Help Develop Ogg Vorbis

Ogg Vorbis is a "copylefted" audio encoding and streaming technology. The specification is made available by the GNU Project. If you're at all interested in thoughtful discussion about strategies for making code free, read up about such things on on the GNU Project's Philosophy Page. I bring this up because if you're new to networked music file sharing software (Napster, Gnutella, Scour, FreeNet, hellooo...), this issue can be seen as, shall we say, relevant.

Full encoding, decoding, and streaming capability for Vorbis on BeOS, BSD, Linux, MacOS, and Windows are included in the development libraries (SDK's). Ogg Vorbis can be encoded at bitrates from sub-16kbps to 256kbps, and in stereo, mono, or 5.1 surround sound. The reference software and full source code is free under the terms of the Lesser/Library GNU Public License, or LGPL. This type of open license requires that if you make a software product using that code that you are required to rerelease it under another LGPL. This license is published by the Free Software Foundation, whose goal is:

To support the freedoms of speech, press, and association on the Internet, the right to use encryption software for private communication, and the right to write software unimpeded by private monopolies.

The GNU Project's and the Open Source Initiative's revolutions (they are different) have been brewing quite a while. And while there have been several free software movements, the cumulative impact of their discourse on the Internet is undeniable. Without the work done by these groups we wouldn't have Emacs, XWindows, or Linux to name just a few. Nor would it have been as likely that Netscape, Sun Microsystems, and other corporations would have released their code.

The basic attitudes contained by these types of licenses make for many coding opportunities, especially the next MP3-type format. Perhaps Ogg Vorbis will be that format. And if there will be a new format for music, will there be a new, open framework for distributing and paying for music? You better get to work:

The Xiphophorus Company's Ogg Vorbis CODEC Project website is the place to go to find all the frequently asked questions, source code download/CVS, mailing lists, archives, and documentation.