How to download YouTube Videos and Videos from other Websites

So you like my Video? Really? Great.

But wait? How do I download it from YouTube?

This wearied series of questions may have crossed your mind whenever you come across Video on YouTube. Often times, these not-so-tech-savvy types may use FaceBook or Twitter to save the link for the Video that they just watched or just copy it in an email to a friend to watch later.

But what about getting a hold of the Video itself?

First before I proceed to spill the beans, please be reminded that downloading Video from YouTube is tantamount to Piracy. It’s not allowed, just tolerated, mainly due to the fact that the six (6) year old website as stated in the article “At YouTube, adolescence begins at 5”, published May 16, 2010 11:06 PM PDT By Brad Stone, The New York Times, CNET News.

Google’s Video-sharing Website YouTube is now the No.2 Search Engine online as per the report in “YouTube garners most Video views”, published Monday August 16, 6:41 pm ET, Yahoo News.

Google’s YouTube  makes the majority of its revenue from advertising and Video content Tie-ins with Content Providers, such as Time Warner back in 2009AD as state in the article “Time Warner, YouTube ink distribution pact”, published August 19, 2009 12:34 PM PDT by Larry Dignan, Digital Media, CNET News

With revenues projected by Citi Analyst Mark Mahaney in the article “YouTube Will Be a $1.3B Business in 2011: Report”, published March 21, 2011, 12:35pm By Ryan Lawler, GigaOM to hit some US$1.7 billion this year, YouTube is easily Google’s second most successful acquisition to date to Android, now the de facto standard for Open Source on smartphones.

The fact that YouTube has not yet blocked downloading programs from working is partly a decision of Google to maintain the same spirit of sharing Video content which had made the website created by one of YouTube’s founders and CEO Chad Hurley.

Ironic, as it has also been the source of many a legal battle between Google and Content providers e.g. Hollywood Studios, who Google have managed to appease mainly by offering them Ad-sharing and partnership deals and allowing Content Providers to issue takedown notices so as to have Copyright Infringing content removed.

Just remember if you’re going to use any Video in any Commercial spotlight, Radio or Television, contact the content owner first, as the Video you’ve downloaded from their channel or Account may not even belong to them, putting you in more legal hot water.

Also, do not use the Video as is, but edit it in some significant way so that your presentation at least looks original and you don’t get slapped with the “Idea Pirate” label post-Corporate Event Presentation.

With that said, let’s get to the fun stuff!!

According the article “18 Free Ways To Download Any Video off the Internet”, published October 2, 2007 by Aseem Kishore, Make Use Of there are really two (2) ways you can download Video from YouTube:

1.      Web App – Program running from a Cloud Server on the Internet that does all the heavy lifting in terms of downloading and conversion of the Video to a viewable format

2.      Desktop App – Program you download and install on your computer so that your computer’s Processor and Memory does all the heavy lifting in terms of downloading and conversion of the Video to a viewable format

Web Apps are preferred mainly because they are at your beck and call online and offer a host of other services, including Video conversion into multiple formats and the ability to download Video from another websites other than YouTube.

But if you don’t mind an installed program on your computer and you’re mostly offline anyway as are most Jamaicans who only go online for Facebook or Twitter as noted in Jamaica’s Low Net Penetration – Broadband Internet A Universal Right then a Desktop App is right for you.

It is in this light that I recommend the following au pair of Freeware programs:

1.      BienneSoft YouTube Downloader

2.      SoThink Web Video Downloader for Firefox as described in the article “How to Download YouTube FLV with Firefox Video Downloader?”, viewed November 6 2011 by Lindsworth Deer, So Think Media

Both are fairly straightforward and easy to download, install and use with the SoThink Web Video Downloader for Firefox having the added bonus of being able to download Video from any website aside from YouTube, a prime restriction of BienneSoft YouTube Downloader.

Also the SoThink Web Video Downloader for Firefox is a Browser App that runs as an add-on to the FireFox browser, necessitating that you have to have the Firefox browser installed on your Computer.

My only grouse with SoThink Web Video Downloader for Firefox …well….the fact that you have to have the FireFox Browser to use it. Which if you’re a fan of Google Chrome, the world’s most favourite Browser as per the Stat Counter stats in Chrome 16 beats Firefox and IE8 –Mozilla going Mobile and Cloud OS on Smartphones, Tablets and UltraBoooks, can be a pain. 

