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Posts tagged "over"
Tim Cook under fire over Final Cut Pro – and rightly so
Some of the world's top TV and film editors are not happy with Apple’s handling of Final Cut Pro – and they’re letting the company know about it.
In an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, over 100 production professionals are calling on the company to publicly commit to building the video editing software into an industry-standard tool.
The frustrated filmmakers praise Final Cut Pro (FCP) as “the biggest leap forward in editing technology since the move to digital” – before lambasting the company for failing to support the tool’s integration into professional film and TV production. Effectively, the authors believe FCP is strong enough to compete with the likes of Avid, but isn’t living up to its full potential.
Oscar-worthy?
Published on GoPetition, the letter states :“If Apple renewed its public commitment to the professional filmmaking industry and its visionary product, we believe an increasing number of editors would discover the joys of using Final Cut Pro.”
Ending with a pointed coda, the group bitterly notes that despite Apple TV+ recently becoming the first streaming platform to win the Best Picture Oscar, it’s unlikely the crew behind CODA would’ve chosen to edit the hit film with Final Cut Pro.
‘Plans for the future’
READ MORE
In a supporting statement, Galliano Olivier, editor on the French drama Marianne, explains: “In France, it is extremely difficult to get permission to edit TV with Final Cut Pro. You can’t use it without fighting producers, directors, post-production supervisors, sound editors.”
Knut Hake, editor for Netflix exclusive Bloody Red Sky, agrees, suggesting a public beta program for the video editing tool “would make a big difference for workflow consultants, systems integrators and third-party developers… it would make it much easier for people to fit Final Cut into their plans for the future.”
In a bid to increase platform adoption and tempt new editors over to FCP, the co-signatories also request the introduction of industry-specific features that have long been missing from the NLE software.
However, Apple may need to do more than release a few patches to make Final Cut Pro the professional editing software of choice. Steve Sanders, editor-in-chief for Fox’s War of the Worlds, highlights another major problem: lack of collaboration. He said, “editing big productions needs collaboration. Different users have to be able to access the same library at the same time. There is no way around this. Avid Media Composer does it and even DaVinci Resolve does it. Apple still targets the single user. They have to change that.”
The editors’ open letter comes just days after Apple released its latest version of Final Cut Pro. But it’ll take more than voice isolation, duplicate detection, and Mac Studio optimization to legitimize FCP in the eyes of the industry.
Feds: APTs Have Tools That Can Take Over Critical Infrastructure
Threat actors have developed custom modules to compromise various ICS devices as well as Windows workstations that pose an imminent threat, particularly to energy providers.
Threatpost
Outlook update will give you more control over those nagging notifications
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be difficult especially as notifications begin to pile up on your smartphone which is why Microsoft is rolling out a new update to its email service.
According to a new post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the software giant has updated its email client with new settings that make it easier to manage email notifications on mobile.
These new settings are now rolling out to smartphones running both Android and iOS so that Outlook users can stay on top of the things that matter to them and ignore the ones that don’t.
Upgrading Outlook for hybrid work
In a separate post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Microsoft has revealed that it will add working hours and location settings to Outlook later this summer.
Whether you’re still working from home or back at the office as part of your organization’s hybrid work model, you’ll soon be able to add your working hours and location in Outlook. This will allow your co-workers and others to know exactly when they can reach you so that they won’t need to worry about bothering you during your off hours.
Read more
While this feature was initially added to the Microsoft 365 roadmap back in December of last year, it will finally become generally available beginning in June of this year.
By allowing users to more easily manage their notifications and let others know where and for how long they plan to work each day, Microsoft is giving workers the tools they need to succeed in a hybrid working world.
Outlook update will give you more control over those nagging notifications
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be difficult especially as notifications begin to pile up on your smartphone which is why Microsoft is rolling out a new update to its email service.
According to a new post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the software giant has updated its email client with new settings that make it easier to manage email notifications on mobile.
