Download Tools: Videos from YouTube

YouTube is quite popular nowadays, and some people love to download videos from there to show their friends/relatives or for their own enjoyment. Although the quality of past videos was far more worse, nowadays there are some videos in YouTube are available either in HQ (High Quality - sharper .flv videos) or HD (High Definition - Bigger and Better .mp4 videos, near DVD quality) versions. So, do you know how to download the videos? You have three options:

1. Via Internet Video Downloader sites

• Go to Keepvid.com
• Enter the URL of the video you want to download in the box given.
• Two links would appear beneath it: .flv version and .mp4 version (There are no difference to me!)
  
• Save either one you like.
• Other sites: KissYouTube.com, Vid-Dl.net, DownloadYouTubeVideos.com, VideoDL.org, and Toshichan Green Tube.
  

2. Via Video DownloadHelper Add-on Tool (for Mozilla Firefox users)

• For those who had Mozilla Firefox, go to here and press "Add to Firefox" to download the add-on.
• Firefox would automatically downloads the tool and integrates it within the Firefox itself.
• Firefox would request to restart so you could use the tool after Firefox restarts.
• If successful, an icon consisting of three orbs would appear next to Firefox's URL box. A new tab would appear too to thank you for using the tool.
• Now, if you want to download a video from YouTube, open the video you want and then press the little button next to the logo and choose the video type you want to download. (Notice the icon may become coloured and animated if the video is available)
  
• More options/configuration available at Firefox's Tools > DownloadHelper > Preferences menu.
  

3. Via YouTube Downloader program.

• Download the program here.
• Not only easy, it actually have file conversion features!
  

Among the three options, I prefer the second one and mostly recommended because:

• You can actually download HQ/HD version of YouTube videos (if the video had the HQ or HD button) if you know the trick.
• Not only limited to YouTube, but also any videos from other sites (GoogleVideo, Vimeo, etc) and other file formats (.swf, .mov, etc...)

File Compression: 7-Zip

Do you want to make a file smaller in size?
Do you want to get more space in your pen drive?
Do you want to make your files safe from virus infections?

You absolutely needed a ZIP utility to work online. My recommendation is 7-Zip, which is an open source ZIP utility software. Most of the source code is under the GNU LGPL license. You can use 7-Zip on any computer, including a computer in a commercial organization. You don't need to register or pay for 7-Zip - It's free!

http://www.7-zip.org/

Why I did not recommend WinZip and WinRAR? Well, although both of them are popular, they're actually a shareware, which means you need to BUY it, unless you've got some money to buy the software, or got some better alternatives...

Also, other reasons why I recommend this software...

• It could compress files into a .7z (by default) or .zip format file.
• .7z files are rare, and it would get rare chances for viruses to infect the file.
• Could decompress ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, RAR, RPM, UDF, etc...
• Integrate into right-click menu for quick archiving/de-archiving.
  

Welcome: Introduction

Hi and welcome to my blog!

In this blog I would provide any download links to freewares and any free softwares available in the internet, and also desktop customization tips and mobile computing news for anyone who visits my blog. So feel free to browse in this blog and post comments about the software I would posted here. For Malaysian visitors (and those who could write and speak Malay), don't worry if you can't give comments in English because I accept any comments in Malay. Siapa kata tak boleh cakap Melayu kat sini?

For introduction, I may give the definition of "freeware" and differences with other software types...

Freeware (Perisian percuma)

Freeware (free + software - soft) is "a computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee" (from Merriam-Webster Online dictionary) . The software must be fully functional for an unlimited time with no cost, monetary or otherwise. The software license may impose restrictions on the type of use including personal use, individual use, non-profit use, non-commercial use, academic use, commercial use or any combination of these. For instance, the license may be "free for personal, non-commercial use".