On the bright side, the Firefox Browser is far more stable than Google Chrome and protects your privacy by deleting tracking cookies and it defaults to Google’s Website thanks to their extended three (3) year Search Partnership Deal.

This as stated in the article “Firefox saved as Google renews default search engine deal”, published December 20, 2011 By Jeff Hughes, DigitalTrends and  “More details on the Google/Firefox deal emerge, big numbers involved”, published December 23, 2011 By Andy Boxall, DigitalTrends and serves up YouTube videos.

So there’s something to stick in your bonnet Google!

BienneSoft YouTube Downloader is not without flaw, as albeit it has a file converter, the freeware version downloads videos quite slowly and you have to have a YouTube Account to download any adult content. 

As for Video Editing so as to make sure you don’t mistakenly rip off someone else online memes on YouTube, you can professional Video Edit using:

1.      Microsoft’s Movie Maker

2.      Apple’s iMovie

Both these options are free and comes preloaded with Microsoft and Apple Macs and easy to use! Just make sure your PC is up for it in terms of Processor Speed, Memory and HardDrive space, as Video Editing is very Processor intensive and is worth another article at the very least.

But what about making your edited videos into a DVD, a process known as DVD Authoring? Another article another time…..

How to Register your SIM Card and get the PUK1 and access Digicel’s Phone Calling Records

Let’s face it; losing your Mobile Phone is the worst experience to go through, especially if it had a lot of valuable contact and information stored on your Phone. Custom- fitted to you, its theft is even harder to bear, especially if the event was a violent one and giving up the Phone was the result of being faced with a choice between your life and the Phone.

So now you sit dejected from either case. Quick action reminds you to call Digicel Customer Care or LIME Customer Care (as LIME is popular still!!) in order to have the SIM Card barred. A quick call to 100 reveals yet another stumbling block to the already frustrating process: you have to verify your Account.

Neither Digicel nor LIME Customer Care cannot bar your Mobile Phone unless they can verify your Account, which allows them access to various layers or Databases, referred to in common terminology by Digicel Customer Care Agents as GUI (Graphic User Interfaces). Thus

Verification: WHOAMI

For Digicel Customer Care Agents, their system uses GUI’s of their Internal Ericsson-powered Switch Core Systems to check on aspects of your Account.

Examples of Databases that Digicel Customer Care Agents have to access include:

1. MINSAT GUI – Allows Digicel Customer Care Agents to view Account settings in the Ericsson Switch that indicate the status of your Phone
2. DWS GUI – Allows Digicel Customer Care Agents to view calling records for the Customer accounts as well as other transactions that took place on the Account

In the case of Digicel, verification can be done by using one of three (3) types of information requested by the Digicel Customer Care Agent in the following order:

1.      PUK1 (Phone Unlock Key)

2.      Month and Year of SIM Card Activation

3.      Full confirmation of Registration Information

These pieces of information are chosen to verify a SIM Card and the associated Prepaid or Postpaid Account as they’re unique to the Account, which is made up of the SIM Card, the associated Phone Number and the Customer. Having a copy of the PUK1 in the event that you need to have it for verification or unblocking your Phone after initially being blocked is essential knowledge for Digicel customer!

The first two pieces of information which reside on the letter you received when you purchased your SIM Card or Mobile Phone from Digicel are rarely kept by anyone nearby. Usually it’s trussed away in a drawer or among travel documents, as it’s the kind of thing you rarely pull out and walk around with. But from Digicel’s point of view, the letter is the equivalent of a Driver’s License or TRN (Tax Registration Number); you have to present it in order for them to access the various GUI’s and thus assist the customer.

The Case for LIME is a bit different. LIME Customer Care Agents are a little more lax, requiring that you merely prove you’re the Phone’s owner by using either of the following:

1.      Verify the last three (3) numbers that you called from your lost or stolen Mobile Phone

2.      Full confirmation of Registration Information

They don’t use the same information as Digicel, as the rational is that anyone can possess these documents and claim to be you. Only the true user of the Phone, LIME reasons, would know the last three (3) numbers they called off the top of their head in order to verify that the Mobile Phone is theirs. As argued above, the PUK1 and the Month and Year of SIM Card Activation merely identify the SIM Card, not the true owner of the Mobile Phone.

