Talked About Features

1. New Design
Most obvious is the new and improved layout and style. It adds a modern design approach to all the channels and makes channels look more user friendly and clean then they have in the past.

2. Easier Video Viewing
You no longer have to switch between pages to view a users video list. Instead all videos are displayed in their very own frame with a scroll on the side.

3. Easier Editing
Admins can now edit their channel while viewing it, if they’re logged into their account.

4. Quick Video Info
Users can now view comments and other video features directly from your channel.

These 4 reasons are only some of the many reasons you should try the new Youtube 2.0 Channels.

Getting Started…

After downloading and install Dropbox from getdropbox.com, you will be asked to register for a new account. Standard accounts are currently free and offer a total of 2GB online storage. You can always upgrade your account later with any of the following plans:

• Pro 50GB – $9.99 per month / $99.00 per 1 year
• Pro 100GB – $19.99 per month / $199.00 per year

After a quick and simple registration, you are welcomed to the Dropbox window. You will notice that there is no application for Dropbox. Instead it uses the common, Windows Explorer. This is what makes Dropbox quick, easy, and learn-free! By default Dropbox makes 2 folder for you: Public and Photos. You can easily customize the folders or add your own like you would on your computers hard drive.

To add files simply drag-and-drop, cut and paste, or even copy and paste. It’s that easy.

Now you do have to wait for your files to upload. The icons will automatically appear in the folder, but remember that Dropbox is uploading the files in the background. To see if a file is uploaded, check for a green check mark or blue refresh icon in the bottom right corner of the file’s icon. To see if all your files are uploaded, check the Dropbox icon found in your Windows tray.

Dropbox will automatically start during your system’s startup and doesn’t need a lot of RAM or processing power to run in the background. If you ever need to access the Dropbox folder, simply click on the box icon in your tray. You can also change setting for Dropbox by right-clicking on the icon.

That isn’t all…

Probably the most important feature of Dropbox is being able to access your file across today’s most popular operating systems and the web.

Overall: It’s Great!

I am pretty sure there is no other program out there like Dropbox that is… FREE.

What’s with the name Bing?

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, hopes the name Bing will give the search engine a potential to be used as a verb. We’ve all heard people say “Google It” or “Do a Google.” Why wouldn’t someone say “Bing It” or “Do a Bing”. You could even refer to your searches on Bing as “Binging” or “Binged” something. The name may sound weird to you at first, but after using it for a while, you will realized it is no more weirder than Google.

Quick Tour of Bing

Your journey starts at bing.com. You’re welcomed to a cleanly designed webpage with categories listed in the side and a clean search bar nested next to the Official Bing Logo. You will notice a new image appearing in the middle of the page everyday. I have no idea what it’s supposed to do, but there is always something cool in there to look at with tags that make it look like it came from Flickr.

Already, Microsoft deserves a pat on the back for making a much better hompage compared to Google.

So after doing a quick search on places to eat in New York, I get a full list of high ranked restaurants within New York, NY followed by a list of websites with restaurant ratings for places to eat in New York. The search engine did a great job finding me correct results from accurate webpages that allowed me to easily find the restaurant I am looking for.

When hoovering over a result, you will see a “target.” By keeping your mouse over the orange target, you are able to see full content preview from the website as well as relative links on the webpage. Though Google shows something similar under each link, Bing does a better job by showing the actual paragraphs related to your searches.

That isn’t all of it

What I discussed above is skinning the surface of what Bing has to offer. The best way to see all the features it has to offer is to try the search engine yourself by visiting bing.com.

Remember, though Google has dominated the online world, Bing may just be able to catch up if it makes the right moves.

“Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year.” It allows you to take three major aspects and put them together into one simple program running within a web browser.

• E-Mail
• Instant Messaging
• Tweeting

It takes the idea of e-mail and “blends” it with instant messaging and tweeting to provide a live communication tool that can be used across any web browser. The interface is clean and simple. You can easily create a “wave” (another name for a message) that is lively transmitted to the other users you are sharing the wave with. Users can get live updates and responses from the wave just like Twitter, except in a more reliable and faster method!

