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Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Video

Greasemonkey script lets YouTube videos buffer


Around 7pm CST every weekday, YouTube becomes painful to use where I live. Downloading just can't keep up with playback and the clips end up limping along until they're totally cached.

I'd rather just cache the whole clip first then watch it - which is precisely what Youtube Buffer Video for Greasemonkey is designed to do.

Install and activate it, and autoplay is automatically disabled on YouTube pages. Sit back and let them buffer as long as you like, and click play when you're ready. My ISP isn't always running at peak performance, so it's nice to have control over when playback begins.

There's nothing more to it. Like many Userscripts, it's a small, simple tweak that might fix a web site annoyance you figured you'd just have to deal with.

Filed under: Video, Web

Hulu adds buffer meter, full screen option for embedded videos

Hulu buffer meter
Online video site Hulu has rolled out two new features, including one I've been hoping for since the site first launched. You can now watch embedded videos in full screen. Next time you see a Hulu video embedded in a web page (like when you check out the video I've added to this article after the jump), just scroll over the video until you see a full screen icon in the upper right hand corner.

The other new features is an on-sreen meter that shows you the video buffering progress. Unlike some web video sites, Hulu will not buffer an entire video for legal reasons. In other words, Hulu doesn't want you figuring out a way to permanently save a video that's been temporarily downloaded to your hard drive. But in order to make video playback smooth, Hulu will buffer up to 5 minutes of video at a time. Now when you pause a Hulu video you'll see an indicator letting you know the buffer status.

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Filed under: Productivity, Social Software, web 2.0

Twuffer: schedule your Twitter posts

Twuffer is a site that lets you keep a buffer of Twitter posts that will go up at times you schedule. Twitter plus buffer equals Twuffer, get it? In theory, this is a pretty good idea if you're someone who needs to make periodic announcements or post reminders at intervals. The thing is, I don't think the majority of Twitter users could do that without being annoying.

Twitter is starting to become more mainstream now, but the biggest complaint people have about companies and celebrities starting to use the service is that they come of as inhuman. Pre-writing your tweets only makes you seem more mechanical. Twuffer could be excellent if you use it on an account that only you follow, to post reminders to yourself. There are already services that do this, but Twuffer might be faster to set up.

I could be completely underestimating this service, though. The site suggests a few ways to use Twuffer, but if you have an idea about how it could be effective on someone's main account, let me know in the comments.

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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