The Charming Story Behind IMDb [Websites]

I love a "man done good" story, particularly when it's about one of our favorite websites. IMDb supposedly began with founder Colin Needham watching over 1,000 films a year in the '90s, writing down the end-credits himself. [Telegraph] More »

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How Do You Fancy Owning a Piece of NASA History? [Space]

From January the 13th, 500 NASA souvenirs will be up for auction. Some visited the moon, like this Playboy calendar, others (like the headset used during the Apollo 11 mission), were worn down on earth. [Auction via TGDaily via SlashGear] More »

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TinyOgg lets you quickly convert YouTube videos to Ogg format

It's fairly easy to download YouTube videos, but they usually come in FLV or MP4 format when you grab them right off YouTube. TinyOgg is a lightweight service that lets you grab those same videos, or just the audio, in the open source Ogg format.

It couldn't be simpler to use: you just feed it with a YouTube URL, and hit Convert. You then get a short URL; after a few minutes, this URL contains a link to an Ogg file you can download and watch at your leisure. By default, this link is made public and can be seen in the queue.

There's also a more detailed form that lets you keep the link private (so it doesn't show up in the public queue), download the file in the highest quality from YouTube (so the converter gets the best raw material to work with), and rip just the music, with no video content at all. That last one is somewhat dubious on the copyright side of things, but is very handy nonetheless.

TinyOgg lets you quickly convert YouTube videos to Ogg format originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clear iSpot Discontinued [WiMax]

Sad news, folks: Clear's iSpot WiMax hotspot is apparently being discontinued already—barely five months after being introduced. More »

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Groupon Insiders Take $345 Million Off The Table In Latest Funding Round

As we first reported last night, Groupon has already closed $500 million of a whopping $950 million funding round. Now the SEC filing is out showing that the first sale occurred on December 17, and that there is still $450 million worth of securities available to be sold in the current round. The new round gives Groupon a valuation of $4.75 billion. We noted that most of the proceeds of the round is going back to founders and existing shareholders, with DST leading the round (Fidelity and Morgan Stanley also participated). Now we know exactly how much. The filing specifies that $345 million of the proceeds (from the $500 million raised) will go directly to "executive officers, directors or promoters."

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Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

As you're undoubtedly well aware, the chicken's vestibulo-ocular reflex and gaze stabilizing function (Google it!) is highly evolved, making it just the thing for steadying your camera. Of course, you need access to live poultry, a tiny camera, some sort of rubber band, and the patience and skill to befriend a rooster and bring him to your film shoots. You've already seen one loyal Engadget reader's fledgling attempts at the Chicken Powered Steadicam[TM], but you can rest assured that this fowl gadget (groan) is constantly in development. Check out our friend Jeremiah's video after the break to see comparison shots between a rooster cam, a handheld camera, and one just sort of strapped to Jeremiah's head.

Continue reading Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China tightens hold on rare earth exports, markets soar

If you own a flat screen TV, a hybrid, a PC, or any number of cell phones, chances are you own a small but very sought after piece of China. The country accounts for 97 percent of the world's rare earth production, which is used in all manner of gadgets, and it recently announced plans to scale back exports by 10 percent in 2011. The move probably won't have a big impact on the average consumer, but it's certainly gained a lot of attention on the world market: the US threatened action in the World Trade Organization, stocks for rare earth mining companies spiked significantly, and Sony Corp. vowed to decrease its dependence on the minerals. It's actually not like the rest of the world is lacking for rare earth resources -- American's are actually sitting on 13 million metric tons of the stuff, which companies in the US and Canada are making a mad dash to mine. Trouble is, just getting the stuff out of the ground isn't enough -- China still has a monopoly on rare earth processing, and US companies are reluctant to spend the eight years and minimum $500 million necessary to construct a chemical separation plant. So what does all this mean for you? Well, not a whole lot, unless you happen to be China's Minister of Commerce, in which case you should probably stop surfing the web and get back to work.

China tightens hold on rare earth exports, markets soar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TinyOgg lets you quickly convert YouTube videos to Ogg format

It's fairly easy to download YouTube videos, but they usually come in FLV or MP4 format when you grab them right off YouTube. TinyOgg is a lightweight service that lets you grab those same videos, or just the audio, in the open source Ogg format.

It couldn't be simpler to use: you just feed it with a YouTube URL, and hit Convert. You then get a short URL; after a few minutes, this URL contains a link to an Ogg file you can download and watch at your leisure. By default, this link is made public and can be seen in the queue.

There's also a more detailed form that lets you keep the link private (so it doesn't show up in the public queue), download the file in the highest quality from YouTube (so the converter gets the best raw material to work with), and rip just the music, with no video content at all. That last one is somewhat dubious on the copyright side of things, but is very handy nonetheless.

TinyOgg lets you quickly convert YouTube videos to Ogg format originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Yext Organizes The Anti-Google Local Advertising Alliance (Screenshots)

Google, as you may have heard, is making a big push into local advertising. It is currently offering $100 million in AdWords credits to new small businesses that sign up and promotes Google Places results for all local searches. Quite frankly, this is scaring the shit out of competitors like Citysearch, Yellowbook, SuperPages, WhitePages, and Yelp. They all rely on Google search results for people to find a good portion of their listings, and if Google displaces them collectively for local business listings, their businesses will be destroyed. In local, Google is already a big snowball getting bigger and bigger. So how do they fight back? They enter into an anti-Google alliance, of course. The company organizing this alliance is Yext, a New York City startup which specializes in pay-per-call advertising for local businesses and dashboards to help them manage their reputations and listings online. On Monday, it will launch a new feature called "Tags" which will let small businesses highlight their names with a little tag and customizable message across about a dozen local listings sites. Launch parters for this "Tag Alliance" (I like my name better) will include MapQuest, Citysearch, Yellowbook, Local.com, SuperPages, White Pages, MerchantCircle, and Topix, with more to come.

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The Best Image Caches of the Year [Bestof2010]

This was a good year to be a photographer. Thievery was thwarted, the Simpsons were spoofed, and suspicious amp stacks were outed. Take a look at our most eye-popping, jaw-dropping, seal-cropping images of 2010! More »

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