Month: August 2012

By Jessica Cam Wong, MakeUseOf – August 13, 2012 at 08:31PM

I didn’t realize I was following so many cooking channels until I saw Joshua’s list of great YouTube cooking channels to follow. I knew at least 5 of the 6 channels in his list so I thought I’d feature a few more which I consider excellent sources of recipes and cooking tips. What makes the following chefs distinctive is that they are masters in a specific type of cuisine. Some might have video recipes for different regions, but most are fairly consistent in their specialization. Happy watching (and cooking, I hope!)

General

Betty’s Kitchen

Betty’s Kitchen is a cool cooking channel featuring retired Mathematics professor, Betty, in more than 1000 cooking videos. She makes lots of entrees, desserts and even features a few vlogs about her family, including bloopers, which are always appreciated. She’s even been featured on ABC. Here is one of her more popular videos, a recipe for buttercream frosting.

Food Wishes

Chef John has quite a following, and with good reason: He has over 700 recipes on lots of different dishes, something which is apparent in his large and varied collection of playlists. One of the things I admire from this channel is the chef’s voice, which is very radio-friendly, so it makes trying and cooking his recipes sound kind of pleasant. I’ve actually tried (and loved!) one of his recipes (simple Spaghetti Aglio e Olio) so I absolutely recommend his channel. Here is his version of crispy onion rings.

Fast Food

Robjnixon

Robjnixon has plenty of videos (419 to be exact as of the writing of this article) on various types of cuisines and styles, but one of the things that this channel is known for is its weekly Fast Food Friday segment, where the chef shows viewers his take on a popular chain restaurant item, such as the Big Mac, Krispy Kreme donuts and more. Here is one video where he makes some fantastic-looking chocolate cake.

OnePotChefShow

I love, love, love this channel because the host has a great personality, the recipes are simple and the channel name represents what I dream of when I’m cooking (who likes washing a multitude of dishes anyway?). His style of cooking doesn’t really belong in fast food category in the sense that he makes burgers and fries (because he doesn’t), but it does in the sense that his recipes are meant to be made quickly (awesome!) Plus, he has some blooper videos that are always entertaining to watch and a cookbook released by popular demand. Here is a video of his where he makes some oven-baked chicken nuggets.

Italian

LauraVitalesKitchen

LauraVitalesKitchen’s collection of YouTube videos has gotten over 33 million views so if you haven’t seen this channel, you’ve been missing out! LauraVitalesKitchen has almost 500 videos on lots of topics, including pasta, desserts from scratch, etc. The chef used to live in Italy and work in her parent’s Italian restaurant (I know this from watching a lot of her videos!) so if you want Italian, you’ve reached the right channel. Here is a video of her cupcake recipe, which has reached 2 million views.

Healthy

LeanBodyLifestyle

LeanBodyLifestyle has a large collection of video recipes for people that might be interested in bodybuilding or getting some low-fat versions of popular recipes. I’ve even shared some of these recipes with my own friends as the channel owner has a few great recipes on healthy, oven-fried chicken. Here is a video where he makes some protein peanut butter cups.

Vegetarian-Friendly/Indian

Vahchef

I’m sort of cheating here since Vahchef isn’t strictly a vegetarian cooking channel, but it is certainly vegetarian-friendly. This channel contains over 400 videos, a lot of them clearly vegetarian with an Indian kick. There are also some non-vegetarian items for those that simply want to learn about Indian cuisine as well. Here is a recipe for onion samosa.

Chinese

Wantanmien

Wantanmien has over 100 videos on lots of Chinese (mainly Cantonese) dishes, some of which you can only find in restaurants. The channel also has some Western desserts (like German nut wedges or Nussecke) since the chef has lived in Germany. The videos are in Cantonese but there are English annotations in all videos. Here is a one on a popular Chinese breakfast item (my favorite!), ha gao or shrimp dumpling.

Korean

Maangchi

Maangchi has videos dating to 1997 so her Korean cooking show has been going on a while. That means you’ll find all kinds of recipe videos on Korean dishes, including updated videos on making kimchi, japchae and a lot of other Korean goodies. Here is a video of the Korean-style, twice-fried chicken.

