Software : Updated: Best free audio editing software: 8 programs we recommend |
- Updated: Best free audio editing software: 8 programs we recommend
- Mac Tips: Excel for Mac 2016: Six tips to master the new features
- Salesforce can now pull data from your refrigerator and thermostat
| Updated: Best free audio editing software: 8 programs we recommend Posted:  Introduction
Note: Our best free audio editing software round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in March 2013. Whether it's creating ringtones, tweaking the volume or trimming awkward silences, everyone needs a good audio editor occasionally. Finding the right package can be a challenge because there's such a vast selection of tools out there, ranging from the feeble and underpowered to the horribly complex. Don't worry, though, there's no need to investigate every audio editing option, because we've done it for you. We've cut, pasted, trimmed, normalised, re-encoded and generally played around with a host of audio tools – and these are some of the best desktop and mobile audio editors around.
Audacity 2.1.0
Audacity is a hugely popular open source audio editor for Windows, OS X and Linux. The program has built-in support for a good range of files – WAV, OGG, MP3, FLAC – and an optional FFMPEG-based library extends this to just about every audio format that's ever existed (it can even import video soundtracks). Basic operations work much like other editors. Open a file, its waveform is displayed, and you can select sections, cut, copy or paste them, maybe export the selection as some other format. Audacity's big plus is its wide range of effects. There are tools to reduce static, hiss or hum, adjust volume, change pitch without adjusting the tempo (or vice versa), remove vocals and more, as well as plugins to extend the program even further. Whether you're a beginner or an audio expert, there's plenty for you here. Ocenaudio 2.0.16
Ocenaudio stands out immediately for its well-designed interface. There's none of the dated clutter you get with most of the competition, just a few key buttons and an area to drop your target files. Despite this apparent simplicity, there's a great deal of power here. File management alone is exceptional: the program opens most audio or video formats (locally or via a URL), you can have several files open simultaneously, and it's easy to create new ones as required (make a selection, click Copy > Paste to New). You're able to have multiple selections active at the same time, then process them all simultaneously with a good range of effects. Export options include the ability to save audio files, upload them to an FTP server, or even create an iPhone ringtone. Ocenaudio doesn't have as many effects and high-end processing features as Audacity, but it's easier to use, and probably a better choice for audio editing beginners. It's available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Wavosaur 1.1
If you're tired of bloated software then Wavosaur might surprise you. It's a mere 289KB download for Windows, with no adware or installation required, yet still comes packed with tools to edit, process, record, analyse and convert audio files. There are problems here though. File format support is limited (mainly MP3, OGG and WAV), and even then you'll need to install something like the LAME encoder to save MP3s. The program hasn't been updated since 2013, either, so any bugs you find aren't likely to be fixed in the near future. Still, Wavosaur's core operations are easy enough to use. Click and drag to select a chunk of your file, then delete, copy or paste it somewhere – if you've ever used another Windows audio editor you'll feel at home soon enough. Wavosaur's lengthy feature list will intimidate beginners, but if you need plenty of audio processing power then it's worth downloading. mp3DirectCut 2.20
mp3DirectCut is a tiny (133KB) specialist MP3 editor and recorder for Windows which allows you to cut, copy, paste or adjust volume without re-encoding. That means there's no loss in sound quality, no matter how many edits you make. The program is seriously stripped back, and there are none of the high-end extras you'll see in the competition. No spectral view, no lengthy list of filters and effects, video import, VST rack, or anything else. Of course that also means mp3DirectCut is much easier to use, and there are still options to cut, copy, paste, trim and crop your samples, fade in and out, normalise audio and more. If your needs are simple, why waste your time trying to master anything else? Ringtone Maker
As you'll guess from the name, Ringtone Maker is mostly about creating ringtones. It can open MP3, WAV, AAC, MP4, 3GPP and AMR files, extract the chunk you need, then save it as a ringtone, alarm or notification, or even assign it to a contact. Despite the narrow focus, this Android app also has a solid set of more general audio editing features. It displays the waveform of your audio at multiple zoom levels – you're able to select sections, then preview, cut, copy or paste them, fade in or out, or just tweak the volume to suit your needs. There's plenty of scope for improvement, more editing features to be added, maybe conversions to something other than MP3. But Ringtone Maker delivers the basics well, and just might be all you need. Lexis Audio Editor
Lexis Audio Editor is a professional app which comes packed with audio processing features, far more than you get with most of the Android competition (plus this program is also available as a Windows 8 app). It opens with the usual waveform display, and you can select sections, cut, copy or paste them. But there are also options to fade in or out, change pitch, tempo or speed, normalise audio or reduce noise. A compressor and 10 band equaliser are on hand for more complex audio tweaking, and there are some useful tools for mixing one file or section with another. If you think that sounds too good to be true, there is a notable catch: the free trial version won't let you save your creations as MP3s. But you do get all the same editing features, as well as the ability to save your files as WAV, FLAC or WMA, and we think there's more than enough processing power here to be useful. Audio Editor Tool
Audio Editor Tool is a straightforward iOS app with such a familiar interface that you'll immediately feel at home. Open almost any audio format and the waveform will appear right away. You're able to select sections, of course, then copy and paste them, or trim them – cut something here, join something there, and save the results to your preferred format when you're done. You don't get any complex filters or high-end effects. Actually, there aren't any basic filters or low-end effects, either. And this free version has ads, which can get in the way. Audio Editor Tool handles simple tasks well, though, and if you're only looking for simple splicing or trimming then it's a good place to start. Hokusai Audio Editor