Thus, for both Telecom Providers, only the Full confirmation of Registration Information can truly verify that the SIM Card, Phone instrument and Mobile Phone number associated with both the SIM Card and the Mobile Phone belong to the person on the call with the Customer Care Agent

Why Registering is important: Absolute Verification of Ownership

But if your house has been turned upside (literally!) or worse one of the circumstances that has resulted in you calling may have been that your house has been gutted by fire, this is the last thing that you want to hear. Thus a workaround does indeed exist by way of the last form of verification: Full confirmation of Registration Information

This form of verification is not oft used, oweing to its tedious nature, as the Digicel Customer Care Agent has to verify every stitch of information on the first try with the subscriber. Failure means that you cannot access the Account. Additionally most subscribers are not registered, necessitating that you have to get the Mobile Phone SIM Card registered at your nearest Digicel Dealer.

But a not-so-often exploited loophole exists in the system. If you have Government of Jamaica Identification i.e. TRN (Tax Registration Number), Driver’s License, Passport, Voter’s ID, you can register the SIM Card over the Phone without having to verify.

This works off the logic that as the possessor of the SIM Card has no real absolute methods existing to prove that they had purchased it as once the SIM Card holder registers the SIM Card it becomes theirs. This as it is common for the ownership of SIM Cards, which are identified by the PUK1, to change. The month and Year of SIM Card Activation merely identifies when the SIM Card accessed the GSM Network and is also unique to the SIM Card and its associated Phone Number.

For these above reason, the need to have PUK1 or Month and Year of SIM Card Activation to register the Mobile Phone with while calling 100 is not necessary, as neither of these forms of verification identifies the owner of SIM Card but merely the SIM Card itself.

LIME’s method of asking the caller to recall the first three (3) numbers called from the Mobile Phones is a little better, prone only to the Customer Care Agent being duped into giving out information dues to the Caller having access to the Mobile Phone i.e. he’s lying.

Thus confirmation of the full Registration information identifies the owner of the SIM Card, Mobile Phone as associated with the Mobile Phone number. The other forms of verification only verify the SIM Card as being a valid member of the Telecom Provider’s Network and as such can be anyone who just happens to have the SIM Card at the time.

Registering your SIM Card and Mobile Phone

The same is true if you visit the Dealer Store for either Digicel or LIME.

The Digicel or LIME Customer Care Agents, (Face-to-Face Customer Care is their internal nickname!) only want GOJ (Government of Jamaica) ID, not the SIM Card letter, as they need no verification to verify that it’s your SIM Card, just merely that you register it using a valid GOJ ID.

To register your SIM Card you’ll need:

1.      First and Last Name

2.      Birth Certificate (if you can’t remember your date of Birth)

3.      GOJ Identification i.e. TRN (Tax Registration Number), Driver’s License, Passport, Voter’s ID

4.      Physical Address

5.      Email Address

6.      Alternative Phone Number

7.      Pen and Paper to record all this information

Then you call Digicel or LIME Customer Care at 100 on your Mobile Phone. Whichever Network you call, Customer Care Agent will then assist you by accessing the Prepaid Registration GUI and updating your registration information for your SIM Card using the above information you’ll supply to them over the Phone. Make sure to keep a written copy of the information that you used to register your Digicel Prepaid Account.

Then from that point on you’re registered. You can then use this registration information to call back Digicel Customer Care at 100 to access:

1.      Details of your Account

2.      Make queries about which numbers you had called, albeit Customer Care cannot tell you Phone numbers

3.      Have Voicemail service fixed if any problems arise

4.      Have your Plans checked in case of problems e.g. Blackberry Plans, International Calling Plans VIP Talk and VIP Text Plans, etc.

5.      Request your PUK1

6.      Bar the Mobile Phone

Thank you for making it Digicel Customer Care and LIME Customer Care.

Do have a pleasant day!

Skype's Ads on Free VoIP heralds coming of Free Mobile VoIP - Video Calls not problem as LIME LTE soon tun up

Skype has announced on Wednesday June 13^th 2012AD plans to make money by serving up free demographic-driven ads for Skype software for users of its Free VoIP Video Calling Service in fifty five (55) of its markets. This as reported on Skype’s Official Blog as well as in the article “Skype to serve display ads to Windows users”, published June 13 2012 10:58am PDT by Donna Tam, CNET News.

