VideoLAN

One of the pleasures of what is known as Web2.0 is the amount of video available. If you're partial to downloading some of this content for later viewing/sharing you might have come across the bane of video-loving non-techie types that is the codec issue.

Forums and chat boards across the net are filled with questions about codecs, and the advice that's given isn't always clear which can be a bit depressing. A huge amount of viewing problems can be solved by simply choosing the correct player, and many experienced people will (rightly) advise you install VLC (freely available from a number of locations) for Linux, Windows or Mac OS.

Recently the pretty programmers over at VLC added the ability to convert video - a useful tool for people who like to move their media about, and now they're aiming to have a free open source video editing tool too.

Get their wares, and if you can, donate to support their noble work.

Thanks to CDM for the heads up on this - I love having things on the horizon to look forward to. Roll on creative solutions for all in 2010...