Apowersoft - Best Free Online Video Converter Review

Due to the different layers of transmission and storage, each video has its own set of formats to choose from.

Technical development comes up with more and more video formats, on one hand, satisfying us who have different requirements towards a certain video, on the other hand, leading us a more frequent use of video converter. In this post, Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter, one of the most talked about converter will be shared in details.

The Application Appearance:

Apowersoft Online Video Converter provides you a simple and easy-to-use interface, with eye-protected cool color. No ads, plug-in and additional web links, the app gives you a very clear idea on how to operate it. With it, a newbie could convert video online for his or her first time without any troubles.

How it Works

The way that a program works, to a large extent, decides its value and popularity among users. Exactly, the way of Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter contributes its bigger and bigger fame. The app is able to free convert video, but has no limitations on conversion time. No downloading and registering, it provides web-based services, allowing you to finish conversion with three steps. All you have to do is to add local file, choose output format and click Convert button, then, video will be converted in a few minutes.

You can enjoy the demo video of Apowersoft Online Video Converter below.

Various Output Formats

To a video converter, various output formats stand for its worthiness to users. As to Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter, what I like most is that it has a wide range of outputs formats even as a free application. It has video formats including MP4, MOV, WMV, MKV, AVI, 3GP and so on. As well, it supports audio formats including MP3, WMA, WAV, ACC, OGG and so on.

The Output Quality

There exists programs that are free but has discounts on conversion quality. But, I realized that such hoaxes could not happen on Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter as it has successfully converted videos in a way that I wanted for many times. The app outputs high quality videos or audios. Instead of worrying about wasting time but getting a poor converted video, you would get a 1:1 quality video at the simple process of conversion. What’s more, you can modify video by setting resolution, bitrate and frame rate on the step two of the conversion process.

Considerate Services

On the webpage, there are four tabs below the application, which are Overview, Video Demo, Tips to Use and Testimonials. So, any user can get a very closer look on the app. Regardless of what a simple application it is, Apowersoft staff still provides you with video demo to give you a better thought on the app. In addition, you can post the problem you may encounter to the Apowersoft technical support. They are nice and will deal with your case promptly as far as I know. All in all, I give Apowersoft Free Online Video Converter two thumbs up!

What Does The Future Hold For Virtual Currencies Such As Bitcoin? [You Told Us]

Virtual currencies, or digital currencies if you prefer, have been in the news a lot lately. Not just the technology news channels either, as even the mainstream news channels have picked up on them. Bitcoin has driven this new and renewed interest in these currencies that are very different in nature to dollars, euros, renminbi, and all the other real-world currencies we use to buy and sell products and services on a daily basis.

Bitcoin has been around for several years now, but with its price climbing to monumental highs over the past few weeks, there has been a will to explore what it is, how it’s created (or mined), and what the future may hold for this new virtual currency and others that could emerge in its wake.

The Results

We asked you, What Does The Future Hold For Virtual Currencies Such As Bitcoin? The response was disappointing, and this time I’m blaming you, dear readers. The question was solid, the subject was interesting, the range of opinions open to be given was epic. So it must be you. And you must do better from now on. Or else!

The responses we did receive reveal vastly differing opinions on Bitcoin and virtual currencies as a whole. On one extreme are those who feel Bitcoin is the start of something big; something which may lead to society taking back control of monetary systems from governments and banks. On the other extreme are those who believe Bitcoin is flawed and nothing more than a fad due to die out as quickly as it has emerged from the underground.

I’ll be honest and admit that, even after reading about Bitcoin extensively (including our own guide to Bitcoin), I’m still confused about how it works. And that in itself doesn’t bode well for its long-term future. Everybody understands the nature of coins, notes, and cards, but the ordinary person in the street is never going to understand Bitcoin.

The future for virtual currencies is far from clear at this point. If the value of Bitcoin stabilizes then perhaps its importance will increase. In the meantime speculators and investors will take the gamble on virtual currencies being the next big thing. And their bank accounts will live or die by the volatility of the market.

Comment Of The Week

We had great input from the likes of Lisa Santika Onggrid, Abhishek Rai, and Dragonmouth, to name just a few. Comment Of The Week goes to Scott M, who, as well as the respect of myself and hopefully everybody reading this, receives 150 points to use for MakeUseOf Rewards.

