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Cthugha (software)
Encyclopedia
Cthugha is a music visualization
computer program
. It was written in the mid-90's by Kevin "Zaph" Burfitt, originally for the PC
, and was later ported
to other platforms. It was freely distributed.
for the PC , but not released to the public until version 2.0 in March 1994 . It wasn't until release 5.1p in October 1994 that popularity of the program took off; this coinciding with the relatively new availability of cheap sound-cards for PCs, such as the Soundblaster.
Cthugha was released for Linux
("Cthugha-L") in May 1995 , and for the Macintosh
("MaCthugha") in January 1996
In 1994 Cthugha was used heavily in the music video
for the top-40 song Dead Eyes Opened by Severed Heads
, and as the video wall
background for the Australian children's TV game show Challenger
, hosted by Zoe Sheridan
during the late 90's
Burfitt stopped work on Cthugha in January 2001, and there were various attempts by others to carry on the project, but by that time there were so many clones of the software that there was little enthusiasm. Cthugha may have been the forerunner – either in inspiration, or possibly even as source-code – of the numerous and varied "visualisation
" plugins for mp3
players and media players on many computer architectures.
Music visualization
Music visualization, a feature found in electronic music visualizers and media player software, generates animated imagery based on a piece of music...
computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
. It was written in the mid-90's by Kevin "Zaph" Burfitt, originally for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, and was later ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to other platforms. It was freely distributed.
History
Cthugha was started by Australian coder Kevin "Zaph" Burfitt in September 1993 under DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
for the PC , but not released to the public until version 2.0 in March 1994 . It wasn't until release 5.1p in October 1994 that popularity of the program took off; this coinciding with the relatively new availability of cheap sound-cards for PCs, such as the Soundblaster.
Cthugha was released for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
("Cthugha-L") in May 1995 , and for the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
("MaCthugha") in January 1996
In 1994 Cthugha was used heavily in the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the top-40 song Dead Eyes Opened by Severed Heads
Severed Heads
Severed Heads is an Australian electronic music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular...
, and as the video wall
Video wall
A video wall consists of multiple computer monitors, video projectors, or television sets tiled together contiguously or overlapped in order to form one large screen...
background for the Australian children's TV game show Challenger
Challenger (game show)
Challenger was an Australian children's game show that aired on the Nine Network in 1997 and 1998. The first host was Diarmid Heidenreich famous for playing Dougie the pizza delivery boy in the Pizza Hut commercials in the mid-1990s. After he left the show in early 1998 he was replaced by hosts...
, hosted by Zoe Sheridan
Zoe Sheridan
Zoe Sheridan is an Australian television presenter, radio announcer and voice over artist.Sheridan was a co-host of the Hot 30 Countdown on Brisbane radio from 1995 to 1998. She moved to Sydney in 1998 for a regular slot on 2Day FM....
during the late 90's
Burfitt stopped work on Cthugha in January 2001, and there were various attempts by others to carry on the project, but by that time there were so many clones of the software that there was little enthusiasm. Cthugha may have been the forerunner – either in inspiration, or possibly even as source-code – of the numerous and varied "visualisation
Music visualization
Music visualization, a feature found in electronic music visualizers and media player software, generates animated imagery based on a piece of music...
" plugins for mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
players and media players on many computer architectures.