Monday, March 15, 2010

"Get YouTube" Bookmarklet Grabs YouTube Videos in One Click [YouTube]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5493662/get-youtube-bookmarklet-grabs-youtube-videos-in-one-click

You'll find no shortage of browser add-ons and specialty sites to help you grab clips off YouTube, but they all lack for the simplicity of a single-click bookmarklet.

Over at the technology site How-To Geek they've put together Get YouTube, a bookmarklet that enhances your YouTube experience by placing a simple download link in the sidebar of YouTube. It doesn't have any bells or whistles, you won't find any options for selecting formats or such, it just lets you download the video you are currently watching at the quality and size you're watching it at.

You don't need to install any add-ons, install Greasemonkey, or visit any specialty sites. Visit How-To Geek at the link below, drag the bookmarklet to your bookmark toolbar, and grab any YouTube video that catches your fancy. Have a favorite tool for capturing streaming media? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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Librophile Makes Quick Work of Finding Free Audio and Ebooks [Books]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5493850/librophile-makes-quick-work-of-finding-free-audio-and-ebooks

There are loads of free audio and e-books available online for the taking, but tracking them down across their many sources can be tough. Web-based seach tool Librophile makes the job a lot easier.

If you're not sure what books you're looking for, just page through the listings. Each book entry includes the option to open a pop-up window to play an excerpt, opens the e-book in a new browser window, download the file in ZIP format, or subscribe to an audio book in iTunes. Hovering your mouse over the book title pops up a summary of what the story is about.

Librophile also lets users search by keyword or book title, or through categories like Popular or Genre. One particularly great feature of this free web site is how easy it is to listen to audio books right in the browser without installing a bunch of software. It's a definite plus for visually impaired users, or kids who won't sit still long enough to read the classics in dead-tree form.

Have a favorite tool for finding free books on the web? Let us know in the comments.

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Le Whif Coffee Inhaler: First Hit's Free $3 [Addicts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5493588/le-whif-coffee-inhaler-first-hits-free-3

The makers of the Chocolate Inhaler have done themselves one better. The Le Whif Coffee Inhaler, a lipstick-sized tube that contains a "breathable coffee powder," gives you a nice caffeine fix without all that drinking and swallowing messiness. How nice?

Oh, just 100mg of caffeine. To give you some perspective, that's somewhere between a cup of instant and a double espresso, just from one little puff off a biodegradable tube. To give you overwhelming perspective, there's this:
This can only end well! The Coffee Inhaler is available for $3 a pop, or a box of three for $8. You know, if you want to share with friends, or never sleep again. [Le Whif via Boing Boing]

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iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/ipad-pre-orders-estimated-at-over-150-000-possibly-ahead-of-i/

Let's get this out of the way right up front: the estimated number of iPads sold in the first 72 hours is nowhere near official. And if the numbers hadn't been scraped together by a well known amateur Apple analyst who regularly trumps the pros then we'd be skipping the fruits of his black magic algorithms altogether. Nevertheless, Daniel Tello (aka, Deagol), has applied his proven approach of extrapolating Apple web order numbers to come up with a 120,000 total for first day iPad sales that slowed to 152,000 after 72 hours (not including iPads reserved for pick-up). Tello told Fortune, "My best guess, although very tentative given the early stage and few data we have so far, would be that they hit the 1 million unit milestone by the second week after it ships." For those keeping track, it took the original iPhone 74 days to hit 1 million. Quite an accomplishment if these numbers pan out (and that's a big if!) considering that only 3 to 4 million tablets are sold globally each year.

iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/nvidias-3dtv-play-finally-solves-the-hdmi-1-4-gap-for-3d-vision/