This is the first time that an alternative currency that wasn’t backed by any government or precious metal attained a serious acceptance in the financial world. There have been teething pains caused by rampant speculation similar to what is seen in commodity markets and also a move of flight of paper money to it as investors grow disenchanted with traditional forms of fiat currency. A bubble has now been created and like precious metals of late people will begin to lock in their gains and take their profits. Whether bitcoins succeed or not doesn’t matter as others will take their place.

We have begun to see it accepted as as a valid form of payment and and alternative form of investment protection. It wasn’t so very long ago that FDR and the Federal Government called in all forms of gold currency coupled with what happened in Cyprus and the legislation allowing the same type of taxation of deposits written into Canada’s new banking laws,and people begin to acknowledge its usefulness. This bubble will burst but I think other alternative forms of currency will arise. This experiment has proved its possible that an electronic form of money and payment is able to be produced that will remain beyond the seizure of Governments to pay for their and large bankers greed and mistakes. These are just early days.

We like this comment because it offers a sensible, level-headed assessment of Bitcoin and the future virtual currencies it may help spawn. There’s no doubt there’s ill-feeling over the global economic meltdown that is still ongoing, and perhaps people will jump on board a legitimate alternative if one is placed in front of them.

We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. We Ask You is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without your input, all of which is valued.

Image Credit: Zach Copley

The post What Does The Future Hold For Virtual Currencies Such As Bitcoin? [You Told Us] appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Meta – 7 Awesome Subreddits All About Reddit

Reddit is rapidly becoming my favorite site on the Web. I’m a latecomer to its powers of seduction, being a veritable n00b compared to some of the other writers here at MakeUseOf. But I’m keen to explore Reddit, learning its subtleties and gaining new insights from subreddits aplenty as I do so.

As it stands I consider Reddit to be one of the seven wonders of the Web, one of the pillars the whole community is based on and around. If you don’t buy into that belief then try the site out for yourself; just be sure to follow my advice for your first day on Reddit.

After you have settled in you’ll want to find new subreddits to subscribe to. We have already suggested interesting random subreddits, hilariously specific subreddits, subreddits to show off your creativity, and subreddits that will make your money go further. And now it’s time to go meta with the best subreddits all about Reddit.

Best Of

Best Of Reddit does exactly what you’d expect it to do, which is feature the best posts and comment threads seen elsewhere on Reddit. The “best” of anything is invariably subjective, but what rises to the top of Best Of tends to be brilliant pieces of content that would otherwise have been missed by mainstream Redditors.

TL;DR The one subreddit you wouldn’t mind being stuck on a desert island with.

Worst Of

Worst Of Reddit is the negative version of Best Of. But in a way it’s even more entertaining. This subreddit exists to hold up examples of trolling and bad behavior, of people commenting in an aggressive manner to get a response, of threads that have quickly spiraled out of control.

TL;DR You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll avoid everyone involved.

Subreddit Of The Day

Subreddit Of The Day has a simple mission, which is to celebrate one subreddit every day. Some are popular and populist, others are small and niche, all are awesome and chosen for a reason. This is a great way to discover new subreddits, and you can also nominate a subreddit yourself.

TL;DR One new subreddit a day is featured, and everyone wins.

Circlebroke

Circlebroke exists to draw attention to the worst cases of circle jerking. In reality this subreddit consists of people getting very worked up about the behavior of some people on Reddit, especially when groups of Redditors start acting together like a pack of animals. It’s entertaining to read but isn’t for the faint of heart.

TL;DR Calling out individuals and groups for not playing nicely.

Subreddit Drama

Who needs to watch soap operas on television when Reddit provides all the drama one person could ever wish for? Subreddit Drama consists of the best action from across Reddit compiled into a central repository. Bullying, nasty comments, arguments, bannings, and conspiracy theories are the order of the day.

TL;DR Most of us avoid drama in our real lives, but you can watch it play out on Reddit.

Sh*t Reddit Says

Reddit is built on comments from the legions of Redditors who reside on the site. Unfortunately not all of those comments are pleasant and respectful. In fact, some are downright nasty. Sh*t Reddit Says compiles those comments that were upvoted despite being racist, sexist, creepy, or downright vile.

TL;DR The very worst opinions of Reddit highlighted for the world to shake its head at.

Meta

The Meta subreddit is perhaps the most meta of all subreddits. It exists to allow redditors to talk about things they like and dislike about the site, ask questions about how and why Reddit operates the way it does, and generally discuss the site in both positive and negative tones.

TL;DR While you’re on Reddit you may want to talk about Reddit. Reddit.

Conclusions

If this list of subreddits isn’t meta enough for you then I don’t know what would be. It should please all of those Redditors who want to travel deeper into the Reddit rabbit hole to discover what lies beneath the seedy underbelly.

