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Ask Slashdot: What's The Best Place To Suggest New Open Source Software?

Posted by EditorDavid on from the suggestions-from-the-sidelines dept.

dryriver writes: Somebody I know has been searching up and down the internet for an open source software that can apply GPU pixel shaders (HLSL/GLSL/Cg/SweetFX) to a video and save the result out to a video file. He came up with nothing, so I said "Why not petition the open source community to create such a tool?" His reply was "Where exactly does one go to ask for a new open source software?"

So that is my question: Where on the internet can one best go to request that a new open source software tool that does not exist yet be developed? Or do open source tools only come into existence when someone -- a coder -- starts to build a software, opens the source, and invites other coders to join the fray?
This is a good place to discuss the general logistics of new open source projects -- so leave your best answers in the comments. What's the best place to suggest new open source software?

4 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. Two options... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This person has two options:

    1: Program their own and release it as open source software.

    2: Pay someone to make the software and release it as open source software.

    1. Re:Two options... by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Third options:

      3: Find a project that already does something very close to what you want and who'll probably see the value of your suggestion.

      I have both suggested such things to other projects and have taken on similar feature requests on my own open source projects.
      If it's a good idea, it doesn't matter where it came from.

      On the other hand, if you're looking for a place to dump your ideas and then expect other people to go looking for them, then why do you expect somebody to take the effort for your idea while you couldn't even be bothered with it yourself?

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  2. Uhh... by ckatko · · Score: 5, Informative

    There have got to be tools out there already...

      - MPC-HC supports running custom shaders. (Supposedly KMPlayer does too, but I'm not familiar with it.)

    I'm not sure if it supports file output. But that's already 99% of the battle already done for you. It supports pixel shaders, loading files through codecs. So even if it doesn't, why not just fork the github, and patch on some super-ugly-yet-functional file output?

    But backing up further. What... exactly do you need the shaders for? Does it have to be a shader running on a GPU, or do you simply need filters? Is the task you're attempting really going to take advantage of a GPU?

    As for "doing it for you", you can suck my balls. If you're capable of writing shader code, you're capable of dumping frames to a file.

  3. Re:Build your own software, asshole by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No, people won't build shit for you.

    Tell your friend to get off his ass and build it himself.

    Classic rude answer by a stuck-up asshole.

    Sorry, but asking "Where exactly does one go to ask for a new open source software?" doesn't warrant this kind of "cram-it-up-your-ass" response.

    There are probably a thousand ways to respond but you had to go and pick the worst, most graceless way to do so. Bravo, asshole!

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