So you want to save a YouTube video? You've probably used a search engine and found tools like KeepVid, Keep-Tube, and a plethora of browser extensions for Chome and Firefox.You probably thought twice about using those tools because adding an extension to your browser or running a Java Applet inside it can be a security risk. It makes you wonder why you can't simply obtain a link to the flash file to download. It's saved (cached) on your computer when you watch a video anyway...Well, you can get a link to the flash file (.flv) on a YouTube video without needing anything but your browser if you are using Chrome. If you are using Firefox, you can use the FireBug developer tool extension.Here's how you do it. I'll keep it short and sweet, but keep in mind the method is similar for both Chrome and Firefox.Overview: Use developer tools to see which files are being sent from the server, identify the video flash file, then obtain a link to it.Steps to obtain a Flash link to a YouTube video:
Open your browser.
Open the appropriate developer tools (Chrome: CTRL+SHIFT+I, Firefox*: F12).
Click on the Network or Net tab.
May need to enable Network Monitoring (obvious if you see an explanation in the Net tab).
Navigate to the YouTube video.
When the video loads monitor the file list and find the one that is the flash file. On Chrome, the type will be "video/x-flv" and named something like videoplayback. On Firefox, it can be named the same "GET videoplayback?....", but you will need to click on the file to see the type, "video/x-flv." If you have trouble, just look for the file that has a long transfer time... the one that continuously transfers (See the image below).
Right click on the file and choose either "Copy link address" or "Copy location."
Now you have the link. However, before you can use it, make sure you close the original YouTube video webpage. YouTube has smart caching logic so that only one of your connections will be active at one time.
You now have two choices:
Paste your link into your browser (after closing the previous playing video), then doing a "Save As" to save it to your computer. This will download the video a second time, which is why I recommend...
Create a link, right clicking it, and choosing "Save link as..." How do you do this? Use this tool to create an HTML Link for you.
Now you can get a link to the flash video on YouTube with only your browser. Expect a later post on how to convert a flash video into another format like mpeg.
"No Robots" is a refreshing tear jerker that tackles bigotry, not against other races, but against our future children, robots. How can we be so cruel to the ubermensch, that new dimension of life we should be proud to be the called its parent?
Here are four items that are worth noting about my Roku experience:1. If the space around the Roku is covered (like on a small shelf or TV stand), the wifi connection degrades and the Roku wireless connection is lost and takes a long time to reconnect. It is necessary to move the Roku into the open and reconnect to the wifi hotspot.2. When interacting with the device via the remote, there are audible CLICKS on the TV output. It is very loud and jolting when using the navigation buttons or other buttons. There appears to be a voltage spike running into the HDMI output corrupting the audio signal. Very annoying! I almost sent the device back with the 30 day guarantee because of this. The little box looks pretty, but it behaves like a POS.3. Before buying Roku I was using my Wii to watch Netflix streaming. I was a Netflix customer for years and enjoyed the DVD's via mail program. However, their recent behavior forsook my loyalty and I ditched them. Good news for Roku since they directly made a sale because of Netflix's stupidity. Yay for free markets!4. It is not Roku's issue, but it should be worth noting Amazon Prime browsing is horrendous. There is no history or save list and the video offers shown are not good.One more tidbit. Tell the remote control designer to stop making the bottoms of the plastic remote curved. It's been a recent fad, but no one has done a proper user study on it. Sure it appears to fit snugly in our paws while we thumb the buttons, but rounded bottoms don't stay where they are put.When you place an object down you don't expect it to wobble and slide off tables and the arms of chairs. The thing has the same heft as a wiffle ball and the same quality plastic. Feel free to make the edges slightly rounded, but keep the thing rectangular, streamlined, solid. Even the iPhone5 designers learned this one.
The Japanese movie Linda Linda Linda (リンダ リンダ リンダ) is a really good and touching movie. I incidentally discovered the movie indirectly after hearing someone sing "Linda Linda" by The Blue Hearts at karaoke and the movie popped up while searching for the song. The movie is good and recommended.Almost at the end of the movie there is a scene where one of the girls sings "The water is wide" to delay and keep the music concert open for some friends. Her voice is surprisingly beautiful, especially since your ears have acclimated to hearing Japanese in the film up to that point (not to say Japanese is hard on the ears... it's quite the opposite).The singer is Yukawa Shione (湯川潮音) and sings in both English and Japanese. Her singing style is similar to Bjork, although that could possibly be a symptom of being petite.Here she is singing "The water is wide" in the film. Please, ignore the Spanish subtitles. It's the only video on YouTube with her in it.
Here is the full song and another she also sang (風来坊):
You can't get these songs from Amazon, but you can get Yukawa Shione's other album Sweet Children O'Mine.