In case you hadn't noticed, there was some trouble brewing in the NVIDIA camp. After ages of reigning atop the land of stereoscopic 3D playback on the PC, NVIDIA is finally being confronted with a real, bona fide standard for 3D, with zero GPUs capable of meeting it. The current NVIDIA 3D Vision-compatible cards pump out the necessary pixels over DisplayPort or dual DVI plugs, while the official spec for 3D TVs is an HDMI 1.4 plug that accepts data from both frames at once. We were in doubt there for a moment, but it turns out NVIDIA's cards upgrade to 1.4 just fine, and all 3D Vision customers will be getting this as a free upgrade later this spring. NVIDIA will also be offering this 3DTV Play software in a standalone version for $40 to folks who don't want to bother with NVIDIA's 3D Vision stuff at all (with HDMI 1.4 you can just use the stereoscopic glasses that come with your fancy new 3D TV, no need for NVIDIA's setup). NVIDIA is naturally hitting all the high points of the 1.4 spec, with 1080p24, 720p60 (the official gaming spec), and 720p50. The cards will also support 3D Blu-ray. So, just about time to splurge big on that home theater PC? We don't know... is it just us, or does that guy and his couch look a little lonely?

NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/iomega-iconnect-review-getting-your-printers-hdds-online-has-n/

Iomega's iConnect managed to launch during the whirlwind that was CES 2010, so if you didn't quite catch it the first go 'round, here's hoping that you're paying attention today. In essence, the device is fairly simple. It's a small, port-filled slab that's designed to sit beneath or beside your current router or hub, and while we're certainly dumbing things down somewhat with this description, it's basically a variant of the Pogoplug. Equipped with four USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack and an internal 802.11b/g/n WiFi module, the iConnect is designed to put your existing thumb drives, external hard drives and / or printers online. We've had less-than-awesome experiences in the past with devices that turn localized storage into network accessible storage, so we went into this overview with fairly low expectations. Much to our surprise, we came away duly impressed with the package that Iomega has assembled, so be sure to read on if this one has been sitting on your maybe-must-have list.

Continue reading Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler

Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC submits National Broadband Plan to Congress: at least 100M US homes with access to 100Mbps download speeds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/fcc-submits-national-broadband-plan-to-congress-at-least-100m-u/

Right on schedule, the FCC has submitted its National Broadband Plan. There's a lot to go through -- note the calls for broadband benchmarking and pricing reports -- and we're still combing, but here's what we've noticed so far. The six goals set out for "the next decade" propose that every American have the affordable access (the key, oft-repeated phrase) to "robust broadband services," and, more specifically, at least 100 million US homes with affordable access to at least 100MBps down / 50Mbps up speeds. All communities should have at their disposal 1Gbps service, every first responder should have "access to a nationwide, wireless interoperable broadband public safety network," and here's an interesting one: every citizen should be able to use broadband to "track and manage real-time [home] energy consumption."

The appeal to our taxpaying wallets comes in the form of the FCC expecting the "vast majority of recommendations [to] not require new government funding", and that the 500MHz of spectrum going on auction is "likely to offset the potential costs." The plan, as the paper itself says, is in beta and be perennially in flux. Set aside 15 minutes of your day and hit up the PDF for all the details, or 25 if you're having to download over dial-up.

Update: Here's a friendly reminder to keep the discussion friendly and on topic -- that is, about the broadband proposal itself. All other comments will get deleted and the respective users run the risk of being banned.

FCC submits National Broadband Plan to Congress: at least 100M US homes with access to 100Mbps download speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: Mac sales up 39 percent in January and Febuary as iPod sales rebound

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/npd-mac-sales-up-39-percent-in-january-and-febuary-as-ipod-sale/

Well, it looks like it's not just iPad pre-orders that are possibly be beating a few expectations -- according to NPD, sales of Macs and iPods were also up over some estimates in January and February. More specifically, NPD's Gene Munster says that sales of Macs were up 39% year over year for the two months (ahead of estimates of 22%), which should translate to sales of between 2.8 to 2.9 million Macs for the full quarter, while iPod sales were up 7% during the same period, suggesting total iPod sales of between nine and ten million for the first quarter. That latter number may actually be the more impressive of the two, as it marks the first time iPod sales have rebounded into positive territory in a full sixteen months -- although that trend could just as easily be reversed again if, say, Apple rolls out a new iPhone that cuts into iPod sales.

