archive.org supports the new [video] HTML tag!

We now support the new [video] HTML tag when viewing movies from our site.

You’ll need Firefox v3.5+ (full or beta release) or Safari v4+ for us to show you a “try the new [video] tag” section under the “click to play” video area.

You can even persist a choice to always use it on our site (by us setting a cookie for you) (and you can change your mind and go back to the normal flash plugin based option).

-Tracey Jaquith

movie thumbnails can jump to scene in video

We are now rolling out a “beta” feature where users can click on the thumbnails for a given video (to see the still frames) and now click on a thumbnail to jump right into that scene of the video!

-Tracey Jaquith

videos can seek now

Our flash-based player will now allow for folks to click anywhere on the timeline to have it quickly seek the film to the indicated position (previously users would have to wait for the video to download/pre-buffer up to that point first).

–Tracey Jaquith

Archive supports subtitles now!

Our flash-based player supports “SubRip” files (files with “.srt” extension). About a month ago, we updated our video pages to automatically support subtitles.

One simply needs to upload a file with a “.srt” extension (in the SubRip format) along with the video file to get started. If the item includes multiple video files/tracks, you can make multiple .srt files, example:
cow1.avi
cow1.srt
cow2.mov
cow2.srt

We support multilingual subtitling as well. Our suggested naming of .srt files for language-based tracks for the best display on our site is like:
cow.mov
cow.en.srt (english)
cow.fr.srt (french)
cow.hu.srt (hungarian)
and our site will show a selector for the three different languages
subtitle: [ en | fr | hu ]
next to the video track in our player.

Example short video with subtitling.

Enjoy!
–Tracey Jaquith

Special Collections From the UCLA Scanning Center

More and more libraries are partnering with Archive.org to provide online access to their special collections. With this post we feature some of the fascinating collections made available online by the University of California Los Angeles

The UCLA Elmer Belt Florence Nightingale Collection:
“This collection of books by and about Florence Nightingale was a gift from urologist Elmer Belt to UCLA’s Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library in 1958. The gift honored School of Nursing Dean Lulu Wolf Hassenplug for her successful creation of the school in 1948 and her direction of it through its first ten years at the University of California, Los Angeles. The books have a characteristic mid-Victorian appearance; they are not beautiful either in typography or binding but, with content reflecting the influence of Florence Nightingale, they are immensely rich in human value. The collection includes editions of Nightingale’s influential ‘Notes on Nursing’ (1859 and later) and her other publications as well as biographies and tributes.”

Carte Italiane: 
“Carte Italiane is a graduate student publication of the Italian Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since its inception in the 1979-1980 academic year, the journal has been dedicated to publishing the work of graduate students and professors in the field of Italian cultural studies.”

UCLA Yearbook:
“In March 1881 the California State Legislature authorized the creation of a southern branch of the California State Normal School in downtown Los Angeles to train teachers for the growing population of Southern California. In 1887, the school became known as the Los Angeles State Normal School. In 1914, the school moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue in Hollywood. In 1917, the school became the second University of California campus, after Berkeley. On May 23, 1919, Assembly Bill 626 became a law, which turned the campus into the Southern Branch of the University of California. Enrollment at the Southern Branch expanded so rapidly that by the mid-1920s the institution was outgrowing the 25 acre Vermont Avenue location. The Regents conducted a search for a new location and announced their selection of the so-called ‘Beverly Site’—just west of Beverly Hills—on March 21, 1925. In 1927, the Regents renamed the school itself the ‘University of California at Los Angeles’ and the state broke ground in Westwood.”

Paroles gelees : UCLA French studies:
“Paroles gelées was established in 1983 by its founding editor, Kathryn Bailey. The journal is managed and edited by the French and Francophone Studies Graduate Students Association; fully funded by the UCLA Graduate Students Association; and published annually under the auspices of the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies.”

UCLA Children’s Book Collection:
“Children’s literature emerged as a distinct and independent genre only a little more than two centuries ago. Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, books were rarely created specifically for children, and children’s reading was generally confined to literature intended for their education and moral edification rather than for their amusement. Religious works, grammar books, and ‘courtesy books’ (which offered instruction on proper behavior) were virtually the only early books directed at children. In these books illustration played a relatively minor role, usually consisting of small woodcut vignettes or engraved frontispieces created by anonymous illustrators.
New attitudes toward children and their education began to develop in the late seventeenth century, when many educators appealed for greater consideration of children’s distinctive needs and when the notion of pleasure in learning was becoming more widely accepted. By the early eighteenth century interest in children’s literature (and a rise in literacy) led to new markets and a flourishing of new publishers, particularly in England. Innovations in typography and printing allowed greater freedom in reproducing art through engraving, woodcut, etching, and aquatint, although illustrators were still largely anonymous and illustrations confined to frontispieces.”

–Cara Binder

Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map

For science geeks, the United State Geological Survey (USGS) is a beloved and respected organization providing a source of thorough scientific research which delves into the subjects of geology, biology, geography, and water, among others.

An important and lasting project of the USGS has been their work with topographical and interactive maps. The Internet Archive houses a collection of more than 50,000 of their United States maps which are given freely for use in outdoor recreation, scientific research, emergency response, or general interest.

Here are some particularly interesting maps:

Glen Arbor, Michigan

Half Dome, California

Central Park, New York

Chicago Loop, Illinois

Grand Canyon, Arizona

New Orleans, Louisiana

Honolulu, Hawaii

–Cara Binder

The Days of Sexy Cigarettes

Elegant women, strong cowboys, powerful executives, and Fred Flintstone smoked. Shouldn’t that make you want to, too?

Cigarette ads once ran as frequently as alcohol ads run today. Today we see a voluptuous woman ordering a Disarono at a male-packed bar or a seemingly over-worked CEO kicking it on the beach with a freshly-cracked Corona, but not too long ago similar ads were run to encourage smoking. Although cigarette advertising seems in the not-so-distant past, taking a look at the ads themselves seems surprisingly shocking as we now live in a world that slaps “SMOKING KILLS” and pictures of black lungs on the packs themselves. Take a peek into the University of California, San Francisco Tobacco Industry Videos Collection to recall the days.

Phillip Morris sponsored I Love Lucy which scored them a pitch from Lucille Ball herself. “Don’t say cigarette! Say Phillip Morris,” Lucy exclaims to Ricky.

Similarly, Winston sponsored The Flintstones. The pitch comes in the form of a “Winston break” Fred and Barney take while their wives run around doing housework.

Pouncing on the untapped market of female smokers, Virginia Slims was always known as the woman’s cigarette. Here, it is marketed as empowering: “You’ve come a long way, baby. You’ve got your own cigarette now, baby.”

Marlboro, on the other hand, is the man’s cigarette. Out in Marlboro Country, this cigarette is perfect for the rugged cowboy who can wrangle wild stallions.

Wild horses were apparently quite the draw for male smokers. Mustang had a similar campaign, including the slogan, “If you think it would take wild horses to make you change, you’re right! You’re ready for Mustang!”

This Newport ad is a great example of the jingles and and songs used in all kind of cigarette ads.

In a much different approach, this ad shows the good people behind the tobacco and pipe industry, reaching for feelings of community and patriotism through the business of tobacco.

To hearken back some more, check out the UCSF Tobacco Industry Audio Recordings Collection and visit their homepage.

–Cara Binder

Welcoming the “Share” Button

This week, archive.org released a beta version of our new upload tool, created to ease sharing of your material on Internet Archive. We’ll be moving away from FTP uploads in favor of HTTP uploading which allows you to upload right on the web. When you click on the “Upload” button, you’ll be prompted to use the HTTP method, if you choose.

To use the new beta uploader:

First click the “Upload” button near the upper right-hand corner of the site or click here.

Now you can see the Share button.

Click the Share button to browse for the media you want to upload. You can select more than one file, or you can click the Share button again to select additional files.

Archive.org will automatically detect which media collection (movies, audio, texts, or other) your item belongs to, according to the type of the first uploaded file.

You will have the option to click the link to change the file type if needed.

As the file(s) upload, enter the information about your file in the given fields.

When everything is complete, click the “Share my File(s)” button at the bottom of the page to create your item page on Archive.org.

For instructions on how to upload to the Live Music Archive, click here.

We encourage you to give it a shot and offer any feedback you have on the new system. Here is a conversation that is currently taking place about the switch.

Additionally, we have a new edit tool for your items on the Archive. You can use this tool to change an item’s title, description, file formats and titles, running time, language, etc. You can also use it to remove, add, or rename files within an item.

To edit your item:

Make sure you are logged into the account you used to upload your item.

Go to your item’s details page.

Click on the “Edit Item” link at the top of the page to the left of the upload button.

Make your changes and wait 20-30 minutes for them to appear on the page.

Note: If you would like us to make derivative files, click on “Item Manager” after you click on “Edit Item” and click the “Derive” button. This will make smaller, more compressed versions of your upload.

As always, we greatly appreciate all of your generous contributions to the Archive, and we hope this new process will make this open sharing even easier.

–Cara Binder

The Library of Congress at Your Fingertips

To visit The Library of Congress has long been thought of as a distinguished event for the privileged few. Most people throughout the world are unable to get to Washington D.C., so the plethora of resources housed in the library has remained untapped for the general population. However, as the Library of Congress continues to digitize more and more of the material in their collections, universal access to human knowledge seems in much closer reach. A child on the coast of Oregon or a CEO in Russia will be able to browse the material in the Library of Congress without the expensive plane ticket to D.C. Furthermore, books that were once considered too fragile to lend out will be available for use digitally.

The Library of Congress officially opened its scanning center this past January, and footage from the launch is now available on Internet Archive. The current holdings of Library of Congress books on Internet Archive can be found within their collection page, which now boasts more than 30,000 items.

Internet Archive is extremely pleased to be a part of this wonderful project, which we see as a perfect example of the far-reaching possibilities of digital archiving and open sharing.

–Cara Binder

Images on the Live Music Archive!

A note from the forums…

Hi there,

We want to encourage all of you to attach any image files you may have to the live shows you upload. A good photo of a band playing can really enhance an item; although the recordings are certainly the most important part, it’s always fun to see the band playing.

Here are some examples of items that are rounded out with interesting images:

A Trampled by Turtles show with images from the show attached

A Yonder Mountain String Band show with a photo of the ticket stub attached

A John Mayer show with a photo of the cover of the CD which was made from the show

A Mountain Goats show with a photo of John Darnielle attached

Please add photos you may have to update your shows and make the Live Music Archive that much more exciting

Thanks for all you do to contribute to archive.org!

Best,
Cara

Audio and Video improvements

Hi Patrons,

Yesterday we made live a large update to the way we create the audio and video displayed on our site.  Most folks might not notice the changes, so here’s a rundown:

For Audio:

• We can now read and make mp3s from 24-bit Flac files.  This has been requested for many years and we are thrilled to get it working.
• The Ogg audio files that we create from audio files will now be using an updated “libvorbis” library.  (The library we were using before today was from 2001! )
• We are no longer making 64kb MP3s (or zips or m3u playlists of those files).  This was a judgement call — given how poor the sound quality is for these files and the fact that most people are getting more and more bandwidth to their devices and computers.
• Simplified back-end system, relying more and more on “ffmpeg” for format conversion.
• We will now (try to) make derivatives from “.aac” (Advanced Audio Coding) files and “.ra”/”.rm” (Real Audio) files.
• General ability to read more kinds of audio files more reliably.

For Movies:

• The Ogg Video files that we create from movies files will now be using an updated “libvorbis” library for their audio.  (Previously we were using the “non reference” library ogg encoder.  Now we are using the much asked for and newer “libvorbis” library).
• Updated ffmpeg to v0.5.   This allows for a much wider range of source audio/video containers and codecs.  We will be able to derive HD-quality video formats like DV-50 and DV-100.   (For those interested in ffmpeg, changelog).
• Better detection of widescreen movies (so less of our movies on our site will incorrectly appear “squooshed”).
• General ability to read more kinds of video files more reliably.
• Noting the prior point, we were able to get streaming videos for about 170 TV archive items that we could not process previously.

Enjoy!

–Tracey Jaquith

Swirl, Sniff, Sip With The Bancroft Library

The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley preserves some of the most intriguing rare and hard-to-find books in the country. According to their Web site, their holdings include 60,000 manuscript items, 8,000,000 photographs/pictorial materials, 43,000 microforms, and 23,000 maps. On the Archive, their digitized materials include classics like Joyce’s Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, issues of Pacific Science Monthly, and a copy of Grammar of the Mikmaque Language of Nova Scotia.

