Google's 20% self-directed time rule is a wonderful thing -- it brought us Gmail, Google News, and AdSense, to name just a few. The latest toy to come out of a Googler's one-day-a-week personal project time is 3D stereoscopic videos in YouTube.

The concept is simple; upload a video that contains both the left eye and right eye frames side-by-side. To make your video viewable as in 3D, tag it with "yt3d:enable=true" as well as "yt3d:aspect=3:4", setting this one to the actual aspect ratio of your video.

The YT3D tag will enable a drop-down menu under your video that gives the viewer the option to view it using various 3D technologies, from Red / Cyan glasses to simple Parallel or Cross-eyed modes that don't require special glasses to view. The video is manipulated for each of these various viewing modes on the fly, so you can switch between instantly.

It seems likely that as consumer electronics companies look for ways to differentiate their products, we'll likely see stereoscopic video cameras in the not-too-distant future. So, what do you think? Cool new YouTube mode, or is 3D simply not all it's cracked up to be? Let us know in the comments.

[via Googling Google]

Skype 2.8 Gold, the final version of Skype 2.8, is now available for Mac users to download. The list of impressive new features for the popular phone app includes screen sharing, improved audio and video quality, and Skype Access, which is a way to pay for wifi hotspot access with your Skype credit. There are a few cosmetic changes to the UI as well, which

Screen sharing has been in Skype Beta for a while, and it works pretty well. The ability to share just part of your screen is a nice touch, and could especially come in handy for presentations. Skype Access - which is currently only available for Mac users - gets you past the annoying signup process for many paid wifi hotspots. Instead of entering your information and your credit card number, you can just pay with your previously purchased Skype credit. Even better, you only pay for what you use, which means an end to paying for a full hour when you only need a 20-minute session.

If, like me, you're totally obsessed with all of the coverage of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing and walk on the moon, you're going to like Jason Kottke's latest project.

If you're not aware of the coverage I'm talking about, first of all check out We Choose The Moon, which is a project put together by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum to follow the Apollo 11 mission from lift-off to landing on the moon. The site contains CG graphics of the main (i.e. most interesting) stages of the trip, and there is full 24 hour a day coverage of the radio communications between mission control, the service and control module, and the lunar lander. Of course, to top it all off, you can follow mission control, the control module, and the lunar lander on Twitter.

I've been following We Choose the Moon all week, and though it's amazing to have coverage of all of the radio communications, I'm spoiled. I want video. Luckily, NASA knew that video coverage of the moon landing was imperative, and the mission was put together with a priority of having video coverage available and broadcast live to the public. Jason Kottke has delved into YouTube and either found or uploaded copies of Walter Cronkite's CBS News broadcasts of both the first ever moon landing, and the first ever moon walk, for a site he's put together called Apollo 11 Live TV Coverage. Kottke states that the site was inspired both by the anniversary of Apollo 11, and by the unfortunate recent passing of legendary news anchorman Walter Cronkite.

The site is set up with a late-60's era television framing YouTube, which Kottke hopes will help to emulate the experience people had 40 years ago of watching the live action on relatively small and low-resolution television screens. It's cleverly coded to show the video coverage at exactly the same times it was originally broadcast 40 years ago - this isn't typical web-based video where you can scrub backwards and forwards; this is appointment television viewing.

Hulu Desktop is a pretty nifty application that lets you find and watch Hulu video content on a home theater PC using a media center remote control without a keyboard. But if you already have a home theater PC connected to your TV, you may want to integrate Hulu Desktop with your other media center software. Here's a little trick that will add a Hulu icon to Windows Vista Media Center that makes it easy to launch Hulu Desktop. When you close the application, you'll also be returned to Windows Media Center.

Basically what you need to do is download and install Chad Dyess' modified Media Center Launcher Configuration Utility. This tool lets you add a shortcut for practically any program to Windows Media Center. Next, you'll want to make sure Hulu Desktop is installed. Finally, run the configuration utility and point it to the HuluDesktop.exe file.

That's pretty much all there is to it. You can also create a graphic for the program icon if you want and select which section of Windows Media Center the shortcut will appear in. You can find a more detailed set of instructions at tech-recipes.

Microsoft is so excited about Office 2010 that it's putting out an action movie based on the product. OK, that's not true. But the company has hired Dennis Liu to create a trailer for a non-existent, action-packed and kind of funny movie called Office 2010.

