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Amazon Web Services Inc. today introduced a new version of Snowball Edge, its system for running edge computing workloads and migrating data to the cloud, that features more powerful silicon as well as additional management tools.

AWS launched the first Snowball device in 2015 as a way for enterprises to move large amounts of records to its public cloud. A company could order a system to its data center, load it up with data and ship it to the nearest AWS facility. Snowball Edge (pictured) serves this function as well, but it can also double as an edge computing platformfor runningapplications in environments such as factories and ships.

AWS refreshed the so-called Storage Optimized variant of the device as part of todays upgrade. The company has added in a 3.2-gigahertz processor that doubles the systems computing power and provides a total of 40 virtual central processing units, or vCPUs, for local cloud instances. A vCPU is a unit of processing power used by AWS that usually corresponds to one thread in a physical processor core.

The upgraded Snowball Edge also features other hardware improvements. In addition to the 80 TB of storage for data processing and data transfer workloads, theres now 1 TB of SATA SSD storage that is accessible to the EC2 instances that you launch on the device, AWS Chief Evangelist Jeff Barr wrote in a blog post. Companies can combine up to12 Snowball Edge devicesto assemble an edgecomputing cluster with a petabyte of storage capacity.

For cloudmigration use cases, in turn,the device provides 25% faster data transfer speeds. This is made possible by a new 100 Gigabit QSFP+ network adapter in the chassis, Barr detailed.

AWS will ship the upgraded hardware with a number of new software capabilities. Theres now a visual management console administrators can use to perform tasks such as configuring the device, while an integration with AWS Systems Manager service makes it possible to write scripts to automate maintenance chores.

Capping off the update is an access control tool meant to boost cybersecurity. According to AWS, it allowcompanies to manage which user can access whatresource in situations where multiple employees are using the same Snowball Edge deployment.

This is an attempt by AWS to get more infrastructure from on-prem to their cloud, Marty Puranik, chief executive of cloud hosting solutions provider Atlantic.Net, told SiliconANGLE. They are working to get better product-market fit, based on customer feedback, of improvements they needed to make. It looks like security and compliance were key in getting adoption of this product going.

Edge computingis a priority for AWS rivals as well. Microsoft Corp. offers Azure Stack appliances companies can deploy on-premises and Google LLC hasGlobal Mobile Edge Cloud, which allows telecommunications customers to run applications not just in its main cloud data centers but also its 130-plus edge locations.

With reporting from Robert Hof

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AWS doubles the performance of its Snowball Edge device and adds new software - SiliconANGLE

Popular DJ and music production software company Serato has released an update to its Serato Studio DAW, and it comes with a big change: theres now a free edition. This free edition is feature-limited, but it does let you make, save, and export tracks.

Serato Studio is a digital audio workstation like Ableton or Logic, but it has features that are geared toward DJs and beat-makers. It integrates with Seratos DJ software so you can quickly make edits or mashups of tracks you already have. It also includes DJ-style channel mixing strips and works with Serato DJ-compatible controllers, so DJs can use them to make music with Serato Studio.

The free edition of Serato Studio has most of the functionality of the full edition, but with restricted use. The amount of audio sources you can work on at one time is limited, you can only export tracks as a single MP3 file, and automation is disabled.

The free edition probably isnt a good solution for someone who wants to make robust tracks that use a lot of audio sources. But it could be useful for beginners and DJs who want to alter songs for use in live performances. We wanted to offer the best tool for people to start making beats and DJ edits, Nick Maclaren, chief strategy officer at Serato, said in a statement. Just load up an acapella or full track to chop up, make a mashup, or create a quick intro edit so its ready for your DJ sets.

Serato Studio is also getting other updates today. A new auto chord mode lets you play chords in the key of your project by pressing any note, and a Feel parameter will adjust the timing and velocity of the chords individual notes to make it sound more natural. There are also a handful of minor improvements around quantizing and layout.

Any time is a good time for freebies, but theyre especially welcome now as much of the world is stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of other companies have issued temporary free offers as of late, but this one is nice since its a permanent move.

Serato Studios free edition can be downloaded now. If you want to upgrade, the full edition of Serato Studio has a 14-day trial and is available as a $10-per-month subscription or a one-time cost of $199.

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Serato now has a free edition of its music-making software - The Verge

NiceLabel, a label design software and management systems specialist, has launches a special initiative for organizations that have joined the fight against Covid-19 by offering subscriptions of its cloud-based labelling technology as well as its technical consulting services free of charge.

NiceLabel has launched the non-commercial and non-profit-based initiative in order to help organizations get much needed deliveries of medical equipment and supplies such as respirators, disinfectants, masks or other critical supplies to those in need as quickly as possible.

Having the cloud-based labelling technology in place will enable these producing new labels quickly and rapidly add them to the packaging used on new product lines to ensure that equipment and materials arrive on the front line without delay.

Organizations likely to qualify include manufacturers re-focusing on the production of critical healthcare supplies, farms and other food producers who must meet new labeling requirements to supply critical food to supermarkets, hospitals and other organizations involved in fighting Covid-19.

In delivering a free labelling technology, NiceLabel will engage with them both directly and, where appropriate, through value added resellers and other IT partners.

Ken Moir, vice president of marketing at NiceLabel said: We wanted to help eliminate any delays in the delivery of supplies by ensuring that labelling is never an obstacle to getting critical items to the front line as fast as possible. Our multi-tenant cloud platform allows us from a remote location to get labelling anywhere around the world - and to do it ultra-fast.

