Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on July 17, 2007 by CyberNet.

TechSmith is undoubtedly known for their screencast and screenshot software, dubbed Camtasia Studio and SnagIt. They’ve now started a free project called Jing that provides an alternative for making a screencast or taking screenshots.

They don’t really provide screenshots on their site and curiosity was getting the best of me. I downloaded the Windows version (also available for Mac’s) and had it installed in about 30-seconds.

So how well does it work? It was surprisingly nice although it lacks any advanced functionality. Here is a quick tour of what you can expect after setting up the software:

–Starting Jing–

After I started Jing I was a little confused because there was no window that popped up. After looking around the desktop I noticed a small yellow orb protruding from the top of my monitor. When I clicked on it there were three options that became visible: capture, history, and preferences.

–Select the Region–

Choosing the "Capture" option brings up some yellow crosshairs on the screen. You use these to select the region of the screen that you want to either record, or take a screenshot of. After selecting the area you will be asked what you want to do:

–Save as a Screenshot–

If you choose the "Image" option you can add certain things to it, such as text or arrows:

–Record a Video (a.k.a. Screencast)–

If you go the route of recording a video it will instantly start recording:

–Saving a Video or Uploading it–

Obviously the point of making a screencast is to share it with someone else. So TechSmith lets you upload the screencast to Screencast.com which costs some money to do a commenter below says is free. Alternatively you can save the screencast as a SWF file, but sites like YouTube, Google Video, and DivShare don’t support that filetype in their video players. You would have to use something like ZippyVideos to host the SWF video or Media Convert to save it as another format.

–Overview–

I really think that this project can turn into something big, but I have a feeling that they will be keeping the feature-set quite limited to ensure that Jing doesn’t compete with their other products. The thing that I would like to see the most is the ability to save the screencast in another format, but that isn’t going to happen because they want to limit users to what services they can use.

For the casual user the software is quite nice, but power users will notice it lacks options like framerate adjustments, file format choices, and advanced editing capabilities.

For more free screencast software checkout this post we wrote.

Visit the Jing Homepage
Source: Digital Inspiration

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2010… a year we’ve been waiting for since at least the mid-80’s. It’s finally here guys — so what happens next? Every year we take the 1st of January to try and figure that out. Normally we would consult the sage-like wisdom of Engadgetdamus, but this year is special, and we thought it needed the kind of time-twisting-artificial-intelligence-color-cycling-weird-baby-monolith-Roy-Scheider-starring-space-adventure that only the above image (and book, and movie) could evoke. Below are the predictions from the staff of ye olde Engadget — what say you, good reader?

Chris: In an unprecedented cash and stock deal valued at over $1.7 billion, Comcast acquires your ’89 Festiva.
Thomas: Steve Jobs will announce a pair of tablets, then smash them to bits on account of Android idolatry.
Laura: Jeff Bezos will continue to predict the “death of the book.” The book will continue to exist merely to spite Bezos.
Don: The world breathes a sigh of relief that the Large Hadron Collider will never create a black hole… after it is destroyed by zombies.
Dan: Apple’s stock will plummet when a TUAW investigative report reveals that Steve Jobs actually died in 2002, and has since been portrayed by talk show host cum surreal performance artist, Arsenio Hall.
Nilay: Google finally flips the switch and creates Skynet.
Joanna: The OLPC XO-3 gets an early release date – in the form of the Apple Tablet. Ends world hunger, illiteracy and violence. Saves the world.
Ben: Microsoft agrees that CableCARD is a failure and Media Center along with it and introduces Zune Center.
Josh F: Adult entertainment will kick-start yet another media market, this time in the form of 3D Blu-ray porn.
Richard Lai: Tamagotchi resurrects with 3D monochrome screen, and then dies.
Darren: Intel considers making an Atom that’s actually fast, but its bottom line delays the launch until December 31, 2012.
Vlad: Sony Ericsson delivers an Xperia handset on time… nah, just kidding.
Richard Lawler: Nintendo surprises everyone and releases the Wii 3D.
Josh T: Google upends the landscape of the mobile phone market when Eric Schmidt says Apple can “have one of these unsubsidized” while emphatically pointing to his crotch.

Predictions for 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Wozniak is a fascinating man. Super smart, funny, incredibly perceptive… and just a tiny bit crazy. Please enjoy three minutes (and 15 seconds) of pure Woz after the break. It’s our gift to you.

Update: For those wondering about the GPS setup Woz talks about in the interview, he’s posted up a short video of his rig in comments! We’re including a shot after the break.

Continue reading A New Year’s gift to Engadget readers: 3 minutes of Woz

A New Year’s gift to Engadget readers: 3 minutes of Woz originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No surprise here–some of the silliest and oddest robots of the year gone by were to be found in Japan. But who could top Taiwan’s kissing bots?

Do you make new year’s resolutions? If so, you should avoid the following products. Your chance for success in 2010 would be over before it began.

Losing Weight: Sorry, but your diet is blown sky high when you carry around a briefcase full of sausage—as is your resolution about not having heart attacks in 2010. [Link]
Get More Enjoyment Out of Life: Unfortunately, if you purchase any one of the gadgets on our list of the 50 (+10) worst gadgets of the decade, the chances of leading a more joyful life are significantly reduced.
Get On a Budget and Save Money: If you want to save more money in the upcoming year, you should probably steer clear of impulse Back to the Future Delorean replica purchases on eBay—no matter how insanely detailed they might be. [Jalopnik]
Get a Promotion: Forget a promotion, you will be completely unemployable if you decide to bust out the office babe score cards. [Smutty Gifts]
Stop Drinking So Much: After New Year’s Eve, I’m going to cut down on the alcohol—and this time, I mean it. Unfortunately, that goal is going to be a lot harder to achieve with a booze-loading shotgun lying around. [Giftlab]

And if you plan on going out tonight and getting completely hammered, make sure to check out our PSA on the dangers of mixing alcohol and gadgets. You’ve been warned.

Meet a Nice Woman: If you go around wearing a shredder hoodie everywhere, 2010 probably isn’t going to be the year you get lucky in love. [’80s Tees via Link]
Stop Smoking So Much: Cigarette smoking is one thing, but using the Volcano Vaporizer for the purpose in which it was intended is quite another. Instead of smoke, you inhale vapor, which eliminates many of the toxins but retains all of the flavors and mind numbing effects. Sounds great, but this little guy simultaneously puts four new year’s resolutions in jeopardy: get organized, learn something new, get promoted or find a new job, and establish a budget (it costs $500). [Volcano Vaporizer via Link]