Someone wrote me an email yesterday sharing a link that streams TV and live Radio Stations to your desktop/laptop using your Broadband connection. It is UK Media Hub site so you will get to watch the BBC channels, ITV channel and news channel like Al Jazeera.

Here is what was written in the email:

http://www.easyonlinetv.com is a UK Media Hub Site that provides a selection of the best UK TV online and Internet Radio. There is also a Page that provides Links to all the Major UK Newspapers online. You will need a Media Player installed to connect with the streaming TV and live Radio Stations. And the best is – it’s all free!

This video is actually quite good and adds humour to the social networking revolution because 9 out of 10 of us have signed up with some social network in recent years. And it is the weekend so we should have some fun. Hope you like the video as much as I did and he can actually sing!

Wordia.com is new and it is an online website that presents word definition through video clips. It is a participative website where you create an account then create your video describing a word, e.g. Beer, Hangover, etc. and then upload it to the site.

This website is unique because dictionaries have always been textual. Before dictionaries were made available online, we used to own hard cover dictionaries that weigh heavier than a decent laptop. With Wordia.com, it displays the meaning of a word in text, its synonym and then you watch a video of someone describing the word. It adds another dimension to the joy of learning words. I think some of the videos on Wordia.com are done by professional actors. So if you are up for it, you can create a video, add humour to it and upload it to the website.

It is an interesting start-up. I hope the website will grow virally like YouTube. I included two videos describing the word invention and beer. If you have a few minutes to spare, do watch the video and let me know what you think.

Invention

Beer

After watching this video, I can’t help but to also mention two motivational books that are key to overcoming failure. It is our attitude that will determine if we succeed or fail in life.

Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell
Attitude 101 by John C. Maxwell

YouTube Downloader 2.1.6 is a freeware software that allows you to download videos from YouTube onto your desktop and it also allows you to convert the videos to other formats for your iPod, iPhone, PSP, mobile phone, Windows Media, mp3, etc.

Watch the video on how to download YouTube video and how to convert the video to other formats.

Download YouTube Downloader 2.1.6 here.

What you will need to embed a YouTube video in PowerPoint.

1. PowerPoint of course but version 2007
2. A live internet connection
3. Enable Develop tab in PowerPoint 2007
4. Video URL link which you can copy from the YouTube website.

Watch this tutorial now.

Here are some of my favourite WordPress video tutorials. It is great that there are so much resource available online on how to use WordPress and there are hundreds of hints and tips out there. I selected the following WordPress tutorials because they allow you to look under the WordPress hood and learn about page templating, css and some php scripting. I hope you find them useful.

How to Create a Custom WordPress Page Template

WordPress How to hide header when using a custom blog header

The Best WordPress Plug-ins

Make Your WordPress Blog Search Engine Friendly

To be honest, I listened to IZ’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow for the first time after I heard Jason Castro’s version of the same song on American Idol. Do you know how many people have actually sang the song in singing competitions in recent years?

Jason Castro in American Idol
Katherine McPhee in American Idol
Leona Lewis in X Factor
Connie Talbot in Britain’s Got Talent

The actual title of the song is Over The Rainbow but it is also popularly known as SomeWhere Over the Rainbow. It was written for the movie Wizard of Oz and it became Judy Garland’s signature song.

As usual I did my research online and I found 7 versions of the song on YouTube. For the moment I think I like IZ’s version the best because I’ve just listened to it and like his voice and arrangement but I cannot deny that Eva Cassidy’s version is still at the top my favourite list after IZ.

Have a listen and let me know which you like best.

Israel Kamakawiwo Ole’s (IZ) version

Jason Castro’s version on American Idol

Katherine McPhee’s version on American Idol

Leona Lewis’ version on X Factor

Connie Talbot’s version on Britain’s Got Talent

Judy Garlands version in The Wizard of Oz

Eva Cassidy’s version

Dance like there’s no tomorrow is the name of the song. I watched the video for the first time when they showed it on American Idol but I didn’t pay much attention. Today I decided to watch it again on YouTube and I think the beat is catchy, Paula Abdul is in her element and Randy Jackson playing the guitar, yo cool!

I enjoyed watching the video. It is great that you can get absolutely anything from YouTube. That’s the power of broadband and PVRs.

Interview with Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul

Here is a video about Atari, the company who created the Atari gaming console and popularized games like Pong and Space Invaders in the 1980s. The video tells how the company achieved success and how it fell from its glory.

Gaming consoles have come a long way since the days of Atari…