Perisian percuma ialah perisian komputer yang percuma tetapi mempunyai hakcipta yang dimiliki oleh pembangunnya, yang mempunyai hak untuk mengawal pengedarannya, mengubahsuainya dan menjualnya di kemudian hari. Selalunya, perisian percuma diedarkan tanpa disertakan kod sumbernya dan lantas mengelakkan para penggunanya daripada mengubahsuai perisian tersebut.

Free Software (Perisian Percuma)

Free software is a software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things and to prevent consumer-facing hardware manufacturers from preventing user modifications to their hardware.

Perisian bebas ialah perisian yang boleh digunakan, dikaji, diubah, disalin dan diedarkan kepada orang lain secara bebas, dan boleh diedarkan semula dengan pengubahsuaian atau tiada pengubahsuaian tanpa sebarang larangan atau sedikit larangan pengubahsuuaian terhadap perisian tersebut.

Note: Because of the "free" similarities among these two and lack of people's knowledge in programming, many people find that both terms (Freeware and Free Software) were the same. In fact, the difference is that freewares was NOT allowed to be modified by final user while the other one is the opposite. But the similarities is, there are no cost/charge to get/download them! (This blog may include both of these types)

Nota: Disebabkan kedua-duanya adalah sama-sama "percuma" dan orang ramai kurang arif dalam bidang pengaturcaraan (programming), ramai orang mendapati kedua-dua istilah ini agak sama. Perbezaan utamanya ialah perisian percuma (freeware) TIDAK dibenarkan (oleh pengeluarnya) untuk diubahsuai kod perisiannya manakala perisian bebas (free software) adalah sebaliknya. Tetapi yang samanya, dua-dua boleh dapat/download dengan free je! (Blog ni mempunyai kedua-dua jenis ni)

Shareware (Perisian kongsi)

Shareware (share + software - soft) refers to copyrighted commercial software that is distributed without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability or convenience. Shareware is usually offered as a trial version with certain features only available after the license is purchased, or as a full version, but for a trial period. It is also labelled as "free to try" software.

Perisian kongsi merujuk kepada perisian komersial berlesen yang boleh dimuat turun secara percuma dan boleh digunakan sehingga had masa tertentu. Walau bagaimanapun, perisian sebegini boleh terus digunakan selepas lesennya dibeli. Sesetengah perisian kongsi hanya membenarkan beberapa fungsi tertentu digunakan sebelum pengguna membeli lesennya. Fungsi penuh perisian akan dibenarkan selepas salinan perisian tersebut didaftarkan atau diaktifkan dengan lesen sah daripada pengeluar atau pembangunnya. Ia juga boleh dikenali sebagai perisian "cubaan percuma".

Tip: Some free downloadable software did not mentioned about this "shareware" feature. That is why sometimes, if you typed "free software" in search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc), you may find that the software you downloaded was actually a shareware when you used it. You should investigate the software details and information before you download the file. It is a shareware if it mentions about "buy price", "shareware", "trial version", and/or "free to try".

Tip: Sesetengah perisian yang boleh di-download tidak memberitahu ia adalah "shareware". Sebab itulah jika korang taip "free software" dalam enjin carian (misalnya Google dan Yahoo), korang akan dapati perisian tu adalah "shareware" semasa menggunakannya. Korang patut teliti dahulu maklumat tentang perisian tersebut sebelum men-downloadnya. Ia adalah "shareware" jika ia tertulis "buy price" (harga belian), "shareware" (perisian kongsi), "trial version" (versi cubaan), dan/atau "free to try" (cubaan percuma).

Retail software (Perisian belian)

Retail software is a software which is sold to consumers, usually under restricted licenses. These type are usual types of software which was sold in retail markets or in the internet via online purchasing.

Perisian belian ialah perisian yang dijual terus kepada pengguna, biasanya ada kawalan perlesenan atau hakcipta yang ketat. Jenis ini biasanya dijual di kedai-kedai atau juga melalui pembelian secara online.

That's all. Wait for the next posts for upcoming downloads!