Desktop News and Articles

Linux users who edit videos on their computers have so far been restricted to the fairly simplistic Kino program and the functional monster Cinelerra. LiVES steps up to fill the gap.

Convenient file management beyond Nautilus and Konqueror is very much a real option. The PCManFM program is an attractive option with lean architecture and innovative features.

Realistic computer-animated movie scenes have been around for years, but hair, water, and fire are still difficult for 3D programs to handle. The new Maya 8.5 stands above the crowd.

We’ll introduce you to Python, an easy-to-learn scripting language, and also help you get started creating your own practical Python scripts.

One of the first things you notice about the free video-editing software Jahshaka is its unconventional controls. But once you master the learning curve, Jahshaka turns out to be a useful tool with professional features.

Looking for a softphone? We compare five Linux-ready VoIP clients.

Video jockeys (VJs) are a by-prod-uct of music TV. Instead of juggling with LPs, VJs projected colored images onto the screen. Today, all you need to be a VJ is a standard PC and the right effects program. To get started, you just need a couple of snippets of original video material and the free effects program, Veejay. According to the ads on the project homepage, Veejay “allows you to ‘play’ the video like you would play a piano.”

Programming multimedia applications in Linux used to be a tedious process, demanding specialized libraries and even custom code for addressing hardware directly. The OpenML library offers a simpler approach.