These new settings are now rolling out to smartphones running both Android and iOS so that Outlook users can stay on top of the things that matter to them and ignore the ones that don’t.
Upgrading Outlook for hybrid work
In a separate post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Microsoft has revealed that it will add working hours and location settings to Outlook later this summer.
Whether you’re still working from home or back at the office as part of your organization’s hybrid work model, you’ll soon be able to add your working hours and location in Outlook. This will allow your co-workers and others to know exactly when they can reach you so that they won’t need to worry about bothering you during your off hours.
Read more
While this feature was initially added to the Microsoft 365 roadmap back in December of last year, it will finally become generally available beginning in June of this year.
By allowing users to more easily manage their notifications and let others know where and for how long they plan to work each day, Microsoft is giving workers the tools they need to succeed in a hybrid working world.
Send a Harry Styles preview track over an Instagram message in new update
Instagram has added three messaging improvements to its app that should make conversations easier to manage and more colorful.
The updates include the ability to quickly share a post, share a short clip of a music track, and customize the chat background to one that's not black and white anymore.
Meta's photo-sharing platform has been busy, recently enabling Instagram on the web, the return of the chronological feed, and a bigger focus on helping users message each other in easier ways.
These three features build on that last promise, especially in sharing posts without leaving your feed.
What do you get?
Quick send will enable you to hold down the share button on a post in your feed, and quickly send it to a friend or family member without going anywhere else in the app.
You can also share 30-second clips of music tracks from Apple Music, with Amazon Music and Spotify integration coming soon.
Finally, there's the new ability to change the background of the person you're chatting with, which means you can finally get rid of the black or white background. Instagram isn't breaking new ground here. WhatsApp chat has a similar feature.
But while some may think that these are minor updates, they're potentially substantial ones for those who use Instagram more than they use Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. With the ability to personalize your chat background and more easily share content through the main feed, it looks as though Instagram isn't done refining how you can message others on its app, and we may see more improvements in this area later this year.
Analysis: why do these updates matter?
Instagram CEO, Adam Mosseri promised toward the end of 2021 that there would be a bigger focus on messaging and now the platform is delivering on that promise.
Messaging friends and family on Instagram has become more common in recent years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing posts or just keeping in touch with those who only use Instagram has become a new standard for some users.
According to Instagram, 44% of its users are on the app to shop for products, so it's safe to assume that the majority would want to use messaging services to see where their purchases are, and if they want to receive special offers through the messaging side of Instagram.
However small these new features may sound for messaging, they leave us with the impression that this is an area of interest to Mosseri and the Instagram team. Granted, Meta also has Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp in the same category, but Instagram is on its own siloed island where you can't get the same content through these apps and Facebook.
Instagram has always set itself apart from others, building bespoke services like Instagram Stories, Reels, and shopping. Meta usually holds a yearly conference called Facebook F8, where it gives updates on its products and platforms. We may see a similar event this year but with a name change (we'd suggest “Meta8”). So, there's a good chance we may be hearing more about messages on Instagram in the near future.
DOJ Indicts Russian Gov’t Employees Over Targeting Power Sector
The supply-chain attack on the U.S. energy sector targeted thousands of computers at hundreds of organizations, including at least one nuclear power plant.
The tyranny of Microsoft Excel may finally be over
Spreadsheet software company Rows has launched a beta version of a new desktop application designed to undermine the dominance of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
The company released the beta in stealth back in December, but has now gone public with native applications for both Windows and macOS, TechRadar Pro can reveal.
Until now, Rows has been available exclusively as a web app, which had placed a limit on performance. However, the company says the new desktop clients will support complex and large-scale sheets as efficiently as the market leaders, as well as providing a foundation for some functionalities only available with Rows.
Spreadsheets, but different
The central ethos behind the Rows project is that the spreadsheet software market is ripe for disruption. The duopoly of Microsoft and Google has led to a dearth of innovation, the company believes, leaving the door wide open for an ambitious challenger.
