Gazette awards more than $60,000 in marketing grants The Gazette has awarded more than $60,000 in grants to help local businesses market themselves during the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s...

ZONGXIAN "PETER" CHEN
Iowa City

Zongxian "Peter" Chen, 90, of Iowa City, died on Friday, May 1, 2020, at Windmill Manor in Coralville.
Peter donated his body to the University of Iowa Deeded Body Program. No services are planned at this time. At a later date, burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery in Coralville. In lieu of flowers and plants, memorials may be directed to the Chinese Church of Iowa City or the Chinese School of Iowa City. Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City is handling arrangements.
Zongxian was born June 24, 1929, in Zhangjiakou, China, to Yingji Chen and Yufang Hu. He grew up in China, where he earned his bachelor's degree in English from Beijing Normal University. Peter later married Yueling Li in Tianjin, China, on Jan. 17, 1975. The couple moved to Iowa City in 1989 and enjoyed 35 memorable years together before she died in 2010.
Peter founded the Chinese School of Iowa City located in North Liberty, where he was a dedicated teacher and principal for 17 years and later received an Award of Excellence in teaching cultural diversity from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He also was a longtime Christian of the Chinese Church of Iowa City. Peter had worked for the Department of Physics at the University of Iowa as a custodian and for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as a custodian for 17 years, retiring at 78 years old.
His dedication to helping the Chinese community of Iowa City was seen by all, and he will be missed by many.
While in Iowa City, he married Yuqin Sun on March 26, 2019.
He is survived by his wife, Yuqin Sun of Iowa City; two daughters, Xiaofang "Kathy" Chen of Miami and Shen (Zhang) of Los Angeles; two stepdaughters, Wei "Willa" Bian of Pennsylvania and Xiaohe Chen of China; five grandchildren, Jinzhao Sheng, Ningning, Andy Su, Liang Cui and Jiuzhou Cao; and three siblings, all of China.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his ex-wife, Yueling Li; one sister; and one son.
Condolences: www.lensingfuneral.com.

IRENE ELIZABETH SCHINDLER
Marengo


Irene Elizabeth Schindler, 90, of Marengo, passed away Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at the Rose Haven Nursing Home in Marengo. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Marengo, with Pastor Andrew Gray officiating. Burial will be in the Marengo Cemetery in Marengo. A memorial fund has been established. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, is assisting the family with arrangements.
Irene is survived by three nephews, Kevin (Pam) Dye of Cedar Rapids, John (Andi) Schindler of Marion and Bill Schindler of Cedar Rapids; two nieces, Deanne (Todd) Mumm of Parnell and Vera Dye of Williamsburg; a cousin, Will Klotz of Gibson; many great, and great, great-nieces and -nephews; and a sister-in-law, W. Irene Schindler of Marengo.
She was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Delmar, Calvin and Milver Schindler; and a sister, Shirley Dye.
Irene was born Jan. 10, 1930, in Marengo, the daughter of Charles and Katie (Klotz) Schindler. She graduated from Marengo High School in 1952. Irene worked at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids from September 1952, until she retired in 1989 on the circuit board assembly line. She was a lifelong member of St. John's Lutheran Church and was a part of the quilting group. Irene enjoyed watching pro wrestling, going bowling, gardening baking, and was an Iowa Hawkeyes fan. She loved spending time with family and friends.
Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

