Mediaboss Marketing

Eagle Technology Media Release

AUCKLAND 29th March 2017

Students in both primary and secondary education in New Zealand now have free access to Esris ArcGIS Online software through the roll-out of a multimillion dollar enablement program to schools across America, Europe and now Australia and New Zealand. ArcGIS Onlinelets students and teachers explore and analyse data using maps. Eagle Technology, distributor for Esri in New Zealand and the South Pacific launched the Esri Program for Schools with an announcement at the Auckland Regional Esri User Conference today.

Mark Allan, CEO, Eagle Technology, says the free software brings the same technology widely used in both government and the private sector to the classroom.

In 2014 Esris founder and President, Jack Dangermond, joined then-president Barack Obamas ConnectED program. The 2013 initiative sought to make American schools more technologically savvy, and encouraged private technology companies to make in-kind contributions to the programme. Esris offer to donate ArcGIS Online to every school in the United States has resulted in the uptake by more than 4000 schools, and has encouraged Dangermond to take it to other parts of the world as the Esri Program for Schools.

Students can access instructional materials for using ArcGIS online, and explore data related to topics including World Population, Tropical Storms and Interpreting the Landscape (using topographic maps of NZ National Parks). At launch, there will be twelve exercises, or geoinquiries, adapted by Eagle for the New Zealand education curriculum, in addition to global content.

Says Allan, Whereas GIS is strongly associated with geography, it has a much wider application as a system of record, engagement and insight in real world environments for business but also for how we live in our communities. It is being used to manage the environment, but also right down to tackling human problems such as poverty and crime. Esri refers to its GIS as The Science of Where. Students may be introduced to GIS through geography or history in a school, but may find it embedded in their future careers through many different channels.

More about Esri Program for Schools

ENDS

About Eagle Technology Group Eagle Technology Group Ltd is a privately held New Zealand-owned systems integration and information management company established since 1969. It has approximately 90 employees with offices in Auckland and Wellington. Eagle Technology has a has a long-established and successful geospatial technology practice in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related technologies, as well as a unique understanding of on premise ICT infrastructure, communications and Field Force Management, managed services expertise and Cloud applications. Eagle Technology is the distributor for global software leader Esris ArcGIS platform in New Zealand and the South Pacific. Its traditional client base is in government, local government and enterprise class commercial organisations.

Scoop Media

View original post here:
Roll-out of free GIS software for schools | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

While about 70 percent of taxpayers are eligible to file their returns for free online, fewer than 3 percent of them take advantage of the IRS Free File program.

IRS Free File, which began in 2003, is a partnership between the IRS and a group of private tax preparation companies that allows taxpayers to prepare and file their taxes for free online.

A lot of people get scared when you start talking IRS, said Jim Argo, an AARP tax-aide volunteer of 13 years, who helped people file taxes Thursday at Peru Public Library. Probably a lot of them would be eligible for Free File, but a lot of them are intimidated by the internet.

Judy Bence, 68, of La Salle is a match for that description.

No, I dont file alone or online. That scares me, said Bence, who filed her taxes with the assistance of AARP tax-aide volunteer Linda Reff. Im not a tax-filing person. Ive never done it on my own.

Bence has toyed with the idea before and done research, but she came away overwhelmed.

I looked at it one time, and I was like, Ahh!. Bence said throwing her hands up.

She has been getting help from AARP with her taxes for the past five years.

Filing online alone can be daunting for members of younger tech-savvy generations too even those who have used Free File before.

Ryan Wetsel, 25, of La Salle who was also getting free tax help said things are just easier with the assistance of someone who knows what theyre doing.

I have filed online before, he said. It was through one of the free websites. The last two times I tried to do it myself it kept getting returned. I just decided this was easier. I tried it, then it never worked again.

According to tax-filing statistics, most people agree with Bence and Wetsel.

Fifty-eight percent of responses to a poll on http://www.newstrib.com said they dont file their taxes alone, and things are even more lopsided across the county.

Nationally, 112 million people filed income taxes in 2014, the most recent year on record on the IRS website, and few used Free File.