NPD: Mac sales up 39 percent in January and Febuary as iPod sales rebound originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top 10 Google Apps Marketplace Apps [Lifehacker Top 10]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5492146/top-10-google-apps-marketplace-apps

Google's Apps suite for domain owners and businesses has finally received some star treatment with the launch of the Apps Marketplace. Which Google-friendly apps are free, worth the cost, and entirely useful? These 10 are definitely worth a look.

10. Box.net

Box.net is one of many online file storage sites, but from its launch, it's been focused on adding features that business and enterprise customers can use. Attached to your own web storage, Box.net's features shine through. The service has many webapp partners that can fax, print, secure, edit, and otherwise handle all kinds of documents, and Box.net itself can integrate into many enterprise software packages, set up conference calls and web conferences centered around documents, and otherwise link together the files you've stashed away and the people who work on them. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: free for Box.net business users, $15 per user per month for new users.

9. SurveyMonkey

It's an established tool that a lot of organizations are using to collect data on all kinds of topics. Better still, crafting a poll or questionnaire in SurveyMonkey will save you a good deal of time over crafting a spreadsheet and form in Google Docs and manipulating the results. If you needed more incentive, the "Basic" plan is free for groups looking to just do a little smart polling, and "Basic" covers a whole lot of data-swapping goodness. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: Free for basic version, $16.67 and up for advanced features.

8. SlideRocket

Google's own Presentation app is one of those "Hey, it works" tools, and if you needed to write something up in a pinch, it's there. SlideRocket, on the other hand, is a surprisingly full-featured presentation editor that doesn't require a Microsoft license and can be pulled up wherever you or your team have web access. Like the Aviary photo editor (below), installing SlideRocket in your Apps space puts everyone on the same page and centralizes where those presentations get stored. Alas, SlideRocket doesn't sing in every browser—it doesn't play well with Firefox in Snow Leopard, for instance—but when it works, it's pretty wow-inducing. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: 30-day free trial, $12 per user per month after that; Education and "lite" versions available.

7. Google Short Links

Why would you use Google's own link shortening service for your Apps account over popular, free options like bit.ly or is.gd? Primarily because the links you can provide clients and partners—like GlobexIndustries.com/B2B—are more stately, feel safer, and haven't already been snapped up on the major shortening servers. It also helps that you can make them far easier to remember than a random assortment of letters and numbers. It's free, too, and that's a pretty good selling point. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: Free.

6. Shared Contacts

It's unfortunate that Google's contacts manager doesn't make it easy for people and businesses to create and update common sets of contacts—perhaps they consider that the stuff of big enterprise packages. Their loss is Shared Contacts' gain. With the package installed, Apps domains can create new groups of contacts, set their read/write permissions, and have them show up for everybody in that group. It's not a one-click process, it would appear, but once Shared Contacts is installed, you'll likely never have to see or send email with "Phone #?" in the subject line. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: free trial available, $50 per year after that.

5. Gbridge

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a great thing to have. Having it free, and connected through your Google Apps' chat service to your other computers and project partners, is way better. By hooking up Gbridge, on-the-go Apps users have access to shared files, backup through their own computers or those of others in their group, screen sharing and control for tech support or demonstration, and the kind of basic VPN access that can be oh so helpful. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: Free.

4. TripIt

Traveling is taxing enough on its own. Frantic text messages asking "When do u land?" and the like should be unnecessary. Implementing TripIt for your site or group will win you fans, because it's like having an employee whose only job is to organize trips and keep everybody in the loop. As an individual app, TripIt does a great job turning travel confirmation emails into organized, mapped, linked-up itineraries. Installed on Apps, it enables Ted to see when Lisa is leaving and arriving, tells Bob when to pick her up at the airport and provides directions, and lets everyone know if the flight is delayed. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: free.