I suspect there are some people reading this who don’t have a clue what Reddit is and why they would want to subscribe to subreddits. If that’s you then you should download the Reddit manual as soon as you finish reading this sentence.

What do you think of Reddit? Is it a site you’ve tried and given up on? Or is it the first site you head to each morning? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

As I explore Reddit in more depth I hope to write more articles about the culture of the site, what posts are likely to do well, and what the various acronyms and references relate and refer to. So Redditors, both n00b and veteran, should stay tuned to MakeUseOf.

The post Meta – 7 Awesome Subreddits All About Reddit appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Not Just For Slackers: 5+ Ways Social Networks Can Help You At Work

For many of us, social networks are just a passing trend. We spent much of our lives without them, and we don’t see them as necessary in any way. In fact, many of us tend to think of social networks as nothing more than time-wasters and procrastination tools. There’s no denying that social networks have a bad side, but they also have some positive impacts, it all depends on how you use them and what you use them for.

I have a very strict way of using each social network I’m a part of, and I do believe they can in some ways harm productivity, but I’m a strong advocate of not blocking Facebook and other social networks in work places, and I believe that when used right, social networks can become a valuable tool in almost every job, and for almost any employee.

While it’s important to remember that on most social networks were are more a product than a customer, you can still take control of the way you use them. If you do things right, and don’t let yourself get carried away with the flow of what others might be doing, you can start making social networks work for you. Here’s how to get started.

Always Online Resume & Portfolio

Only several years ago, people had printed resumes, printed business cards, and maybe a personal or company website. Today, if you’re not online, you’re not there, and it’s going to be much harder to find you or even know you exist.

10 years ago, there was much knowledge required to creating a personal website. Today, anyone can easily create one without any coding skills. But social networks offer an even easier solution, and one you’re not going to have to work as hard to promote. A Facebook Page, a LinkedIn profile, even a Twitter or an Instagram account can go a long way to asserting your online presence. They’re always there, they’re created in minutes, they’re very easy to update, and if your name is unique enough, they make it easier for people to find you.

So yes, you can with a personal website or an different kind of online resume, but these will not substitute the exposure you’re going to get on a social network.

Make Contacts & Follow Competition

Yes, it’s possible to make connections without having anything to do with social networks, but no matter how badly you want to ignore it, this is much easier to do with social networks. Look around you, are your competitors on Facebook? Are they on Twitter? If so, you have much to gain by following them.

Don’t think this applies only to companies; if you’re a company employee or a freelancer, you still have a goal you’re trying to reach. And you can be sure there are other people or companies trying to reach the same goal. Are they running contests? Are they releasing new features? There’s no easier way to follow this than on social networks. This can also give you ideas for things you can do to promote your own work and yourself.

This is not only about competition, though. Making and keeping connections with others is crucial for many jobs, and the process becomes much easier with social networks. If in the past you’d go to Google to find interesting people, you can now use Facebook’s own Graph Search to look for people. Try, for example, looking for “Graphic designers from CITY” (use the name of the city you live in, for example). Surprisingly, Facebook’s results to such a search are much more relevant than Google’s, and privacy settings permitting, can even point you directly at a portfolio.

Promote Your Work

This is the other side of the previous point. Don’t you want to be the person someone else find when looking for a skilled worker for a project? Of course, there’s always competition, and it’s very hard to make sure your name pop ups for every search, but if you rely only on a personal website and SEO, you might have a hard time getting your name to appear on top of the results list on Google.

Social networks are not going to solve this problem easily, but if you use them to promote your work by sharing links, photos, etc., you can be sure people will see these promotions. With time, your audience can become bigger and bigger, and they can start spreading the word for you too. There’s no magic here, it’s still hard work, but it’s going to be much harder to achieve if you completely ignore social networks.

Promote Yourself

Don’t get confused, this is slightly different than the previous point. While it’s important to promote your actual work on social networks, it’s equally important to promote yourself, as a person, not as the work you do. What do I mean by that?

If I, as a freelance writer, only ever posted links to my own work, how would that look to my followers? No matter which field you’re in, if you want people to follow you and pay attention, you have to promote things other than your own work/company. This very much depends on the network, but interesting and related links, beautiful photos (related too, if possible), and even simple inspirational sayings can do the trick. If you’re interesting, people want to follow you. If they follow you, they can help you spread the word about yourself or about the project you’re working on.