Around 3 million taxpayers a year use Free File, about the same number of taxpayers who use free volunteer tax prep assistance through our 12,000 locations operated by community organizations, said Anthony Burke with the IRS.

That number is also kept low by cannibalization from Free File Alliance members.

When Free File began in 2003, it was the only free software program available, Burke said. Today, many of the brand-name software providers, who also are members of Free File, offer free software outside of the Free File umbrella.

Free file qualifications

If youre wondering if you qualify for Free File ahead of Tax Day, April 18, this is what you need to know.

Taxpayers who make $64,000 or less 70 percent of taxpayers are eligible to use Free File brand-name software products, Burke said. Taxpayers who make more than $64,000 can use Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms.

Taxpayers can access the forms at irs.gov/uac/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free.

This year, the Free File pages are optimized for various devices, which means taxpayers can now use their mobile phones and tablets, as well as their computers, to prepare and e-file their taxes, Burke said.

Eligibility guidelines are different for each of the 12 Free File partner companies. Their criteria is generally based on income, age and state residency.

Several offer both free federal and free state return software, Burke said. Active duty military personnel who make $64,000 or less can use any of the 12 software products they want.

Free local help through the AARP

While the AARP is most often associated with seniors, Argo said tax-aide volunteers with the organization help people in any age bracket.

He said volunteers are at Peru Public Library from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, Mendota Area Senior Center 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and Bridges Community Center in Ottawa 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays.

More AARP tax-aide site locations can be found online at https://secure.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/searchTaxAideLocations.action.

Ben Hohenstatt can be reached at (815) 220-6932 or perureporter@newstrib.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_Peru.

Read more from the original source:
Free file fear keeps tax preppers busy - LaSalle News Tribune

Microsoft Security Essentials, the free Microsoft antivirus software for Windows Vista and Windows 7, has always been a firm "better than nothing" option. That may have finally changed, if the latest evaluation from AV-TEST is any indication.

Credit: Microsoft

The German lab's latest twice-yearly Windows 7 results are in, and while Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) still isn't the best way to secure your computer, it's within spitting distance of the top spot. (Usual contenders such as Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab, Norton and Trend Micro took top honors, but you probably could have guessed that.)

AV-TEST conducts regular evaluations of antivirus software on a variety of operating systems. Up until now, the company's results have been deservedly unkind to MSE (and to its Windows 8.1/10 sibling, Windows Defender), dinging it for poor antivirus protection, even though the free Microsoft program's usability and system impact are often pretty good.

In the latest round of tests, however, MSE scored a very respectable 16.5 out of a possible 18: five in Performance, 5.5 in Protection and a perfect 6 in Usability. The program blocked at least 99.3 percent of widespread threats, and an impressive 100 percent of zero-day vulnerabilities, in two rounds of evaluations conducted in January and February.

MORE: Best Antivirus Software and Apps

Still, if you're looking for the absolute best protection that money can buy, you'll have to go with Bitdefender Internet Security, Kaspersky Internet Security, Norton Security or Trend Micro Internet Security, all of which got perfect scores of 18. F-Secure Safe and Quick Heal Total Security were right behind them, with 17.5 each. All six programs earned AV-TEST's "Top Product" honors. (All Windows antivirus packages from those vendors should offer the same level of protection.)

At the other end of the spectrum, Microworld eScan Internet Security Suite, Intel McAfee Internet Security Suite and Comodo Internet Security Premium scored 15, 14.5 and 13 points respectively. Each one earned a good-enough-for-government-work 4 out of 6 in Security, but fell down on the Performance and Usability Sections.

The home screen of Microsoft Security Essentials. Credit: Microsoft

Aside from Microsoft, all the other programs tested fell between 16.5 and 14.5: AhnLab V3 Internet Security, Avast Free Antivirus, AVG Internet Security, Avira Antivirus Pro, BullGuard Internet Security, ESET Internet Security, G Data InternetSecurity, K7 Computing Total Security and ThreatTrack VIPRE Internet Security Pro. If you have any of these programs, you probably don't need to worry much about your system's security.

