A new bookmarklet has been released in September (2009) from 1024k.de - And I must say is sweet. This new bookmarklet supports various video sites. If you want to check them out, please visit the link above or get the new bookmarklet here:

All-In-One Video Bookmarklet

Happy downloading~!

The other day while browsing online, I stumbled across a bookmarklet that is quite helpful when I want to download that YouTube video I always wanted. Check out Google System on a step by step process of how to make this bookmarklet.

In summary, it works like this… bookmark any web page and save it in your bookmarks tool bar with the name Get YouTube Video (or something clever). Now edit the location of the bookmark you made and paste in this code (thanks goes to Straw000):

javascript:if(document.location.href.match(/http:\/\/[a-zA-Z\.]*youtube\.com\/watch/)){document.location.href=’http://www.youtube.com/get_video?fmt=’+(isHDAvailable?’22′:’18′)+’&video_id=’+swfArgs['video_id']+’&t=’+swfArgs['t']}

– or right click on the link below and bookmark it –

Save your bookmark. Next, watch the video you want on YouTube (high quality can be activated by typing “&fmt=18″ [without quotes] after the URL of the YouTube video). Then, simply click your Get YouTube Video bookmarklet and volia! It will ask you to save a video.mp4 file.

Take notice that this does break YouTube’s terms of use - that requires you “not to access User Submissions or YouTube Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Website itself, the YouTube Embeddable Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate,” which may be against their policies. Happy downloading

Ashton Kutcher and CNN are having a ‘contest of followers’ on the micro-blogging site, Twitter. Follow the race here - http://www.tweetrace.com - Ashton, who is rising fast may indeed beat the corporate conglomerate to a battle of the fans on the social networking site. We tip our hats to Kutcher who is only one person (with fame in mind) who is the under dog in this race. It shows a lot how the internet has expanded one person’s voice into the homes of many families. The internet is an every day necessity to this blogger and rely on it to keep our product going along with ability to keep ourselves updated along with teaching the masses on how to better our everyday lives.

HERE is the story CNN wrote about the contest. If you want to participate and support one of the parties, SIGN UP on Twitter and follow Kutcher’s Twitter account or CNN’s breaking news account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter HERE.

UPDATE! (8:00pm Eastern) From Ashton - A message from Ted’s daughter. http://bit.ly/aIG6A & now Electronic Arts is jumping into the mix offering Ashton’s 1,000,000th follower a copy of every game EA makes in ‘09 for their system and be featured in @TheSims3 - Click EA to see their Twitter feed.

Fact is, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr… all these sites, are a part of our everyday personal lives online. They help us connect to the ones we love, our friends and business contacts. They are becoming a part of how we do business online and interact with each other on a daily basis.

How technology has changed the way we live…

About 2 years ago, I got rid of my landline phone. I signed up for Skype. I signed up with a  SkypeIn phone number so people could call me at home and a Skype Pro subscription so I could call out (long distance & local) for $60 for the entire year with a $12 credit to use at Skype’s site. So lemme see… I was paying $55 per month through my landline phone company lets do the 2 year math. $55 x 24 months = $1320 with my landline. Now Skype $60 x 2+ years = $120. Difference of $1200. Yeah, I had a few bumps with internet/power going out which then I couldn’t call with Skype and sure I am already paying for the internet… I also wanted to get a new phone as well and shelled out $120 for a Philips VoIP 841 phone (which doesn’t require a PC). My VoIP phone is going strong and our family loves it. It’s a great perk not to receive 25 calls a day from telemarketers too. Although, the VoIP phone is not for everyone, I sure do love it and would recommend it if you’re trying to save a buck. A lot of people have been switching off their landline phones and switching on their cellular phones instead.

Canonical will be releasing a new 9.04 version of Ubuntu code name Jaunty Jackalope on April 23. It sports some great new features including…a new login screen, faster boot time, a newer linux kernel build that supports the new Ext4 filesystem, a new notification/messaging system (which is similar to Mac OS X’s Growl Notification), X.org 1.6 which will bring improvements to open source graphics drivers and a few new software enhancements like Brasero Disc Burning.

Over all, it is a great build and adds some great new features. Check it out at:

http://www.ubuntu.com

Here are some screenshots from softpedia.com:

Softpedia - Ubuntu Screenshots

The beta is available for download at the following address:

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) - Beta

(This piece is a part of a continuing series about Slow Computer systems.)

WARNING! Do not attempt fixing your slow computer based on this blog entry there may be other factors that affect the speed and performance of your computer. Seek professional guidance before working on any computer system.

It seems as of late there have been a rash of people recognizing that their computer is really starting to slow down. And sure, if you have Windows (ahem, yes THE majority) - Today we are going to talk about OLDER COMPUTERS that suffer from spyware/malware/viruses and lack of RAM. Note that this is only a segment and in all reality, there may be several OTHER reasons why it could be slowing down. Stay tuned for future posts on ‘Slow Computers’.

How old is the computer system and do you know how much RAM you have?