In addition to the trailer, there's an official movie page, complete with a cast blog, backstage interviews, and a link to register for the Office 2010 technical preview which could actually net you an invite to try the real product before it's released.

[via Gizmodo]

Miro is an open source media application for Windows, Linux, and OS X that lets you download and manage video podcasts, watch web video, or movies stored on your desktop. This week the Miro team launched the first release candidate for version 2.5. It's available for Windows or OS X, and the source code is also available for anyone interested in compiling it for Linux.

The latest version is designed to be faster than Miro 2.0 while using less memory. There don't appear to be a ton of new features, but Miro 2.5 RC1 does have a tantalizing section marked "Miro Audio Guide" which would seem to imply that Miro plans to add links to audio podcasts soon. That would be a welcome addition, particularly since my favorite podcatcher, Juice, hasn't been updated in ages.

[via gHacks]

Screenjelly is a quick and easy screencasting tool that works totally in the browser. It records what's on your screen, plus the audio from your computer mic so you can explain what you're doing as you do it. Recordings are limited to 3 minutes, and the service lets you share your recordings via Twitter. It's a lot like Twitpic or Yfrog, but for screencasts instead of photos.

Screenjelly fills the gap between screenshots and full-on scheduled videoconferences. If you're having a computer problem, or fixing one for a friend, sometimes a screenshot can't fully explain the unusual behavior you're trying to deal with. A short video can do the trick. Similarly, if you want to show off a cool move in game you're playing - and there are TONS of videos like this under three minutes on YouTube - you can have it blasted out to Twitter within moments of recording it.

If you aren't one of the thousands of fans who got passes to Michael Jackson's funeral at the Staples Center, you can still watch it via several media outlets. If you are at home, get comfy on the couch and tune in to any major news station and you'll find coverage but if a TV isn't available, there are places online you can find some coverage.

Keep in mind, news of MJ's death almost crashed the Internet itself so finding a site streaming the funeral doesn't guarantee you'll be able to see it but, here are some options to try. Some estimates are saying 70 million people will be watching online funeral coverage.

CNN has an entire Live page devoted to coverage of Michael Jackson's funeral events. Funeral coverage has already started. If you can't get in now, try for the replays at 4 pm and 7pm Eastern time.

CBS Evening News has all the news coverage of Jackson's death so far in one place and presumably will be posting up funeral coverage as it happens.

There are numerous videos available on Hulu of Michael Jackson remembrance shows, interviews with those going to the funeral, details of funeral plans and more. It's a good place to hang out if you need information but can't get through to live coverage. As soon as live coverage is up, Hulu will be a good place to look for it.

WebTVHub has 15 options of where to watch the funeral online and even has a cell phone viewing link.

You can find USA Today coverage on LiveStream, as well as some smaller news outlets. There's even an MJLive station, but so far, it is loading extremely slowly and it's only a view of Havenhurst Avenue in Encino where Michael lived at some point in his youth.

If you want to remember Michael Jackson, without watching the funeral - or just see something kinda funny - check out the Eternal Moonwalk, where fans all over the world show off Jackson's signature dance move.

If you've found a great place to watch, share it in the comments so everyone that wants a front row seat can have one.

VLC is an open source, cross-platform media layer for Windows, OS X, and Linux. It's been around for years, and it's earned a reputation as a media workhorse that can handle pretty much any video codec you can throw at it. So it's hard to believe that it's just today that VLC finally hit version 1.0.

VLC 1.0 includes a number of new features including new HD video codecs, finer speed controls, instant pausing, frame-by-frame playback, and a ton of bug fixes and minor GUI enhancements.

You can read the complete list of updates in the changelog.

[via The Open H]

Online video site Hulu has begun adding content from TV network ABC to its site. Hulu and ABC's parent company Disney announced a partnership deal back in April, but today is the first day you can actually find ABC content on Hulu... just not very much of it.

Hulu is starting with Grey's Anatomy, and has plans to roll out other shows including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, and I Survived a Japanese Game Show over the next few weeks. Sure, it'd be nice if all this stuff were available on day one, but it's summertime and there aren't as many new episodes of existing shows to add to the site, so I can see why Hulu would want to drag things out a bit.

Now if only the company could snag some CBS and CW content...

Mobile web browser Skyfire is one of the only browsers around that lets users watch movies from online video site Hulu. Or rather, it was. WMExperts reports that Hulu has begun blocking Skyfire users.