In fact, even if you have the three lowest-ranking programs, you're probably still protected pretty well. Every program scored at least a 10 across the board, which earns it an AV-TEST Certification and (at least tentative) recommendation. However, MSE, which can be downloaded for Windows 7 and Windows Vista here, did better than each in the malware-protection sector.

Whichever program you choose, just be sure you protect your system somehow. No matter how careful you are online, its unlikely that you can avoid every single misleading link, phishing scheme, malicious popup and hidden malvertisement that comes your way, and an AV suite is much cheaper than losing all your files.

Read this article:
Free Microsoft Antivirus Software Finally Does Good Job - Tom's Guide

Why use text-to-speech?

There are lots of reasons to use text-to-speech (TTS) software. It can be enormously helpful for anyone who's visually impaired, or has a condition like dyslexia that makes reading on screens tricky. Text-to-speech can also help overcome language barriers for people who read a language but don't speak it, or are in the process of learning.

TTS is also ideal if you want to listen to a document while doing something else, if you find it easier to retain information you've heard, or if you want to sense-check something you've written.

In years gone by, TTS software was rather expensive, but these days there are excellent available free of charge. Of course, there are still plenty that you can pay for, but in many cases you should be able to get by with a program that doesnt cost you a penny.

Here are the best free tools for reading text aloud either individual paragraphs or whole documents.

Balabolka can read your documents in six voices, then save the audio with handy bookmarks

There are a couple of ways to use Balabolka: you can either copy and paste text into the program, or you can open a number of supported file formats (including DOC, PDF, and HTML) in the program directly. In terms of output you can use SAPI 4 complete with eight different voices to choose from, SAPI 5 with two, or the Microsoft Speech Platform if you download and install the necessary files.

Whichever route you go down, you can adjust the speech, pitch and volume of playback to create custom voice. In addition to reading aloud text, the program can also save narrations as audio files in a range of formats including .mp3 and .wav. For lengthy documents you can create bookmarks to make it easy to jump back to a specific location and there are excellent tools on hand to help you to customize the pronunciation of words to your liking. Balabolka is best free TTS software around.

Download here: Balabolka

A Microsoft Word extension that brings customizable TTS to your favorite word processor

Developed by the University of Edinburgh, WordTalk is a toolbar add-on for Word that brings customizable text-to-speech to Microsoft's word processor. It works with all versions of Word right up to the 2016 edition, and is accessible via the toolbar or ribbon depending on which version you're using.

The toolbar itself is certainly not the most attractive you'll ever see, appearing to have been designed by a child. Nor are all of the buttons' functions very clear, but thankfully there is a help file on hand to help.

There's no getting away from the fact that WordTalk is fairly basic, but it does support SAPI 4 and 5 voices, and these can be tweaked to your liking. The ability to just read aloud individual words, sentences or paragraphs is a particularly nice touch. You also have the option of saving narrations, and there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that allow for quick and easy access to frequently used options.

Download here: WordTalk

Novel text-to-speech software with built-in OCR and its own dedicated web browser

Natural Reader can be used in a couple of ways. The first option is to load documents into its library and have them read aloud from there. This is a neat way to manage multiple files, and the number of supported file types is impressive, including ebook formats. There's also OCR, which enables you to load up a photo or scan of text, and have it read to you.

The second option takes the form of a floating toolbar. In this mode, you can highlight text in any application and use the toolbar controls to start and customize text-to-speech this means you can very easily use the feature in your web browser, word processor and a range of other programs. There's also a built-in browser to convert web content to speech more easily.

Download here: Natural Reader

Despite its basic looks, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader has more to offer than you might first think. You can open numerous file formats directly in the program, or just copy and paste text.

Alternatively, as long as you have the program running and the relevant option enables, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can read aloud any text you copy to the clipboard great if you want to convert web sites to speech as well as dialog boxes that pop up Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can also convert text files to WAV format.

Unfortunately the selection of voices is limited, and the only settings you can customize are volume and speed unless you burrow deep into settings to fiddle with pronunciations. Additional voices are available for a US$25 fee (about 20, AU$30), which seems rather steep.