Hokusai Audio Editor has been around for a long time, and so it's no surprise that even the free edition has plenty of features. There's recording via your mic, line in or USB, as well as the usual audio imports. A smart interface uses standard gestures to zoom in, scroll, make selections and more. You'll be cutting, copying and pasting within seconds. Capable filters allow you to fade tracks in or out, adjust gain, normalise, generate white noise and more. There's also an option to edit left or right channels individually, and you can export to WAV or AAC. Paying to upgrade gets you an array of extra filters and effects, but there's more than enough here for most purposes, and this iOS app's excellent interface ensures you'll be productive right away. |
| Mac Tips: Excel for Mac 2016: Six tips to master the new features Posted:  The new Excel for Mac is here
After a long, long wait, the 2016 version of Microsoft Excel has finally arrived on Mac. Like the latest version of Word for Mac, Excel is available now to Microsoft Office 365 subscribers and will be coming later this month as a one-time purchase. The latest version of the popular spreadsheet application delivers a long list of new features including support for Retina Display, a streamlined user interface, full-screen view, and multitouch gestures. But that's only scratching the surface of what individual Office components like Excel 2016 have to offer, which is why we've compiled this gallery of six ways to improve your spreadsheet experience while learning a few tricks at the same time. Windows keyboard shortcuts
The dual-platform nature of Office 365 means some users will be required to jump between Windows (for work) and Mac (for home) — an experience that has been quite exasperating over the years when it comes to keyboard shortcuts. The good news is Excel 2016 has brought some sanity to this dilemma at long last, with many shortcuts that require the Windows CTRL modifier key now working the same way on the Mac. Most common functions like cut, copy, paste, undo, redo, and save also retain the equivalent Command key shortcut as well. Microsoft has a full list of Excel 2016 keyboard shortcuts on its support website, should you need a refresher. Formula Builder to the rescue
Those who use Excel day in and day out certainly don't need hand-holding when it comes to crunching numbers. For the rest of us, Excel 2016 introduces Formula Builder, a new feature that helps novice users overcome daring financial acrobatics with the greatest of ease. A click on Shift-F3 calls up this handy option, which offers the complete range of formulas, along with the kind of hand-holding novices need to overcome their unnatural fear of mathematical computations. Charts made simple
Converting a spreadsheet to a chart hasn't always been the most simple or intuitive task, even in an application as powerful as Excel. That's why Microsoft added a new Recommended Charts feature to Excel 2016, which assists in the process by offering suggestions for a chart based upon the data selected in the worksheet. To use it, click the Insert option on the Ribbon, highlight the data to be included, and click the Recommended Charts button; a drop-down menu serves up one or more samples of the chart Excel will create for you in just a click. From there, the chart is added to the spreadsheet for the user to do as they wish with it. Slice those PivotTables
We're not hardcore number crunchers that use PivotTables on a daily basis, but if we were, we'd probably be dancing on the ceiling over Excel 2016's new slicer tool. Now PivotTables can be set up with options to limit the type of data being viewed — for example, only displaying relevant data from specific years, category, or just about any other way you desire. This new feature can be initiated by clicking the Insert Slicer option when using PivotTable Analyze mode on the Ribbon. Analyze this
Most Excel users won't have a huge volume of data in any given spreadsheet, but those in the engineering or academic fields are another story entirely. Microsoft has come to their aid with an optional Analysis ToolPak, which can be enabled in Excel 2016 for Mac by heading to the Tools > Add-Ins menu, selecting the Analysis ToolPak option, and clicking OK. Doing so will add a new Data Analysis feature to the Tools menu, and from there you can scrutinize massive sets of data in a wide variety of different ways. Clean or green
You've seen the screenshots and may have wondered, "Why does their Excel 2016 window have a green header and mine is plain white?" Glad you asked. New to all Office 2016 applications is the ability to select themes, which can be found by navigating to the Excel > Preferences menu and clicking General. At the bottom Personalize section, you'll see a pulldown menu for Office theme, which is probably set to Classic by default. Select Colorful instead, and a pop-up will appear reminding you this choice applies to all Office apps; click OK and bask in the warm glow of forest pine green for Excel. |
| Salesforce can now pull data from your refrigerator and thermostat Posted:  Organizations that want to take advantage of outside-of-the-box customer data will be excited by Salesforce's latest release. The CRM giant has unveiled its Internet of Things Cloud, which is geared toward pulling in sales and service information from sensors and devices. Similar to how Salesforce has traditionally enabled businesses to log customer interaction data across smartphones, email, websites and web-based applications, the Internet of Things Cloud can gather data information from devices like refrigerators, lightbulbs and thermostats, among others. This means that any internet-connected device can provide organizations running Salesforce with information to respond to customer service inquiries, or to initiate upsell opportunities, without having to manually input data into the CRM system. Salesforce will leverage a new tool called Salesforce Thunder to gather and process all the data coming from the devices. The connected worldSalesforce has been a huge proponent of the Internet of Things, specifically in the wearable space. The San Francisco-based company was one of the first enterprise partners for the Apple Watch. Apple and Salesforce have co-developed more than 20 business-focused applications for the smartwatch, most of which focus on enabling customer service reps to more quickly gather information on customers in order to provide better feedback. With Thunder, Salesforce can now apply the same principles to devices that are connected to the web, but not necessarily worn or carried by customers and professionals. Why?The worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) market will increase 133% to $3.04 trillion (about £1.8 trillion, or au$3.3 billion) in 2020, according to IDC. The number of IoT-connected units will reach approximately 30 billion in 2020. Salesforce competitor Cisco has been an aggressive evangelist of IoT technology. over the past year, Cisco has invested $1 billion (about £605 million, or au$1.1 billion) to build out a network to tackle what it calls the Internet of Everything. |
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