First Blender 2.57 bug fix update released

The Blender Foundation and its associated online developer community have announced the release of the first bug fix update for version 2.57 of their open source 3D content creation suite, the first stable release in the Blender 2.5 series. Discussing the release (2.57a), the developers say that the "best testing only happens after a real release", noting that the maintenance update includes nearly 100 bug fixes affecting everything from rendering and the Blender interface, to tools, compositing and animation, as well as various crashing bugs.

Over the next two months the developers will "keep working on finishing a couple of left-over 2.5 targets", noting that if all goes well, the upcoming 2.58 release will be the final in the 2.5 series. After that, development on the 2.6x cycle will begin, targeting new updates every 2 months.

A full list of changes and bug fixes can be found in the change log and in the release log. Blender 2.57a is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD (32- and 64-bit) from the project's official Get Blender download page.

Blender is released under version 2 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv2) and sponsored by the non-profit Blender Foundation based in Amsterdam. It has been used to create several animated movies, such as Sintel, Big Buck Bunny and Elephants Dream, that are available for free download. Based in Amsterdam, the Blender Foundation sponsors the development of Blender.

See also:

• First stable Blender 2.5 series arrives, a report from The H.
• Blender on sale in alleged violation of GPL, a report from The H.

(crve)