Videoporama 0.8.1 Released, Now Better Than Ever! [Application To Create Video From Pictures]

Videoporama is an application you can use to create video presentations from pictures that runs on Linux and Windows. It comes with various transition effects, option to add sound to the video, many different presets and uses mplayer for previewing the slideshow before processing it. We've covered Videoporama in detail a while back so check out that post for more info: Videoporama: Create Cool Video Slideshows From Your Pictures.

Videoporama 0.8.1 was released a few days ago, adding a cool new feature that's not available in any other such Linux applications: you can now include videos too so it's not just an application to create videos from pictures anymore. You can also set the start / end position for a movie so if you only want to display a few seconds from a video in your montage, you can easily do it from the Videoporama options.

Besides the option to include a video, the new Videoporama 0.8.1 also comes with a new sound interface (multi track) so you can select a part of an audio file, adjust the output level, add fade in/out effects and so on.

There are many other improvements in Videoporama 0.8.1 like new luma transitions, the addition of a time ruller in the preview zone, various other interface tweaks and bug fixes. To see them all, try out the latest Videoporama 0.8.1.

With these features I am sure you won't miss the Face Movie feature in Picasa 3.8 anymore - yes, it involves a bit more work, but you can also achieve much more with Videoporama. I highly recommend you try out the latest Videoporama 0.8.1.

Check out this video I've created using Videoporama 0.8.1 - it starts with an Unity 2D video for 20 seconds (you can skip it if you want) and then you'll see some random images with various transision effects - the video itself doesn't make too much sense and I've only created it so you can get an idea on what you can do using the latest Videoporama 0.8.1:

There's no sound for the video because YouTube likes to delete such videos.


Download Videoporama 0.8.1: Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx | Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat

For Windows / source files, see the Videoporama site for downloads.

See also: Make A Movie Out Of Photos In Ubuntu Using PhotoFilmStrip

Thanks to Roberto @ LFFL.org for the deb files!

Myths, Lies and Truths about the Linux Kernel

It is really surprising how the Linux kernel has evolved from a mere hacker's project to a robust, stable and device friendly piece of software. At one time it was imperative that one fire up a terminal and tinker with the underlying code or at least type a series of commands to get even simple things working such as burning a CD or playing music and so on.

But now most Linux distributions have become so easy to install and use that even your grandmother could do these tasks with little help and without ever touching a terminal. The plug and play devices have become truly Plug and play and works flawlessly - be they USB devices, Ethernet cards, sound cards and what not. There is very good support for most hardware devices you find in the market baring a few. It also helped that many IT behemoths of the likes of IBM have taken active interest at Linux and have been pouring in money and developers in promoting and sustaining the project.

To underline the advances made by Linux kernel, here is a very good slide show which spells out the Myths, Lies and Truths about the Linux kernel, prepared by Greg Kroah of Novell SuSE Labs.