Stay In Touch With Co-Workers

This is a tricky one. As I’ve already told you in my post about things you shouldn’t be posting on Facebook, it’s important to decide and make a clear differentiation between professional and personal accounts. This is especially true for Facebook, where unfortunate mixes tend to happen most often, but it’s something to keep in mind regardless of network.

With that being said, social networks could be a great tool to keep in touch with co-workers beyond office hours, or as a means of communication if you don’t even live in the same country. So, yes, beware of complaining about your boss on Facebook when you’re connected to other colleagues, but wisely used, social networks can become a tool that boosts moral and social connections in a work place. It’s a fine line to walk on — you don’t want to be discussing puppies and weddings all day at the office — but having something to share and talk about that’s beyond work is a great way to build friendships, which can benefit work relations and productivity.

Bonus: Productivity!

Think social networks are productivity killers? They might be if you spend hours on them doing unrelated things instead of working, but according to a study done by Evolv, workers who belong to social several social networks tend to be more productive than their co-workers who belong to none.

Coming from the world of science, I can tell you that the study cannot really prove that social networks cause productivity, but the results are nonetheless interesting. According to 100,000 responses from employees in a call center, workers who belonged to 5 social networks had the highest sales conversion rate, and the lowest average call time.

So who knows, maybe social networks can be good for you after all?

Bottom Line

Like it or not, social networks is where people are, and if you need people, you probably need social networks. Don’t take this saying personally – I’m not saying you won’t have friends if you don’t join social networks. I’m talking purely from a professional standpoint. For many businesses and job types, social networks are almost a must these days, and can definitely help you get more exposure, if you use them right.

Do you use social networks for your work? Do you think I’m completely off, and believe social networks are nothing but a distraction? Share your opinions in the comments.

Image credits: Frau Halle, L Hollis Photography, co-workers image via Shutterstock

The post Not Just For Slackers: 5+ Ways Social Networks Can Help You At Work appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Google Quick View

Google Search for mobile has a new feature called "Quick View". Right now, it only shows up for Wikipedia results and it allows users to load search results almost instantly.

"Quick view is an experimental project and is currently enabled for pages from Wikipedia when you search in English on Google.com. We are working to expand this to additional websites," explains Google. There's a form for getting updates "about participating in the mobile quick view field trial". Apparently, Quick View loads pages in less than 100 milliseconds.



I've noticed a Quick View link next to Wikipedia results, but nothing happened when I clicked it. Even the search result link for the Wikipedia page was broken. It's likely that Google hosts a simplified version of the Wikipedia page and that's the reason why it's supposed to load so fast.



Google also announced the "expandable sitelinks" feature I've mentioned a few days ago. "Now, there's a faster way to get to the Rotten Tomatoes page with just the info you need most -- just look for a new quick link for 'In Theaters' underneath the main Rotten Tomatoes link when you search on your mobile phone. You'll see these expandable sitelinks appear for many sites to help you get to a specific section quickly."

A Bogus DMCA Takedown Request (Part 3)

I've mentioned in the previous two posts that Inspection 12 sent a DMCA notice for one of my posts, Google took it offline and rejected my counter notice.



Now I realized that Google made a mistake: the DMCA complaint was related to web search, not Blogger. Inspection 12 actually requested to "to have this URL and others like it to be excluded from google search results for the name 'Alden Howell'".

My post didn't include that name and a search for 'Alden Howell' didn't return that blog post. The obvious reponse would be that there's nothing to remove from search results. Instead, Google decided to reset the post to "draft" status and tell me to "edit the post to remove the offending content and republish, at which point the post in question will be visible to your readers again."



As I've explained in the previous posts, there's no offending content to remove: my post had nothing to do with Inspection 12 and it didn't include their lyrics. The post only linked to a Greasemonkey script that displayed music lyrics next to the YouTube player. That script obtained lyrics from sites that now license content from Gracenote and some of those sites actually allow third-party software to use the lyrics. Ironically, the script no longer works.



Just in case anyone is wondering, the obsolete post from 2008 is not the main issue, I'm worried that it's too easy to remove web content. Google says that "if it is brought to our attention that you have republished the post without removing the content/link in question, then we will delete your post and count it as a violation on your account. Repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account including deleting your blog and/or terminating your account. DMCA notices concerning content on your blog may also result in action taken against any associated AdSense accounts."

7 Tools That Will Revolutionize Your Music Listening Habits On The Web

Listing to music online has been around for some time, but only in the past little while, has it really become mainstream with so many options to choose from. It really is quite incredible – we have the opportunity to find music like never before, and listen to copious amounts of it!

