Although I should have done this last month when it was released, I finally got around to downloading Ubuntu 9.04 to see what was new. What I found that the most significant upgrades to the OS had almost nothing to do with the interface itself. From what I understand the Ubuntu team was going to revamp the UI in 9, but it couldn’t be completed in time so...

I personally find it comical how many users of the YouTube site believe they have "rights" on a private system that doesn’t grant them any. I also find it comical many believe that they can simply dictate to Google what they should and shouldn’t do with their own video sharing web site that’s free. A classic example of this is in this...

Flickr, the ever popular photo sharing service, has had video available for some time but only for Pro (i.e. paid) members. I’ve used it a few times and it’s pretty decent. Granted, they only allow 90-second videos, but for many people that’s just about right. Recently it was announced that anyone – including the free members – can...

The days of linear format camcorders are dying. Linear as it relates to camcorders is anything using slack that requires rewinding or fast-forwarding. And to be honest I’m not sorry to see them go. This is more or less the last in line of tech products to get "off the slack", so to speak. There are many of you out there who still have MiniDV...

With Linux I’ve tried my share of video editors. And while what’s available isn’t as good as pro software titles for Windows or Mac, there’s still some decent offerings out there that will do the job. What’s most important now compared to just a few years ago are two things:A lot of concentration is now placed on the GUI (which is...

Many people who publish videos on the internet (such as PCMech) does put an "intro" on the front to inform people who made it in the first place. Over the course of my video-making I discovered that by and large, people hate intros if they:Are too long. Are too "spammy". Have the word "productions" in it. All of the above.Too...

Screencasting is when you record your computer’s screen as a video. There are several apps that do the job such as Camstudio (free) and Camtasia Studio (paid), but the problem is that you have to install software, set options up, record a few screencasts before you get the settings right, etc. Screencast-O-Matic is as easy as screencasts get. Just go to...

While it’s true that other video-sharing sites (like Vimeo’s HD channel) have had large HD-quality video for a while now, YouTube has finally jumped into the fray with its own HD. And to be honest it looks really good. The only drawback is that it’s absolutely required that you have a reasonably fast PC with a decent video card, else you get...

Upon recent acquisition of a Garmin nüvi 270 I found that I had the ability to manually enter in longitude and latitude coordinates for locations. This is a very convenient feature because you can enter in coordinates directly without having to connect the GPS to the computer at all. For those that would ask “Why can’t I just enter in a street...

By default when you create screencasts using recordmydesktop in Linux (Ubuntu specifically), the output is an OGG container file. As anyone who has tried to bring that file into Windows quickly learns, there’s not too much software out there that will “understand” OGG in Windows, and even less available if you want to edit it later on using...

At the present time I’m trying to upgrade my Ubuntu 8.04 to 8.10 but the servers holding the files are getting slammed right now (first day of release – it’s expected). You can upgrade your Ubuntu 100% from the internet just by clicking a few options and letting the update manager do its thing. See video below for details – it’s...

One of the very few e-mail signatures that I don’t consider a complete waste of space is ASCII art. This is because getting a signature where letters form a picture or cartoon-like figure is not easy and difficult to get right. If old-school ASCII is your thing, there is a Java application (runs on any OS that supports Java such as Windows/OS X/Linux)...

Shopping for a computer case is at times a daunting task because there are so many to choose from. The video in this article will show you how to use NewEgg to review cases on your own without spending a dime. When finished you’ll know how to get to reviews and details on which case is right for...

When you hear people say that internet video is really big right now, they’re right. Now that so many people have broadband Internet access, the common use of internet video has reached mainstream and more and more people are starting to do it. And rightly so. You ever watched television for hours on end? Even if it isn’t particularly exciting, your...

The increasing availability of small form factor video recorders is, in a word, cool. You no longer need a large camcorder unless you want the flexibility of disc-based media or higher lens quality. The need for standard camcorders will never go away, but for quick on-the-fly video recording, nothing beats the small form factor, flash based video recorder. The...

This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYOPC/17_installing_the_hard_drive.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]

This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYOPC/20_reviewing_installing_components.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]

This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYOPC/18_installing_the_optical_drive.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]

This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYOPC/10_connecting_power_to_cpu_fan.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]

This chapter is a video presentation. [hidepost=1] [flv:http://pcmech.s3.amazonaws.com/BYOPC/03_notes_about_hardware.flv 610 458] [/hidepost] [hidepost=2] Download video (MOV) [/hidepost]