Open source media player and online video aggregator Miro is taking a cue from the highway service and asking patrons to "adopt" a line of code to help pay the bills much the same way as you can "adopt" a stretch of highway.

Here's how it works. You visit the Miro Adoption Center and pony up $4 per month and you get your name associated with a line in the Miro code base. Your name will also appear in the About Miro credits. But you don't get any tangible benefits like super fast downloads or anything.

In the long run, the only reason to adopt a line of code is because you want to support this open source project. But if you're the sort of person who needs an NPR mug before donating some money to help keep Morning Edition on the air, maybe the adoption page will help encourage you to pull out your wallet for Miro.

[via Boing Boing]

Pretty much every time we publish an article about Hulu or other web sites that let visitors watch full length streaming television episodes, someone leaves a comment pointing out that the service only works in the US. That's generally because these web sites don't have the distribution rights (and advertising deals) needed to stream these programs in other countries -- even countries that are as geographically close to the US as Canada.

But Canada's CTV Network has now launched its own streaming TV section. The selection of videos isn't nearly as rich as what you'll find from Hulu. But CTV does air a number of popular programs in Canada and many of them are available online including Mad Men, Fringe, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

Videos are shown with limited advertisements, and you can watch in full screen. As you'd expect, the site only works if you're in Canada (or using a proxy network to make it appear as if you are). But blogger Dale Dietrech took the service for a spin and assures us that it works.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

There are lots of services for sharing photos and music over Twitter, but sharing YouTube videos has lagged behind a bit. Sure, you could just link someone to YouTube, but it's not the prettiest site in the world by any stretch of the imagination. Where's TwitPic for embedded videos? A new site called YouTubeTweeter gets pretty close.

Put in your username and a YouTube link, and YouTubeTweeter generates a short url and a button to post it to Twitter. The video pops up in a nice-looking overlay on a copy of your Twitter page, so it's obvious who's sharing the video. It also shows you how many people have viewed your video. Closing the video takes the user to your Twitter page, which is probably better than having them land on YouTube. It's not a perfect solution - it would be nice if it worked with embed codes from other video sites, especially - but it's a step in the right direction.

RealNetworks is probably the most visible company to come out with a DVD ripping utility. There are dozens, if not hundreds of other applications that let you copy the data from DVDs to your hard drive. But being high profile is sometimes all it takes to land yourself in court -- which is exactly where RealNetworks has found itself, even though the company's RealDVD software includes DRM restrictions that keep you from sharing ripped movies with your friends.

RealNetworks launched RealDVD last fall, but it was only on sale for a brief period before it got sued into partial oblivion by groups representing movie studios. Now the court trial is set to begin.

One interesting tidbit is that the RealDVD software, which lets you rip movies to your hard drive, is just the tip of the iceberg. The New York Times reports that RealNetworks has developed an application for Linux-based set top boxes like DVD players that would let you insert DVDs and save movies to a hard drive for later viewing without the use of a computer. If RealNetworks wins the case, you could see this feature showing up on set top boxes that would sell for under $300.

Windows Movie Maker is a free Microsoft utility for Windows that lets you create and edit video files. But for some reason, the most recent versions of Movie Maker for Windows Vista and 7 don't have all the features and transitions you can find on earlier builds.

So one developer decided to take matters into his own hands and create a portable version of Windows Movie Maker based on Movie Maker 2.1. You can run Portable Windows Movie Maker on any computer with Windows XP, Vista, or 7. And since it's portable, you can run it from a USB flash drive or a folder on your hard drive without installing it.

As an added bonus, the developer added some extra transitions and effects.

[via instant fundas]

PBS already makes some of its programs available through online video sites including Hulu. But today the public television network has rolled out a new beta web portal that acts as a central hub for most of the PBS original programming that's available online. You can find full length episodes of American Experience, Frontline, Great Performances, Masterpiece, Nature, Nova, The NewsHour and other PBS programs.

Videos can be sorted by program or topic. And you can watch videos in full screen or windowed mode. Taking a cue from Hulu, YouTube, and other online video sites, PBS has added some social tools including a share button that lets you link to the video on Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, and other social news and bookmarking sites. You can alsso email links to videos to your friends. But there's no simple way to embed videos on your own site.

The PBS Video player is still in beta, and I found that some videos simply didn't play. But overall, the new site makes it a lot easier to find PBS content in one central location.

