What you need to know
- Microsoft 3D Movie Maker has been open sourced.
- The program was initially launched in 1995 and allowed people to place 3-D objects within pre-rendered environments.
- The software has been out of support for several years and won't work on many modern systems, but it's available to investigate for anyone who is interested.
Microsoft 3D Movie Maker was initially launched in 1995. The program allowed you to place 3-D objects within environments to create films. The software looks dated now, but it was a fun way to play around with 3-D effects back in the day. Now, the classic program has been open sourced by Microsoft.
It appears that a 3D Movie Maker enthusiast was able to convince Microsoft's Scot Hanselman to open source the software by "nerd sniping." That term refers to when a person claims something cannot be done with the aim of someone proving them wrong.
"What's the best way to get something done? Nerd-snipe an engineer and tell them it can't be done. I HATE being told something can't be done," said Microsoft's Scott Hanselman.
What's the best way to get something done? Nerd-snipe an engineer and tell them it can't be done. I HATE being told something can't be done.What's the best way to get something done? Nerd-snipe an engineer and tell them it can't be done. I HATE being told something can't be done.— Scott Hanselman 🇺🇦 (@shanselman) May 4, 2022May 4, 2022
Of course, Microsoft's 3D Movie Maker from 1995 is out of support. In fact, it may not even work on newer PCs. "This project is unlikely to build successfully under modern hardware/software, but you can get started with compilation and get partial completed binaries," explains the GitHub page for the program.
The files in the GitHub repository are for historical reference and will remain static going forward. Microsoft invites people to fork the repo and to experiment with the code.