ELIZABETH "BETTY" A. ZOBAC
Cedar Rapids


Betty A. Zobac, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at the Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy. She was 92.
Betty was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 29,
1927. She was the beloved
and only child to Francis
and Mary (Cahill) Sullivan. Betty attended grade school
at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Cedar Rapids. Then carried on her education at St. Patrick's High School where she graduated in 1946.
It wasn't long after when Betty married the love of her life; Frank Zobac, in August 1947, at the Immaculate Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. To this union four children were born. Betty and Frank were married for 69 years. Frank passed away on Dec. 15, 2016.
Betty was very proud of her ancestry and Irish heritage. Betty and Frank actually got engaged on St. Patrick's Day 1947. She loved celebrating her culture every year on St. Patrick's Day by cooking corned beef and cabbage for her entire family.
Betty and Frank were a well-liked and social couple. They developed many friendships throughout their years and were always ready to have fun. The two loved to go out on the town dancing. They would often take a weekend trip to Chicago at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue. While there they would enjoy Broadway style shows, concerts or even a Cubs game. Later in life Betty and Frank would have season tickets to Iowa Hawkeyes football games. They rarely missed a bowl game during the Hayden Fry era. Neither did they miss a Friday night card group, any bingo game in town or an evening of Frank singing karaoke to Betty.
After having four young children, Betty worked the night shift in the pediatric department of Mercy Hospital for three years. Her endless energy and work ethic were remarkable. Betty also was a true fashionista and carried that passion over into her next career. From Killian's to Armstrong's then Coach House Fashions; she worked in retail women's clothing for over 15 years. While still maintaining her voguish taste, Betty's greatest accomplishment of her career began in 1961. As the backbone of the family business; Betty successfully ran the company as general manager of Frank Zobac Construction Co. Frank Zobac Construction Co. was in business for over 60 years.
Betty was the matriarch of her family. Betty loved to cook for and with her family. Like her taste for fashion, she was ahead of her time when it came to preparing meals for her family. Betty's culinary creativity led to many delicious and sometimes interesting meals. Rarely following a recipe; she inspired many. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have carried on her passion for cooking to this day. What Betty started in her little kitchen back in 1947 will be passed down throughout her family for generations. Betty also had an extraordinary love for dachshunds. Whether on the couch or in Hy-Vee, it was rare to see Betty not carrying one of her many spoiled dachshunds.
Betty's memory will continue to live on through her four children, Susan (Dennis) Draker of Marion, Mark (Connie) Zobac of Vinton, Kathy (Doug) Klinger of Marion and Debra Zobac of Marion; eight grandchildren, Amy (Clint) Houdek, Jeff (Diana) Draker, Barrett (Kiley) Scorpil, James (Christina) Zobac, Christopher Goodrow, Staci (John) Willems, Traci (Jeff) Chisholm and Michelle Ramirez; and her 16 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House in memoriam of Frank and Betty Zobac. Please mail to: Susan Draker 2845 Hunters Ridge Rd. Marion, IA 52302.
Please leave a message or tribute to Betty's family on our web page, www.cedarmemorial.com, under Obituaries.
"Rest in Peace, Mom"

Watch my video and see what a decentralized WordPress environment might look like. Almost everything we rely on to operate online is a centralized platform. WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, you name it—they’re all gigantic, centralized platforms. Ok, sure, but why does that matter? It matters because the bigger centralized platforms get, the less freedom users […]

One of the more compelling insights to come from the Joe Rogan interview with Elon Musk is this idea that humanity is actively creating “giant cybernetic collectives.” Through our participation in social media platforms and on the internet in general, we are assimilating knowledge and building connections at a rate that vastly exceeds everything that […]

I’m running for Iowa’s 2nd district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Early last fall, I found that Mariannette Miller-Meeks is running again, after three losses, and that former Illinois Congressman Bobby Schilling is an Illinoisan turned Iowan. The second district seat should be held by a true Iowa citizen legislator.

The House of Representatives was meant to be the people’s house. One where people temporarily left their home and family to serve in Washington, then returned home to resume their life. Being elected to office was never intended to be a lifetime job. If elected I will serve three terms, then return to Iowa and the private sector.

I believe our government should be small, efficient and responsive to its citizens. I would insist that all government programs are reviewed and eliminated if they are not currently serving the public’s interests. I would also push for a budget that does not grow at a higher rate than incoming revenues.

I believe that all law-abiding citizens have the right to own a gun to hunt or to protect themselves from danger. I will not support any additional restrictions placed on law-abiding citizens.

I believe all life is sacred, from conception to natural death, regardless of ability. It is not my intention to tell any woman what to do with her body. I would prefer that each women take full control of her body and the choices she makes before pregnancy occurs.

In the beginning, our country was land rich and people poor. Anyone who could make it to our country was welcome and opportunities abounded. Today, we are crowded and too many struggle to find substantial work. Immigrants are welcome, but I support only legal immigration, to mitigate how many enter the United States, while our county exercises its right to defend its borders by reasonable means, including strengthening barriers to illegal entry.

I grew up in Washington, Iowa and moved to Iowa City in my late 20s. I currently work in retail and my wife works at a food distribution plant. We have two children, ages 11 and 9, who attend public school in Iowa City. On any given day you could see me at the grocery store, the mall, at the children’s school or at their soccer game. I will be a true citizen-legislator and I would like your support.

Tim Borchardt is a candidate in the Republican primary for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

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Gazette awards more than $60,000 in marketing grants

The Gazette has awarded more than $60,000 in grants to help local businesses market themselves during the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s more help available.

“We awarded $50,000 in the first 10 days,” said Kelly Homewood, Director of Operations at The Gazette. “That tells us the need is real. The help necessary. We’re a locally owned business too, and in Iowa we lift each other up in challenging times.”

The grant program, which launched April 17, awarded $50,393 to more than 60 businesses in the first 10 days. To date, almost $68,000 has been awarded to 75 businesses.

“The Gazette’s Matching Program is a true testament to their commitment to our community and their small business advertisers,” said Annie Hills, marketing manager at Destinations Unlimited. “As a local small business, this program will be a huge benefit to our agency in such an unprecedented time so that we can continue to connect with our clients.”

The program allocates up to $100,000 in matching advertising dollars to assist local businesses that apply. There’s still approximately $32,000 in matching grants still available to award by July 31. Businesses can apply online at www.thegazette.com/marketinggrant.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has obligated $78 million to the state of Iowa to help reimburse eligible expenses for emergency protective measures that the state has incurred as a result of its response to COVID-19.

The grant funds, awarded by FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program, were made available Thursday. FEMA has provided nearly $150 million to date in support of the state’s COVID-19 efforts.

The money reimburses 75 percent of projected eligible costs associated with buying essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and medical supplies and equipment during the months of May and June 2020.

This obligation also includes: $19.5 million in contract services for TestIowa, $35,000 in contract services associated with overseas PPE purchases and $13.7 million for additional medical supplies and equipment for the month of April. All figures represent the 75 percent federal share. The 25 percent is paid by the grant recipient.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a new proclamation allowing campgrounds in the state of Iowa to open.

The proclamation states:

“Any public or private campground may reopen provided that the campground implements reasonable measures under the circumstances of each campground to ensure social distancing, increased hygiene practices, and other public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 consistent with guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Public Health (5/6/20).”

Linn County Conservation has continued to seek guidance from local and state health officials and are announcing that campgrounds will open Friday with certain restrictions and limitations.

At 5 a.m. on May 8, Buffalo Creek Park, Morgan Creek Park, Pinicon Ridge Park and Squaw Creek Park campgrounds will open to campers in self-contained units. This also includes primitive (non-electric) camping areas at Matsell Bridge Natural Area (including Mount Hope) and Wakpicada Natural Area.

Campers may camp only with a self-contained camping unit that has a functioning restroom, as showerhouses with flushable restrooms will remain closed. Self-contained is defined as a tent or pop-up camper with a portable toilet or an RV or camping trailer with a functioning, self-contained bathroom.

Occupants are limited to six or less per camp site (unless household is more than six). No visitors are allowed. Campground showerhouses with restrooms will remain closed.

Reserving campsites is not allowed as campgrounds continue to be first-come, first-served. The exception to this is Squaw Creek Park A-Loop which normally accepts online reservations at LinnCountyParks.com, starting Friday at 1 p.m.

Linn County Conservation’s lodges, shelters, cabins and group camps remain closed.

Hy-Vee Inc., announced Friday that it is now offering a two-hour express pickup option as part of its Hy-Vee Aisles Online grocery ordering service, allowing customers to pay a fee to pick up their order faster.

Customers will see a “Get It Faster” option on Aisles Online time slots where the two-hour pickup option is available. A limited number of two-hour pickup orders will be available for $9.95, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily, at all Hy-Vee store locations offering Aisles Online services.

The lights on Alliant Energy’s Cedar Rapids Tower will change colors to recognize area high schools and honor the Class of 2020.

“In this time of uncertainty, it’s important to remember that brighter days are up ahead,”

said Linda Mattes, Vice President of IT and Customer Operations. “Changing the lights on our tower is our way of celebrating this important milestone in the lives of these students and their families.”