[via paidContent]

At SXSWi 2008, Grant and I met Jason Reneau, the founder and CEO of MindBites, a platform and marketplace for video lessons. We were really impressed with the MindBites vision last year. When we met up with them this year, it was awesome to see how far the community, the site and the market for quality video tutorials has come.

Today, MindBites is launching the Screencast 4 Cash contest in conjunction with Techsmith's Jing Pro and Download Squad (that's us!). Entrants can submit an original screencast to be eligible to win a Grand Prize of $1000, plus a copy of Snagit/Camtasia Studio. There will also be a People's Choice Prize, determined by popular vote, and the winner will get $500 and a copy of Snagit.

Every vote cast in the contest will yield a $0.10 US donation to the Youth for Technology Foundation, which exposes children in underdeveloped parts of the world to technology through instruction and staffed technology centers. So just by voting, you can help underprivileged kids get access and instruction to technology.

Screencasts are a great way to learn, or teach a specialty. We covered some iPhone-specific screencasts last month and found the medium really, really ripe for learning or supplementing other forms of instruction.

If you've got a great idea for a screencast, enter the contest! Grant and I are two of the judges and we can't wait to see what stuff gets submitted! You can read more details on deadlines and voting dates over at MindBites.

Want to know more about MindBites? Check out this video from SXSWi 2009!

Adobe Flash is the dominant platform for rich media content on the web. If you've watched an online video, viewed an interactive ad, or played music through a web site in the last few years, you've seen Flash in action. While Microsoft is trying to push Silverlight as an alternative, Flash pretty much owns this space -- on computers.

But HDTV and broadband internet are blurring the lines between web video and television. And Adobe wants to help bring the walls down by pushing Flash for TV and set top boxes including Blu-Ray players and cable boxes. Adobe has already partnered with companies including Intel, Broadcom, Comcast, Netflix, and Disney on the project.

In other words, you can imagine a future where you turn on your TV and in addition to video, on-demand programming, and a program guide, you can pull up weather, news, and other information provided through an internet connection, as well as quick and easy access to web video from any site like ABC.com or Netflix that makes content available for the platform.

Of course, if this all happens, it means you're going to need to get a new TV, set top box, or other hardware in order to enable the new features. Or you can just stick an old computer next to your TV and use Flash the old fashioned way.

[via NewTeeVee]

Yahoo! has finally decided to pull the plug on Jumpcut, a web based video editor that has been on life support since December. That's when Yahoo! stopped letting users upload videos to the service, instead suggesting that they upload short videos to Flickr.

Now TechCrunch reports that Jumpcut is sending out emails to users letting them know that the service will be closed on June 15th, 2009.

It's too bad to see Jumpcut go down. The service could have been really useful. While it may seem strange to upload a video to the web before you've editied it, the truth is many of the free video editors for Windows and Linux computers either lack features or are too complicated for casual users. Jumpcut was simple to use, but offered a limited feature set. For instance, you couldn't download finished videos and you couldn't send them to YouTube, Yahoo! Video, or other sites. Rather, you had to direct viewers to Jumpcut or embed the Jumpcut video on your page.

Yahoo! will soon release a tool allowing existing users to download videos saved on the site -- something the company probably should have done ages ago.

Over the last few years YouTube has successfully demonstrated that people will spend countless hours watching short user generated videos. But you know what else people like to watch? Professionally produced dramas, comedies, documentaries, cartoons, and news programs. Rival video site Hulu may not have anywhere near the audience that YouTube has, but it's choc full of professional video content (that you can only see in the US for the most part), which is much easier to monetize.

Now YouTube is stepping up its game, by offering content from TV and movie studios in a new section labeled "Shows." According to the New York Times, Google has signed agreements to distribute content from Sony, Lions Gate, CBS, MGM, and other studios.

The move will allow YouTube to place pre-roll, post-roll, and interstitial ads in video content, something it doesn't do with user generated videos.

Right now, the selection of TV shows and movies on YouTube is rather sad. Most of the content consists of old programs that you probably forgot existed, plus one new show from CBS: Harper's Island. Since Fox and NBC are the driving forces behind Hulu, it's not likely that we'll see their content on YouTube anytime soon. And there's talk that ABC could joing Hulu in the not too distant future.

No doubt you're familiar with the BBC iPlayer: we've been closely following the product's development since its cross-platform launch a little over a year ago. Since then we've seen plenty of developments, including the release of a desktop client (using Adobe's AIR technology) and today is another notable date for the iPlayer project.