For those who came late, Microsoft had purchased Skype in May of 2011AD, almost a year ago, heralding Microsoft’s possible push into the VoIP Telecoms Sector as surmised in my blog article entitled “Microsoft acquires Skype for US$8.5 billion - Miley Cyrus's Fly on the Wall Drops it Like it’s Hot”.

A month later in June 2011AD Facebook announced a very deep integration of Skype into its services, in effect becoming a portal for Video Calling as concluded by my blog article entitled “FaceBook deeply integrates Skype - Microsoft, the Ladykiller of Landline”.

Folks a whole year has now passed. Since then, no progress reports has been heard from Microsoft or Facebook on the usage statistics for their Video VoIP Calling Service or any other deep integration of Skype into any of Microsoft’s products.

No improvements to make the software more lightweight or even Mobile to match competitors such as Fring or even Google Voice, which Google introduced a year prior in August 2010AD as I had discovered in my blog article entitled “Google and Google Voice - The World is Not Enough”, making this the first action by Microsoft since their purchase of Skype in a year.

Those of us who use Google Voice will remember Apple tussle with Google over the App, whose function bypassed International Calling Gateways for AT&T via routing of calls over Landline and then to VoIP. AT&T pressured Apple to get rid of the product, but without indicating why.

But eventually Apple was forced to keep it as stated in the article “After tussle, Google Voice application comes to iPhone”, published Tuesday November 16 2010 by AFP, Yahoo News and the article “Apple relents and approves Google Voice app for iPhone”, published Wednesday November 17 2010 by NewsFactor, Yahoo News.

Fast forward to the here and now, gentle people! Facebook’s lackluster performance of their IPO (Initial Public Offer) as stated in the article “Where are FaceBook's friends? Stock slide deepens”, published Wednesday, May 23, 2012, The Jamaica Observer and “FaceBook falls below US$30”, published Wednesday, May 30, 2012, The Jamaica Observerleft many realizing the obvious.

Facebook stumbles were due to the lack of a clear Mobile strategy and business model, as they manly made money from being the third most visited website online as opined earlier in my blog article entitled “FaceBook extinct as Chrome to be No. 1 Browser in 2012AD – FB rides Bed Knobs and Broomsticks Mobile Revolution against Google+”.

They have the same exact problem like Mozilla Foundation prime product, Mozilla Firefox as stated in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Chrome 16 beats Firefox and IE8 –Mozilla going Mobile and Cloud OS on Smartphones, Tablets and UltraBoooks”.

The Mozilla Foundation has renewed their Search Engine Royalty Agreement with Google for the next three (3) years, US$900 million deal announced on 20^th December 2011AD as stated in “Firefox saved as Google renews default search engine deal”, published December 20, 2011By Jeff Hughes, DigitalTrends and  “More details on the Google/Firefox deal emerge, big numbers involved”, published December 23, 2011ByAndy Boxall, DigitalTrends.

Since then Apple latest release of iOS 6.0 on Monday June 11^th 2012AD at WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) has integrated Facebook into the upcoming Apple iPhones as well as Apple iPad as described in my blog article entitled “Apple deeply integrating Facebook into iOS 6.0 - The Penguins of Madagascar Microsoft and Apple save the Devil in the Blue Dress”. This is much in the same way Apple had integrated Twitter when they had launched iOS 5.0 as stated in the article “Apple’s iOS 6 Includes Deep FaceBook Integration”, published June 11, 2012 by Sarah Kessler, Mashable.

Not quite a business plan, but it’s a start towards a Mobile Strategy. With word still, however, humming in the blogsphere of a future smartphone powered by software from Facebook, this recent integration also begs the question of what will become of Skype.

This action of deeply integrating Facebook can effectively can be seen as “frenemies” Apple and Microsoft teaming up against Google, as Apple symbolically dumped Google Maps in favour of their own Maps technology as default GPS Mapping support as stated in the article  “Apple kicks Google Maps off iPhone, adds FaceBook”, published Wednesday, June 13, 2012, The Jamaica Observer.

