let us talk about them in detail.

Let us start with our first app that caters to users who wants to download the app or an online tool. Psyko Paint is a great tool for Digital artists. It has all the default colors and options to create your own. It has some clip arts and tools that can not only excite a professional but will also be pedestrian for an amateur. Since it has both online and offline versions, we would recommend you try the online one first and then decide whether you want to download this on your system or not. However, the software is free. Go to pskyopaint.com and see for yourself.

Related: How to create NFT Digital Art?

The Gimp is not only a great Digital Art but is also something that you can use to edit photos. So, if you want a 2-in-one solution, it is the way to go. Talking about the Digital Art side of things, The Gimp has a great selection of tools, and the best thing is that you can use third-party plugins here as well.

Also, this tool is compatible with some of the major programming languages as well, such as C++, Python, C, etc. So, if you are a programmer and a digital artist, you should go to gimp.org and get the app.

PictBear is an offline open-source software that you can download on any Windows computer without hesitation and start drawing. The best thing about this software is that is user-friendly. The UI is simple and intuitive and no matter how new you are in this arena you will not feel out of place when using this tool. It has a wide range of brushes, colors, and other tools that you can try to make your painting glorious. However, there is no support for the product and because of this, it can look outdated. Also, the app is not adequate for a professional. You can try PictBear from fenrir-inc.com.

Queeky is a web application, you can also refer to it as an Online tool. You dont have to download anything to use this app. Some users refer to it as a more advanced version of MS Paint, which is fair, because the app looks similar to the Paint on your computer, but there are a lot more to it than what you see. There are a lot of easter eggs that you will unravel as you use this tool. You should go to queeky.com to use this tool.

MyPaint is one of the best software for artists. If you are professional, then you may feel annoyed by the fact that there most of the developers add features to their tool, but they dont improve the quality and range of brushes, which is what a professional needs. Well, MyPaint dealt with this problem and thats it MSP. Not online brush types, but also the algorithm which detects your strokes speed and pressure has been improved leaps and bound. However, we need to be real, you wont get features and quality similar to Adobe or any other paid app. But MyPaint is miles ahead of the competition in terms of nailing the basics. So, if thats what you want, go to mypaint.org and download the app.

These were some of the best free apps and tools that you can use for Digital Art.

A professional Digital Artist will use a range of tools for different purposes. Some of the most common tools used by the artists are Adobe Photoshop, ArtRage, OpenCanvas.However, you should check the apps mentioned earlier, and see if any of them is doing the trick for you.

It is not possible to point at one app as the clear winner. Each and every application has some good quality and also some features inferior to the others. And the beauty of free software is that you can try to test them and see how good or bad they are. What we would recommend you is to read descriptions of all the drawing apps and also of the online tools, narrow your choices down, and then install them and see what works for you and what does not. We made sure that these apps are not humongous in size, so as to not chug your data.

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Best free Online Tools and Software for creating Digital Art on Windows PC - TWCN Tech News

Free BSD Made Easy Releases New Report That Analyzes The Most Popular HR Software for Businesses in 2022 – Digital Journal

A newly released report by Free BSD Made Easy analyzes the most popular HR software for businesses in 2022. The companys experts produced the article that was published on Free BSD Made Easys website. The article served as a guide for business owners and managers looking for the most popular HR software for businesses in 2022.

This report was designed to review the best HR software used by businesses for 2022. There is a wide range of HR software available. Some software is designed specifically for smaller businesses, while others cater to larger organizations and multinational corporations. Finding the right software can be challenging. This report puts together the three best options for 2022.

The article focuses on the top software designed to aid HR managers in bringing efficiency and accuracy to their tasks. According to Free BSD Made Easy, their experts conducted meticulous market research to create the report. The report primarily focuses on the three best software that helps HR tasks by automating certain processes. It also includes an analysis of each software to help readers better decide which of the software best suits their business operations. To provide a comprehensive overview of the options, the report includes details on the various features of each of the software. Readers can find the full report here.

Since the launch of their site, Free BSD Made Easy has developed an extensive library of online resources that provides people with reviews, analyses, and guides, educating them about all the tools and knowledge needed to make informed decisions. This report was developed as part of the companys regular research on business software solutions. For more information on the best property management software, readers can visit their page: https://www.freebsdmadeeasy.com/best-property-management-software/.

HR processes become an easy, streamlined part of the workday using HR software. Business owners can customize many processes of the HR tasks using such software precisely. This article explores the various software solutions and picks the very best for business owners to consider, said Editor-in-Chief of Free BSD Made Easy, Clarence McDaniels. He believes businesses need to be equipped with the most suitable software, and for that, they need to be well-informed on business software.

The site aims to assist businesses in better managing their operations and streamlining their processes by providing resources on detailed research and reviews on business software and technology. Free BSD Made Easy offers information, advice, aids, and practical tips on business software applications, business technologies, services, and comparisons to aid businesses in their decision-making within the world of B2B.

In this modern digital era, businesses need to streamline their processes with the best software to stay on top of the game. Our experts carry out in-depth research to provide resources and the latest information on the best software solutions for businesses, said McDaniels. Readers can learn more about accounting software for small businesses, by visiting their page: https://www.freebsdmadeeasy.com/small-business-accounting-software-comparison/.

A comprehensive list of the resources available can be found by visiting Free BSD Made Easys website.