Japanese

Runnyrunny999

I know Joshua listed a Japanese cooking channel (CookingWithDog) in his article, but Runnyrunny999 is another great channel with a large collection of Japanese video recipes. I’ve actually made his version of gyudon (thin beef slices with onions over white rice) so I encourage you to try his dishes as well. Here is the gyudon recipe for those interested.

So this is definitely an incomplete round-up of YouTube cooking channels. What channels would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo credit: Woman Cooking Vegetables Image Via Shutterstock

By Adrian Covert, Gizmodo – August 13, 2012 at 01:00PM

When you think of an encrypted device that would cause the NSA to throw its hands up and give up trying to crack it, you imagine some industrial grade server, possibly made by IBM. What you don’t expect is a smartphone that can be purchased for a hundred bucks. But the rise of AES hardware encryption in devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry has made it all but impossible for the government forensic experts to extract desired info. More »

By Lambert V., The Awesomer – August 12, 2012 at 10:00AM

Even the world’s best athletes have bad days, but some of the commentators at the 2012 London Olympics are quite the perfectionists. These are some of the contenders for Best Worst Comments.

• Link

More Awesome Stuff for You to Click On:

Olympic Sailing Explained
Olympic Screwdriver Relay
Happy Olympic Worker
Olympic Non-Events
Kickboxer: Just the Kicking

By Justin Pot, MakeUseOf – August 11, 2012 at 04:31PM

Download any YouTube video, playlist or channel with what is perhaps the best YouTube downloading tool ever. Direct YouTube Downloader is a Windows program that makes backing up your favorites for offline viewing easy.

Yes, there are other YouTube downloading tools out there, including more than a few web apps. Why pay any attention to this one? Its feature list. This program lets you download your choice of format direct from YouTube’s servers, and can also convert those videos to play on a number of different portable devices including the iPad, Android, iPhone and even the PSP.

But the main reason to use this program in place of the competition is the ability to download entire channels or playlists. If you want to catch up with all the episodes of a particular channel during your next trip, this is the tool you’re looking for.

Please remember though that YouTubers need you to visit their channel – their viewcounts determine their popularity and their pay – so don’t use this service for every video you watch. If you just want to take some YouTube videos with you for offline viewing, however, it’s hard to find a better tool for the job.

Using Direct YouTube Downloader

Like most YouTube downloading software the interface is simple at first glance. There’s a box where you can paste URLs to videos (by default any YouTube URL you copy will show automatically).

But as I said, this isn’t limited to videos. You can also download the entirety of a particular playlist or channel. Downloading a playlist is simple – just copy a link to the playlist. This can usually be found on a given channel’s page. For example: you could download Crash Course World History, one of the best shows on YouTube.

From here you can pick which videos to download or simply download them all. Again, YouTube users need views so watch videos online whenever possible.

To download an entire channel, simply type the username. For best results, type “cgpgrey”:

Seriously: if you’re not subscribed to CGP Grey on YouTube that needs to change. Immediately.

The software gives you control over the quality of the video you’re downloading. By default you’ll get the highest quality offered; change this if like.

The range of quality offered will very depending on video – a video uploaded in SD obviously won’t be available in HD. You can also convert the videos you’re downloading to formats for specific devices – a nice feature if you want to fill your iPad with videos for an upcoming trip.

I don’t own these devices, so I was unable to test, but if you do own them, please share your experience in the comments below.

There are a few settings you can tweak, including your downloads folder and whether or not the software should start at boot.

Why you’d want this to start at boot is a mystery, but hey, the option is there.

Install Direct YouTube Downloader

Ready to try this software out? Download Direct YouTube Downloader here. Be warned, there’s a couple of sneaky toolbars in this installer:

Remember, kids – pay attention when you’re installing Windows software or you might end up with toolbars. Knowledge is power!

Conclusion

There are no end of tools out there for downloading YouTube videos, but this one offers more features than most. I’d highly recommend checking it out. Of course if you know of something better you should point it out. Share your suggestions in the comments below.

