YouTube is Testing Another New Interface

By Alan Buckingham on October 26, 2012 - Tags:Youtube

A few weeks ago we  showed you how to access the new YouTube interface that they were testing out.  If you followed the steps and began using it, then you may have realized that last week it ceased working and reverted users back to the traditional UI.  Well, now Google is at it again with yet another user interface test and there is, once again, a way for everyone to access it.

Hint: instead of following the path below to manually switch to YouTube's new experimental design, you can alternatively use the excellent YouTube Homepage Swap userscript which enables you to quickly switch between the actual design and the latest experimental design.

The steps are similar to the last time around.

1. open youtube.com in a new tab

2. load your browser's developer console:

• Chrome - press Ctrl+Shift+J for Windows/Linux/ChromeOS or Command-Option-J for Mac
• Firefox - press Ctrl+Shift+K for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-K for Mac
• Opera - press Ctrl+Shift+I for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-I for Mac, then click "Console"
• Safari - check this article
• Internet Explorer - press F12 and select the "Console" tab.

3. paste the following code which changes a YouTube cookie:

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=jZNC3DCddAk; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

4. press Enter and close the console.

The new UI is similar to that of the last test.  You will find a new color scheme in the sidebar, more subscriptions viewable at one time, and a new default section heading  called "Now Playing".  In addition, some of the icons have been removed.  There are also new icons for the "like" and "dislike" buttons, there's a new way to show the navigation sidebar and the "more from" section was removed.  If you aren't signed into YouTube then the default home page will display popular videos from various genres like sports, entertainment and more.

If this goes similarly to the last user interface test then it will likely work for about two weeks before disappearing suddenly.  If you want to test it then you may want to do so now before Google kills it and moves on.  Head over to YouTube and follow the steps outlined above.

Evernote Skitch: free screenshot taking app for Windows

By Martin Brinkmann on October 26, 2012 - Tags:screenshots, Windows software

I have used a number of screenshot taking programs since I started blogging here on Ghacks Technology News. From using print and an image editor over MWSnap and Screenshot Captor toSnagIt which I use currently.

Evernote Skitch is a free screenshot taking app that has been available for Apple Macintosh systems for quite some time. The developers finally have ported the program over to Windows and created both a desktop program compatible with all recent versions of the Windows operating system and a Windows Store app compatible only with the Windows 8 operating system.

The program handles things different than other screenshot taking apps when it comes to the shortcuts it makes available. The first difference is that it does not map the print key to take screenshots. It instead uses keyboard shortcuts or buttons that you need to press when the application window is active to take screenshots.

• Rectangle screenshot: Ctrl-Shift-5
• Full screen screenshot: Ctrl-Shift-6

You will notice immediately that it does not provide the same level of functionality that many Windows screenshot tools offer. Among the screenshot profiles it is missing are free hand, scrolling window or window screenshots.

Screenshots that you take are automatically displayed in the program interface where you can make basic modifications to them before they are saved on the PC. Here you can add text or arrows to the screenshot or highlight certain areas with background color. You can furthermore change the size of the screenshot before you save it to the local system.

Evernote Skitch is sufficient for the majority of screenshot taking tasks, but fails in a few areas where other - free - programs provide better functionality. What I'm missing settings-wise is an option to remap the keyboard shortcuts and to change the interface language. Actually, I could not find preferences at all in the program. An option to change the quality of the output, png, bmp and jpg are supported, is missing as well.

For now, I'd recommend MWSnap or Screenshot Captor over Evernote Skitch as the two programs offer a superior functionality to the latter. If you are on the other hand looking for an easy to use program and do not mind the shortcuts then this is certainly worth a trial run on your system.

Some users of the program have noted that it is not compatible with multi-monitor setups. Can anyone confirm that? (via Caschy)