For those searching for new anime, the "sitcom" Sgt Frog (or Keroro Gunsō ケロロ軍曹) is sure to please. It's a comedy that for some crazy reason is labeled as Kid TV and Family Friendly which explains why it has low ratings on Netflix. Most of the jokes will go over any young viewer's head. It's as though the translators tailored the episodes to my demographic... people that grew up in the 80's watching G.I. Joe, He Man, and Transformers then grew into to Anime in the 90's. The show brims with geek humor.It's especially obvious when some generic bad guys reflect on being cheesy shredder goons in the middle of combat. Not many people watching the show might catch that one.Then there's the modern jokes scattered and blasted rapid fire at the viewer.For example, while the frogs are talking about world domination by brainwashing people while using radio: "You stole that directly from Clear Channel's playbook, didn't you?" Then when the radio program ratings drop you have one of the frogs saying "We're losing listeners faster than Amy Whinehouse!"After hearing references to Facebook, one begins to wonder how a Japanese show in 2005 got hold of a time machine since Facebook didn't become popular until later than 2005.
It's obvious the show owes so much to the Funimation translators. The liberties they took in translating the anime created a whole new and enjoyable show.Here's the short rundown on what the show is about:
A group of interstellar frogs land on Earth (Pikopon) with the intent to conquer and enslave the planet. Yet, incompetence of frog leader keeps them focused on childish tasks like assembling Gundam models and worrying about chores.
Sargent Frog is a fun show and since there's over 50 episodes, you won't have to worry about satisfying your craving for more.One word of warning... It's been said that, "This show is stupid, those frogs are idiots, and I feel dumber after watching it."Get Sgt Frog from AmazonMore info at FunimationRead the manga!
A guy, while in France, plopped his tiny camera on the ground in front of a seagull. I'm not sure what he was expecting, but the bird took the camera in his beak and flew off with it. The resulting movie is of the short flight onto a castle wall where the guy was able to retrieve his camera and luckily upload it for us to see:via PetaPixel.
I haven't seen quality anime in a while, but I've found one of the best opening episodes ever. Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン) is a mecha style anime, which in my book can be considered a negative. However, the first episode was carefully crafted to introduce the main characters, all of which are robust and interesting (as well as Cowboy Bebop).The animation style appears older (much like Lupin but cleaner), which is good since it doesn't rely on cgi and focuses on character movement reminiscent of FLCL.
Simon is a young drill worker in a mine village who uncovers a mech while tunneling. He has the youthful uncertainty which evaporates as Simon learns his ability and his place in the world.[caption id="attachment_32" align="alignright" width="158" caption="Gurren Lagann"][/caption]Kamina is a bull headed brother figure and mentor to Simon and takes pride in helping Simon develop. He brings the majority of the humor due to his overblown ego and dangerously bold character. His since of group is strong and serves to define and bring the main characters together.Yoko is a female warrior who is animated in a quirky sexual way. Her tiny bikini, plus size bosom, and fit body movement call attention to physical attraction while poking fun at over-sexualized entertainment. The satire is executed so discretely the viewer can't help but smile about how odd and enjoyable her character is.Enjoyable excerpt: "Get a move on it thunder thighs," says Kamina with his nose almost touching Yoko's posterior while they crawl through a tunnel.I wrote this having not yet watched episode 2. So, there's a definite possibility the show will go down hill. It's hard to top the first episode. One concern is the show becoming repetitive and cease to focus on character development by spending most of the show on mech battles.We'll see how the rest of Gurren Lagann turns out...watch on Hulu.comwatch on Netflix.combuy the Gurren Lagann Series from Amazon.com
So you want to save a YouTube video? You've probably used a search engine and found tools like KeepVid, Keep-Tube, and a plethora of browser extensions for Chome and Firefox.You probably thought twice about using those tools because adding an extension to your browser or running a Java Applet inside it can be a security risk. It makes you wonder why you can't simply obtain a link to the flash file to download. It's saved (cached) on your computer when you watch a video anyway...Well, you can get a link to the flash file (.flv) on a YouTube video without needing anything but your browser if you are using Chrome. If you are using Firefox, you can use the FireBug developer tool extension.Here's how you do it. I'll keep it short and sweet, but keep in mind the method is similar for both Chrome and Firefox.Overview: Use developer tools to see which files are being sent from the server, identify the video flash file, then obtain a link to it.Steps to obtain a Flash link to a YouTube video:
The Japanese movie 
For those searching for new anime, the "sitcom" Sgt Frog (or Keroro Gunsō ケロロ軍曹) is sure to please. It's a comedy that for some crazy reason is labeled as Kid TV and Family Friendly which explains why it has low ratings on Netflix. Most of the jokes will go over any young viewer's head. It's as though the translators tailored the episodes to my demographic... people that grew up in the 80's watching G.I. Joe, He Man, and Transformers then grew into to Anime in the 90's. The show brims with geek humor.
).
but cleaner), which is good since it doesn't rely on cgi and focuses on character movement reminiscent of 
.
from Amazon.com
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