By Casey Chan, Gizmodo – August 10, 2012 at 09:30PM

You’re going to watch this video and your jaw will drop. In fact, you’ll probably think it’s fake. Or CGI, at least. But nope, it’s completely real. A group of guys went fishing and dropped a GoPro Hero 2 camera inside a custom-made torpedo to record the ocean underneath them. What the camera recorded was the most amazing footage of dolphins you’ll ever see. More »

By Adam Dachis, Lifehacker – August 10, 2012 at 08:00PM

Your home is a place you want to keep secure, but getting all the high-end security gadgets and services available to help you do that is a pricey endeavor. This weekend, roll your own DIY security system. It’s more fun and it’ll save you some money.

There are many ways to secure your own on the cheap, from alarms to surveillance to clever tricks. A combination of all three should do the trick, so let’s take a look at your options.

Make Your Own Alarm System

There is no shortage of DIY alarms, so you really just have to decide how and why you want to be alerted. This aduino-based alarm is motion-based an will send you a text message if it detects an intruder. If you’ve got a Mac, you can use a clever app called SecureHome that detects noise levels and sounds an alarm if they reach a specified level. If you’re worried about specific items getting stolen and want to alarm them individually, you can’t go wrong with this $2 motion-detecting alarm. It requires some very minor soldering and a tilt switch, but it’s easy enough for just about anyone to create can hide just about anywhere. You can also use the source devices (impact alarms) with no modifications at all to secure your windows.

Set Up a DIY Security Camera

Security cameras are easy—you just need a webcam and (sometimes) a computer. We have a full guide on setting up a comprehensive video surveillance system that streams images from a webcam to your phone, a computer, your email, and several other options. You can even make a solar-powered option and give it motion-sensing capabilities.

Employ Some Simple, Clever Tricks to Keep Your Home Safer

When it comes to securing your home, it helps to think like a criminal and know how they might crack a padlock, combination lock, break into a safe, open your garage door from the outside, or simply break through your front door. When you know how someone might break in you can take measures to prevent it. But on top of that, appearances matter most. Don’t look like you have anything valuable to be stolen. Make your home look like you care about upkeep and security. If your home doesn’t look like an appealing target, burglars are less likely to try and break in. There’s no trick that will prevent theft, but you can take measures to make theft seem like an unattractive option.

By iMedicalApps Team, iMedicalApps – August 10, 2012 at 04:55PM

The patient.co.uk app uses the same information leaflets that your doctor gives out during consultations to help you find out more about your medical condition and treatment options.

By (author unknown), Core77 – August 10, 2012 at 05:00PM

And you thought you’d seen it all in ice cube making. Currently under consideration at Quirky is the Cube Tube, an ice tray designed to solve a specific problem: That annoying moment after you fill the tray at the sink and slowwwwly walk it over to the freezer, trying not to spill the water.

You fill the Cube Tube up, and close it, at the sink. There’s presumably a little Archimedes action when you slide the insert in, but once that’s done with you toss it in the freezer, spill-free.

The base is made out of silicone, so after it’s frozen you can hit it against the counter to loosen the cubes. Then you just pull the insert out—there’s draft angle, naturally—to dispense.

From what I can see, there’s nothing that would stop you from refilling it when partially empty, as well.

I realize those of you with ‘fridges that make their own ice don’t give a damn about objects like this, but it’s something an ice-tray-using peon like me could really use.

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By (author unknown), MacOSXHints.com – August 10, 2012 at 10:30AM

If you’re running two Macs with iCloud support (Lion or Mountain Lion), then you can use iCloud’s network to remote SSH back into your home computer no matter where you are with just a few commands in Terminal.

The process is explained by the One Thing Well blog, but you need to set up a few things before you get started. First, you need to make sure Back to My Mac is enabled in iCloud (System Preferences > iCloud > Back to My Mac). Next, you need to set up your home computer for sharing if it isn’t already. Head to System Preferences > Sharing and turn on at least File Sharing and Remote Login. With everything set, you can now remotely log in to your home computer using iCloud’s network wherever you have internet access.

To start with, you need to do is find your Back to My Mac account number. In Terminal (Applications > Utilities), type:

dns-sd -E

The final nine digit …