I am not sure if Skype will be allowed to work on the Mobile version of Facebook now integrated into Apple’s iOS 6.0. But it might be the case, as based on Apple’s utterance at WWDC, FaceTime will be allowed to finally work over Mobile Networks instead of just Wi-Fi.

This means a renaissance for Video Calling and thus an opportunity for Skype, as it would be unfair for Carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, now bristling with LTE upgrades, to give FaceTime airtime preference on their Mobile Network without allowing other Video Calling Platforms to co-exist.

Thus what will happen becomes clear. Monetizing Skype via contextual ads is only the start. Through skillfully negotiations using this argument, Microsoft may argue that Skype should be allowed the same privileges as Apple’s FaceTime.

Then Facebook and Microsoft can roll out a tiered service with four (4) separate markets, based on the demographics of their fifty five (55) markets:

1.      Free VoIP to Terrestrial Mobile and Landline Networks Worldwide Subsidized by advertising

2.      Subscription VoIP to Terrestrial Mobile and Landline Networks Worldwide paid for by subscribers

3.      Free Video VoIP Calling to Terrestrial Mobile and Landline Networks Worldwide capable of receiving Video Calls Subsidized by advertising

4.      Subscription Video VoIP Calling to Terrestrial Mobile and Landline Networks Worldwide capable of receiving Video Calls paid for by subscribers

Further negotiations with FaceTime could see the development of Cross Network Video VoIP Calling Standards and Tariffs to allow customer on either service to call each other. In essence, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple could become MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) for Video VoIP Calling powered by Telecom Providers LTE Networks.

Contextual advertising and tiered services presents a business model that would:

1.      Monetize Free VoIP and thus spark a revolution by introducing Free Video and VoIP Calling to Terrestrial Mobile and Landline Networks Worldwide

2.      Kick-start the mass adoption of Video VoIP Calling

3.      Get more Silicon Valley Companies into the lucrative MVNO Network, now ramping up in the US and Globally

4.      Solve Facebook’s problems in terms of Growth, as such a VoIP Network could be used to power their smartphone that they are still working on

Already Jamaica is following on the trend towards adopting smartphones as noted in my blog article entitled “Blackberry popularity wanes as Jamaicans go smartphones - Android and Apple's Smartphone Revolution”.

Jamaica’s local Telecom Provider’s LIME and Digicel will hopefully stick to their schedule of upgrading their Caribbean Wide networks to HSDPA+ (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) Release 7 by December 2012AD and then eventually LTE (Long Term Evolution) by 2013AD as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME's US$80 million Caribbean HSDPA+ Release 7 Upgrade - Sonic the Hedgehog” and  “Digicel's US$85 million HSDPA+ and WiMax 4G Upgrade - Wizards of Waverly Place Fast Five Showdown”.

Low cost Cross-Network and International Voice Calling over the traditional Switched Voice Services powered by GSM is now a reality. This thanks to the OUR (Office of the Utilities Regulation) as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME's new TALK EZ Plan drops Cross Network Calling to JA$2.99 - Digicel's Game of Thrones vs LIME Return of the King” and the Geezam blog article entitled “LIME drops Cross Network Calling rate to JA$6.99 to kick off a 3 year Battle for Mobile Market Dominance”.

Jamaicans will be making calling like crazy, with low-cost Dual SIM smartphones such as those made by Florida-based Plum as stated in the article “Who the heck is Plum Anyway?”, published May 11 2012 6:27 PDT, by Lynn La, CNET News being the next trend among Prepaid users.

This as MNP (Mobile Number Portability) is coming in December 2012AD and may be on offer for Postpaid customers only as suggested by the article “Paulwell promises number portability by December”, published Sunday, June 17, 2012 BY CONRAD HAMILTON Senior staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer. Prepaid customer reluctant to switch may thus go the dual-SIM route, a trend worthy of its own article quite soon

With LTE hopefully in place by the Second Quarter of 2013AD Video VoIP Calling is not a problem as the LTE tun’ up for both the USA and Jamaica via either Microsoft owned Facebook integrated Skype or Apple FaceTime.

By then the trend of Video VoIP Calling might begin to pick in Jamaica by 2014AD, just in time for World Cup 2014AD.