In a move that's likely to please a lot of users - and infuriate already-annoyed internet providers - the BBC has announced that High Definition downloads are now available via a new version of the service's desktop client. The client will detect the speed of your connection which will pick the appropriate bit-rate version depending on your internet connection. The HD content, available as ever to British residents only, is available now via the BBC iPlayer site and there's plenty more content promised including Doctor Who and Dragons' Den.

Popular streaming video provider Mogulus has released a free desktop broadcasting app called Procaster, designed for use with its service. The featureset looks pretty amazing: it promises to broadcast anything from a webcam or from your screen -- or both, side-by-side -- with synced audio and no lag in framerate. There's also a game broadcasting mode that seems explicitly targeted at World of Warcraft players, and audience interaction features, like live chat, that work automatically with any broadcast.

One big advantage of Procaster is that it's free, and so is the Mogulus service, so you the startup costs to create your own web show are extremely low. You can browse and play video clips for your audience in real time, as well, which helps if demos are part of your plan. If Mogulus' service and bandwidth can keep up with the potential popularity of Procaster, I see this app becoming a standard tool of the social web trade. It's only available for Windows right now, but the site says a Mac version is on the way.

VideoSpin is the free video editor that I kind of wish Windows Movie Maker was. It's easy to use, and it doesn't lock up on me the way Windows Movie Maker likes to after I've made a few splices. I first checked out VideoSpin back in early 2008, but today Pinnacle has released an updated version that adds a handful of new features and support for a bunch of new video formats.

VideoSpin 2.0 includes support for YouTube's new higher quality video player. You can upload your finished videos directly to YouTube in widescreen and higher quality formats. You can also import and export .MOV video files, which comes in handy if you have a digital camera that records in Quicktime format.

The basic video editor is available as a free download, but you can also pay for advanced codec support which will allow you to exprt videos in 3GP or Real Media formats. The SpinPack codec pack also adds the ability to save DivX videos or configure your videos for the iPod or PSP. Of course, you can also just save your videos as MPG or AVI files and then use a free video converter like Virtualdub to save convert your files to DivX or XviD. But VideoSpin is aimed at less tech savvy users looking for an all-in-one solution.

If you're in need of some fresh iPhone suggestions this Easter weekend, here's a few awesome apps that have caught our eye or been recently updated. If I've missed your favourite iPhone app, be sure to share it in the comments!

1. Flight Control [$1 - iTunes Link]
Flight Control is a ridiculously-simple, yet super stylish game that tasks you with ensuring that a variety of aeroplanes land on their designated runways. Priced at $1 (at least for now) Flight Control is as addictive as it is slick, and it's got a permanent place on my homescreen.

2. Darkslide [Free with Ads, $3.99 without - iTunes Link]
I've spoken before about Darkslide, but if you're a Flickr fan and recently uploaded videos the the service, you'll love the recent update to Darkslide that lets you playback videos on your phone - great for showing friends and family a video that would have previously required a laptop to playback.

3. Trapster [Free - iTunes Link]
If you're travelling to see family this weekend, Trapster may come in handy. Trapster is a social network that allows users to share the location of speed traps, and their free iPhone app allows you to keep tabs on trap locations around the world on the go: super handy for avoiding an Easter weekend ticket.

4. Ego [$1.99 - iTunes Link]
If you're on the road and want to keep tabs on personal stats such as website visitors (or Twitter followers for the vain amongst you) Ego is for you. Beautifully designed, and with more services being added all the time, Ego is a user interface and web-stat junkies dream.

5. Bump [Free - iTunes Link]
There's a tonne of business-card exchange applications on the App Store. However the consensus in my unscientific tests (conducted, in the name of Download Squad, in the pub with some friends) is that Bump is perhaps the 'funnest'. You and a friend simply launch the application on your iPhones, select the contact details you're happy to share, and then 'bump' the two phones together. Through the magic of location data and timestamps, your vCard is sent, and your contact's vCard is added to your Address Book.

YouTube is already home to more music videos than probably any other site on the internet. But YouTube and Universal Music Group have announced plans to launch a new site, called Vevo, which will be dedicated exlusively to music videos.

Vevo will be an advertising supported site, and the goal is to generate more money from views of professionally produced music videos than music studios like Warner are currently getting from YouTube. The new site will be owned by Universal and will feature higher quality videos than those found on YouTube. Whether advertisers will be willing to pay higher rates, or computer users will actually bother to visit Vevo instead of YouTube remains to be seen.

Vevo is scheduled to launch within the next few months.