“Let’s face it. Spreadsheets suck,” said Humberto Ayres Pereira, Rows co-founder and CEO. “The business world still runs on them but they’re slowing us down. Rows is bringing the beloved spreadsheet into the modern working world.”
The company has not been shy about its ambitions to topple the incumbents. As part of a recent marketing campaign, Rows rented billboard space close to the Microsoft headquarters and erected a sign that read: “Dear Microsoft, your spreadsheet has been at it for 36 years. It’s time to retire.” And Google was given the same treatment.
To understand what distinguishes Rows from every other spreadsheet software, we spoke to Renan Araújo, who is heading up the development of the desktop app. Although Rows features all the familiar spreadsheet functionality – cells, rows, columns, functions, tables etc. – the service differs from Excel and Sheets in a few crucial ways, he told us.
Most significantly, Rows has focused closely on the ability to integrate third-party APIs into spreadsheets, with little to no coding expertise required. In practice, this means someone could easily draw data from services as diverse as Twitter, Stripe and Google Analytics into their sheets, in a way that would require a mastery of Excel.
Rows spreadsheets can also be configured to update themselves at regular intervals. In an example shown to us by Araújo, a spreadsheet was set to update every 60 seconds with new pricing information from the Amazon marketplace, effectively allowing for real-time price comparison.
Another unique feature is the ability to turn Rows spreadsheets into simple web apps that can then be let loose on the public. For example, someone could turn a Rows sheet into a landing page that collects information from customers, without having to meddle with HTML and JavaScript or pay for a third-party service.
“Building spreadsheets is a kind of programming – it’s a visual programming language,” said Araújo. “But bringing this kind of flexibility to spreadsheets takes things to a whole other level.”
Elephant in the room
The main problem facing Rows is the extent to which Microsoft and Google services are embedded in the professional world, creating a platform effect that can be difficult to overcome.
Excel and Sheets are both just small parts of much wider software and services bundles that encompass email, productivity tools, calendaring, collaboration software, cloud storage, VPN and more.
In the case of Microsoft, the company is able to establish synergies between products that extend all the way out to the Windows operating system on which most business computers run.
As a result, companies like Rows must convince potential buyers that their service is not only on-par with existing apps, but also offers sufficient additional value to justify the extra line of expenditure on the balance sheet.
With fewer than 4,000 weekly users, Rows is currently a flea nipping at the heels of the giants. But the user base has expanded rapidly since the turn of the year, and the firm is confident in its growth prospects, despite the significant headwinds.
Read more
Asked why the company believes its spreadsheet software will succeed where others have failed, we were told that changing market conditions have combined with product innovation to create a window of opportunity for Rows.
“The evidence we see is that our two biggest innovations (built-in integrations and sharing as a website) are strong enough drivers to lead large teams to adopt a new spreadsheet,” said Henrique Cruz, Head of Growth at Rows.
“In the past 15 years have seen three very large changes in work setup (mobile-first, APIs and explosion of SaaS, and async first), and we are the first company building a pure spreadsheet for this new world.”
To close the gap on the likes of Microsoft and Google, Rows will rely largely on virality. In other words, the company intends to let its product speak for itself.
Like other SaaS offerings, Rows is available for free to those that want to dip a toe in the water. And although the desktop beta is missing a handful of features (e.g. tables), the company says it aims to achieve parity with the web service by the end of the year.
- Also check out our list of the best accounting software
The tyranny of Microsoft Excel may finally be over
Spreadsheet software company Rows has launched a beta version of a new desktop application designed to undermine the dominance of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
The company released the beta in stealth back in December, but has now gone public with native applications for both Windows and macOS, TechRadar Pro can reveal.
Until now, Rows has been available exclusively as a web app, which had placed a limit on performance. However, the company says the new desktop clients will support complex and large-scale sheets as efficiently as the market leaders, as well as providing a foundation for some functionalities only available with Rows.
