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Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Tired Of Watching Videos Alone? Here Are The Best 3 Ways To Watch YouTube With Friends.

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/youtube/">YouTube videos have become a big part of our lives. There isn’t a day that goes by without me getting at least one link for the next href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-amateur-viral-videos-youtube/">viral video. But how many videos can you watch? Then, what if a friend sends you a link right in the middle of a chat? Do you stop the conversation for 5 minutes just to watch a video? But if you don’t watch it now, it will just get drowned in the sea of links you get and you’re likely to forget about it.

Maybe you’re like me, and you just don’t like sitting alone and watching all these videos. Having some friends along to share your thoughts and reactions with is so much more fun.

There are many ways to watch YouTube videos collaboratively. Here are the easiest and simplest ways I found out there.

href="http://www.ytsocial.com/">YouTube Social

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YouTube Social has one feature over its competitors — you can use it directly from YouTube. If you’re browsing YouTube and find a video you’d like to watch with your friends, all you have to do is add the word “social” after the words “www.youtube” in your address bar, and voila! You’re re-directed to YouTube Social and can invite friends to watch the video with you.

As for the interface, YouTube Social is quite friendly. Once you get to the main page, it’s very easy to search for more videos and create a playlist simply by adding them to the queue. You can invite friends either by a short URL or through Facebook. You can also chat to your friends while you watch, which works well, but I couldn’t find a way to change my nick. I guess this only works when you log in using Facebook.

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Another cool feature is the option to give someone else the remote. As a default, the person who created the room has the remote and he alone can control the video. But if you want someone else to take control, you can simply pass the remote! There isn’t a way for more than one person to have the remote that I could see, but this is probably for the best.

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href="http://www.synchtube.com/">SynchTube

When you first enter the SynchTube website, you don’t immediately get a room into which you can invite people. The main page includes many existing public rooms you can join, and a big button that lets you create your own room. Once you click it, you enter your room and can start looking for videos and inviting people.

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At first glance, I was kind of at a loss as to how to add videos. Good thing they have some instructions on the blank video screen. It said I should search for videos, which drew my attention to the search option hidden on the bottom right side. After you look for videos, you can’t just click on them as I expected, you need to choose from a menu if you’d like to play them now, add them to the playlist, etc.

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SynchTube allows you to change your nickname easily on the chat window, and when your friends join, in addition to chatting to them, you can choose to put them in charge, and also kick, ban or mute them! I sure hope it doesn’t come to that, but these options are probably there because the rooms on SynchTube can be public. You can change this using the settings button, as well as some other things such as enabling voting on the video.

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I must say I found SyncTube’s interface to be a bit less intuitive, but it generally did the job. On one occurrence when I tried it, it just didn’t work, but it did work on other times.

href="http://www.watch2gether.com/">Watch2gether

This is the bare-bones option, for all those of you who just want something that does what it says and that’s it. Watch2gether doesn’t have playlists, doesn’t have options, doesn’t let you pass control over to other people — you can invite people and watch a video. That’s pretty much it.

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The first thing you need to do when you load Watch2gether is choose a nickname, this is in stark contrast to YouTube Social where I couldn’t even find where to change my nickname. After you do that, you can either paste a YouTube link or search for a video within the room. And, of course, invite friends and chat with them. The chat is a bit old-looking, and every time I selected a new video it shoved a big red notice about it into the chat. Quite distracting.

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It’s important to note that the first time I invited a friend, Watch2gether didn’t work for him. Only after he disabled a specific YouTube addon he had in Chrome did this start working, and then it worked without any problems.

Conclusion

All these options let you watch YouTube videos with friends. So which should you choose? Let me make it easy for you:

For the polished, feature-rich experience, choose YouTube Social.

For the option to have a public room, to which anyone can join, choose SynchTube.

For a bare-bones, no-nonsense experience, choose Watch2gether.

Any more good options out there? Something that combines the best of all worlds? Let us know in the comments!/>/> Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tired-watching-videos-3-ways-watch-youtube-friends/">Tired Of Watching Videos Alone? Here Are The Best 3 Ways To Watch YouTube With Friends. is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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Wednesday, 15 June 2011

172 ways to save the Environment

Today marks the inauguration of Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites bloggers to write about a cause. This year’s topic is the environment and this post is my contribution to the cause.

In Your Home – Conserve Energy

1. Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.

2. If you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms.

3. Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120.

4. Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.

5. Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods.

6. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.

7. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .

8. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.

9. Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.

10. Unplug seldom used appliances.

11. Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove.

12. Wash clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.

13. Reverse your indoor ceiling fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.

14. Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.

15. Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refridgerators, for example, use up to 50 more electricity than newer models.

16. Only use electric appliances when you need them.

17. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

18. Keep your thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.

19. Keep your thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter when you are away

20. Insulate your home as best as you can.

21. Install weather stripping around all doors and windows.

22. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work.

23. Plant trees to shade your home.

24. Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.

25. Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.

26. Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible.

27. Connect your outdoor lights to a timer.

28. Buy green electricity – electricity produced by low – or even zero-pollution facilities (NC Greenpower for North Carolina – www.ncgreenpower.org). In your home-reduce toxicity.

In Your Home – Reduce Toxicity

29. Eliminate mercury from your home by purchasing items without mercury, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary (e.g. old thermometers).

