BestTechie.net

YouTube Adds Deep Linking Functionality

YouTube will now allow you to send users to a specific point in a video by appending a short tag to the end of a video’s URL or by leaving a comment on the video specifying the time (examples below). However, it is pretty surprising that this functionality was not available earlier, as Google Video introduced the same feature over two years ago.

In order to link to a video’s specific time you have to add an appendage to the URL such as, #t=2m25s. So if the link were: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhtFcN9xbcg it would look like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhtFcN9xbcg#t=2m25s

In the comments all you need to do is say the time you want to be linked to; for example, “2:25 That was cool!” and it will make the link for you.

Pretty neat stuff.  Let me know what you think - Leave a comment!

Tags: Google, YouTube

Acer X243W Review

A few weeks ago I received and unboxed the Acer X243W’s. Here is the review. First off, they are much bigger than I anticipated which is definitely a good thing. They have a 3000:1 contrast ratio - very bright and vibrant, DVI and VGA support (no HDMI), max resolution of 1920×1200, and the color and picture is very sharp.

The price isn’t bad either. They are currently selling on Newegg for $299 - that’s less than what I paid.

One thing I dislike about these monitors is that they generate a lot of heat and having two of them doesn’t help much either.  Other than that, I would highly recommend these to anyone looking to purchase a new LCD display.

What monitor do you use?  Leave a comment!

Tags: Acer, LCD, Monitors

Teamviewer Review

How to use Teamviewer to connect to remote computers either on your local area network (LAN) or outside your network (WAN). This software is extremely easy to use and requires zero configuration.

Teamviewer is both Mac and PC compatible, just install it, and you are ready to rock.

In order to connect to a remote computer, both machines must have Teamviewer installed and you must provide your ID and password to the person who you want to connect - that’s it!  No need to forward ports or know any IP addresses.

Based on my personal experience using the remote computer is a relatively smooth experience - it doesn’t jerk or hiccup much at all.  Of course, depending on your download speed and the person’s upload speed (of the machine you’re connecting to) it may vary.

Teamviewer has two default presets - Optimize for Speed and Optimize for Quality.  In addition, you an configure your own custom settings if you so wish.  The software also includes several features such as file transfer and a built-in chat client.

The only issue I have noticed is that my mouse does not scroll using the scroll wheel - I need to manually scroll down the page.  This by no means is a deal breaker, however, it is annoying, especially if you are use to using a scroll wheel and who isn’t nowadays.

Have you tried Teamviewer?  Leave a comment!

Tags: Reviews, Teamviewer, VNC

Apple’s App Store Fills Up With Paid Apps

This graph shows (as of July 2008) Apple App Store’s free vs paid application comparison.  As you can see paid applications are have surpassed the free ones.  I know a lot of people including myself who were expecting to see more free applications (which was the case originally) than paid ones.  So what happened?  Well, people who were selling applications were making money which is always great incentive to charge for something.

In addition, I’m sure if you could make some extra cash on the side in this troubled economy it wouldn’t hurt.  Sure there will always be people and companies who release free applications that work in conjunction with a particular service or simply because they feel it should be free.  However, I believe in regards to the App Store you will continue to see an increase of paid apps.

How expensive will these applications get?  I believe that a majority will sell at .99 and I really doubt most apps will go above $9.99.

What do you think?  Are you willing to pay for iPhone/iPod apps?  Leave a comment!

Tags: App Store, Apple, iPhone, iPod

Force Empty Trash In OSX

Have you ever moved a file to the trash in OSX and it just would not delete? Perhaps it was supposedly in use?  Well, here are a few tips and tricks to help remove those pesky files with relative ease.

One thing I have found to always work is to simply Log out (or even reboot) and log back in then attempt to empty the Trash.  This should usually work.  However, if you would prefer to stay logged in and/or not have to reboot, check out the solutions below.

How to force the Trash to empty using the Option key

This technique uses a hidden feature of Mac OS X to force the Trash to empty. It is important you follow these steps very carefully.

1. Press and hold the mouse button (or if you have a two button mouse - right click) on the Trash icon in the Dock. The context menu for Trash will display.
2. Press and hold the Option key.
3. Select Empty Trash from the context menu for Trash.
4. Release the Option key.

How to force the Trash to empty using Terminal

This technique uses a Terminal command to fore the Trash to empty. It is important that you follow these steps very carefully.

1. Launch Terminal, located in the Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities folder or search Spotlight for Terminal

2. At the Terminal prompt, type the following command exactly as written:

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

Important Notes:

* There is a single space after each of the terms sudo, rm, and -rf in the command.
* Double check you have typed the command exactly as it written above: incorrectly typing the command can result in serious system issues, including erasing your hard drive.

3. Press Return/Enter
4. Now type your Admin password when prompted, then press Return/Enter. The files in the Trash are now deleted.

Another possibility is to download and try this free application called Trash It! which is an AppleScript that force-empties your Trash and/or removes stubborn items.

How has this worked for you? Leave a comment!

Tags: OSX, tips & tricks