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EMAIL FULL OF FREELANCE JOBS If you don’t subscribe to Sian Meades-Williams’ superb weekly e-newsletter of freelance opportunities, you’re missing out. The author of freelance survival guide The Pyjama Myth curates this email to include a wide range of publications and article types, from one-offs to internships to book commissions. It’s free but, for £3 a month, you can support it plus you’ll receive the newsletter two days early.
www.sianmeadeswilliams. com/freelance-writing-jobs
MARKETING: LEARN WITH GOOGLE If you’re running your own publication, getting your name out there can be difficult. If digital marketing isn’t your thing, grab some free help from Google. Google Garage offers free training on skills to turn your fledgling blog into a popular news destination. There are 160 modules from the basics to expanding internationally, plus courses on wellbeing. https://learndigital.
withgoogle.com/
APOLOGY FROM EUFY SECURITY Finally, I wanted to clarify an earlier review. We recommended Eufy Security products because data is stored locally instead of in the cloud. It has emerged that in some situations, such as facial recognition, images are sent to Eufy’s servers. The company has apologised for not making this clear and added a warning to the app. I still rate the products but felt we should make that clear.
uk.eufy.com
20 | theJournalist FREE WINDOWS SOFTWARE A
t a time when we’re all a bit strapped for cash, I’ve been scouring for the best free products for journalists. To start with, how about some
Windows software? German software house Ashampoo has long been a favourite of mine. It produces a wide range of apps, covering everything from video editing to word processing. Many of their products have fully functioning free editions and, while you’ll need to give them your e-mail address, you can unsubscribe very easily. You may also get pop-up ads for the paid editions, but they’re easy to close. Products include WinOptimizer Free, which can get rid of the junk slowing your computer down, Photo
Commander Free to organise photos, Audio Recorder Free, to record and edit interviews and PDF Free, which allows you to design and edit pdf documents. If you stay on the mailing list, there are often discounts of up to 90 per cent on paid versions. Everything is safe, well made and the support is excellent. As long as you don’t mind a bit of nagging, the free stuff works brilliantly, plus their paid products are a lot cheaper than their better known equivalents.
www.ashampoo.com
> Cheap and giveaway Android apps D
evelopers often reduce the price of apps or even make
them free for limited periods. AppSales is an Android app that makes it easy to keep track
of them. It is free ($2.99/ about £2.50 a year without adverts) and can save you a fortune. You can create a wishlist
and get alerts when an app goes on sale or just browse
through the free or heavily reduced apps lists. It’s secure – once you select an app, you’re transferred to Google Play Store, so no third parties are involved. Once
you’ve ‘bought it for free’, it stays bought, so you won’t have to pay for it later. Developers may offer free
apps to build a reputation, so leave a review if you find something you like.
www.app-sales.net
Chris Merriman on technology for journalists
Reputable global TV news I
it’s great to see so many reputable outlets getting in on the ground floor. What makes them more appealing is that Plex is available on every device you can think of from phones to smart TVs. As ever, there’s a paid tier too, but for
your live news fix, it won’t cost you a penny.
www.plex.tv
’ve mentioned Plex on these pages before as a great media management tool. In addition, it gives you access to 140+ FAST (free ad-supported television) channels, a range of
live streaming TV with everything from documentaries to B movies. More importantly, it has an excellent news section offering live feeds from trusted news sources including Reuters, The Guardian, Euronews and USA Today. There is some more opinionated US ‘news’ but you can’t really argue with free. FAST channels are regarded as part of the future of television and
DON’T BURN YOUR
DRAPES
Avoid alpha heaters You may have seen adverts, mostly on web pages and social
networks, for so-called ‘alpha heaters’. These are small, cheap devices that plug directly into a
socket and are claimed to heat up a room in a few minutes. Please avoid them – for the most part, they run very hot, don’t meet UK safety specifications and do not actually work as claimed. With products like this, my first question is always: “If they’re that good and that cheap, why don’t I already own them?” The answer in this case is because I like my curtains not to be on fire.
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