"Au Soleil" is based on my memories of a cycling trip I undertook across Eastern Europe from Berlin to Istanbul. Vimeo video. A (surprisingly relaxing) short multimedia documentary, created using open source 3D animation software and a keen artistic eye. [more inside]
posted by circular on Apr 3, 2010 - 7 comments

The <video tag>, as defined by the HTML5 spec, is an element "used for playing videos or movies". Which codec those videos or movies are in is currently undefined, with the two contenders being the free open source Ogg Theora and the proprietary H.264. With the unveiling of Internet Explorer 9 both Microsoft and Apple are supporting H.264 in their browsers, and comparisons of the standards seem to bear out H.264 as the better of the two. However Mozilla have taken a stance against incorporating H264 into Firefox on the grounds that it is patented and has to be licensed. Arguments are now being made for and against Mozilla sticking to its ideals. John Gruber of Daring Fireball points out that Firefox already supports proprietary formats such as GIF. Um, perhaps not the best example.
posted by Artw on Mar 21, 2010 - 140 comments

Raffaella Traniello (Vimeo profile) is an educator and multimedia enthusiast who describes herself as "Animation lover. Linux user. Hungry for clever beauty." She's also committed to bringing free/open source software to the classroom. Her efforts are remarkable in that she achieves pleasant results with community-developed software and involves school children in the production process. Since many users of Linux video editing software -- especially the Cinelerra software package -- are quickly turned off by its opaque interface, Raffaella has also created Cinelerra for Grandma, in which she covers everything from the basics to more difficult subjects like animation.
posted by circular on Mar 10, 2010 - 26 comments

Ubuntu Studio is a Linux distribution focused on creative audiovisual pursuits.
posted by phrontist on May 10, 2007 - 55 comments

DTV beta for Mac is now live. DTV is a new, free and open-source platform for internet television and video. The goal here is to make sure that internet TV is open and independent. Free, open source software and open standards mean anyone can watch and everyone has a voice.
posted by signal on Aug 9, 2005 - 23 comments

Easytree.org has been shutdown. Easytree, for those unfamiliar, was a tracker site for legal (apparently not) live music and video bit torrents, similar to Archive.org's Live Music collaboration with etree.org. Other discussions of File-sharing on MeFi (specifically the MGM vs. Grokster SCOTUS case) here and here. [more inside]
posted by schyler523 on Apr 6, 2005 - 22 comments