Toxic Libs for Processing

ToxicLibs is an advanced Processing library that contains many functions and concepts for complicated coding problems.

Toxiclibs is an independent, open source library collection for computational design tasks with Java & Processing developed by Karsten “toxi” Schmidt (thus far). The classes are purposefully kept fairly generic in order to maximize re-use in different contexts ranging from generative design, animation, interaction/interface design, data visualization to architecture and digital fabrication, use as teaching tool and more.

Check out examples of Toxiclibs on OpenProcessing.org

Linus Torvalds Calls Microsoft Hatred "a Disease"

Hugh Pickens writes

In the aftermath of Microsoft's recent decision to contribute 20,000 lines of device driver code to the Linux community, Christopher Smart of Linux Magazine talked to Linus Torvalds and asked if the code was something he would be happy to include, even though it's from Microsoft. 'Oh, I'm a big believer in "technology over politics." I don't care who it comes from, as long as there are solid reasons for the code, and as long as we don't have to worry about licensing etc. issues,' says Torvalds. 'I may make jokes about Microsoft at times, but at the same time, I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease. I believe in open development, and that very much involves not just making the source open, but also not shutting other people and companies out.' Smart asked Torvalds if Microsoft was contributing the code to benefit the Linux community or Microsoft. 'I agree that it's driven by selfish reasons, but that's how all open source code gets written! We all "scratch our own itches." It's why I started Linux, it's why I started git, and it's why I am still involved. It's the reason for everybody to end up in open source, to some degree,' says Torvalds. 'So complaining about the fact that Microsoft picked a selfish area to work on is just silly. Of course they picked an area that helps them. That's the point of open source — the ability to make the code better for your particular needs, whoever the "your" in question happens to be.'"

via slashdot.org

links:
Linux Torvolds
Microsoft
Linux

Sophisticated, Open Source Camera Tracking Software

TLD is an award-winning, real-time algorithm for tracking of unknown objects in unconstrained video streams. The object of interest is defined by a bounding box in a single frame. TLD simultaneously Tracks the object, Learns its appearance and
Detects it whenever it appears in the video. The result is a real-time tracking that typically improves over time. Due to its learning abilities, TLD has been advertised under name 'Predator'.

TLD has been developed by Zdenek Kalal during his PhD thesis supervised by Dr. Krystian Mikolajczyk and Prof. Jiri Matas. The main contributions of TLD have been presented at international computer-vision conferences where TLD tracker significantly outperformed state-of-the-art approaches. For his work on TLD, Zdenek Kalal has been awarded the the UK ICT Pioneers 2011 prize.

Project Page

Open Source Animation Software

Some open source animation software solutions:

Pencil

Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics.

Synfig

Synfig Studio is a free and open-source 2D animation software, designed as powerful industrial-strength solution for creating film-quality animation using a vector and bitmap artwork. It eliminates the need to create animation frame-by frame, allowing you to produce 2D animation of a higher quality with fewer people and resources. Synfig Studio is available for Windows, Linux and MacOS X.