We plan to use our capability to help manufacturers rapidly switch their product lines to key equipment and products needed in the fight against COVID-19 and to support the rapid delivery of those supplies to those battling this new virus on the front line. We are here to help, so we would encourage any organization seeking out labelling support as they look to get key materials and equipment deliveries out to those who need it most, to get in touch with us today.

Organizations needing help with labelling during the COVID-19 outbreak should register their interest at https://www.nicelabel.com/covid19.

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NiceLabel provides free software to help with Covid-19 crisis - Labels and Labeling

Microsoft has announced that it will assist all UK schools in getting set up for remote learning, in order to help students continue to learn while at home.

The company has pledged to work with the 27,000 schools in the UK, helping them run lessons remotely using Microsoft Teams, Office 365, as well as softwaresuch as Minecraft: Education Edition, Flipgrid, Skype in the Classroom and InTune.

The tools are available to use on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and browsers, and focus on encouraging teamwork by allowing collaborations, communication and file sharing in real-time. Microsoft emphasised that the toolsoffer a safe and secure learning environment, using intelligent security features enhanced by machine learning to protect data and identities.

Microsoft UKs director of education, Chris Rothwell, praised teachers for showing incredible resilience, imagination, and passion to ensure that they can help keep children safe and can keep learning while they at home.

Technology is helping teachers keep in touch with students and to maintain a connection to the school and each other, he said. This offer to support any school get fully set up for remote learning is so that every school and pupil can benefit, and that learning can continue while schools are closed.

In order to support teaching staff, Microsoft has also launched webinars aiming to promote the benefits of Teams. The topics covered include creating an online classroom, keeping students engaged with online meetings, as well as assisting IT Administrators in setting up Teams for online collaboration.

Schools across the UK have been closed since 20 March, allowing only vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers, such as NHS staff, to attend. Latest reports indicate that schools are not planning to reopen after Easter break.

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Microsoft offers free software to UK schools battling the coronavirus lockdown - Cloud Pro

More free, discounted tech for governments responding to COVID-19

Cloud contributions

Splunk is offering a free program, Remote Work Insights, to help new and existing federal, state and local government agency customers manage applications, monitor business performance and secure networks from remote locations. RWI provides real-time visibility across multiple disparate systems, such as VPN and Microsoft 365, alongside executive-level dashboards to boost productivity of mission-critical activities. RWI can be used as a standalone dashboard and platform for best practices or as an add-on for current Splunk customers. Read more here.

Digital Ocean, a cloud infrastructure provider, is donating $100,000 in infrastructure credits as well as promotion and publicity for new, not-for-profit projects related to COVID-19. Examples of potential projects include applications or online resources designed toeducate, coordinate help ortrack the virus; hackathonsor virtual challenges; tools that support online education; or projects that help small businesses impacted by the virus. More here.

Researchers working on COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines can apply for a free license to Lifebit Biotechs Lifebit CloudOS, an end-to-end fully federated cloud operating system specifically engineered for life sciences data access, collaboration, and analysis.

Other free cloud resources for COVID-19 applications can be found here.

Security

Identity, an intelligent identity solutionprovider for the enterprise, is offering new customers six months of free cloud single sign-on and multi-factor authentication services for unlimited applications. More info here.

BlackBerry will be offering a range of its secure communication solutions, including SecuSUITE for Government, free of charge for a 60-day period to help organizations manage and secure remote employees.Read more here.

Transit infrastructure

To support cities and businesses that deliver transportation services, Ford Mobility subsidiaries TransLoc, Ride Systems and DoubleMap are offering transit agencies free consulting and demand-response software to help them quickly deploy a responsive service to support evolving rider needs and adhere to quickly-changing health guidelines.Apply here.

Traffic analytics company StreetLight Data is offering free access to its new Vehicles Miles Traveled application to help transportation planners measure the transportation-related impact of the pandemic on communities that depend on gas taxes for revenue. StreetLight worked with Cuebiq, a location intelligence firm to transform GPS data into contextualized, aggregated and normalized travel patterns and build deep repositories of historical VMT data. The map and data will be accessible for free to all planners, researchers and engineers, as well as the general public and StreetLight's current customers.

Communications and outreach

Email solutions provider Validity announced Validity for Good, a free crisis communications program for government agencies and organizations that send critical emails, such as those related to the coronavirus pandemic. With Validity for Good, agencies and organizations are temporarily granted access to the companys email delivery certification offeringthat gives email campaigns trusted treatment to help ensure that critical emails related to public safety and COVID-19 arrive in inboxes, not spam folders.

Aisera, an AI-enabled customer experience company, announced that it is offering its remote working virtual assistant and collaboration app free for 60 days to help health care organizations, government agencies and businesses provide customer service during the global pandemic. More here.

Granicus, a provider of cloud-based citizen engagement services for the public sector, announced a new set of easily embeddable web tools that aggregate, curate and present COVID-19 content from trusted government sources for widespread community access. These FedRAMP authorized tools are free for a limited time and are available to any local, state or federal government organization to use on their website for COVID-19 related communications. More info.

High performance help

D-Wave Systems, a manufacturer of quantum computers, is offering free access to its Leap 2 hybrid quantum cloud service to anyone whos working on responses to the coronavirus outbreak in the 35 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia where access is available. Leap 2 includes the hybrid solver service designed to bring both classical and quantum resources to quickly and precisely solve highly complex problems with up to 10,000 fully connected variables.

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More free, discounted tech for governments responding to COVID-19 - GCN.com