Testing Toshiba Camileo S20 HD camcorder.

Toshiba Camileo S20 is an low-level camcorder (it's somewhere around $150 in Romania), but it really impresses me. I was expecting to be just a camcorder with which you can just play a little, and nothing more (considering that I had before a P10 which I changed with the S20), but it definitely exceeded my expectations.

It's very thin (only 17mm), extremely light (I was searching the battery on the pack because I wasn't thinking that a camcorder can be that light with the battery inserted), and the design Toshiba gave to it makes it look really good (much better than the P10). It can record at both 1080p and 720p resolutions (the 4X zoom is available only for 720p and below), and some of the features it has are "Macro" mode, Slow Motion, Pre-recording, Motion Detect and many others (the P10 didn't have them, P20 might have them but as the specifications from Romanian websites selling these camcorders are very poor, I can't be sure it has).

It also has image stabilization, and the camera can shoot photos at 16 MP. The resolution is very good for a camera of this type, but, however, I wasn't able to take clear photos from a very short distance, even with Macro mode activated. Anyway, the photos I took outside look absolutely brilliant. The 3" LCD screen is quite poor, and even if the photos/videos don't look pretty good on it, when you put them on your computer, they are perfect.

Camera startup time is more than acceptable (it turns on and off automatically, but you also have a button to turn it on and off manually), and I think that the pre-recording and slow motion options are the features which make this camcorder to worth buying. You just push the pre-recording button, and when you see something interesting, you just push the recording button. This way, you can recording the lightnings very easy. Practically, when you push the record button with pre-recording on, the previous 3 seconds prior to pushing the record button are also added to the recording.

If you consider buying a camera like this, here is what you also need to know: in the pack, you're going to find the power cable, USB cable, a TV cable and a tripod (it's very useful), and of course, the quick start guide. And, if you buy one, don't forget to remove the insulator from the battery, otherwise it won't charge. Both photos and videos are accessible directly via USB, without the need of any additional software (like Sony does). What is also important is the container of movies, which, in this case, is AVI (QuickTime won't play it if you're on a Mac, but VLC does it smoothly, and it should be doing it on any platform).

Here is a video I recorded today in Hungary. My opinion is that the image is just perfect.

New YouTube mobile interface.

YouTube launched a new interface for their mobile site, one which is more complex and more touch-friendly, making it easier and faster to access both videos and all other stuff (subscribes, favorites, like and unlike for comments, and even a possibility to play videos in HQ). The interface is designed to bring users a very similar experience compared to the desktop version of YouTube.

Here is a video from YouTube showing the features of the mobile version (I don't know what was in their mind when they put the Nexus One and the iPhone together).


This website surely is a fresh breath of air for the iPhone users, but is it worth on the Android? I mean, YouTube says that it is fast and with many options, but the YouTube app from Android is just the same. Moreover, the app looks better on the dark interface.

Which one are you going to use? m.youtube.com or YouTube app from your device?

Play Flash video content on your Android device! (including Nexus One, already).

Skyfire is a free complex browser, designed especially for mobile devices. It's clearly the best browser for terminal devices. You're probably asking now what is the connection between flash and this browser. It is capable of displaying webpages on their entire, with all scripts and players (and whatever else) included. And the Android version has just came out today!

I've installed it on my Nexus One, and what I have to tell you is that: in normal browsing, Android's default browser is quite at the same level with this browser, but if you need to play Flash on your phone, Skyfire beats anything. Flash content is not automatically played, as you have to go in menu and select "video". A new window will open, playing the requested video.

The advantage of this is that you don't need a modified rom in order to try playing Flash (I'm not sure if it can be done like this), which is done by rooting your phone, which will void your warranty. But with Skyfire, you can enjoy Flash (and other scripts that Android's browser isn't capable of running), risk-free.

Download it now from http://get.skyfire.com/dl_android.php, or directly on your phone from http://www.skyfire.com/ (if you can't download through Market, where it says "Don't have Android Market on your phone?", select "go here").

Very interesting videos showing the making of Nexus One.

Searching over the YouTube I accidentally found a series of videos which are documenting the making of Nexus One. They are only 5, they each take you only a few minutes, and you shouldn't miss them. Watch them:

• Episode 1: Concept & Design: click here.
• Episode 2: Display & 3D Framework: click here.
• Episode 3: Testing: click here.
• Episode 4: Manufacturing: click here.
• Episode 5: Day One: click here.

I didn't post them here directly (embed) because they are going to be played via Flash, and users with slower computers might hate me then.

The official Ubuntu 10.04 splash screen recorded.

If you have Ubuntu 10.04 up-to-date you now have by default the new Ubuntu 10.04 splash screen. Because of some errors (again), the splash screen will be displayed for a little period of time, but it's enough to see Ubuntu's new face, which is much nicer than the previous one. About it's new theme you can read more by clicking here.

Below is a recording with Ubuntu's splash and shut down screen (recorded with iPhone, sorry for low quality)

Take pictures or record with your webcam on Ubuntu.

Taking pictures or recording from webcam on Ubuntu is not hard at all, because Ubuntu has all drivers needed. You just need a software which is able to do "the job". "Cheese" is the application that can help you here. It's so far the most compatible software of this type for Ubuntu, and it can let you take pictures or record directly from your webcam. And you have an additional option, named "Burst". Using this, you can take multiple pictures automatically (by default it takes 4 photos with a delay of 1 seconds, but you can change this in preferences).

Search in Ubuntu Software Center for "Cheese".

Download anything from YouTube.

YouDDL is probably the best YouTube downloader on internet, because you can download videos in any resolution available. You can even download them in HD ( either in .flv format or in MP4). But you need a video player capable of playing these formats, or a video converter, in order to get them in a playable format. It's free: http://www.youddl.com/

And, I am NOT responsible for anything you download by using this method, including copyrighted content. Use it at your own risk !

Chrome extension for viewing YouTube always in HTML5.

You have probably read my article about the new feature from YouTube, that one related to HTML 5 content (if not, go here). The extension I'm now telling you about, will try to deliver you the content from YouTube into HTML 5, instead of Flash Player. It is available for all platforms (Mac users goes here), and has no button, it only does what I've told you (in the background). It's an interesting extension, because you will know anytime that the content is viewed through HTML 5, if available.

Search it through extensions (https://chrome.google.com/extensions?hl=en-US) with the following name: YouTube HTML5-ifier .

YouTube turns to HTML 5 (no flash needed anymore).

If you want to view YouTube video content, you don't need anymore Flash Player. And this is because the videos from YouTube can now be played on HTML 5, which runs the h.264 video codec. This plays the content faster and uses less resources, compared to the older way (with Flash). YouTube says that it's just an experiment, and from what I've already seen, the videos are running on the whole black area (which makes, because of the bigger image, its quality lower), and are playing faster than before. And I like the idea.

What do you need : Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer with Chrome Frame installed (Download Chrome Frame here). Anything else you need to know is that there is no fullscreen viewer and some videos that have ads can't be currently played using HTML 5.

Join HTML5 Beta from here: http://www.youtube.com/html5