Spreadsheets, but different
The central ethos behind the Rows project is that the spreadsheet software market is ripe for disruption. The duopoly of Microsoft and Google has led to a dearth of innovation, the company believes, leaving the door wide open for an ambitious challenger.
“Let’s face it. Spreadsheets suck,” said Humberto Ayres Pereira, Rows co-founder and CEO. “The business world still runs on them but they’re slowing us down. Rows is bringing the beloved spreadsheet into the modern working world.”
The company has not been shy about its ambitions to topple the incumbents. As part of a recent marketing campaign, Rows rented billboard space close to the Microsoft headquarters and erected a sign that read: “Dear Microsoft, your spreadsheet has been at it for 36 years. It’s time to retire.” And Google was given the same treatment.
To understand what distinguishes Rows from every other spreadsheet software, we spoke to Renan Araújo, who is heading up the development of the desktop app. Although Rows features all the familiar spreadsheet functionality – cells, rows, columns, functions, tables etc. – the service differs from Excel and Sheets in a few crucial ways, he told us.
Most significantly, Rows has focused closely on the ability to integrate third-party APIs into spreadsheets, with little to no coding expertise required. In practice, this means someone could easily draw data from services as diverse as Twitter, Stripe and Google Analytics into their sheets, in a way that would require a mastery of Excel.
Rows spreadsheets can also be configured to update themselves at regular intervals. In an example shown to us by Araújo, a spreadsheet was set to update every 60 seconds with new pricing information from the Amazon marketplace, effectively allowing for real-time price comparison.
Another unique feature is the ability to turn Rows spreadsheets into simple web apps that can then be let loose on the public. For example, someone could turn a Rows sheet into a landing page that collects information from customers, without having to meddle with HTML and JavaScript or pay for a third-party service.
“Building spreadsheets is a kind of programming – it’s a visual programming language,” said Araújo. “But bringing this kind of flexibility to spreadsheets takes things to a whole other level.”
Elephant in the room
The main problem facing Rows is the extent to which Microsoft and Google services are embedded in the professional world, creating a platform effect that can be difficult to overcome.
Excel and Sheets are both just small parts of much wider software and services bundles that encompass email, productivity tools, calendaring, collaboration software, cloud storage, VPN and more.
In the case of Microsoft, the company is able to establish synergies between products that extend all the way out to the Windows operating system on which most business computers run.
As a result, companies like Rows must convince potential buyers that their service is not only on-par with existing apps, but also offers sufficient additional value to justify the extra line of expenditure on the balance sheet.
With fewer than 4,000 weekly users, Rows is currently a flea nipping at the heels of the giants. But the user base has expanded rapidly since the turn of the year, and the firm is confident in its growth prospects, despite the significant headwinds.
Read more
Asked why the company believes its spreadsheet software will succeed where others have failed, we were told that changing market conditions have combined with product innovation to create a window of opportunity for Rows.
“The evidence we see is that our two biggest innovations (built-in integrations and sharing as a website) are strong enough drivers to lead large teams to adopt a new spreadsheet,” said Henrique Cruz, Head of Growth at Rows.
“In the past 15 years have seen three very large changes in work setup (mobile-first, APIs and explosion of SaaS, and async first), and we are the first company building a pure spreadsheet for this new world.”
To close the gap on the likes of Microsoft and Google, Rows will rely largely on virality. In other words, the company intends to let its product speak for itself.
Like other SaaS offerings, Rows is available for free to those that want to dip a toe in the water. And although the desktop beta is missing a handful of features (e.g. tables), the company says it aims to achieve parity with the web service by the end of the year.
- Also check out our list of the best accounting software
Most Orgs Would Take Security Bugs Over Ethical Hacking Help
A new survey suggests that security is becoming more important for enterprises, but they’re still falling back on old “security by obscurity” ways.
Threatpost