Handbrake 0.10.0

HandBrake icon

Handbrake, the Open-Source tool for converting video, has reach a version 0.10.0. Yes, it is Handbrake 0.10.0.

Encoders
We are introducing several new encoders with this release and replacing others.

  • Intel QuickSync Video
    is a hardware based H.264 encoder that is available on Intel CPUs. Currently, QSV is only supported on Windows but we hope to bring this to Linux users in the future. Thanks to the good people at Intel for making this possible!
  • H.265
    is now available through x265 1.4. While this encoder is still fairly new, we have seen some promising results come out of it. It’s still under heavy active development and is only going to improve over time!
  • VP8
    using the libvpx encoder. We have now deprecated Theora (VP3) in favour of VP8 which is a more modern encoder offering better quality encodes at lower file sizes.
  • LibFaac
    Has now officially been removed due to GPL compatibility issues, and replaced with the libav AAC encoder as the new default for Windows and Linux. In addition, we have added the FDK AAC encoder for Windows and Linux as a optional compile-time option. The Mac release will continue to use CoreAudio as the default.
  • As usual, we’ve updated a number of the core libraries including x264 and libav

Handbrake is available for OS X, Ubuntu and Windows.

As a content creator, I certainly am thankful to the people who have been working on Handbrake.

WordPress 4.0.1

Welcome to WordPress 4.0.1

WordPress 4.0.1 is out now.

  • Three cross-site scripting issues that a contributor or author could use to compromise a site. Discovered by Jon Cave, Robert Chapin, and John Blackbourn of the WordPress security team.
  • A cross-site request forgery that could be used to trick a user into changing their password.
  • An issue that could lead to a denial of service when passwords are checked. Reported by Javier Nieto Arevalo and Andres Rojas Guerrero.
  • Additional protections for server-side request forgery attacks when WordPress makes HTTP requests. Reported by Ben Bidner (vortfu).
  • An extremely unlikely hash collision could allow a user’s account to be compromised, that also required that they haven’t logged in since 2008 (I wish I were kidding). Reported by David Anderson.
  • WordPress now invalidates the links in a password reset email if the user remembers their password, logs in, and changes their email address. Reported separately by Momen Bassel, Tanoy Bose, and Bojan Slavković of ManageWP.

I would say that it is mandatory to update your WordPress installation, because of these important security fixes.

iTunes First Play: Foo Fighters “Sonic Highways”

Foo-Fighters-Sonic-Highway-First-Play

Foo Fighters latest album “Sonic Highways” is coming this Monday, November 10, 2014.
FooFighters.com | iTunes

iTunes is now streaming the album, all eight songs, for you to listen. As long as you have iTunes or iOS devices; preferably running the almost current iOS.

Foo Fighters “Sonic Highways” is also an HBO series.

Track Listing:

  • Something From Nothing
  • The Feast and The Famine
  • Congregation
  • What Did I Do? / God As My Witness
  • Outside
  • In the Clear
  • Subterranean
  • I Am a River

iTunes First Play Foo Fighters In The Clear