Each Cedar Rapids-area high school’s colors will be on display. The schedule:

May 21 — Washington High School — Red and blue

May 22 — Jefferson High School — Blue and white

May 23 — Kennedy High School — Green and gold

May 24 — Linn-Mar High School — Red and black

May 25 — Marion High School — Crimson and gold

May 26 — Prairie High School — Orange and black

May 27 — Xavier High School — Navy and silver

May 28 — Metro High School — Purple and black

MusicIC Festival cancels June in-person programming

What was planned to be the 10th annual MusicIC Festival has been canceled. Programming planned for June 18-20 will be pushed to summer 2021.

The festival, presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, will offer alternate programming. In place of the in-person performances this year, the festival will offer video performances from musicians to be highlighted in the 2021 season.

Details about these video performances will be forthcoming.

Due to the ongoing social distancing guidelines and additional precautions taking place to help slow and reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Linn County Fair Association is canceling the grounds and grandstand entertainment for the 2020 Linn County Fair, scheduled for June 24-28.

The Linn County Fair Association, in partnership with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Linn County and Linn County 4-H, still plan on providing opportunities to 4-Her’s, FFA members, and youth of Linn County to showcase their talents and accomplishments at this year’s fair.

Details regarding the 4-H/FFA exhibits and events are still being finalized and Linn County 4-H plans to email details to 4-H/FFA members in mid-May.

To encourage safe and responsible social distancing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cedar Rapids’ Bike to Work Week activities — traditionally held in May — will be postponed and are tentatively scheduled for September 21-27.

This will include events such as the Mayor’s bike ride and proclamation, pit stops, group rides, and wrap-up party.

Von Maur announced it will reopen stores in Cedar Rapids, Coralville and Cedar Falls using reduced hours and safety measures starting Friday.

The reduced hours will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Von Maur said it will be implementing daily employee health screenings, social distancing measures, contactless payments, curbside service options and sanitizing and cleaning procedures in common areas and after each customer transaction. Its aforementioned stores are at Lindale Plaza, Iowa River Landing and College Square Mall.

Online Czech language lessons offered

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library recently partnered with Anna Cooková, an instructor with CzechTalk, to offer online Czech language and culture lessons.

Beginner’s Czech Language & Culture I begins on Thursday, June 4. Each class will be held from 8 to 9:30 p.m. every Thursday from June 4 through August 6. During the 15 hours of instruction over 10 weeks, participants will learned to read, write, and speak in Czech.

The cost is $210 for NCSML members, $235 for non-members. This fee includes all course materials. The class size is limited to 20 students, so interested individuals are encouraged to register early to secure a spot.

Contact Cooková for a registration form at annacookova@gmail.com or 715-651-7044.

CEDAR RAPIDS — An injured pelican rescued at Cedar Lake on Wednesday will have a permanent home at one of the top zoos in the Midwest.

“We downloaded all of the paperwork (on Friday), and we want to get it transported (to Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha) within a week,” said Tracy Belle, founder and director of Wildthunder Wildlife and Animal Rehabilitation and Sanctuary in Independence.

“It’s doing well — we’re going to get it outside today to decompress a little.”

Belle, who also serves as primary animal rehabilitator at Wildthunder, believes the pelican is young — the average life span is 20 to 25 years — and she is not sure of its gender.

It suffered broken carpal bones and, according to Belle, surgical repair is unlikely.

“The veterinarian told me that the injury appears to be five to six weeks old,” she said. “I can only speculate, but I think when it flew into the lake, it may have clipped a power line.”

Belle said the pelican will need one more veterinary exam before transport to Omaha. In the meantime, “its appetite is good,” she said. “It’s eating five to 10 pounds of fish per day.”

Henry Doorly is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a typical year, the complex attracts about 2 million visitors.

Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com

For the second consecutive day the number of Iowa patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Saturday that 402 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus, down five from the previous day, and down 15 from its current peak of 417 on Thursday.

Saturday’s totals mark the first time back-to-back COVID-19 hospitalization decreases since figures had begun being tracked.

Nine deaths in Iowa were recorded Saturday, according to the Department of Public Health, bringing the total to 252. But it snapped a streak of four consecutive days in which 10 or more deaths were recorded in Iowa.

Four of the deaths were in Polk County, bringing Polk’s total to 58 — matching Linn County’s as most in the state.