PROBLEM 1: Is your machine showing it’s age? Sometimes older machines lack of RAM (Random-access memory) and become inundated with too many running processes (or background programs). Background processes are generally unseen. Some show up in the system tray in the bottom right corner of a typical Windows desktop and can also be viewed in the Windows Task Manager (To bring up the Task Manager press these buttons at the same time - Ctrl+Alt+Delete). Slow performance can happen after years of receiving updates to software and/or installing other pieces of software that stimulate our daily activities both on and offline. Installing some newer programs may slow down an aging machine as well, possibly crashing it in the process if the resources are not available to run it.

SOLUTION 1: Checking in with your local tech guy or doing a little research on your system specs using ‘the Google’ (or another preferred search engine) could help to see if your system can accept more RAM. RAM will allow your machine to open up space for more programs to run at the same time (do not confuse RAM with your hard drive storage). Another thing to try is uninstalling (background) programs you don’t use. In Windows, this would involve going into the Control Panel and clicking on ‘Add/Remove Programs’.

Did you download something you shouldn’t have or visited a malicious site?

PROBLEM 2: In other cases, slow downs could be due to crafty malware/spyware/viruses from a third-party program (eg. Limewire, Email or Other Unsafe Software) or visiting a website with a browser exploit (eg. Malicious code that could appear through an iframe ad or other fake software telling you that you are infected by a virus/malware that would appear in your web browser.) that can take form from a variety of malicious browser code.

SOLUTION 2: When malware/spyware/viruses become embedded in your system, sometimes it’s hard to get rid of them depending on the infection and how usable the computer is. A few suggested programs I use to find spyware/malware are Adaware and Malware Bytes. Though you are not limited to just these programs. You can try any of these Anti-Spyware Tools from MajorGeeks.com which also has some great Anti-Virus Tools. Personally, I use Avast! but heard that AVG is also a good FREE alternative when it comes to anti-virus programs.

Out with the old and in with the new - faster, better, stronger and more stable.

IN RETROSPECT:
Remember the days when viruses were really non-existent? Well, I DO! Do you hate spending YOUR PRECIOUS TIME fighting them every waking moment? Well, maybe those solutions above helped… but for those of us with repeated malware/spyware/virus trouble who are sick of getting infected and dealing with the constant headaches, may want to try a faster, different, more stable, more reliable, virus-free operating system (eg. Linux - See your local geek today!) . Note… trying a new operating system is not for everyone and would depend on how you use your computer and if you are willing to follow a small learning curve. This would suit individuals who go on the internet a lot, check email, play some games both on and offline. Here are a few REALLY NICE & FREE operating systems you could try instead of Windows - Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Debian, Mandriva, FreeBSD, Knoppix, Gentoo, Sabayon, Puppy Linux… getting confused yet? Well just try Ubuntu for starters. Download the ISO and burn it to disc. Some of these systems will allow you to run a LIVE disc in which you can preview how the operating system works (Ubuntu has this feature). If you are interested in obtaining a disc with any of these operating systems, please contact me via email at xalis@virtual-consultants.com (There would be a small fee for burning the disc.)

Looks like Square Enix has a little RPG (Role Playing Game) treat for us all. Coming out on 4/9/09 is a single player game called The Last Remnant™. Square Enix which is a merger of Square Co. and Enix have created some of the best game series of all time - The Final Fantasy™ Series, Kingdom Hearts™, Mana™ & Dragon Quest™.

Leaked screenshots and video trailers are pure eye candy. This game models after some of the best graphical games we have the pleasure to play. This game is a turn based game with no random creature encounters (they will be symbol based). The turns are command based with a morale bar that is based on how characters do in battle.

The game will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, & Microsoft Windows as a download from  Steam. Check out the trailer for more of plot:

Check out these sites for more information:

THE LAST REMNANT:
THE LAST REMNANT | SQUARE ENIX
The Last Remnant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

STEAM:
What is Steam

This intuitive program is a great alternative to simply jumping from site to site finding your content. This social networking tool compiles some of the more popular websites in a dynamic interface that allows the user to click on a thumbnail of the show they are interested in. Boxee’s sidebar has categories for viewing video, music, pictures and more on popular websites. Sign up with a username and password at http://boxee.tv and let the viewing begin!

Our Rating: /5

Available for: Mac OSX & Linux (Windows Version by private invitation)  - Intel processors only.
Download

For more info on Boxee, visit these sites:

http://boxee.tv
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxee

Screenshot

Welcome. First, I want to introduce myself. My name is Craig Hanninen and I just want to express thanks to our close friends and everyone who has been supporting us all these years while we get the company back on track. Originally, we were known by word of mouth and had many successful years. I want to take this time to apologize to our past customers for the temporary shut down due to changes in family life (eg. sickness) and the passing of our founder Bruce James Hanninen. Since 1993, we have provided schools, colleges, home and office solutions regarding information technology including PC repair, setup, networking and troubleshooting.

Virtual Consultants DTS is a family owned company. My father, Bruce Hanninen & family grew up in Humboldt, Michigan and have been residents of Marquette/Gwinn since 1988. We have provided help to many people in the area regarding their personal computers and finding solutions to use their technology better. I hope to meet some of you soon. Thank you.

– Craig Hanninen
CEO, Virtual Consultants, DTS