Comments on: Review: The ManCandy FAQ DVD

By: denis

denis — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:10:29 +0000

I don't get the problem. It is licensed under the CC license. Why it is licensed under that license? - Yeah to get people sharing, remixing working with it. I don't understand any worries about creating a bittorent for that. ( I know it is available) From my point of view the most of you want to offer a Open Source license but don't want to live with the consequences.
Open Source means spreading the word, getting everyone work with the tools and I am sure a lot of people will buy the DVD and they don't matter if there is a free download available because they want to support the work. To sum up don't be feared by the license. ;)

By: Bassam

Bassam — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:44:20 +0000

yup, sharing the content is just fine and dandy (in fact, it's good!). The thing that we absolutely *don't* want is for someone to be unable to view it. There are already torrents available; check the blenderartists thread to find out where.
It would be cool at some point to host this stuff via http (not torrent), but I suspect I may have to do something about the size of the videos to make it useable for most people.
of course, buying the DVD is really cool since by doing so you support the blender foundation in current and future projects.

One of the neat things about the CC license is that you're free to reuse and remix the material in your own projects; not just mancandy himself, but the animations and even the tutorials. If we do an online version some day, it would be nice to keep it open for people to upload additional tutorials, or modify existing ones, like a video wiki.

By: LarryPhillips

LarryPhillips — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:26:42 +0000

That's my point right there. There is no "fine line". It's either CC or it's not. No strings attached beyond what's stated in the license. People shouldn't be labeled as a freeloader if they take advantage of it being free, for it's still value for value. The "freeloader" may spread the word, info, knowledge, the work itself… and this can happen in many ways and over time. That's worth something too.

Same deal with a person who repackages it and sells it for a profit. He would be labeled as a dirty scam artist by many in this community, but if he followed the license and gave credit… well, there's your value for value. This is what many can't get their head around… it's not all about the money!

It took me a long time to figure out how this open-source and sharing is a good thing too. So I shouldn't call people hypocrites, but that's what it really boils down to, and maybe it gets people to think about what they are actually doing when they get negative with people who take advantage of the freedom given to them by the license holder. Again, it's not all about the money.

Thanks for the comeback.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:54:07 +0000

Guys, this is one of the best and cheapest tutorial DVDs out there… If you want to see expensive take a look at Gnomon workshop DVds, some cost 89 dollars and Digital Tutors are 55.. Some are a bit cheaper, but none of them are as low as ManCandy FAQ. Larry, those were some strong words, what are you talking about capitalist crusaders!??!?!…Come on, give me a break, its not like I'm pocketing the money, or a single cent of this is going to some CEO in New York City. Paying for this and capitalism is two very different different things because of where this money is going. Ever notice on almost every website where someone is developing open source there is a donate button? I agree, some people do need to rethink their stance of open source and the creative commons, as in not hiding behind it to save a few dollars for themselves. I'm all for a link for people who can't afford it to download it, thats great thing! I'm not against that, I can barley afford to pay for it right now… But there is a fine line people walk between downloading with intent to pay for it and downloading it and never paying for it…

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:32:58 +0000

I agree with LarryPhillips. Please notice that we're talking about an Attribution License, so you could even modify the DVD and SELL it, provided that you give credit to Bassam.
I think there's nothing wrong about downloading the material to evaluate it and eventually decide to buy it to support the author, it's the same thing I did for some programming ebooks.
And don't worry about the Foundation not getting money: if someone is really interested in supporting the cause, he will buy the DVD even if he can download it, if he doesn't want to pay he will always found the material somewhere on the internet…
By the way, I bought both the Orange and the Peach Movie.

By: LarryPhillips

LarryPhillips — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:47:49 +0000

OK, maybe that was a bit strong language. Obviously it's just a simple fact that many people can't get their head around open source and CC and how it really works big picture in the long run.

I'm still afraid to post a link to that torrent here tho.

By: LarryPhillips

LarryPhillips — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:26:09 +0000

Bittorrent - Do a search, it's out there.

I'd post the torrent but I don't want a bunch of hypocrite capitalist crusaders biting at my heels here and elsewhere (BA). These folks need to rethink their stance on open-source and creative commons, for their crusading for the dollar in the name of the Blender Foundation causes a chilling effect on folks like me who want to share it as per the license placed on it by the creator of this work. You are not helping the cause you are hurting it.

By: Dion Moult

Dion Moult — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:21:03 +0000

Would like to express my disappointment at how expensive it will be to buy it for people in developing countries like me. The exchange rates are much too high, any ideas?

By: Höhrer

Höhrer — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:43:55 +0000

Ordered it some weeks ago and it really helped me understand how these nice leg rigs (and part of the finger rigs) work.
Didn't have time to watch the rest yet, but I'm can only assume that the excellent quality will be there as well. :)

Werner

By: freakydude

freakydude — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:18:00 +0000

@bart
I have to agree with dramaking, I can apply tricks on the computer afterwards, but it's a lot more relaxing to first watch it on your regular tv set, instead of from behind your desk, which is not a good position to watch movies to begin with. And resolution shouldn't really be that much of an issue. not when choosing between PAL(720×576) and 1024×768….