Saturday was the first time since Monday that no deaths in Linn County were reported.

Two deaths were in Jasper County, one each in Johnson, Muscatine and Tama counties.

Four of those who died were 81 years of age and older, three were 61 to 80 and two were aged 41 to 60.

Saturday’s report also showed there now have been a total of 29 outbreaks recorded in long-term care facilities statewide.

Including Saturday’s latest figures from the Department of Public Health — with 214 positive cases, for a total of 11,671 — these are the top 10 Iowa counties in terms of total cases:

• Polk — 2,194

• Woodbury — 1,554

• Black Hawk — 1,477

• Linn — 819

• Marshall — 702

• Dallas — 660

• Johnson — 549

• Muscatine — 471

• Tama — 327

• Louisa — 282.

More than 71,000 Iowans — one of 43 — have been tested, and 16.3 percent of those tested have been positive cases, according to the state.

Forty-six percent of Iowa deaths have been those age 81 and older, while 87 percent are 61 and older. Fifty-one percent have been male.

Beginning this past Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds permitted more businesses to partially reopen.

“I’m proud to say that Iowans do what they always do and they responded,” she said at her Thursday news conference, her most recent. “So since we’ve kind of really accomplished what we were trying to do, ... now we have shifted our focus from mitigation and resources to managing and containing virus activity as we begin to open Iowa back up.”

Reynolds met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the pandemic and mitigation strategies in the state.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Iowa Friday, when he met with faith leaders and agricultural and food company executives.

Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com

I just realized that I can export my entire story all at once now, which means uploading my tutorials to my Facebook page will be a million times easier (it was tedious to stitch all the individual clips together before). ????
.
Related: I posted a story this morning deconstructing the edit on yesterday’s shot.
.
Also related: I uploaded the 3 tutorials from my November feature on @thecreatorclass to my Facebook page this morning too. More to come! (at London, United Kingdom)

In late August, we launched the private beta program of our advanced audio algorithm parameters. After feedback by our users and many new experiments, we are proud to release a complete rework of the Adaptive Leveler parameters:

In the previous version, we based our Adaptive Leveler parameters on the Loudness Range descriptor (LRA), which is included in the EBU R128 specification.
Although it worked, it turned out that it is very difficult to set a loudness range target for diverse audio content, which does include speech, background sounds, music parts, etc. The results were not predictable and it was hard to find good target values.
Therefore we developed our own algorithm to measure the dynamic range of audio signals, which works similarly for speech, music and other audio content.

The following advanced parameters for our Adaptive Leveler allow you to customize which parts of the audio should be leveled (foreground, all, speech, music, etc.), how much they should be leveled (dynamic range), and how much micro-dynamics compression should be applied.

To try out the new algorithms, please join our private beta program and let us know your feedback!

Leveler Preset

The Leveler Preset defines which parts of the audio should be adjusted by our Adaptive Leveler:

• Default Leveler:
  Our classic, default leveling algorithm as demonstrated in the Leveler Audio Examples. Use it if you are unsure.
• Foreground Only Leveler:
  This preset reacts slower and levels foreground parts only. Use it if you have background speech or background music, which should not be amplified.
• Fast Leveler:
  A preset which reacts much faster. It is built for recordings with fast and extreme loudness differences, for example, to amplify very quiet questions from the audience in a lecture recording, to balance fast-changing soft and loud voices within one audio track, etc.
• Amplify Everything:
  Amplify as much as possible. Similar to the Fast Leveler, but also amplifies non-speech background sounds like noise.

Leveler Dynamic Range

Our default Leveler tries to normalize all speakers to a similar loudness so that a consumer in a car or subway doesn't feel the need to reach for the volume control.
However, in other environments (living room, cinema, etc.) or in dynamic recordings, you might want more level differences (Dynamic Range, Loudness Range / LRA) between speakers and within music segments.

The parameter Dynamic Range controls how much leveling is applied: Higher values result in more dynamic output audio files (less leveling). If you want to increase the dynamic range by 3dB (or LU), just increase the Dynamic Range parameter by 3dB.
We also like to call this Loudness Comfort Zone: above a maximum and below a minimum possible level (the comfort zone), no leveling is applied. So if your input file already has a small dynamic range (is within the comfort zone), our leveler will be just bypassed.

