Immediately upon publishing my previous post, ideas just kept swarming in my head of more and more free gifts that I have forgotten, for this Christmas.
1. Music, for one. There is plenty of music made freely available on Jamendo, a community of free, legal and unlimited music published under Creative Commons licenses. To select but a few:
Josh Woodward – Dirty Wings
Josh Woodward is a talented musician from Ohio, playing what he likes to label Creative Commons Acoustic Rock, and on his album Dirty Wings, which is recommended here as a gift, he does it in a bit darker tone. Josh’s entire collection of over 100 songs is offered freely on the web.
Tryad – Public Domain
Tryad is one of the world’s first ‘virtual bands’. The members of Tryad – Arna, Emma, John Holowach, Rjmarshall, and Vavrek – met and created music entirely over the internet. What could be more convenient than to present an Open Access enthusiast with an album named Public Domain. Also, in relaxing ambient tunes to keep his mind off the law and copyright and intellectual property.
The Dada Weatherman – Itchy Hitchhiker
The Dada Weatherman is a folk project of a young artist from France named simply Jonathan. The music is also a simple combination of rockish and folkish notes, somewhat sweet and instantly edible. However, Itchy Hitchhiker is a perfect gift for not too demanding ears.
2. Photography. Why not present someone with a virtual walk through a variety of Winter Wonderland images available at Europeana. The creators of these images come from different European countries, and their work used to be exhibited in national archives and national libraries, and it is truly outstanding.
3. Free Software. I know this one is outdated but for a photo freak in the family who just can’t get those self made works of art perfect and in order, here is an image manipulation program called GIMP, an absolutely free alternative to its commercial twin, and with an absolutely cute icon. It can be used both as a simple paint program and as an expert quality photo retouching program.
4. A journalist Dan Gillmor has recently presented his newly released book, Mediactive, on the CC website. The complete work is now available for free online, and the author has even turned down a publishing deal with a major New York publisher because they would not allow the CC license. The book comments on the media users in the age of information overload. This is a gift for someone who likes to keep track on the untraceable.
5. Finally, Sintel, a 3D Movie from the Blender Institute, an independent organization established for open movie projects which offers an open source 3D Software, reaches the heights of its animation possibilities in this short movie and it tells a short tale – though a sad one – of the senselessness of a revenge. This is not a movie for people with a soft spot for baby dragons.
Enough said. Go and find your own gifts.
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