The scope of the collection is large, with arguably some of the best sub-collections sitting in the Regional Oral History Office collection. ROHO is a department preserving Californian and West Coat history based primarily on interviews conducted, recorded, and transcribed. One such topic that ROHO has researched and preserved is wine, vinters, and Napa Valley.

Below is some required reading for all who wish to out-snob their friends at the next wine night:

Creating classic wines in the Napa Valley

Launching Bordeaux style wines in the Napa Valley

Sonoma County wine making

Marketing California wine and brandy

Fumé blanc and mertiage wines in Sonoma County: Dry Creek Vineyard’s pioneer winemaking

Wines, music, and lifelong education

Six decades of making wine in Mendocino County

Cheers!

–Cara Binder

“Back Into the Shared Culture it Goes”

Sita Sings the Blues is a refreshingly unique animation that has gotten a rise out of people on both sides of the open and shared culture debate. In the film, creator Nina Paley weaves together the strikingly personal story of her own divorce with the ancient Indian tale of Sita and Rama. Set to the alluring vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the soundtrack has elicited dispute over rights issues.

Paley says on her Web site, “I hereby give Sita Sings the Blues to you. Like all culture, it belongs to you already, but I am making it explicit with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Please distribute, copy, share, archive, and show Sita Sings the Blues. From the shared culture it came, and back into the shared culture it goes. “

The Archive welcomes this piece of art with open virtual arms, hoping to share this bit of culture with as many users as possible, as Paley has intended. You can download the full length film here, get high-resolution stills here, watch the trailer here, and see an interview with Paley regarding the connection between expression and copyright here.

While the cultural arguments have begun to define this work, the film stands firmly on its own as an utterly engaging and enjoyable piece of entertainment. The animation, which seamlessly flows between entirely different styles and story lines, is to be admired by even those who do not regularly seek out animated stories. Assuming the viewer is familiar with heartache and heartbreak (which they likely are), Rama and Sita and Nina and her ex-husband will be relatable in many ways.

With more than 40,000 downloads on archive.org and nothing but rave reviews it is clear that Paley has created a stand-out film. Enjoy it on the Archive, or, perhaps it’s playing near you.

–Cara Binder

A New Kind of Datacenter

A note from Internet Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle:

Today (March 25, 2009) the Internet Archive and Sun Microsystems are launching a new datacenter that stores the whole web archive and serves the Wayback Machine.

And, it is a modular datacenter that sits outside in a shipping container. This 3Petabyte (3 million gigabyte) datacenter will handle the 500 requests per second as it takes over the full Wayback load.

Thank you to Sun and Internet Archive staff that helped conceive and build this new perspective on long term active archiving.

In the press:
Sun Microsystems
Slashdot
Metafilter
San Francisco Chronicle
Computerworld
Good Morning Silicon Valley

Kick Back With Old Time Radio Shows

2009 bombards people with screens; whether you’re picking up your phone, checking your mail, watching the news, going to a movie, or reading this blog, you likely encounter upwards of three screens everyday. So it’s good to take a break from modern technology, even if that means visiting Internet Archive to do so. Yes, it’s a Web site, but it also holds a plethora of entertainment from bygone years, including a large collection of old time radio shows.

Choose a radio show, hit play, and gently close your laptop or spin away from your desktop. Imagine that you’re pre-television and pre-internet, grab some coffee or tea, and enjoy the lost art of the radio show.

There are plenty to search through, but here are a few standouts:

A Case For Dr. Morelle: 12 episodes of the BBC classic from the 1950s about a criminologist psychologist. CSI fans, listen up.

Red Skelton: A timeless comedian from the 1930s and ’40s, this broadcast includes interesting Rollies Cigarette ads claiming that “medical science offers you proof positive no other cigarette is safer to smoke.”

Charlie Chan: A radio show documenting detective Charlie Chan, a Chinese-American who has the “wisdom of the east, science of the west.”

The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen: Deemed the Star Trek of old time radio, this radio show logs the adventures of the master and first mate of a ship traveling around the South Pacific.

Paul Temple: A 1942 broadcast of the BBC favorite, following the stories of Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, as they solve crimes.

WKBW Halloween Show: A much more contemporary show from 1973. This broadcast is from Halloween night, celebrating the 8th annual radio show broadcasting horror stories. This show kicks off the horror marathon with War of the Worlds.

–Cara Binder