Faircamp 1.5, Hyper 8 v0.21-0.22, New mystery project, 2x talk recordings

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

[A short feedback loop sounds as I hesitantly approach the dust-laden, rusted microphone, clearing my voice]

Good news everyone! This is the first RSS update I'm sending out since [checks notes] one and a half years, and it might or might not be the start of a shiny new era of regular RSS updates? Let's do this! :)

As I've already written a useful summary of my last weeks for my newsletter (https://simonrepp.com/newsletter/) today, this shall be the content of my return to RSS life. Enjoy!

Today I'm officially announcing a new, big release for the Hyper 8 Video System (0.22)! On this occasion here's my recap of the last weeks:

1. Faircamp (https://simonrepp.com/faircamp):

Two weeks ago 1.5 introduced support for in-page links, finnish translations, updates for three other languages, and critical fixes. All the details are available on the release page: https://simonrepp.com/faircamp/changes/1.5.0/

A few weeks earlier I completed a grant application for major funding for Faircamp in 2026, the decision on this however will only be known around fall. Fingers crossed!

In parallel to working out institutional funding I've also been making preparations for possible small crowd-funded development goals, more on this probably already in the next newsletter.

2. Hyper 8 Video System (https://simonrepp.com/hyper8):

Four weeks ago 0.21 was released, introducing built-in FTP deployment, better handling of varying aspect ratios and a handful of misc fixes and improvements: https://simonrepp.com/hyper8/changes/0.21.0/

Today I officially announced 0.22, a release I am VERY thrilled about: New browse and search functionality, playlist sidebar and video page layout, player outro screen, poster image cropping aids, fast image previews, shortcut help, the new icon logo, and much more: https://simonrepp.com/hyper8/changes/0.22.0/ As always there's still much work ahead, but this release really brings Hyper 8 to a new level - in a number of areas!

My Hyper 8 talk at the Libre Graphics Meeting 2025 (end of May) went really well (and gave me a healthy dose of adrenaline :)). You can watch the recording (e.g.) on my own Hyper 8 site: https://simonrepp.com/video/hyper8/lgm-2025/ (Chaos West TV did the recordings, super friendly folks!)

3. New mystery project: The shiny release journal generator

If you opened any of the Faircamp/Hyper 8 release pages I recently shared you might have noticed that they follow a somewhat consistent approach and visual language (at least I'm trying to get there haha). They have been generated with a suite of tools for release communication I've been working on in the last 2+ months, which will eventually be released as free software. Some process outtakes can be found here - https://post.lurk.org/@freebliss/114721553046564502 - and here: https://post.lurk.org/@freebliss/114631198105328899 . It will still be a while until this is ready for the public, but it'll get there eventually. :)

4. Fireside Fedi show

Just one or two weeks ago I had the pleasure to be on Fireside Fedi, talking with host Ozoned about Faircamp, Hyper 8, Feber, other projects, and also some purely fun and personal stuff too. If you want to check that out, it's on PeerTube: https://video.firesidefedi.live/w/hrLMDNEHdhxVZ1pknkVu7N

Thank you for following these updates, until next time, Simon