Download here: Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader

Panopreter Basic lives up to its name, delivering text-to-speech conversion without frills. The list of supported file types is a little disappointing (no DOCX, for instance), as is the level of voice customization. Aside from choosing a language, volume and speed, there's nothing to adjust. When you compare this to the range of personalisation that can be achieved in other text-to-speech program, it's a little disappointing.

You do have the option of converting text to WAV format so you can listen to it when on the move, but it's a shame to find that MP3 isn't supported. The dual-pane layout of the program isn't particularly pleasant to work with either; it feels like there is a lot of space wasted unless you happen to be both listening to text-to-speech conversion there and then, and also converting to audio file. It gets the job done, but there are better tools out there.

Download here: Panopreter Basic

Read the original here:
The best free text-to-speech software 2017 - TechRadar

MAGIX Samplitude Pro Full Version is excellent music editing software. It includes different music instruments features which help to create amazing music files in short time. Its latest music features will shine skills for creating background music files. MAGIX Samplitude []

Macromedia FreeHand Latest Versionis the system software for creating 2D vector graphics that are oriented on processional illustration, content creation, desktop publishing and Web. It can be used in scope, functionality to Adobe illustration and intended market. Macromedia FreeHand Crackalso []

F-Secure Internet Security Latest Version is the best internet security software which provides virus protection, VPN control, data theft, malware protection, and phishing activities. F-Secure Internet Security Crack secures online bank and money transactions. F-Secure Internet Security Serial Number becomes []

Lumion Pro Latest Version is excellent graphics software. It helps to design sketch and models of any construction project. Lumion Pro Crack helps to draw the sketch of houses, interiors, and exterior designs. Lumion Pro Keygenis best for creating free []

AVS Video Converter Latest Version is the best multimedia software. It converts all formats of videos, recordings, movies, and cartoons in any format of videos. Its advanced interface will save time to select your required video format in a single []

Acronis Disk Director Latest Version is excellent hard disk managing software. You can easily manage disk and volumes without any effort. This easy to use software is best for multitasking like volume recovery, disk cleaning, partition management, and formatting. Acronis []

Kakasoft Folder Protector Full Version is software which keeps folders protected. You have to use three main features to lock folder and files. These main three methods are lock, scramble, and encrypt. The best thing which I found in Kakasoft []

Movie Label Full Version is the best multimedia software to arrange videos and movies in required sequence. Users can easily organize movies list with Title, category, and the manufacturing year, etc. Movie Label Crack helps to arrange videos of BDs, []

Rhino Latest Version is excellent graphics designing software. It helps to design CAM, CAD, and CAE designs. Rhino Crack is the best graphics software for all kind of users like students, architects, engineers, and graphics designers. It will solve problems []

Virtual DJ Pro Latest Version is the best software to mix two or more audio files in the single file. The file which you mix with Virtual DJ Pro Crack has high-quality audio sounds. The features and functions of its []

Avid Sibelius Latest Versionis the best music editing software. You can use this music software anywhere anytime. Its usage is very fast and simple. Avid Sibelius Crack offers the friendly and advanced environment to edit videos and music files. It []

Overloud TH3 FullVersion is excellent software to manage sounds of any format of music files or audio tracks. It improves the performance of live shows and music parties. Overloud TH3 Crack saves time to edit sounds of low pitch tracks. []

Tipard DVD Cloner Full Version is excellent software to colon all kind of video files on Blu-ray and DVDs. It helps to create ISO files, Copy DVD, Backup DVD, and many others functions are including in this software. Tipard DVD []

Norton Antivirus Latest Version is best security software for Window Tabs, PC, Mac, smartphones, Android, and iOS devices. It is only security software which protects your online transaction which you have done from any mentioned devices. Norton Antivirus Crack will []

Winutilities Pro Latest Version is excellent PC optimization software. It optimizes the performance and the speed of slow working Windows. Winutilities Pro Crack improves the performance of devices which are attached to PC. This software helps to remove junk files []

View original post here:
F4F Free Full Software