Older blog entries for tnt (starting at number 29)

Well, posted my first article here: http://www.advogato.org/article/574.html. Curious to see what kind of response it will get.

VNC

Continued the work on VNC to add printing support. (The work continues.)

As part of my VNC work, I intend to create a library for VNC clients. It's purpose it to make the creation of VNC clients much easier. (Of course the library will handle the printing stuff too.) Which means that I should be able to use the same library to create the GNOME VNC Client, as the Windows VNC Client. (Of course, this is source code compatibility across platforms, and not binary compatibility.)

Well, I haven't written anything here for quite a while. I takes alot of work to start and run your own company... and work is something that I have been doing alot of. (But anyways, to the open source related stuff....)

Moonlight|3D

Lately I've had the time to do some work on Moonlight|3D. First, I've adding alot to the website. The new web site is alot better than the previous one pager I had there. (I'll probably make it go live later today... or maybe tomorrow.)

I've also been hacking the Moonlight|3D source code. Right now, I'm doing some of the dirty work. Just going through the code, adding comments (to help other developers), cleaning up the code, fixing minor bugs, and doing some updates. In addition to helping out the other developers, this helps me understand the code base. (After I do this, I'll start adding some of the additions I'd like seen added to Moonlight|3D.)

VNC

I've also been working on VNC lately. I'm actually get paid, by one of my clients, for this one. I'm adding printing support to VNC. (This is the biggest thing I've had request, for VNC.)

Don't think I've mentioned this yet in my diary, but I'm now a member of the VanLUG steering committee. (I got asked to join after I started organizing the Linux Multimedia Conference.)

Also, to help better promote VanLUG, I've registered the domains VanLUG.com and VanLUG.org; and set them up on my web server to forward people to VanLUG.bc.ca. (These two domains, are the most likely mistakes, for the VanLUG's website's URL.)

Yesterday was the last day of COMDEX, here in BC, Canada. The VanLUG booth did very very well. And was one of the most popular booths there!

This year I volunteered and was there for the first half of the first day of COMDEX, and all of the third (and last) day of COMDEX, for the VanLUG booth. (So I was there for half of the conference.) I (and another person) set up some Multimedia demos. (The demos seemed pretty popular with the crowd). One on the demos displayed various Linux Multimedia desktop applications. The other demo was a DirectFB demo. (Both demos made it easy to talk about, and create a buzz about, the upcoming, and still unannounced, Linux Multimedia Conference.)

I did alot of talking while manning the booth, on a variety of topics... not all about Linux... but most were. Which is good! Linux got promoted. VanLUG got promoted. The upcoming Linux Multimedia Conference got promoted. And I was even able to promote my company. (As did the other volunteers there, who had a company or worked for a company, that dealt with Linux in some way.)

All in all, it was a great experience, and I look forward to helping out next year.

I find it amusing, what will come up when you search for your name on a search engine (like Google).

I did just that today, and found out that I'd been quoted in an article. The article can be found at: http://alumni.ucsd.edu/headline/wi02/022802_lindows.html

I've found that you can also find interesting results if you search for the e-mail addresses that you use. Or search for things that link to stuff like your homepage, your resume, or to websites/projects/etc that you have some affiliation to.

Work

Just when I though I was starting to get some free time... to work on matterial, GStreamer, or Moonlight 3D... work picks up full speed.

And I just started writing gst-gen -- a mini-programming-language/compiler to generate GStreamer objects/plug-ins.... I hate having to put these things on hold!

What I'd love is to get some funding,... the way artist will get funding to work on pieces of art,... so that I could work on my various projects... and still be able to make a living, feed myself, etc.

Well I actually had some free time today, so I started to create what I discussed in my previous Journal entry.

The tool I am creating is called: gst-gen. Eventually it will read a source file (of a yet to be created programming language) and then, from that, create header file and program source file (in C or C++) for the GStreamer plug-in. So far I am able to create the shells for the header file and the program source file. The next step is to define the new lanauge (which will probably be alot like haskell), and then write the parser, etc.

Weekend

Played Roller Hockey. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough tomorrow so I can play again.

Work for the (yet to be announced) Linux Multimedia Conference moves forward.

It now has a website, although there is nothing really there yet. The website is at LinuxConference.org. I was amazed that that domain was available.

I've been talking to a professional artist about having him, and his company, design the look and artwork for the Linux Multimedia Coference's website, along with other types of artwork (... like posters, etc).

I've postponed the initial announcing of the Linux Multimedia Conference until we get something decent on the website. To me (and alot of people), a website is the face of you project (or business, or whatever). And, it would be nice if we have a decent face (i.e., website) for our conference.

GStreamer & Functional Programming

I've been thinking that creating GStreamer plug-ins using a functional programming language (like haskell, etc) would be powerful method to create these. (And get rid of all the overhead one has to deal with, from the GObject stuff, and other things). For example, we might have something like:

VideoEffect (x:xs, y:ys, i, k)   =

    ComposeVideo(   GiveAlpha(x, i),  GiveAlpha(y, 1-i)   )   :   VideoEffect(xs, ys, i+k, k);

Where this plug-in would do a simple fade transition. (Obviously this has some bugs... but I'm trying to make the code simple.)