But there are still some gaps to fill. For instance, audio files can be embedded into webpages, but those webpages have no way to listen to all the music. Or what about controlling the playing and pausing of songs on websites that don’t respond to your keyboard controls? These are just two of the several problems that still exist, despite the great conveniences of music on the Internet.

In this article we’ll talk about seven tools that will change how you listen and interact with your online tunes.

Songdrop (Chrome & Bookmarklet)

You probably don’t only listen to music in one location on the web. You might find about an artist through a song embedded in a blog post, then read about them on a website, which contains a YouTube video of them performing live. How do you take these two audio clips, from different sources, and save them (and future songs) in one place for easy listening? Songdrop is your solution.

How does Songdrop collect these songs? Through its Dropit button, which comes in the form of a Chrome extension and bookmarklet. We’ve actually covered it in more depth already on MakeUseOf, so look there for a more detailed review.

Anesidora (Chrome)

Anesidora is a Chrome extension that allows you to listen to your Pandora stations without having a tab open at all. You can simply log in with your Pandora account credentials and it will load all your stations for listening directly in your Chrome browser. It has created some controversy since there aren’t any ads that play through the extension, however according to the developer, he doesn’t support the lack of ads in the extension:

Unfortunately due to Pandora using a closed API I have no choice in the matter. I offered to give Pandora ownership of my extension and they declined. They do this to themselves.

To find out more about Anesidora, refer to the MakeUseOf article.

Exfm (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

Exfm, a website and browser extension, is a tool that collects displays any audio files from the webpage you’re visiting. For example, let’s say you visit one of Tina’s Sound Sunday articles. With Exfm installed, it will automatically pull the embedded audio files and allow you to play them, even after navigating away from the page.

Below is an image of what Exfm looks like on a webpage, notice the controls, queue and options to “favorite”, share and shuffle.

Want to close that page? No worries – the tracks have already been saved in your queue. However, you now are able to control them through the Exfm button in the Chrome browser. For more info, check out our full review.

Last.fm Scrobbler (Facebook App)

The Last.fm Scrobbler Facebook app has been mentioned a couple different times. Probably the one you might remember the most was in the slightly sarcastic, but educational article from Craig about apps you can use to help Facebook invade your life. As you might have guessed, the Last.fm Scrobbler app was one of them.

If you’re playing with a program or service that doesn’t have the ability to post to Facebook, but does scrobble to Last.fm, you can use this as a workaround.

Sway.fm Unified Music Media Keys (Chrome)

Have you ever been frustrated by the lack of compatibility that websites have with your media keys on your keyboard? Instead of being able to just hit the Play/Pause, Previous or Next buttons, you have to go to the webpage and manually click the controls. Sway.fm Unified Music Media Keys takes care of that problem.

Previously, Justin has covered it here and did an excellent job with a thorough review.

One thing to note is that if you’re unable to install this in Chrome on Windows 8, it’s because there is a compatibility issue. To get around this, put Chrome in Windows 7 compatibility mode and the you’ll be able to install and use the extension.

Flutter (Windows, Mac, Chrome)

Would you believe me if I told you that you can control your media player with your hand? Yep, just like the Xbox Kinect. But this time, all you need is your webcam and three steady hand gestures.

Flutter works with iTunes, Spotify, Winamp, VLC and Windows Media Player on Windows and Mac. However, in addition to those local apps, Flutter can also control YouTube, Netflix, Grooveshark and Pandora via the Chrome extension.

Flutter has actually been covered on MakeUseOf before, once by Simon and another time by Dave, who went more in depth, gearing it towards Mac users (but the same applies to Windows users). I recommend you look into both of those articles for more information – it’s been an excellent app for me to use.

I now use it more than ever since owning my new, almost perfect laptop, which has one slight imperfection – no media keys (play/pause, forward, back).

Plus Music (Chrome)

Plus Music is a Chrome extension that focuses on discovering music and instantly playing it from anywhere on the web. For instance, if you’re reading about a new artist, you can simply click the icon, type in the artists name and listen to their music right in the extension. Plus Music has four standout features that integrate into Facebook:

• Artist Recognition: it knows when you’re on an official band page and lets you listen with a single click.


• Similar Artists: Suggests similar artists on Facebook.


• Universal Remote: Control playback in the Facebook interface.


• Easy Sharing: You can find and attach songs to share directly in Facebook without ever leaving.

