For you video buffs out there who want to spruce up your podcasts with some 3D special effects, you should check out Blender. This free and open 3D software suite just released version 2.46 and it available for download. It’s got some great new features that make it almost as cutting edge as any of the big name 3d modelers. Go and check it out from our link at free line report dot com.

Blackberry users now have another option in staving off the ravages of boredom. XM, the satellite radio network that features such personalities and Opie and Anthony and Bob Dylan, is now available on most Blackberry devices. Subscribers will have access to twenty of the XM stations, ranging from rock to comedy. XM on Blackberry proves that even reading your email can be fun… if you have the right music to back it up, that is.

Open source programmer Miguel de Icaza has announced the release of Moonlight, the open source answer to Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. For those unaware, Silverlight is Microsoft’s new software initiative created to compete with Adobe Flash. This is not the first time open source programmers have taken a patently Microsoft idea and given it that distinct GNU flavor. Mono, the development kit that Moonlight is based upon, is actually the open equivalent to the software giant’s .NET Framework. At press time, Moonlight is only available for Linux-based Firefox browsers.

Before giant media centers like iTunes became the norm, stand alone players like WinAmp were the king of all digital media. If you would like to go back to those days while staying still staying true to FOSS, then may we suggest the VLC. Small and lightweight, the VLC can handle almost any kind of non-DRM’ed format thrown at it, from mp3s to Divx files to even DVDs. The VLC is available for most of the major operating systems and is, as always, completely free.

Finally, we leave you with a look at OpenOffice.org gone blue – IBM blue, to be specific. IBM’s Lotus Symphony is a combination of OpenOffice’s core systems and Big Blue’s Rich Client Platform, giving the user new functionality and eye candy while keeping Open Office’s dependability in tact. Lotus Symphony is currently available for both Windows and Linux-based systems, with a Mac version coming in the near future.