This development comes on a long, protracted battle between Hulu and Boxee, a media center application for OS X, Windows, and Ubuntu Linux that provides access to web video from dozens of sources.

After killing Boxee support, Hulu eventually launched its own desktop application, cleverly called Hulu Desktop. Does this mean that Hulu might be working on a mobile viewing device? I wouldn't be surprised if the company simply wanted more control over how users can interact with the media on its web site. On the other hand, since Boxee, Skyfire, and most other applications that allow users to watch Hulu video leave the advertising intact, I can't see how it should make much difference to Hulu and the company's content partners how you watch the videos.

[via AppScout]

One upon a time, Joost was supposed to be the future of online video. The project was founded by the makers of Skype as a way to deliver high quality video over a peer to peer network using a standalone application because, let's face it, web browsers weren't really made for video.

But over the past few years, YouTube has continued to grow in popularity, and a little site called Hulu came along and showed that people were pretty gosh darned happy to watch full length TV episodes in a browser if they could access the content they wanted.

Eventually Joost gave up on the standalone media browser idea and relaunched as a web-based video portal. The only problem is that while Joost had a handful of videos you might want to watch, it's content library always paled in comparison to Hulu and other sites.

Today Joost announced a plan to relaunch as a white-label video provider. In other words, Joost will offer up its technology to other companies looking for a way to other companies looking to start their own video portals.

Joost's web portal will continue to exist... for now. But the company is reducing its staff, closing offices, and I'd be shocked if Joost signs any new content deals anytime soon. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the existing premium partners start to disappear from the site.

After months of private Alpha testing, the Boxee team has finally released a public alpha of the Boxee media center application for Windows. That means you can now run Boxee on Mac, Windows or Ubuntu Linux. The public alpha for Windows does seem to be a bit more stable and responsive than the earlier private alpha version.

Boxee provides you with a full screen browser designed for managing and accessing internet media as well as audio and video stored on your hard drive. Over the past few weeks, Boxee has gained a ton of features through a new "App Store" which allows third party developers to create plugins for the media center.

In addition to launching a public Windows Alpha, Boxee also announced last night a new partnership with MLB.com to offer live and recorded Major League Baseball games through Boxee. Boxee has also added support for Digg, Current.tv and Tumblr.

Fortunately, Wikipedia's video options won't end up like this

When I first read the headline that Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, is preparing to offer editors lots of new video tools and support, I was immediately filled with dread. I instantly started imagining the types of videos that overly pedantic Wikipedia editors would create, on such scintillating topics like the "Mary Sue" archetype in fan fiction (and 3200 words on that, really?) or that really awesome episode of Battlestar Galactica (don't flame me BSG fans, Cylons rule and whatnot). Fortunately, the new video features that are going to be coming to Wikipedia aren't about content creation, at least not yet.

According to MIT's Technology Review, in the next two or three months, Wikipedia editors will have access to an "add media" button that allows them to find, annotate, choose the relevant portions of a video and then embed the resulting clip into any article. The whole thing will be web-based and will rely on open video standards. Three sources will be available in the beginning, the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons and Metavid, but eventually Wikipedia hopes to allow users to scour the web for content.

Despite my early skepticism, the idea is actually pretty interesting. When I think about the first-wave of "book encyclopedia" killers, the CD and then DVD-ROM based multimedia offerings (like the late Encarta), the video content always sticks out as one of the biggest high points. Having quality video or audio content add context or augmentation to a text article can really make a subject more clear.

Of course, having to rely on copyright-free video or public domain works might make it difficult for Wikipedia to achieve those same goals.

[via Mashable]

Microsoft launched a user generated video site called Soapbox nearly 3 years ago. First released in private beta in 2006, the site opened to the public in early 2007. Eventually, Microsoft just folded user generated content into its larger video portal, MSN Video.

But MSN Video has never come close to YouTube's success in attracting users who want to upload or watch user generated video. And fighting YouTube on its own turf is an expensive proposition.

Now Microsoft VP Erik Jorgensen tells CNET that the company is changing its strategy for user generated video content.

The new goal is to use the service to allow bloggers and citizen journalists to post entertainment, finance, and lifestyle videos that Microsoft can feature on its other web properties covering those topics. Microsoft may begin to restrict user uploads in the future to reduce the costs of running the service. It's not clear whether that means only users with approved accounts would be able to upload videos, or whether Microsoft will employ some sort of selection process that only allows users to upload certain videos related to specific topics.