YouTube announced in November that they would be testing out encoding videos at higher resolutions (and with higher-quality audio encoding). We’re not talking about HD quality but if you add &fmt=18 to the end of the URL you might get an MP4-encoded version, with better audio and a 480×360 resolution.

The new resolution isn’t set as standard as of yet, but by applying the simple parameter above, or by installing the Firefox add-on Better Youtube (all automatic), you will get the new higher-quality version (if the video’s been made available as MP4).

For registered users it’s even simpler. In the account settings there’s now a section where you can adjust the “Video Playback Quality”. Choose “I have a fast connection. Always play higher-quality video when it’s available” and you will get the MP4 version if available. It does however require that you have an account and are logged in.

However, the benefits of this upgrade strongly relies on the quality of the uploaded movie. Thus it’s the users that in the end determines the outcome of this. Maybe it would be better to have the videos shown in as high quality as the source allowed? Most users have blistering fast connections these days anyway, but I assume Youtube might be somewhat concerned about bandwidth…

What’s your take on this?

The picotux 100 is the world’s smallest Linux computer, only slightly larger (35mm×19mm×19mm) than an RJ45 connector. Inside, there is an ARM7 CPU at 55 MHz running uClinux kernel 2.4.27 and Busybox 1.0.

Two communication interfaces are provided, 10/100 Mbit half/full duplex Ethernet and a serial port with up to 230.400 baud. Five additional lines can be used for either general input/output or serial handshaking.

Prism is an open source cross-platform prototype of functionality that lets users split web applications out of the browser and run them directly on the desktop.

Prism is part of a series of Mozilla Labs experiments into bridging the divide in the user experience between web and desktop apps and exploring new usability models as the line between those kinds of apps continues to blur.

While I’m normally writing about free software I feel I should mention Adobe Flashpaper anyway. FlashPaper 2 allows anyone to convert printable files into Macromedia Flash documents or PDF files with one click. A single-user license is only $79 which I think is fairly reasonable.

Overview

What better way of showing how it works by reading about the capabilities in a Flashpaper presentation.

[ Launch intro ]

I personally think the Flash approach could come in handy several times as it comes with an intuitive navigation panel for printing, zoom and pagination. Also Flash is included with most modern browsers and makes it even more available than PDF (even though I think most people have that as well installed). What’s your take on this? I’d like to hear.

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 31 months. Building on the previous release, Gecko 1.9 has more than 12,000 updates including some major re-architecting to provide improved performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 has been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers.

What’s new in Beta 4?

Firefox 3 Beta 4 includes more than 900 enhancements from the previous beta, including drastic improvements to performance and memory usage, as well as fixes for stability, platform enhancements and user interface improvements. Many of these improvements were based on community feedback from the previous beta.

When may we expect the final release?

If you remember back from the time Firefox 2 came out it only took 2 months after the last Beta until the first official FF2 release. According to the project calendar it looks like there will be a Beta 5 shipping out later this month. If this is the last Beta we might get the first official release before June!

In my mind I think this is going to be the best browser so far and I keep my fingers crossed for an early summer release.