Outside of the Facebook integration, Plus Music also has great searching capabilities, instant play through right clicking an artist’s name, and smart suggestions. It also can scrobble to Last.fm, share complete tracks – not just a clip and create a mix in the queue.

Conclusion

Now should you use all of these music listening tools together? Technically, none of them should interfere with each other, but I’m definitely an advocate of keeping extensions and apps down to a minimum. So let me ask you: which ones are your favorites?

Have you used any of these before? If not, which ones do you feel would fit best into your own lifestyle? If you have any other recommendations that I missed, feel free to share those in the comments below as well!

The post 7 Tools That Will Revolutionize Your Music Listening Habits On The Web appeared first on MakeUseOf.

How to Embed Just a Portion of a YouTube Video

Do you want to embed the most interesting part of a YouTube video in your website and isolate the rest. Here are simple workarounds to help you embed portions of any Youtube video.

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This story, How to Embed Just a Portion of a YouTube Video, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 16/04/2013 under Embed, YouTube, Internet.

Related Reading:

1. Embed YouTube Videos without the YouTube Logo


2. Start a YouTube Video at any Specific Time


3. Link to a Specific Time of Youtube videos


4. Embed YouTube Videos in both Flash and HTML5


5. How to Embed YouTube Playlists in a Website

How To Automatically Hide Taskbar In Portrait Mode

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Taskbar is undoubtfully one of the most used areas of Windows operating system. The taskbar is helpful to open pinned programs and switch between running programs. Even though Microsoft has dropped Start orb and Start menu from Windows 8, other features of the taskbar remain unchanged. A number of computer users have purchased Microsoft Surface [...]

A Bogus DMCA Takedown Request (Part 2)

In a previous post I wrote about a strange DMCA complaint. Inspection 12 claimed that a post from this blog "is one of nearly 20 song lyrics sites who have attempted to post lyrics for the song titled 'Alden Howell' by the artist Inspection 12. The lyrics posted on this and other sites are not accurate and the artist has not given them permission to post lyrical content."



The post actually linked to a Greasemonkey script that displayed music lyrics next to the YouTube player. In fact, the script doesn't even work right now, probably because the author hasn't updated it since 2009.



I've sent a counter notice to Google and here's the answer I've received:

We have received and reviewed your DMCA counter notice. At this time, Google has decided not to take action based on our policies concerning content removal and reinstatement. We encourage you to review http://www.educause.edu/library/digital-millennium-copyright-act-dmca for more information about the DMCA.

I understand that it's now illegal to link to infringing content, but I don't see why that script infringed Inspection 12's copyright. The script obtained lyrics from sites like lyricwiki.org, songmeanings.net, metrolyrics.com, which license lyrics from Gracenote and LyricFind. Some of these sites have APIs, so Greasemonkey scripts could use their lyrics. Since 2008, when I wrote that post, many lyrics sites started to license content, just like Google's YouTube did.



That script is no longer functional, so my blog post is obsolete, like many other posts from this site. A non-working script can't infringe Inspection 12's copyright (unless the band started to write JavaScript code).



Another issue is that all the claims from the DMCA notice are inaccurate and show that Inspection 12's representatives didn't even visit my blog.



Does this mean I now have to delete all the posts about lyrics sites and plug-ins? Am I allowed to link to lyrics sites? Is it OK to send bogus DMCA notices to Google and remove any page that links to lyrics sites and plug-ins?

YouTube's Tape Mode Easter Egg

YouTube's player added a "tape mode" button for many videos to celebrate "the 57th birthday of the first commercially available video recorder". The tape mode uses some VHS-like effects that add noise, distortion, pixel blocks, video compression artifacts. If you press the "pause" button, you'll see a shaking effect that simulates what happened when a VHS tape was paused.

To try this feature, you can add "&vhs=1" to the URL of a YouTube video, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2XmymhCdHU&vhs=1.



{ Thanks, Sterling. }

TouchPal, A Better Touch Keyboard For Windows 8

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Computer users who’re running Windows 8 on a non-touch machine probably might not have discovered the new touch keyboard included in the newest version of Windows. The new touch keyboard, specially designed for touchscreens, comes with decent set of features and works pretty well too. The all new touch keyboard in Windows 8 shows text [...]

Wordpress users be alert now

The founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg has published a security alert on his site today.

There's a massive botnet that is searching for WordPress installations which use admin as their login username.



The botnet is using over 90,000 I.P addresses so it can constantly retry and login using different password combinations until it works out your password.

Find out out to prevent your site from being hacked