3. ManyMoon or Zoho Projects

For very small businesses, personal sites, and less goal-oriented groups, the free, socially adept ManyMoon may fit the bill for your project management needs. Group task management, tagging, micro-blogging for teams, and time tracking come with the free price tag. For larger organizations and those with a real need for deadlines, nested goals and tasks, and constant contact, Zoho Projects is a more robust and agile solution, one that integrates well into Google's own app offerings—project deadlines and events, for instance, can be automatically added to team member's calendars. Zoho can also serve as a kind of "project intranet," providing wikis, shared file spaces, and even public web pages. [Apps Marketplace link: ManyMoon, Zoho Projects] Price: ManyMoon free; Zoho Projects free for one project, $12/month and up for unlimited users.

2. Aviary

At its own web site, Aviary hosts a very capable image editing suite that runs entirely inside a browser. Hooked into the files you're already hosting and using on your site or in your group, it gives everybody a kind of Photoshop lite to work with, and avoids the worries of losing that one version of a graphic your client liked better. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: free.

1. OffiSync

It's not for lack of trying, but Google's web-based Docs app can't do everything that Microsoft's desktop Office suite can pull. Whether it's revision tracking, macro recording, or database integration, you can skip the back-and-forth file swapping with the Apps version of OffiSync, a utility that does just what you might think. Save a file in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, and with OffiSync set up, it will save simultaneously to your Google Apps space. You get the feature-rich editing services of Office and the easy sharing and peace-of-mind storage of Google, all at once. [Apps Marketplace link] Price: free.


If you're a Google Apps user who's found something great in the Marketplace, or you're looking for something that's not there yet, we want to hear about it in the comments.

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Learn to Cook Steak Sous-Vide for Perfection Every Time [Cooking]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5493080/learn-to-cook-steak-sous+vide-for-perfection-every-time

Sure, throwing a steak on a fire-hot grill feels pretty manly, but don't pretend it's easy to cook it just right. Cooking steak in a sous-vide water bath is all the rage now, and will get you perfectly cooked beef every time.

Sous-vide cooking used to be something only seen in fancy restaurants, but since home sous-vide cooking devices have come to the market, there's no reason not to try it—it effectively eliminates the risk of over or under-cooking your meat, since you cook it in a vacuum-sealed pack in a water bath at exactly the temperature you want the meat to be eaten. Food blog Serious Eats lays out some serious information about sous-vide cooking, such as what temperatures are best served by the method (medium-rare to medium), which cuts of beef are the best to use, when and how to sear the meat, and whether to add aromatics to the bag—and they back it up with lots of tests, graphs, and mouth-watering photos. If you've been looking for a new challenge in the kitchen (and a new toy), sous-vide cooking may be just the pick-me-up you need. Hit the link for the super-detailed guide.

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Netflix's Million Dollar Contest Shut Down Amidst Privacy Concerns [NetFlix]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5492675/netflixs-million-dollar-contest-shut-down-amidst-privacy-concerns

Yesterday, Netflix announced that they're pulling the plug on the sequel to their supercool Netflix Prize in which teams competed to improve the company's recommendation algorithm for a million dollar reward. Privacy: can't live with it, can't live without it.

In December, a woman filed a lawsuit against Netflix in which she claimed that their identity (as well as her movie-watching history) could be divined from the huge, anonymous data set Netflix provided to contest participants.

That suit brought Netflix's contest to the attention of the FTC, who raised more questions about all this privacy business, and yesterday Neil Hunt, Netflix's Chief Product Officer, said they were cancelling the contest for good.

This is a bummer! I guess if I thought my movie rentals reflected some part of my personality that I wanted to keep hidden—like if I just happened to be exclusively renting movies that featured very attractive animated female characters, like Space Jam or Who Framed Roger Rabbit—I wouldn't want people digging around in my Netflix history either. But the Netflix Prize was a cool intersection of geekery and business, and I'm sad to see it go. [New York Times]

Image credit gitsul

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Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/dead-ipad-battery-never-mind-replacing-it-apple-just-sends-ano/

