animation

The Talking Moose is a desktop utility that features a funny animated cartoon-like moose that will pop up when least expected and deliver a funny line, a witty quote, or insult the user. There are versions of The Talking Moose for the Mac and mobile devices as well as Windows, and the moose even has his own Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

The Talking Moose has been around in electronic form since 1986 and was one of the first animated figures on computers. Once installed the user will see the interface with links to the official Talking Moose Website and … Read more

Most people know about the lack of support for Flash on the iPad and iPhone, but Flash is alive and well on Mac OS X with the Adobe Flash Player for Mac. As the app name suggests, this is a player for Flash 11 videos for Mac OS X 10.6 and higher. Adobe Flash Player for Mac is a browser plug-in and allows viewing of Web sites with Flash videos embedded in them to appear on the Mac OS. You won't find Adobe Flash Player for Mac on the App Store (thanks to the dispute between the two … Read more

Pokemon has begun his struggle for freeman and liberation, fighting his trainers, doling out group hugs and going to protests... in PETA's alternate universe, that is.

The animal rights group has launched a campaign against Pokemon Black and White 2, saying that the game condones animal cruelty and that its creatures are treated like abused animals.

"The amount of time that Pokemon spend stuffed in pokeballs is akin to how elephants are chained up in train carts, waiting to be let out to 'perform' in circuses," PETA wrote on its Web site. "But the difference between … Read more

In the geek world, cosplay is an art form. Sometimes it's just masks and colorful spandex. Sometimes it's elevated to a high level. Consider Anastasiya Shpagina, a 19-year-old Ukrainian whom some might call a goddess among cosplayers.

Shpagina is obsessed with anime. She's so obsessed, she turns herself into a real-life anime character, complete with giant eyes and a teensy body. She probably has a secret stash of Ramune, too. … Read more

Usually if you use your iSight camera with one program, you can't use it with another. ManyCam Virtual Webcam helps change that as soon as you install it. This handy app removes many iSight camera restrictions and provides multiple ways to enhance the overall Webcam chat experience, with some helpful (and some silly) features you'll absolutely enjoy.

After installing the application, ManyCam takes control of your iSight camera: it will become the video source of the chat programs you use, such as Yahoo Messenger or Skype. Now, if you want to make your video chat more fun, you … Read more

If you're looking for something a bit scary for a screensaver, then this simple app just might be for you. 3D Face Screensaver from Philippe Choquette presents the three-dimensional image of Cain, the villain in "RoboCop 2," something that fans of the 1990 film might remember. While this screensaver worked fine, it does try and install another program.

There is no interface for 3D Face Screensaver. Once downloaded, just click on the file named cain.scr to activate the screensaver. You can then watch Cain's face display varying degrees of emotions ranging from happiness to rage … Read more

SAN DIEGO -- For hundreds of thousands of passionate panda watchers, the birth at the San Diego Zoo today of a new panda cub is an event well worth celebrating, especially given that the mother is probably the second-oldest known panda ever to successfully deliver. And thanks to some high-tech imaging, the zoo was able to monitor the pregnancy every step of the way.

For weeks, the panda team at the zoo here has been on tenterhooks, hoping against hope that the 20-year-old mother, Bai Yun, would carry to term what they were nearly certain was a healthy cub. But … Read more

PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- Ed Catmull, president of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, said at the D10 conference today that technology can lead to better art.

He was quick to say, "Technology is not a goal. It really is to make a great movie."

But the point he was making is that adapting new tools forces artists to rethink everything about their work; that getting people out of their comfort zones leads to better art.

Referring to the first animated film, "Bertie the Dinosaur," he says, "Years later, we don'… Read more

A few days ago, CNET photographer Josh Miller was going around the office making Cinemagrams. I had seen the app before on the iTunes App Store most-popular lists, but had assumed it was simply a version of Instagram for video. When Josh showed me how the app worked, I was really impressed.

After seeing what Cinemagram could do (more about that below), I started wondering about other animation apps in the App Store and came upon several that were impressive for different reasons, but popular for the interesting animations you could make with your iPhone.

This week's collection of apps is all about making short animations. The first makes stop-motion animations by taking several photos of a moving object. The second makes short videos into animated GIFs you can add to text messages. The third is Cinemagram, an app that lets you make photo and video hybrids that are simple and fascinating.… Read more