Open News Episode 31 - Excercises

Exercises

Answer the following questions

  1. What are filmmakers increasingly using to smooth the way for their projects?
    • open source software
  2. Which open source tools and services are mentioned as being used by filmmakers? What functions do they perform? Do you know of any other examples? Examples from listening:
    • Cine Paint - open source painting and image retouching program designed to work best with 35mm film and other high resolution high dynamic range images.
    • Blender - open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.
    • Internet Archive - nonprofit organisation established to preserve websites by taking regular “snapshots”. The Wayback Machine provides links to older versions of a webpage.

Listen to the recording and fill the gaps

  1. While the mobile Linux community has reacted positively to [Google’s Android].
  2. Like it or not, Google has achieved something that none of the established [knitting circles] has managed so far. LiPS also says that Android shares its mission to reduce [fragmentation among Linux-based] mobile platforms
  3. While LiPS aims to [unify] the development of mobile Linux through open stand- ards
  4. Morgan Gillis, executive director of the [LiMo Foundation] …
  5. mobile devices while the LiMo Foundation wants to create a common [middleware platform] to underpin mobile applications.
  6. The next six months will certainly be critical in the growth of [Android ecosystem].
  7. Developers need to pick it up and create some [compelling applications] to match the appeal of, say, Apple’s iPhone.

Listen to the recording and fill the gaps

  1. The Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science will deploy more than 180,000 workstations running Canonical’s Ubuntu 7.04 as part of its [Computer for Every Child] project.
  2. The Macedonia “Computer for Every Child” project is one of the largest known thin client and [desktop Linux] deployments ever undertaken
  3. The first 7000 computers [pre-installed] with Ubuntu were shipped on September 4th 2007
  4. The Ubuntu operating system will run on [160,000 virtual PC terminals] and 20,000 PCs
  5. The project will enable a range of innovative educational programs, including interactive [web-based classes]

Possible topics for discussion

  1. Should film-makers use open source rather than commercial software?
  2. Is open-source software the best choice for school computers? Give arguments for and against this proposal.

See also: