MakeUseOf.com: “Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun]” plus 5 more |  |
- Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun]
- Cool Websites and Tools [February 19th]
- 4 Common YouTube Annoyances & How To Get Rid Of Them With Userscripts
- Hot Tech Deals [Feb 19th]
- Npackd Automatically Downloads & Installs Windows Software
- 8 Free Tools to Visualize Information on Twitter
| Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun] Posted: 19 Feb 2011 09:38 PM PST
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| Cool Websites and Tools [February 19th] Posted: 19 Feb 2011 07:31 PM PST
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| 4 Common YouTube Annoyances & How To Get Rid Of Them With Userscripts Posted: 19 Feb 2011 05:31 PM PST
However you can’t please everyone all the time and there are many people who find some of YouTube’s features annoying (while loving the resource overall). Let’s try to cope with the most popular YouTube annoyances: 1. AutoplayAs well as the buffering feature which forces the video to play immediately once the page loads, and then stops the video frequently to buffer it. 2. Video qualityThere is no good way to choose the default quality of a video (based on your preferences and connection settings). 3. Advertisements Embedded Within A VideoClicking X to close an advert again and again in each video you watch is really disturbing. 4. No Way To Easily Access Some Great Built-In FeaturesFor example, there is no way to loop videos selectively. Here are a few userscripts that cope with all of these annoyances effectively: YouTube HD UltimateYouTube HD Ultimate is a userscript which forces YouTube to select the highest video quality a user’s computer can handle (with options to lower it if the computer has problems playing 1080px videos). Supported BrowsersFireFox (via Greasemonkey) and Opera. OptionsOptions can be found in the upper-right-hand corner of a YouTube page:
From there (among other things) you can:
If you hover over any option settings, you’ll see a short explanation as well as the general recommendations as to how to use each one:
YouTube EnhancerYouTube Enhancer is a feature-rich userscript similar to the above one with more cross-browser compatibility options and a different feature layout. Supported BrowsersFireFox (via Greasemonkey), Opera, Google Chrome (the latest version), Flock, Safari, SeaMonkey (with a patch). The script installs its own player controls that allow to play, pause, loop, rewind, download and even convert the current video as well as set the quality:
The script also has global options for all YouTube videos accessed via the “General options” link on top of the video:
YouTube Auto Buffer & Auto HD & Remove AdsYouTube Auto Buffer & Auto HD & Remove Ads is a userscript whose name speaks pretty much for itself. Its main feature is removing adverts embedded into the videos. Besides that, it buffers the video without autoplaying and puts it in HD if the option is on. Supported BrowsersFireFox (via Greasemonkey) and Opera (with some reported issues with Autobuffer Options). The script options are nicely integrated into the YouTube interface allowing you to:
Note: there’s one minor annoyance with the tool which you may notice: the script allows the video to play for a second and then pauses it. Endless YouTubeEndless YouTube: If you are one of those people who tend to watch or listen to one and the same music / video clip over and over again, this script is right for you. It enables you to loop the whole video or a part of it for it to play over and over until you close the tab. Supported BrowserFireFox (via Greasemonkey). Just set the time interval you want to loop or click “Loop video” to play the whole clip again and again:
Are there any other YouTube annoyances you wish you could cope with? Let’s try to find the solutions together!
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| Posted: 19 Feb 2011 12:30 PM PST
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| Npackd Automatically Downloads & Installs Windows Software Posted: 19 Feb 2011 11:31 AM PST
Ubuntu has its software center; Apple, its app store; Android, its marketplace. Although different in many ways, all serve the same purpose: giving users a central place to download, install and upgrade applications. Windows however, lacks anything close to this. Npackd, a third party program, aims to give Windows a similar hub.
Getting StartedAs always, you need to download Npackd to get started. Don’t worry; once you get this program set up you won’t need to mess around with so many downloads anymore! Fire the program up and you’ll see an interface Linux users will find familar:
Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem familar to you; it’s easy enough to use. Scroll to browse the applications, and double-click to see a quick summary of a given piece of software:
Like what you see? Feel free to install the application, then. Once you’ve highlighted a piece of software you can click the “Install” button on the toolbar to start the installation process. Unlike most Windows installation tools, there’s no need for you to click “Next” several times. Just let the installation start and the software will download and install for you, hands free:
This makes installing software a much less time-consuming process, as you can imagine, and there’s a lot of software to choose from. Supported SoftwareBrowse the list and you’ll find some familiar tools. Some MakeUseOf favorites are included, such as: This is just a sample; there’s over 200 completely free programs to choose from and more being added all the time. Take a look and you’ll find a bunch of apps you know and love. It’s a far cry from Ubuntu’s thousands of free apps, but it’s a start for Windows. Warning!There’s a warning on this program’s website, and it should be heeded. Do not use Window’s Control Panel to remove software you’ve installed using Npackd, because this can cause a mess. Instead, use Npackd to remove software you’ve installed using it. ConclusionI discovered this piece of software via a blog post on TechHamlet, and have been enjoying it ever since. As a Linux user I obviously like anything that makes Windows more Linux-like, but I think longtime Windows users will appreciate the idea as well. Anything that makes life simpler is good, and this program makes finding, installing and keeping free software up to date a great deal easier. Do you? Let me know in the comments below. Also feel free to offer alternative tools for the job, because we always love to learn.
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| 8 Free Tools to Visualize Information on Twitter Posted: 19 Feb 2011 09:30 AM PST
Another interesting way to filter through what is being said on Twitter, and better yet, analyse it, is to visualize it. This is certainly not a new idea, and we’ve written about some services in the past that will allow you to do just that. With the world around Twitter constantly growing and developing, it’s no surprise that since then there are a ton more services allowing you to visualize your followers, Twitter stream and your own personal Twitter stats. PortwiturePortwiture is definitely one of the more unique visual Twitter apps that you’ll find. Rather than tag clouds or graphs, Portwiture allows you to visualize your tweets in photographs.
Portwiture matches the content of your tweets to photographs that have been uploaded to Flickr. It may not necessarily be the most accurate of services, but is certainly an interesting experiment in combining online social services. Results can be viewed either as a grid or a slideshow. Cloud.liCloud.li is a Twitter search engine which delivers results as a tag cloud. You can search for specific terms, while also excluding others.
Realtime results are constantly updated, with words associated with your search term, as well as Twitter usernames that are associated with the search term. Clicking on any given tag will open up a new cloud. Tori’s EyeTori’s Eye is another unique experiment in visualizing Twitter search results.
It might not be the most practical way to search for information on Twitter, but it certainly is one of the prettiest. Search results take on the form of origami birds, and clicking on, or hovering over, any given bird will display the related tweet. All links and hashtags in the tweet are clickable. TweetStatsIf you want to visualize your own personal use of Twitter rather than what’s being said on Twitter, one of the best services for that is TweetStats.
Not only can you look up your own stats, but those of any Twitter user. Information that is displayed includes graphs of your Twitter clients, who you retweet and speak to the most, and how often you tweet, amongst others. Depending on how active you are on Twitter, it can take a while for the results to load, so you’ll have to be patient. TrendisticIf you want to visualize trends or any search term for that matter, Trendistic is a site that graphs the movement of any given term on Twitter, showing when it peaks and falls.
The time frame in which the term has been tweeted can be anywhere from 24 hours to 180 days. While Trendistic is a free service, you do have to sign up to gain access to certain features, including the 90 and 180 day graphs. The graph is also accompanied by the latest tweets that contain the search term. TwitterMapBecause Twitter is literally accessed from all four corners of the world, it’s interesting to see the locations from which a certain term is tweeted.
TwitterMap is probably the most straightforward way you can do this. Simply search for any given term, and the tweets will start to show up on the map. Hovering over the marker displays the tweet above the map, and clicking on the marker displays it on the map. You can search for a total of 10 to 500 tweets. It is disappointing, however, that links and Twitter usernames are not clickable. 5K Twitter BrowserTwitter finally has a native feature in which you can see which Twitter users you and any given person have in common, but that said, 5K Twitter Browser is a great way to visualize those connections.
Search for a Twitter username, and you will see the latest users they have followed. Double click on any given user, and the network will expand showing their latest friends, and the connections between them. It can get a bit confusing if you open the network of too many users, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting experiment. TwitterSheepIf you’re curious about who your followers are, TwitterSheep gives you an easy way to visualize just that.
The website displays a tag cloud of words used in the bios of your friends. The more often a word appears, the larger it is. Have we left out any of your favourite tools? Let us know about them in the comments. Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.
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