February 27th, 2008 
Linux on old pc
Do you have an out dated : old pc lying around ? Where you could still use it and make it run lots of applications even though nowadys you would require a high-tech pc to install the latest software or games.
The solution is to resurrect your pc by installing linux. Yes linux has some great software alternatives to windows and you could alaways get free software for linux and still use it for movies and music, games also.
A table of software alternatives (corespondents from windows to linux):
Free Software for Linux (replacements of Windows equivalents)
Several Linux distributions will run fine on a resource-constrained PC. Slackware is a popular option. The flavor I recommend for this project is Knoppix. (See the system requirements sidebar.)
Knoppix has several features that make it ideal for an introduction to Linux. From its website:
Knoppix is a bootable CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices, and other peripherals. Knoppix can be used as a Linux demo, educational CD, rescue system, or adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2GB of executable software installed on it.
Knoppix System Requirements
* Intel-compatible CPU (i486 or later)
* 20MB of RAM for text mode, 96MB for graphics mode with KDE
* 128MB of RAM to use the various office products
* Bootable CD-ROM drive, or a boot floppy with a standard CD-ROM (IDE/ATAPI or SCSI)
* SVGA-compatible graphics card
In other words, you can try the operating system risk-free. If you decide you like it, you can then install it to your hard drive. I’ll explain how later in the article.
Knoppix is a Debian-based distribution of Linux. Some of the relevant software on the Knoppix CD includes:
* X Multimedia System: A music player modeled on Winamp. It can also play video files via third-party plugins
* K3b: For CD and DVD burning
* xine: A video/DVD player
* KsCD: A CD player
* The KDE desktop manager
* Internet connection software
* Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), an open source Photoshop-style app
* Utilities for data recovery and system repairs, even for other operating systems
* OpenOffice: A multi-platform office suite that includes word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing programs
Download just one: the ISO file in your language. For instance, if your primary language is English, download:
KNOPPIX_V3.7-2004-12-08-EN.iso
For linux installation check back later posts on Multimedia Blog.
February 26th, 2008 XBox 360 HD DVD
Microsoft recently decided to stop the making of HD DVD add-on for its Xbox 360 games console after the news that Toshiba finally abandoned the high definition DVD format. Toshiba estimated last week that about 300,000 of the add-ons had been sold. Microsoft was one of the key backers for the HD DVD format (since many dropped from this race and supported the other format: Blu-ray) , competing with Blu-ray, which was the format available in Sony’s rival PlayStation 3 console. Microsoft said it would continue to provide warranty support for the $130 (£115 in the UK) HD DVD add-on.
Last week, Toshiba said it would stop production of HD DVD players and recorders after major film studios decided to back Sony’s Blu-ray format instead (this was the final blow after a huge struggle to keep the HD-DVD format alive). Toshiba said the tipping point came last month when Warner Brothers decided to release its movies only in Blu-ray. The Xbox add-ons sold represented 30% of the one million HD DVD devices that were sold worldwide. That compares unfavorably with the 10.5 million PS3s sold by Sony, which come with a built-in Blu-ray drive.
February 24th, 2008 hi5 maintenance
It seems that hi5 isn’t accessible for now. When you go to www.hi5.com you will see this:
We’re performing maintenance right now, in order to make the site better than ever.
Please be patient - we’ll be back real soon!
I noticed hi5 is doing some constant work on this … Also did a google search and found this on iMoka news : http://www.imoka.net/2008/02/hi5-is-performing-maintenance.html . What does this all mean ? Well a social network site that is as big as hi5 requires server power , space and could also be under attack. Since the hi5 team doesn’t share any kind of information on this topic we could only speculate.
February 24th, 2008 Multimedia fingerprint
Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a digital fingerprinting technology that they say can better protect multimedia content from unauthorized copying and distribution.
“If you can find 100 people to collude together, you can reduce the fingerprint by 100 times, and nobody will be able to identify” the source of a leak or copyright infringement, he said.
The tool includes special codes that can withstand so-called collusion attacks, in which multiple users conspire to electronically steal and distribute copyrighted material, said K.J. Ray Liu, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the university’s A. James Clark School of Engineering.
The digital fingerprint technology is designed to resist such attempts at dilution, said researcher Min Wu, an assistant professor at the school.
The technology can be applied to images, video, audio and documents such as digital maps, according to the researchers.
Several companies have expressed interest in the technology, Liu said. The list includes Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which sparked a firestorm of controversy last year when its digital rights management technique was found to pose a security risk. At the time, Sony was forced to recall millions of music CDs.
“Sony is very interested in this and has donated over US$120,000″ toward equipment for a multimedia lab, Liu said. Others that have expressed interest include Hollywood movie studios and the U.S. Department of Defense, he said.
February 15th, 2008 YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. YouTube was created in mid-February 2005 and it uses Adobe Flash technology to display a wide variety of video and audio content, including movie clips, TV clips and music videos, as well as amateur content such as short original videos and videoblogging. In the late of 2006, Google Inc. acquired the company YouTube for US$1.65 billion in Google stock.
TubeHunter downloads videos from YouTube, PornoTube, xTube, yuvutu, LubeYourTube, MySpace, ExpertVillage, Metacafe, Dailymotion, iFilm, veoh, Flurl, AlphaCocks, Bebo, Westminsterkennelclub, Break, VSocial, Grouper, TopFreeMusicDownloads, Bolt, dalealplay, Yikers, Revver, Guba, Vidilife and Blip.tv, and saves them on your computer or directly to your iPOD. All downloaded videos can be converted by TubeHunter to other video formats including MPEG, MPEG4, AVI, DivX, XviD, iPOD MP4, Zune MP4, WMV, MOV, Flash SWF, M4A, Sony PSP, MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, Mobile 3GP and 3G2.
Besides, 3 extra major features of TubeHunter:
1. Convert video file to iPOD/PSP/Mobile/Zune
2. Convert your favorite DVD movie to all most popular video/audio formats
3. Convert video file between all popular video formats
If you like youtube and want to download youtube videos and play them on your pc you will need this software to track, find , download and covert the video you want to play and/or share with your friends.
