Free Video Editing Software for Producing Movies & Vlogs

Ferrari fan, Prabhu Krishnamurthy, is on a hunt for some free movie making software. He writes:

We are coming up with a 12 minute movie for culturals. Do you know any good movie making software, that can be downloaded for free?

Our movie will be based on a news channel. So I am looking at a video editor/movie maker software that allows scrolling texts, subtitles and custom animations etc.

You want so many video editing features for free ? Well, it may be possible as here are some good options for editing that don't cost a dime.

But before you read this list, check the CDs that shipped with your handycam - most camera manufacturers like Sony, Canon and Panasonic generally provide a decent video editing software with the camera. OK, back to the list of free video editing software:

Windows Movie Maker - The best video editing tool for Windows that's absolutely free and chances are you already have it installed on your computer as part of XP SP2. Microsoft Movie Maker has all the basic video editing tools plus a good collection of transitions and video effects.

There's an in-built movie titler that lets add you styles to text titles including ticker taps, zoom and even the scroll effect. And if you are feeling lazy, just hit the AutoMovie command to have the entire video produced for you with intervention.

Avid Free DV - Avid Free DV, poor cousin of Avid Xpress Pro, has all the basic video and audio editing features and allow you to put video in two tracks simultaneously. They have an extensive collection of tutorials online to help you get started quickly.

Support both Mac OS and Windows XP platform. Infact, you can even play with keyframes for generating custom moves and transitions. Ships with the Avid Title tool.

JahShaka - An open source video editing software that is currently in Alpha stage but has features found only in expensive video editing software suites.

Works on Mac, Linux and Windows. The interface might take some time for you to get started otherwise the software is definitely the most powerful one out there. And the price is just right. $0. Also does 3D effects which you won't find in other free video editors.

Jumpcut.com - Jumpcut is a web based video editing software and now it's even part of the Yahoo! family. You upload a video or small clips just like importing inside a desktop software.

There are dozens of transitions and special effects. You can import photographs from your Flickr or Facebook account to mix them with the videos. The jumpcut editor is intuitive enough and there is good title support as well. And your movies are published online automatically. Perfect for quick vlogging and video podcasting.

Finally... While the above video editing software should satisfy the needs of most home movie makers, you can probably consider Adobe Premiere Elements or even Muvee AutoProducer for more features and better control over the final output. They have trial version to help you try out the software before actually buying it.

HP shines spotlight on storage, server software

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) is adding a new business unit within its Enterprise Storage and Server (ESS) organization as a way to highlight its IT management, automation and virtualization software.

The vendor Tuesday announced the formation of the ESS Software unit, which will house HP storage and server offerings currently spread out across the company's operations.

So far, the unit will be the new home for HP's Systems Insight Manager server and storage management software, its Storage Essentials products gained through the October 2005 purchase of AppIQ, its real-time server resource optimization offering Virtual Server Environment and its ProLiant Essentials software, which manages HP's ProLiant servers.

Having a central place for its server and storage software will help HP better compete with rivals in the market like EMC Corp., IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. as well as assist the company in developing new functionality in line with its Adaptive Infrastructure management technologies strategy, the vendor said.

Bob Schultz is heading up the ESS Software unit, with responsibilities including strategic planning and product development and management. For the next couple of weeks, Schultz will also hold on to his old job as senior vice president and general manager of HP's StorageWorks division, a position he's held since 2003, until the vendor appoints his successor.

The creation of the new software unit is part of a sweeping restructuring under way at HP spearheaded by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd who joined the company in 2005. The intention is to end up with a leaner, meaner, more focused HP that's better able to compete in the market through a combination of layoffs and refocusing of its business operations.

Last week, HP announced the formation of a Business Information Optimization unit within its HP Software operation to bring together the vendor's business intelligence and information management offerings, which had been dispersed around the organization.

Management software offered to Linux support customers

Back in October, Oracle announced a new support service called the Unbreakable Linux program. The service was touted as a viable alternative to Red Hat's support program, with the additional incentive that it also offered significant savings per system. The Unbreakable Linux program also went one step further than the Red Hat program. Instead of only supporting the latest Red Hat version of Linux, it also would support previous versions.

Now, Oracle has made participation in its Unbreakable Linux program somewhat more enticing. The company announced it will offer its Oracle Management Pack for Linux to members of its Unbreakable Linux support program at no additional cost. The Oracle Management Pack for Linux helps with Linux server lifecycle management. The software assists with provisioning, OS patching, server configuration management, policy management, server administration, and centralized OS job management.

Read more from the Oracle press release.