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For more information about Free BSD Made Easy, contact the company here:

Free BSD Made EasyClarence McDaniels[emailprotected]United States

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Free BSD Made Easy Releases New Report That Analyzes The Most Popular HR Software for Businesses in 2022 - Digital Journal

Invades The FLOSS Weekly Podcast | Hackaday – Hackaday

Regular Hackaday readers will know that were big supporters of free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) around these parts. Theres an excellent chance you are too, as so many of the incredible projects you send our way make it a habit to share their innermost details, from firmware source code to the OpenSCAD files that generate its 3D printed components. So when our recently minted Editor in Chief [Elliot Williams] was invited to join This Week in Techs FLOSS Weekly podcast, he jumped at the chance to represent our little corner of the Internet to the wider world of open source aficionados.

Hosted by [Doc Searls], FLOSS Weekly is known for its in-depth interviews with the most interesting and important people in the Open Source and Free Software community, so we hope the incursion by hacker rabble such as ourselves doesnt taint their brand too much.

Its live streamed every Wednesday at 12:30 PM Eastern / 9:30 AM Pacific / 17:30 UTC, which means that by the time this post hits the main page of the site, youve still got time to tune in. For those of you with gainful employment who cant slack off for an hour or so in the middle of the workweek, the recorded version will be available afterwards for your time-shifted viewing and or listening pleasure.

[Elliot] will be joined by Hackaday writer and regular co-host of FLOSS Weekly [Jonathan Bennett], making this something of a Jolly Wrencher double-feature. [Jonathan] has been providing readers with a regular peek into the other type of hacking with his fantastic This Week in Security column, and is himself a devout FOSS supporter with a particular passion for GNU/Linux. Were excited to listen in as the trio riffs on open source at the crossroads of hardware and software, not just because it promises to be an entertaining bit of programming, but because its a great opportunity to introduce the world of Hackaday to the wider open source audience.

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Invades The FLOSS Weekly Podcast | Hackaday - Hackaday

Why Nvidias bottom-up approach to the metaverse will win – VentureBeat

Did you miss a session from GamesBeat's latest event? Head over to the GamesBeat & Facebook Gaming Summit & GamesBeat Summit: Into the Metaverse 2 On Demand page here.

As Big Tech places more resources and funding in the metaverse, the most significant metaverse investment will be in empowering people to create in it. Nvidia kicked off 2022 with an announcement: It will be granting free licenses for its Omniverse software to artists and other creatives, who will help build virtual worlds for the metaverse. These licenses (which cost at least $9,000 annually for corporate customers) will be offered not to arts organizations but to individual creators. Theyre not being given away as charity, though; theyre an investment in the bottom-up, grassroots growth of the metaverse.

The brilliance of this move by Nvidia is its widescale empowerment of content producers. Its a welcome contrast to the control all the data approach inherent to Facebook/Meta. Everything Facebook does is inside a closed experience controlled by its engineers and admins.

In taking the opposite approach, Nvidia shows that it grasps the free spirit and creative energy that will help existing virtual worlds blossom into a connected and open metaverse. Nvidias graphics processing units (GPUs) already dominate in gaming and 3D simulation, setting the company up as a key player in the metaverse. If it is also successful in making Omniverse the dominant software platform for creating and sharing 3D designs inside a connected metaverse, its valuation will skyrocket.

Empowering individual creators, as Nvidia is doing, is essential to the metaverses success. Heres why:

Would you rather be a timberwolf or a toy poodle?

The timberwolf is the apex predator of its habitatit goes where it wants, eats what it wants, and all other animals respect it. But it can only thrive as long as it can sustain itself in its habitat.

In contrast, the toy poodle lives a kept life. Completely dependent on its owner to carry it around and feed it, the toy poodle has essentially no agency or power. However, it usually wants for nothing and always outlives the timberwolf.

Most of us are going to pick the timberwolf, because the idea of living a comfortable but captivated life sounds stifling. The artists, engineers and other creators whose work will make or break the metaverse are the same waythey want to be empowered to do creative work the way they see fit.

Nvidias grassroots approach treats creatives like timberwolves, providing them the habitat and tools they need to create, thrive, and make a living. In contrast, the top-down control of companies like Meta treats creatives like toy poodles who need to be supervised inside a closed environment. They monitor the everyday transactions of users to mine their data, and prevent creatives from coloring outside the lines or making money outside of an approved digital economy.

Its difficult to imagine what our world would be like without the work of artists and creatives. The latest plot developments on hit TV shows like Succession and Game of Thrones dominate our conversations. Designers influence everything from our fashion choices to how we decorate our homes. Musicians compose the tunes we hear in the background as we work, socialize, and relax.

So much of what it means to be human comes from art in all its forms. For the metaverse to take off as a true cultural phenomenon, we need visionary artists and creatives to fill it with real culture. That means empowering these creatives to make all kinds of content for virtual environments, from NFTs to music to livestreaming shows, and ensuring theyre fairly compensated for their work.

This is why Nvidias Omniverse software license giveaway to artists is such a big deal. Nvidia understands unleashing creative energy to make products and experiences in the metaverse is what will make it exciting and attractive to consumers. New arrivals in these virtual worlds will seek creative and artistic experiences that cant be found anywhere else. Besides making the metaverse a more lively and engaging place to spend time, this will also be crucial to establishing the commercial viability of any new virtual world.

And its not just artists who will benefit from this approach. As a longtime advocate for the open-source community, I can attest that the creative work of developers and software engineers will also be crucial to the success of the metaverse. By providing flexible tools without telling developers how they must use them, we can empower curious experts to experiment and iterate with whats possible in livestreaming and virtual environments.

In short, no company should seek to own the metaverse; rather they should strive to open up all thats possible within it. Lets all embrace our inner timberwolves, boldly exploring all the metaverse can be.

Jerod Venema is founder and CEO of real-time video communication company LiveSwitch.

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Why Nvidias bottom-up approach to the metaverse will win - VentureBeat