Example Use Cases:
Higher dynamic range values should be used if you want to keep more loudness differences in dynamic narration or dynamic music recordings (live concert/classical).
It is also possible to utilize this parameter to generate automatic mixdowns with different loudness range (LRA) values for different target environments (very compressed ones like mobile devices or Alexa, very dynamic ones like home cinema, etc.).

Compressor

Controls Micro-Dynamics Compression:
The compressor reduces the volume of short and loud spikes like "p", "t" or laughter ( short-term dynamics) and also shapes the sound of your voice (it will sound more or less "processed").
The Leveler, on the other hand, adjusts mid-term level differences, as done by a sound engineer, using the faders of an audio mixer, so that a listener doesn't have to adjust the playback volume all the time.
For more details please see Loudness Normalization and Compression of Podcasts and Speech Audio.

• Auto:
  The compressor setting depends on the selected Leveler Preset. Medium compression is used in Foreground Only and Default Leveler presets, Hard compression in our Fast Leveler and Amplify Everything presets.
• Soft:
  Uses less compression.
• Medium:
  Our default setting.
• Hard:
  More compression, especially tries to compress short and extreme level overshoots. Use this preset if you want your voice to sound very processed, our if you have extreme and fast-changing level differences.
• Off:
  No short-term dynamics compression is used at all, only mid-term leveling. Switch off the compressor if you just want to adjust the loudness range without any additional micro-dynamics compression.

Separate Music/Speech Parameters

Use the switch Separate MusicSpeech Parameters (top right), to see separate Adaptive Leveler parameters for music and speech segments, to control all leveling details separately for speech and music parts:

For dialog intelligibility improvements in films and TV, it is important that the speech/dialog level and loudness range is not too soft compared to the overall programme level and loudness range. This parameter allows you to use more leveling in speech parts while keeping music and FX elements less processed.
Note: Speech, music and overall loudness and loudness range of your production are also displayed in our Audio Processing Statistics!

Example Use Case:
Music live recordings or dynamic music mixes, where you want to amplify all speakers (speech dynamic range should be small) but keep the dynamic range within and between music segments (music dynamic range should be high).
Dialog intelligibility improvements for films and TV, without effecting music and FX elements.

Other Advanced Audio Algorithm Parameters

We also offer advanced audio parameters for our Noise, Hum Reduction and Global Loudness Normalization algorithms:

For more details, please see the Advanced Audio Algorithms Documentation.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more details about our advanced algorithm parameters (especially the leveler parameters), please listen to the following podcast interview with Chris Curran (Podcast Engineering School):
Auphonic’s New Advanced Features, with Georg Holzmann – PES 108

Advanced Parameters Private Beta and Feedback

At the moment the advanced algorithm parameters are for beta users only. This is to allow us to get user feedback, so we can change the parameters to suit user needs.
Please let us know your case studies, if you need any other algorithm parameters or if you have any questions!

Here are some private beta invitation codes:

jbwCVpLYrl 6zmLqq8o3z RXYIUbC6al QDmIZLuPKa JIrnGRZBgl SWQOWeZOBD ISeBCA9gTy w5FdsyhZVI qWAvANQ5mC twOjdHrit3
KwnL2Le6jB 63SE2V54KK G32AULFyaM 3H0CLYAwLU mp1GFNVZHr swzvEBRCVa rLcNJHUNZT CGGbL0O4q1 5o5dUjruJ9 hAggWBpGvj
ykJ57cFQSe 0OHAD2u1Dx RG4wSYTLbf UcsSYI78Md Xedr3NPCgK mI8gd7eDvO 0Au4gpUDJB mYLkvKYz1C ukrKoW5hoy S34sraR0BU
J2tlV0yNwX QwNdnStYD3 Zho9oZR2e9 jHdjgUq420 51zLbV09p4 c0cth0abCf 3iVBKHVKXU BK4kTbDQzt uTBEkMnSPv tg6cJtsMrZ
BdB8gFyhRg wBsLHg90GG EYwxVUZJGp HLQ72b65uH NNd415ktFS JIm2eTkxMX EV2C5RAUXI a3iwbxWjKj X1AT7DCD7V y0AFIrWo5l

If you have an invitation code, you can enter it here to activate the advanced audio algorithm parameters:
Auphonic Algorithm Parameters Private Beta Activation

Until recently, Amazon Transcribe supported speech recognition in English and Spanish only.
Now they included French, Italian and Portuguese as well - and a few other languages (including German) are in private beta.

