Viddler

Halloween is tonight. Are you excited? I’ve heard many people describe it as “the most exciting holiday of the year”. I wholeheartedly agree! It’s the only day of the year in which it’s socially acceptable (for those who don’t like to break the rules) to dress in costume, scare the living daylights out of people, eat candy while walking around the neighborhood, and meet strangers on their doorstep. That is a pretty rad day, in my opinion!

The origins of Halloween are quite different than how it is celebrated these days. Here’s an excerpt from History.com about its early traditions.

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.

In the 1800s immigrants from Europe brought their Halloween traditions over to America and towards the end of that century there was a movement to shape Halloween in to more of a holiday involving community and neighborly bonding rather than spooky ghost stories.

As you know, Halloween is now a mix of all the traditions of previous generations, and has been cleverly monetized by candy/chocolate companies as well as costume shops. You can discover more about the holiday on Wikipedia.

I’ve compiled a bunch of Halloween tips, tricks (obviously!), fun, and spooks. Enjoy!

Nalts (subscribe) made a collaboration with Iggy35 and DavideoDesign about some tips to make your Halloween extra spooky. (Pay attention to the subtitles.)

More Halloween cuteness, tips, and fun after the jump.
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Our awesome friends at HotHardware are teaming up with Viddler in the Hottest Hardware Contest!

HotHardware (subscribe) showcases the hottest tech hardware and tests it out to see how it really performs. From installing new hard drives into laptops to overclocking the latest Intel chipsets, they’ve got all your hardware needs covered! You can also compare prices between products (memory, HDDs, SSDs, computers, etc) right on their website.

Alrighty! What can you win in this contest?

First prize: Flip UltraHD. The fantastic peeps that make the Flip Video Pocket Camcorder have been kind enough to supply the HotHardware team with a brand new Flip UltraHD Pocket Digital Camcorder with 8GB storage. Yup, those Flip Video cameras record in glorious HD 720p — which looks awesome on Viddler, by the way!
Second Prize: HH and Viddler swag.
Third Prize: HH and Viddler swag.

To Participate you have 30 days to:
- Record 60 second clip of your PC/Mac/Linux setup, DSLR, smart phone, television, or whichever piece of hardware you own, and explain why it is so hot.

To Submit:
- Submit your video at contests.HotHardware.com or just upload it to Viddler and tag with ‘hhcontest‘.

Entries will be judged by HotHardware team members Dave Altavilla and Marco Chiappetta.
They will choose a winner by the follow criteria:
- Best setup – higher quality, fewer submissions
- At Random – lower quality, more submissions

60 seconds is incredibly short and easy. Go get your camera and submit a video of your flaming hot hardware now! Giddy up!

Halloween is only a couple of days away. Many of my American friends have told me that it’s their favorite holiday of the year. More than Christmas. I would probably agree, but in Australia (I’m Australian, in case you didn’t know) the celebration of Halloween rather patchy. Some suburbs participate, some don’t. It can even be down to a house-by-house basis. It’s unfortunate.

If you’re someone that happens to leave things until the last possible minute, well I’m giving you a couple days to get some decorations together. Kmart Design (subscribe) has a quick and dirty (depending how much glue you cover yourself in) tip on how to make a mini pumpkin bat in a few simple steps. Awesome for the kids; big and small!

What fun crafts do you create for Halloween?

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a video to feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

On what Web sites are my videos being seen? Which of my videos are the most popular? Which are the least popular? Who is watching my videos? How much of my video are they watching? Are my videos popular in France?

These are the questions that most businesses face when distributing video online. Video is now more portable than ever and while this gives your videos a potential world wide audience, it can be a real challenge to find the answers.

Until now. Viddler is proud to announce the immediate release of a new feature for our Business and Partner level accounts: Viddler Analytics. Here is a quick video overview of Viddler Analytics by our Lead Designer Andrew Smith.

Comprehensive statistics about your videos are now only a click away. Of course, Viddler Analytics answers even more questions than those above. How much storage has my account used this month? How much video bandwidth have we used so far? Am I close to my account level threshold yet? These questions, and others, are very important to our Business level accounts.

Our Partner level accounts have yet a different set of questions that they’d like answers to. Perhaps they’d like to know how many comments they’ve received on their videos, how much of the video was watched by how many people, or be able to drill down on a video-per-video basis for detailed statistics.

Viddler Analytics is a major leap forward in answering all of these questions and more. If you have a Business or Partner level account, you can access this new feature at Viddler.com/analytics/. If your account has not yet been upgraded to Business or Partner level, you can click on You > Upgrade (if you’re logged in) or visit our Business Services page.

Thanks to our friends at TubeMogul for providing us with a rich set of in-play statistics to make Viddler Analytics possible.

Viddler is dedicated to providing the very best online video service and experience for our customers and so we’re happy to be putting this tool into their hands today. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.

No doubt you’ve seen the commercials, posters, news, and blog posts about the Windows 7 release last Thursday. In fact, even Apple’s commercials are mentioning the new operating system from Microsoft.

It’s being touted at the savior to Windows Vista (which was an overall flop) and so far the response seems to be fairly positive. I, personally, haven’t used a computer running Windows 7, so I can’t sway you either way.

If you plan on upgrading, then here’s five simple tips to make the transition easier for you — thanks to Ellie (@elspethjane) from Rocketboom Tech (subscribe).

What’s your experience with the Windows operating system? Are you still using Windows XP? Leave your comments below.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a video to feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Actors, models, and musicians all have at least one thing in common: they’re performers. Explore Modeling (subscribe) takes you through all aspects of the modeling industry. From working with photographers on photo shoots to the types of makeup to use in certain situations. Actors, musicians, and others can benefit from the videos that Cristina provides on Explore Modeling because many of these creative skill sets can combine or collide at one point or another.

