clippings

From music videos and 1980s commercials to tutorials and funny cats -- and everything in between -- YouTube contains innumerable hours of streaming video entertainment. If you'd like to snag a video and save it to your computer for offline viewing, there are plenty of utilities that can help you with that, including Clip Extractor. Although Clip Extractor isn't as packed with features as some other options, it makes quick work of saving YouTube videos as AVI files.

Clip Extractor's interface is straightforward and easy to figure out, consisting of a single screen. To save a video, … Read more

RealPlayer SP for Mac is a free media player that comes close to mimicking the features and interface of its Windows cousin. While many users can get by with the bevy of other excellent free media players available for the Mac, RealPlayer SP does offer some nice extras in an integrated interface, such as the ability to download streaming video through a companion app (the RealPlayer Downloader) and modify it for specific outputs or devices with another companion app (the RealPlayer Converter). If you also install the RealPlayer Download Agent, the RealPlayer Downloader will automatically detect when you're streaming … Read more

Do you watch a lot of Internet video? With so much out there to consume, from hot music videos and "SNL" skits to arty Vimeo clips and sports highlights, it's impossible to see everything. But an app that's new to iPhone helps you discover new videos by organizing them into channels you can browse by category, popularity, and Web site.

Squrl Video Discovery, (free) was formerly for iPad only, but now brings the app's wealth of video discovery tools to the iPhone. You can get started by browsing through popular or "Fresh" (new) videos to see the type of content you can watch. But to really get the full experience of Squrl, you should connect with social networks like Facebook and Twitter so you can watch videos posted by your friends and share your favorites with them.… Read more

Tout lets you create, share, and watch 15-second video status updates, all from your mobile device. But more than just a video app, Tout is its own self-contained social network, where you can find and follow other users, as well.

Because Tout is all about quickly shooting and sharing short videos, its interface is decidedly simple. There's a large Tout button always at the bottom of the screen, which lets you very quickly shoot and share videos. When you tap it, you can choose to either start recording a new video or upload an existing video from your device. … Read more

Socialcam Video Camera lets you create videos, share them with a community, and offers several cool features to make your personal videos pop.

To get started with Socialcam, sign up from within the app using your Facebook or Twitter account, or you can sign up with your e-mail address. From there you have buttons across the bottom for Videos (users you follow), Popular Videos, Friends (filled with various people and friends you can optionally follow), and latest activity. Touch the Popular or Friends tab to see what Socialcam is all about and see which people are posting (you'll see … Read more

Whether you're a fan of social video apps or not, there's something to be said for short, quick videos you make on the fly and then share with your friends. These apps are a lot like Twitter in that you can post your own short videos, follow other video creators, and view a feed of your favorites to see their latest updates.

This week's iOS apps have been out for some time, but over the past couple of weeks, social video app fans are choosing sides, downloading their favorites, and even posting to social networks to talk … Read more

Camtasia for Mac received an update today that makes it easy to create professional screencasts (capturing all actions on screen) for demonstration videos, instructional videos, and other screen-recording projects. Some new features offered in version 2.1 of the software should make it even more useful, adding new Clip Speed and Remove a Color options to add to your screencasts.

Clip Speed lets you adjust play speed easily The new Clip Speed feature can be accessed from the Video FX tab, and lets you speed through slow processes in a demonstration or slow down a faster process you want your … Read more

One of the things I love best about my iPhone is that it single-handedly replaces a bevy of other devices. Alarm clock? Gone. Digital camera and camcorder? Gone. Reward cards? Gone.

Now I can add one more item to the list: wallet.

The Poddities Money Clip for iPhone 4/4S adds a metal clip to the back of your handset, allowing you to keep cash, credit cards, and the like close at hand. It also gives you the option of hanging your phone from your belt or the top of pants pocket.

There are, of course, iPhone cases that have slots for credit cards and whatnot, but most of them add bulk ranging from a little to a lot. The Poddities is about the slimmest solution out there. It can hold up to three cards, according to the manufacturer.… Read more

Nothing rustles my jimmies like getting ready to bake some pizza rolls, only to open the bag and find that they're encased in a thick layer of ice, a la Captain America.

The piece of adhesive tape used to secure the bag shut failed, presumably due to the low temperature and my inability to remember to buy freezer tape. I've also tried the standard spring-powered bag clip, but after a while, those have the tensile strength of the average claw arcade game and don't even work on bags of chips, let alone frozen nuggets of joy.

This situation used to end up in Shatneresque pontifications on the fleeting nature of life (and possible eyerolls from anyone within earshot), but not anymore. Because I have a FishClip. … Read more