Update March 2019:
Now Amazon Transcribe supports German and Korean as well.

The Auphonic Audio Inspector on the status page of a finished Multitrack Production including speech recognition.
Please click on the screenshot to see it in full resolution!

Amazon Transcribe is integrated as speech recognition engine within Auphonic and offers accurate transcriptions (compared to other services) at low costs, including keywords / custom vocabulary support, word confidence, timestamps, and punctuation.
See the following AWS blog post and video for more information about recent Amazon Transcribe developments: Transcribe speech in three new languages: French, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Amazon Transcribe is also a perfect fit if you want to use our Transcript Editor because you will be able to see word timestamps and confidence values to instantly check which section/words should be corrected manually to increase the transcription accuracy:

Screenshot of our Transcript Editor with word confidence highlighting and the edit bar.

These features are also available if you use Speechmatics, but unfortunately not in our other integrated speech recognition services.

About Speech Recognition within Auphonic

Auphonic has built a layer on top of a few external speech recognition services to make audio searchable:
Our classifiers generate metadata during the analysis of an audio signal (music segments, silence, multiple speakers, etc.) to divide the audio file into small and meaningful segments, which are processed by the speech recognition engine. The results from all segments are then combined, and meaningful timestamps, simple punctuation and structuring are added to the resulting text.

To learn more about speech recognition within Auphonic, take a look at our Speech Recognition and Transcript Editor help pages or listen to our Speech Recognition Audio Examples.

A comparison table of our integrated services (price, quality, languages, speed, features, etc.) can be found here: Speech Recognition Services Comparison.

Conclusion

We hope that Amazon and others will continue to add new languages, to get accurate and inexpensive automatic speech recognition in many languages.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or feedback about speech recognition or our transcript editor!

Like most paddlers I have a tendency to shoot pictures in a horizontal (landscape) format. It is more tricky to shoot in a vertical format from my tippy kayaks, especially, when I have to use a paddle to stabilize my camera.

International students who have been in Australia for longer than 12 months who find themselves in financial hardship will be able to access their Australian superannuation. The Government will undertake further engagement with the international education sector who already provide some financial support for international students facing hardship. International students working in supermarkets will have […]

The post Student visa holders and New Zealand citizens in Australia and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis? appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

The world turned upside down lately, forcing the majority of people to work from their homes. For the WPZOOM team, working remotely is not something new. Some of our team members have been working remotely since they joined us, others had the experience of both working from home and from the office (hello, Pavel). However, we’ve gone completely remote, without […]

City Marketing, bewegwijzering en informatie spelen een belangrijke rol in hoe communicatie in een stad effectief tot stand kan komen. Lees verder over hoe bewegwijzering ingezet kan worden als communicatie middel.

designworkplan zoekt per direct een grafisch ontwerper voor onze wayfinding studio in Amsterdam

Hard to believe that I've had the same PC case since 2011, and my last serious upgrade was in 2015. I guess that's yet another sign that the PC is over, because PC upgrades have gotten really boring. It took 5 years for me to muster up the initiative to

We recently completed a bright and engaging new website for one of Fort Myers Beach’s most popular and well known...continue reading

Located in Downtown Fort Myers, just steps from the Caloosahatchee River and a short drive away from the Gulf coast...continue reading

We’re delighted to launch the first ever website for this local irrigation company that has been around since 1989! Automated...continue reading

https://www.anychart.com/blog/2020/05/06/javascript-choropleth-map-tutorial/

https://mitchum.blog/building-a-crossword-puzzle-generator-with-javascript/

Mobile user experience somehow ‘imposed itself’ with all the development and improvement of mobile communication devices. In fact, it is the quality of user experience that divides outstanding apps from their less outstanding counterparts. The same factor enables startups to learn from big brands and to improve their products. User experience for mobile applications – […]

The Firefox DevTools underlying code, which is written with JavaScript and HTML, is a complex application. Due to the complexity and amount of work going on, the DevTools team has done everything they can to load as little as possible. Furthermore the team has a system of lazily importing and initializing objects when they’re needed. […]

The post Lazy Object Initialization appeared first on David Walsh Blog.