Last month Cristina went behind the scenes of a photo shoot for e.l.f. Cosmetics. They are holding an online casting to find the next female model to represent e.l.f. throughout 2010. Anyone that’s legally allowed to work in the United States can apply online to enter this contest. Females, 15 years or older, of course.

I like to be on both sides of the camera, so watching what goes on during photo shoots like the one we just watched is educational for me. It’s definitely lots of fun being on set too. Maybe you’ll get the chance to go to New York City and be one of the top 4 finalists to get your own photo shoot.

All you have to do is Apply on ExploreModeling.com.
You’ll need to upload at least one color or black & white photograph of yourself, but it does not need to be a professional shot.
More details can be found on the application page.

The casting is open until December 31st, 2009.

Discover more about e.l.f. Cosmetics through their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a video to feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Safety belts (more commonly known as seat belts) were invented in the mid 19th Century by British engineer George Cayley — also the first person to understand the principles and forces of flight. The first person first person to be granted a patent to this early form of the safety device was Edward J. Claghorn, in 1885.

Today’s video involves modern version of the seat belt — the three-point seat belt. They cover the lap and shoulder with one continuous strap to protect the occupant(s) of a vehicle (namely cars) from flying out of their seat in the event of a crash. Many tests and iterations of the three-point seat belt occurred during the mid 1900s, and Volvo (known for their innovation in safety) first introduced the device in production cars in 1959.

There’s a fascinating history behind this device we all take for granted. The question is: Are you wearing yours?

I’m not too surprised by the statistics on the amount of people that don’t wear seat belts. I’ve seen friends, strangers, and even family fail to remember to put their seat belt on when they enter a car. I’ve grown up knowing that every car has a seat belt, and I feel very awkward not wearing one in a moving car.

Automotive TV (subscribe) is a fantastic resource for the latest news and technologies in the automotive industry. It’s created in Australia, but features information from around the world.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a video to feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Heads up! Tonight Viddler will be updated with a few new features, many bugs will be going away, and some regular, routine maintenance will be done. During this time our services may become intermittent and your ability to upload will be turned off.

We’re scheduling this maintenance period to be in the wee hours of the morning Eastern Standard Time from about 1:00a to 3:00a. If you have any troubles during that time period that you feel you need help with, we’ve created a support forum thread where you can jot down your ills and we’ll help you as we can there.

Thanks and we look forward to providing you with even better services tomorrow.

Who rides a Harley? I know Brandice and her husband do, and I’m sure there are many more loyal Harley-Davidson riders in the Viddler Community.

Harley-Davidson was founded in 1903 and has been manufacturing motorcycles ever since. Harleys are known for their unique design and exhaust sound. They’re usually quite loud, so you definitely know when one rolls by. Vroom vroom!

Many people around the world learn to either drive a car or ride a motorcycle (sometimes both) as a teenager. Depending on the country, it can be easier in some places than others to obtain a license for either vehicle. Most people get there license though.

Then there’s all these newly licensed people on the roads. It’s real road experience where you learn a lot about other drivers and what to look out for. Motorcycles are much smaller than cars or trucks, and this makes them difficult to see. Everyone needs to look out for them because they aren’t as protected as enclosed vehicles. Sure, a good bike rider wears denim or leather for protection, but that only does so much.

Lots of people recommend attending a defensive driver course once you have your full license. This will make you a better driver/rider and can sometimes even lower insurance rates (depending on the company/country).

Illinois Harley-Davidson (subscribe) has itself been traced back to the early 20th century. In 1916, Wilbur “Bill” H. Thede opened a motorcycle dealership and in 1925 he became one of the first Harley-Davidson dealers in the Chicago area. Since then, the dealership has grown and moved locations a several times, and is now situated in Berwyn, Illinois.

These days, Illinois Harley doesn’t just sell motorbikes though. They offer an entire experience for new and seasoned riders. Hah, like some riders have a flavour; mmm herbs & spices seasoning. I digress.

The Rider’s Edge® program at Illinois Harley offers a New Rider Course and a Skilled Rider Course. Those that want to attend the New Rider Course only need a learner’s permit and the correct attire. Skilled riders need at least a year under their rockin’ belt and will learn more advanced riding techniques such as maneuvering at low speeds.

Now that you’re all skilled to ride a motorcycle, perhaps you’d like to rent a Harley for a cross-country trip across the United States. I’ve always wanted to drive along the historic Route 66. I’d prefer a car though. I don’t think I could ride on a motorcycle for that long. Lots of people do that though, and Illinois Harley has lots of helpful information to arrange your own self-guided tour. It looks like a blast!

Read more on what Illinois Harley has to offer.

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Many people enjoy having the company of a pet. Especially families. Whether it’s a cat, dog, or even a frog (I actually own a Green Tree Frog) they are a part of your life like a friend or family member.

Pets almost always look cute, innocent, and occasionally get themselves in funny situations. This makes them perfect subjects for photography. That is, until you realize they can sometimes be difficult to keep still.

Whether you take happy snaps on your point-and-shoot camera, or you’re a seasoned photographer, The Dog Files (subscribe) have guest photographer Jeff Tisman on the show to share 7 tips on how to get the best photographs of your pet.

For your convenience, I’ve packaged up these 7 tips in a text file for you, so you can print it and have it with you when you go and take photos of your dog or other pet.

Download the Rich Text File | View the Plain Text

Discover more about The Dog Files and Jeff Tisman Photography at their respective websites.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a helpful how-to video to feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.