I learned something new today

Video Editing on Linux

Blender comes pretty close ( http://www.blender.org ). Recent builds include FFMPEG support that enables NLE Video/Audio.

Features:
Import all formats that FFMPEG supports.
Output mpeg, avi, dv (PAL or NTSC), frames tif, jpeg and more... (floats exr, cineon)
Frameserver output for mpeg encoding vith other software.
Edit Video/Audio in almost unlimited number of tracks.
Transitions and custom effects.
Color correction plugins.
Video Effect plugins.
3D compositing with animations or text.
Camera Motion tracking.
And a lot more...
Workflow:
Grab DV with dvgrab or kino.
Edit movie with Blenders Sequence Editor and render/encode to DV, mpeg or quicktime output...
Use DVDStyler to burn DVD

Tutorials on Sequence Editor
http://download.blender.org/document...tmlI/ch25.html
http://www.blenderwars.com/tut.php?module=blendersaber

Some of the Plugins:
http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~mein/blender/plugins/
http://www.warpax.com/pytsai/index.html

Recent Blender 2.41 FFMPEG Build for Breezy PPC:
http://www.gudmundson.se/anders/uplo....2_powerpc.deb

More on FFMPEG support in Blender:
http://peter.schlaile.de/blender/sequencer/index.html

Movie being made with blender:
http://orange.blender.org/

Posted on 17 Sep 2008, 07:38 -  Category: Linux
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Mpingi: Beware of this company

I wanted to write about my recent experiences with this highly dangerous company. I don't think they can operate with such fraud intentions within the US. But they still are. I need some tips on how to report such companies.

Here are the events that happened:

July 8: A marketing person from Mpingi calls me stating that they have this wonderful phone plan for $35 a month which has unlimited local calls and unlimited calls to a chosen number in India. He said that I could try this service free for a month and use these unlimited minutes.
This person takes my credit card and stores it in his database saying that once you cross this month, you will be charged the regular monthly fee of $35.

July 8: A second person calls to confirm my details and states that you have 250 minutes to use in your first month and did not mention anything about what will happen if you cross this.

July 26: The device for voip is delivered.

Aug 14: I try to contact customer service. I get to hear music from their toll free number for an hour for 3 days. I try to get the support online and finally get them through after this 3 days.

Aug 17: The guy at Mpingi states that if I cancel, I have to pay the 1st month's service plus some additional charges. Total would be $46. The guy at Mpingi convinces me that the support problems were temporary and I can continue with their service. Unfortunately, I get convinced.

Aug 17: I cannot make any calls from the Mpingi phone. I cannot get customer support online again.

Aug 19: Finally get to talk to customer support and request service cancellation. This time, they say, I will have to pay around $80 for cancellation. Also, that I have to send back the equipment within 7 days. I sent it to them in a expedited post that weekend.

Aug 29: I receive a mail from Mpingi with a return label to use to return the equipment. It is also stated that if things are not done as mentioned, they would consider this equipment sold to us at $99.

You can see clearly all through this how Mpingi has beed clearly changing the amount I owe, not being honest.

PLEASE NEVER FALL FOR THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE A BIG FRAUD COMPANY.

You can see many more reports on the following websites of how people have been defrauded by them.

http://www.asteriskguru.com/

http://www.mouthshut.com/

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

Posted on 29 Aug 2008, 08:32 -  Category: Web
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Stars on the Earth

Just thought of writing about the morals/thoughts I learned or realized after watching the hindi movie called "Tare zameen par" which means "Stars on the Earth" in english. The movie is about a boy who has difficulty in reading and writing, but has other significant skills with painting and creativity.

Parents and teachers continually put him down branding him as a good-for-nothing foolish child. Once a teacher who had similar problems in his own childhood meets this boy, he realizes and helps this boy. Finally, the boy's confidence develops and he starts making very good progress that the teahers speak very well of him.

Some thoughts I had after watching the movie:

- Parents - never break a child's spirit. Never brand them negatively. 

- For all of us- We all have unique talents and ways of creativity. Dont ever stop pursuing it. Dont allow the world and others to adulterate the unique creativity in you.

I really love what Google is doing. It says - you 've to work 4 days a week for the projects assigned. We will pay 1 day for you to be creative and dream. Popular google products like Gmail and many others came out of this 1 paid day of creativity. When will the other companies learn from this example?

- One statement in the movie goes like this: "...each child has his pace to study and pick up things .. dont pressurize them, they will learn it today or tomorrow.

As example to this statement. There were very studious and average and below average students from my school and college. But finally, I see most of them ending up with top IT companies. Some below average or average folks are even managing the studious folks.

Posted on 18 Aug 2008, 14:57 -  Category: Family
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Presentation skills

Another post based on one of the recent reading on the web. This is related to presentation skills.

As always you are encouraged to read the full article at:
http://wziwyo.com/?p=177

Take aways for me from this article:
  1. Set the theme: (example: There is something in the air today - a theme for Macbook air announcement). Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.
  2. Demonstrate enthusiasm: If you think a particular feature of your product is “awesome,” say it.
  3. Provide an outline: Make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way. Divide into sections and make clear transitions in between.
  4. Make numbers meaningful: Dont just throw out a number. Make it meaningful, explain in detail.
  5. Try for an unforgettable moment: This would be the part of the presentation that everyone would be talking about later.
  6. Create visual slides: Even if its a single sentence, try having a slide.
  7. Give them a show: Enhance your presentations by incorporating multimedia, product demonstrations, or giving others the chance to say a few words.
  8. Don't sweat small stuff: Don’t sweat minor mishaps. Have fun. Few will remember a glitch unless you call attention to it. Try handling such situations in a cool or funny way.
  9. Sell the benefit: Your listeners are always asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?” Answer the question. Don’t make them guess. Clearly state the benefit of every service, feature, or product.
  10. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse: Self explanatory. This helps coordinate between the words, multimedia, slides etc.

Posted on 08 Aug 2008, 10:14 -  Category: Tips
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Google insights - see trends

I saw this google product that can be very helpful for businesses and creating products.

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#

You can see what people are searching, what regions are searching for a particular search term. You can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames.

The below page lists some ways in which you can use the data from Google insights:

http://www.google.com/support/insights//bin/answer.py?answer=96693

Some of them are:
One interesting study I came across recently was stating that, when comparing linux and ubuntu using the google search trends, they found that the linux searches are decreasing and Ubuntu is increasing. Ubuntu might soon overtake Linux in search trends. This is showing the marketing behind Ubuntu. Now the world is beginning to think that Linux is Ubuntu instead of the fact that Ubuntu is just a flavor (very successful) of Linux.

Posted on 06 Aug 2008, 13:55 -  Category: Web
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