In this Chalkboard Text Vector tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a chalkboard vector effect with some gradients, a bristle brush, and some freebies from Vector Mill! This chalkboard text vector effect tutorial is relatively simple and can be applied to many other Illustrator projects. Use this effect for logo creation, back to school backgrounds, […]

The post 20 Minute Tut! Create Your Own Customized Chalkboard Text Vector appeared first on Vectips.

In this tutorial we’ll draw a funny cartoon car in a simple stylized flat car. We don’t actually need any advanced drawing skills or even a tablet to create this stylized object as we’ll be working with basic geometric shapes and the most useful tools of Adobe Illustrator. Such simple and trendy illustrations are perfect […]

The post How to Draw a Stylized Flat Car in Adobe Illustrator appeared first on Vectips.

Technology continues to transform the world at a mind-numbing pace. Every year it seems, new technologies emerge that put our traditional ways of doing things to shame. Some of these methods are inherently superior, such as the movement toward digital media. While you might not be able to physically feel it in the palms of your hands, having digital media can ensure that you never lose pictures, photos and other forms of media. Most people have old photos laying around that they’d like to ensure last forever, but they haven’t taken the time to digitize and organize them. We’ll review some tips on how to digitize and organize your old photos so that they stand the test of time. Procure a Capture Solution There are a few different ways in which you can begin the process of digitizing your old photos. The first solution is through the use of a ... Read more

The post Tips for Digitizing and Organizing Old Photos appeared first on Digital Photography Tutorials.

by w4l3XzY3 by w4l3XzY3

The post by w4l3XzY3 appeared first on Digital Photography Tutorials.

When Spotify launched their colorful new brand identity, featuring hip duo-toned imagery, it went hand-in-hand with a new Colorizer tool that allows artists to apply a variety of filters to images. This solved a problem in which Spotify needed a way to present the thousands of images uploaded, all with a different look and feel, […]

The post How to Create Spotify Colorizer Effects With CSS Blend Modes appeared first on Web Designer Wall.

Seagate. Rikuzentakata, Japan 2019 Follow me @benhuang.photography

Have you got yourself a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact but not sure how to do something on it? Don’t worry, we’ve come up with a comprehensive guide for all the things your handset is capable of. Navigate the various sections using the links below. If you can’t find what you’re looking for just leave a … Continue reading Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Complete Guide →

By Julie Cohen The UC Santa Barbara Current Oceanographer Uta Passow demonstrates that contaminants from Deepwater Horizon lingered for months in subsurface water before sinking to the seafloor Between April 20 and July 15, 2010, millions of barrels of crude … Continue reading →

You can do everything today. There are certainly no limits to what the mind can achieve, and that includes floating. With simply manipulating layers using Photoshop, a floating image has never been...

Zero UI is about removing everything that comes between users and their devices, about making the interaction easier, seamless, more direct. Does it sound to you like a concept from a science-fiction...

We're excited to welcome back Busted Open radio producer Alex Metz to the show, to talk about all things pro...

The post METAL INJECTION LIVECAST #539 - Hard Camera with Busted Open's Alex Metz appeared first on Metal Injection.

We're back and super excited to welcome the Hot Topic senior buyer Joe Enriquez to the show. Joe tells the...

The post Squared Circle Pit #56 - Hot Topic's Joe Enriquez talks AEW, ECW and Thrash Metal appeared first on Metal Injection.

If you’re a remote worker, you may have plenty of experience with video conferencing as a way to communicate with clients, team members, or other colleagues. But with millions of additional...

Click through to read the rest of the story on the Vandelay Design Blog.

The galaxy far far away has items both big and small. The Star Wars Size Comparison Video created by MetaBallStudios brings droids, people and planets together from the Star Wars movies (episode I to VIII, Rogue One and Solo). See how your favorites size up against each other.

Comparison of many things from the Star Wars movies. Only movies from episode I to VIII, Rogue One and Solo. Obviously not everything appears, only the most representative.

Providing scale and context to your audience is one of the key tenets of data visualization, and this video does a fantastic job of giving you the context of the size of everything in the Star Wars universe.

Found on Gizmodo.com.