I wish I had some free time, so I could implement this! But I don't... I have to do the work that feeds me.

As I've stated in my previous Journal entries, I have been working on organizing a Linux Multimedia Conference in BC, Canada.

Things have been moving alot quicker than I expected. (Which is good!) It seems we'll be able to get some really big companies sponsoring it. And some big organizations backing it. I won't say who yet... because nothing is official yet... but things are looking very good.

In just a little while, I'm going to send out e-mails (to the various Linux Multimedia Communities) to see what kind of interest there is in the Linux Multimedia Conference. (The way things are going I expect there to be quite alot.)

Restting the Windows NT/2000 password with Linux :-)

At a meeting I had today, with some other VanLUG members, someone mentioned a tool. This tool will reset the Administrative password on a Windows NT or Windows 2000 machine (using Linux). This will be very useful. (It also shows how pitiful Windows' security really is.) The link to it is: http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Well... I've already been getting e-mails from people saying they want to help organize the conference... or that they want to attend. Which is great! (Anyone else wishing to help or attend,... e-mail me and let me know.)

matterial, GStreamer, Moonlight 3D, etc

My work seems to becoming less busy... and thus it is starting to look like I should have some time to work on my various projects soon :-)

I'll be able to continue development of matterial Junior and other matterial stuff. I'll be able to finish my Movie Plug-ins for GStreamer. I'll be able to finish my C++ bindings for GStreamer. I'll be able to turn the Moonlight 3D renderer into a GStreamer plug-in.

And then I can work on some other stuff :-)

Replies

amars, in your Wednesday February 27, 2002 journal entry you said:

Why would the world need yet *another* linux conference... it may be due to my ignorance (from lack of experience af actually attending one) but do any of these Linux/Free Software/Open Source conferences ever accomplish anything? I would say 4 good themed conferences per year (one each quarter) would be enough. With the occasional specific project oriented conference thrown in at random.

And my reply is:

The problem with all these other Linux Conferences (for me... and some others) is that none of them are near by. (There doesn't seem to be any Linux Conferences in or near BC.) Which is what started why I started trying to organize a Linux Conference for BC.

Another motivation is that I'd like to see a Linux Conference that focused specifically on (Multi)media. And so far, there are none that I know of that do so.

BC needs a Linux conference!

Currently there are no Linux conferences in BC. GUADEC is in Europe; OLS is in Ottawa; LinuxTAG is in Europe; LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is always in the USA. And all the rest of them are outside of BC!

When I asked VanLUG mailing list:

...why doesn't BC have any Linux, GNOME, or any other kind of free software or open source software conventions???

I got the answer:

Because you haven't organized one. These things don't run themselves, and like an active LUG, take a *lot* of work to make happen. Someone, such as yourself, has to take the helm and make it happen.

Well I think I will try and organized a Linux conference for BC!

I think that if a Linux conference is organized for BC... then it will need to somehow be unique, and focus on something (or things) that no other Linux conference focuses on, to attract people.

My (first) idea is that BC should have a Linux Multimedia Conference. (I'm a little biased, since I work on various multimedia related projects, but...) a Linux conference that focused on multimedia stuff would seem kind of appropriate for this region since BC has a significant Movie Industry, and churns out alot of talented Classical Animators; not to mention that we have large Game Companies here; and large 3D animation sudios here.

I think a Linux conference that focused on all aspects of mutlimedia -- Video, Audio, Graphics, Games, Text, etc -- could get alot of corporate sponsorship (from businesses from within BC, alone).

The first step is, though, to see if enough people would attend! If it looks like 200 will attend (a Linux Multimedia conference)... then it is worth organizing. (If not... then I need to come up with a new focus for the conference... or, at least, broaden the focus.)

The places to check for potential attendees are:

• the GStreamer developers and users,
• the SDL developers and users,
• the aRTs developers and users,
• the GIMP developers and users,
• the subscribers of the LAD mailing list,
• the subscribers of the LAU mailing list,
• the subscribers of the linart mailing list,
• the subscribers of kde-multimedia mailing list,
• as well as the developers and users of every other art and multimedia application for Linux. (Anyone reading this... feel free to give suggestions.)

The (BC) Linux Multimedia Conference would be for developers, artists, and other mutlimedia users. It could give presentations for developers; bringing everyone up-to-speed with the latest developments, with various projects. It could give workshops for artists; introducing them to various Linux Multimedia applications; or teaching them a new technique with their favorite application. It could give workshops for developers; where developers could learn how to develop for a library or environment. And it could have all the other stuff you usually find at a conference.

matterial

Well, it look like the matterial project has picked up a new developer: Billy Biggs -- vektor. vektor brings all sorts of skills and experience to the matterial Development Team, that will prove him to be a valuable addition to the team.

I unfortunately am still really busy with work... and haven't done much with matterial for a while now :-(