Whoa, Nelly! Isn't this something? Apple has just posted details on its iPad battery replacement service, which is really not a battery replacement service at all. Check out the company's opening line:
"If your iPad requires service due to the battery's diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee."
Now, let's compare that to the verbiage found in the iPhone's battery replacement program details:
"If your iPhone requires service only because the battery's ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, Apple will service your iPhone for a service fee."
We can see the puzzled look on your face from here, and we're sharing in the same disbelief. Apple is actually saying that it won't bother cracking open your withered iPad, replacing the battery and sending it back your way; instead, you'll pay $105.95 (including shipping) for a completely different iPad, which certainly has its pros and cons. On one hand, you're getting a new (or potentially refurbished, actually) iPad in around "one week," but on the other, you'll be waving goodbye to every morsel of personal data on the device that you send in -- unless you backup beforehand, of course. Here's Apple's take on answering "will the data on my iPad be preserved?"
"No. You will receive a replacement iPad that will not contain any of your personal data. Before you submit your iPad for service, it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts, calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information when servicing your iPad."
Lovely, don'tcha think? Head on past the break for the full text.

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99

Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another optical wireless experiment shows us that LEDs will beam your future downloads

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/another-optical-wireless-experiment-shows-us-that-leds-will-beam/

Another optical wireless experiment shows us that LEDs will beam your future downloads
Beaming data with light is hardly a new thing, but lately we've seen a number of attempts at making it rather more usable and, more interesting, rather more speedy. We're starting to get the feeling that those maybe/maybe not dangerous microwave-based systems have had their days numbered. The latest to beam bits with blinkenlights is a team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications in Germany, which will be showing its stuff at the always happenin' Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition in two weeks. The team was able to use a commercial LED and get an impressive 230Mb/s transfer rate, which doesn't compare to the gigabit Penn State managed or 500mb/s Siemens pulled off, but those were done using rather more specialized hardware (like the Siemens rig pictured above). It's interesting stuff, and we're looking forward to see the commercial applications for this tech, but we do have one nagging question: what if you want to surf in the dark?

Another optical wireless experiment shows us that LEDs will beam your future downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell introduces $339 G2410H 24-inch 1080p LCD monitor, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/dell-introduces-339-g2410h-24-inch-1080p-lcd-monitor-we-go-han/

Just over a year ago, Dell pushed out its latest and greatest 24-incher, the energy-sipping G2410. Today, the Round Rock powerhouse has introduced that very unit's successor (complete with a height adjustable stand), the G2410H. Still sized at 24-inches, this 1080p LCD monitor sports a variety of eco-modes, 5 millisecond response time, 160-degree (horizontal) / 170-degree (vertical) viewing angles, a native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, ambient light sensor, 250 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and DVI / VGA inputs. We've had one in-house for around a week now, and for $339, it's not a bad replacement to that 21-inch CRT that's still weighing heavily on your desk. It's not as sharp and brilliant as the (admittedly more expensive) UltraSharp U2711, but it was certainly clear enough for the average home user. It's shipping now if you just can't resist.

Dell introduces $339 G2410H 24-inch 1080p LCD monitor, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stanford develops safer lithium-sulfur batteries with four times the charge of lithium-ion cells

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/14/stanford-develops-safer-lithium-sulfur-batteries-with-four-times/

Longer battery life is high atop our list of gadget prayers, and the brainiacs at Stanford are one step closer to making our dreams come true with a new lithium-sulfur technology. Half of this trick lies in the silicon nanowire anode that the same team developed back in 2007, whereas the new cathode consists of a similarly commodious lithium sulfide nanostructure. Compared to present lithium-ion batteries, Stanford's design is "significantly safer" and currently achieves 80 percent more capacity, but it's nowhere near commercial launch with just 40 to 50 charge cycles (Li-ion does "300 to 500") due to the compound's rapid degradation. That said, we're promised a theoretical quadruple boost in capacity as the technology matures, so until then we'll keep that hamster running in our backpack.

Stanford develops safer lithium-sulfur batteries with four times the charge of lithium-ion cells originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technology Review  |  sourceNano Letters  | Email this | Comments

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