The system goes on and on with features and what I just talked about is a tiny little piece of the features in Google Wave. If you get some extra time, make sure to watch the developers preview. It’s long, but well worth it.

wave.google.com

In just a few minutes Animoto can take a folder of images and turn it into a whole new universe. The process is so easy that even an 8 year old could do it. All you do is upload or link-up your images to your Animoto account, choose a background song from their 1,000s of songs or upload your own, and let the website do the rest…

How much does this so-called “Wow Factor” cost?

Animoto has 3 different versions:

• Basic – Free
• All-Access Pass – $30 year
• Professional – $249 a year

The free edition is the one that we will be looking into today. There is one major downside to a free account: your video(s) can’t be longer than 30 seconds. I know this sucks, but try out the service to see if you like it and then you can upgrade for only $30 (a year*) for unlimited video lengths or $3 for just one unlimited video. If you are looking to get a Professional account, make sure to check out their different versions: Business, Photography, Real Estate, Education (free), and A Cause (free). You can get all the details you need at animoto.com/pricing (professional versions are listed in the footer).

Don’t waste time… show me how you make a video!

After you have registered and logged into your account, you will be welcome to the projects page. Here you can control all your past videos and edit them if you like. You can also upgrade your account and listen to music in the music lounge (for free).

To get started with a new video, click on Create Video. If you have a free account you will only be able to click on animoto short, without paying.

Now select how Animoto will get the photos. You can either upload from your own computer (with no limits), link-up with popular services like flikr and facebook, or choose from their collection. Unlike other services, Animoto allows bulk uploading of images. Though there is no limit with uploading, note that your video will only be 30 seconds max (for a free account).

After getting all your pictures online, you’re directed to the meat of Animoto’s user interface. You’re now able to rearrange the order of pictures, add text and spotlights, and even rotate your images from within your web browser.

On the left side you will see the About this Video section. Within this div there is Length (est) that tells you about how long your video will be. Make sure to keep yours under 30 seconds if you are on a free account.

Now that you’re done with the main part of the video all you have left to do is add the music. You can either upload your own song or choose from their enormous collection! What you should find most amazing is that Animoto tries its best to align the music and beats with the special effects and images. It’s a small detail, but can make a big difference in the end!

After you pass a few video settings you will be taken to the video creation status page (as I like to refer to). On this page you can track the progress of the server producing your video. It doesn’t take to long before the page reloads to display your new video which can be downloaded, embedded, or sent straight to Youtube.

The Results…

“No matter what the pictures are on, Animoto.com can make something terrific!” — Shiv Patel

Note: I have NOT been hired by Animoto.com to advertise their service. I just love it.

If you’re using Firefox, there is a way around this. Within Firefox there is a feature called Page Info which contains all media (videos, pictures, and audio) files found within your webpage. You can use this feature to download a full size copy of whatever you’re trying to make.

Start out by logging into your account and choosing a new project. I would recommend doing a collage poster, since those are not only easy to make and save, but they also look way better than regular pictures. Make sure to choose a size based on the limits of your printer tray.

Now use the creative side of your mind to design an amazing collage poster. I put mine together quickly and it looked something like this in the preview.

Once you are done, click on the Zoom button to see an actual size preview of the new poster. Notice that there are no watermarks, but for some reason you are not able to right click and Save Image As.

We can find a way around this with the Page Info Media we talked about earlier. Go to Tools – Page Info (while the preview is still up) and select the Media tab.

You should now see a list of items in a 2 column box. Scroll through the items to find an image that is above 900px wide and 700px high.

Now all you have to do is click that Save button and save it as a .PNG on your computer.

Most Internet Explorer users think they can get the actual size image by going to File – Save Page. But the truth is, it doesn’t show up in the saved web files.