30. Learn about alternatives to household cleaning items that do not use hazardous chemicals.

31. Buy the right amount of paint for the job.

32. Review labels of household cleaners you use. Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water or a little more elbow grease.

33. When no good alternatives exist to a toxic item, find the least amount required for an effective, sanitary result.

34. If you have an older home, have paint in your home tested for lead. If you have lead-based paint, cover it with wall paper or other material instead of sanding it or burning it off.

35. Use traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers.

36. Have your home tested for radon.

37. Use cedar chips or aromatic herbs instead of mothballs.

In Your Yard

38. Avoid using leaf blowers and other dust-producing equipment.

39. Use an electric lawn- mower instead of a gas-powered one.

40. Leave grass clippings on the yard-they decompose and return nutrients to the soil.

41. Use recycled wood chips as mulch to keep weeds down, retain moisture and prevent erosion.

42. Use only the required amount of fertilizer.

43. Minimize pesticide use.

44. Create a wildlife habitat in your yard.

45. Water grass early in the morning.

46. Rent or borrow items like ladders, chain saws, party decorations and others that are seldom used.

47. Take actions that use non hazardous components (e.g., to ward off pests, plant marigolds in a garden instead of using pesticide).

48. Put leaves in a compost heap instead of burning them or throwing them away. Yard debris too large for your compost bin should be taken to a yard-debris recycler.

In Your Office

49. Copy and print on both sides of paper.

50. Reuse items like envelopes, folders and paper clips.

51. Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope.Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope.

52. Set up a bulletin board for memos instead of sending a copy to each employee.

53. Use e-mail instead of paper correspondence.

54. Use recycled paper.

55. Use discarded paper for scrap paper.

56. Encourage your school and/or company to print documents with soy-based inks, which are less toxic.

57. Use a ceramic coffee mug instead of a disposable cup.

Ways To Protect Our Air

58. Ask your employer to consider flexible work schedules or telecommuting.

59. Recycle printer cartridges.

60. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work.

61. Report smoking vehicles to your local air agency.

62. Don’t use your wood stove or fireplace when air quality is poor.

63. Avoid slow-burning, smoldering fires. They produce the largest amount of pollution.

64. Burn seasoned wood – it burns cleaner than green wood.

65. Use solar power for home and water heating.

66. Use low-VOC or water-based paints, stains, finishes and paint strippers.

67. Purchase radial tires and keep them properly inflated for your vehicle.

68. Paint with brushes or rollers instead of using spray paints to minimize harmful emissions.

69. Ignite charcoal barbecues with an electric probe or other alternative to lighter fluid.

70. If you use a wood stove, use one sold after 1990. They are required to meet federal emissions standards and are more efficient and cleaner burning.

71. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, whenever possible.

72. Join a carpool or vanpool to get to work.

Ways to Use Less Water

73. Check and fix any water leaks.

74. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets.

75. Don’t wash dishes with the water running continuously.

76. Wash and dry only full loads of laundry and dishes.

77. Follow your community’s water use restrictions or guidelines.

78. Install a low-flow shower head.

79. Replace old toilets with new ones that use a lot less water.

80. Turn off washing machine’s water supply to prevent leaks.

Ways to Protect Our Water

81. Revegetate or mulch disturbed soil as soon as possible.

82. Never dump anything down a storm drain.

83. Have your septic tank pumped and system inspected regularly.

84. Check your car for oil or other leaks, and recycle motor oil.

85. Take your car to a car wash instead of washing it in the driveway.

86. Learn about your watershed.

Create Less Trash

87. Buy items in bulk from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted.

88. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33 of what we throw away is packaging.

89. Buy products that you can reuse.

90. Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones.

91. Check reports for products that are easily repaired and have low breakdown rates.

92. Reuse items like bags and containers when possible.

93. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.

94. Use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones.

95. Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and cling wrap.

96. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags.

97. Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently.

98. Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspapers make great packaging material.

99. Compost your vegetable scraps.

100. Buy used furniture – there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture.

Miscellaneous

101. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time

102. Once your cell phone is charged, unplug it from the charger!

103. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5

104. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door

105. Unplug seldom used appliances

106. Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refrigerators, for example, use significant more energy than newer models

107. Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods

108. Use electric appliances only when you need them

109. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

110. Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work

111. Replace old windows with energy efficient ones

112. Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible

113. Buy green electricity – electricity produced by low – or even zero-pollution facilities

114. Eliminate mercury from your home by purchasing items without mercury, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary (e.g. old thermometers)

115. Learn about alternatives to household cleaning items that do not use hazardous chemicals

116. Review labels of household cleaners you use. Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water

117. Use traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers

118. Have your home tested for radon

119. Minimize pesticide use

120. Turn off computers and other appliances when not in use

121. Copy and print on both sides of paper

122. Reuse items like envelopes, folders and paper clips

123. Use e-mail instead of paper correspondence

124. Use recycled paper

125. Use discarded paper for scrap paper

126. Encourage your school and/or company to print documents with soy-based inks, which are less toxic

127. Telecommute!

128. Purchase radial tires and keep them properly inflated for your vehicle

129. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, whenever possible

130. Join a carpool to get to work

131. Check and fix any water leaks

132. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets

133. Don’t wash dishes with the water running continuously

134. Install a low-flow shower head

135. Replace old toilets with new ones that use a lot less water

136. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient (about 33 of what we throw away is packaging)

137. Use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones

138. Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and wrap

139. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags

140. Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently