The Tech Loft

Recently, YouTube tested an increase of pre-roll ads, forcing people to watch up to 10 unskippable ads before they could see their video. More ads before your videos on YouTube means fewer viewers and less engagement, and increasing discontent with YouTube as a platform. But, your audience and friends can stop seeing YouTube ads today—for free—just by watching YouTube in the Brave browser, on desktop & mobile. And if you ask your viewers to opt-in to Brave Rewards, they’ll be able to support you and your content by contributing to your channels with Basic Attention Token (BAT). Brave is committed to making the Internet better for all its users. Help your fans stop these aggressive YouTube ads today, and ask them to support you with Basic Attention Token (BAT). DOWNLOAD BRAVE HERE: https://brave.com/download/ P.S. if you’re used to watching YouTube via its native apps, try using a YouTube shortcut in Brave on mobile! You can easily make a shortcut on iOS or Android for 1-tap conveni...

Here is my review of NodeBeat by AffinityBlue. I love using the iPad as music creation tool. There are a lot apps in Apple’s App Store and the Android Market Place that help aspiring musicians reach their potential or amateurs reach some kind of music creating level. The best music creation apps are the ones that are fun and easy to use. NodeBeat is an intuitive and a visual music app for all ages. Create your own music in a matter of minutes or listen to NodeBeat generate its own. You can easily share your creations with others, upload to SoundCloud or save them for later to show your friends. You create your own music by dropping Generators and Notes on the ‘music space’. Generators and Notes make up the two types of nodes. Generators pulse and play Notes within proximity. A Note is played in sequence, based on the distance it is from its connected Generator. Pause nodes to create your own beats or let them roam free to have them generate their own. Below you’l...

Encrypting bittorrent traffic in Windows and OS X. In Canada, there’s been a lot of chatter regarding our newly updated Copyright laws under Bill C-11. A big F-U to my MP representative and to the Conservative Party of Canada…leading the great puppet nation of Canada. Politics aside, let me tell you what’s happening right now. Voltage Pictures, the group that brought you The Hurt Locker and a whole list of shitty movies is taking action against user’s that have download The Hurt Locker  via Torrent networks. My guess to avoid being detected as a movie downloader, you should begin to encrypt your torrent downloads. Here’s how you can being encrypting torrent traffic. Windows users will want to user uTorrent, the number currently number 1 torrent client being downloaded right now. Open Preferences, select BitTorrent, under Protection Encryption select ‘FORCED’ and uncheck the box that says “Allow incoming legacy connections”. For uTorr...

Speed is the key to making sure you can be as efficient and productive as possible. It’s also important if you need to run the newest software and applications. But sometimes a variety of factors can affect your computer’s performance and make it harder and more time-consuming to complete even the simplest tasks. Luckily, there are many ways to either increase your computer’s speed or remove the barriers that are preventing it from performing up to its potential. Here are a few tips and tricks that may help you get back up to speed. CLEAN UP YOUR HARD DRIVES In some cases, a slow computer could be the result of a full hard drive. Computers not only use onboard memory (RAM) to run software and applications, they can also use portions of the hard drive. If you’re running out of storage space, then your computer won’t have access to these additional resources and you might notice a decrease in speed as a result. It’s easy to find some unneeded documents ...

Here is my review of the Speck See Thru Satin Case.   This case for my 13″ MacBook Pro first caught my attention when I saw it on the train. The See Thru Satin Case completely encloses your case protecting it from bumps and scratches while leaving your ports and CD Rom slot available. The look and feel of Speck’s See Thru Satin Case is very slick, with it’s matte finish. I’ve put together a quick YouTube video reviewing and installing Speck’s See Through Satin Case. Products from Amazon.com ‹ › Products from Amazon.com ‹ › httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYrHnYilVLA

If you’re a Playbook owner you should be please to know you can stream media from a media server such as TwonkyMedia to your Blackberry Playbook. Please note this has been tested and working with TwonkyMedia and it’s very easy to do. 1)  Open up the Blackberry Playbook Browser. 2)  Go to TwonkyMedia Browser Page: type in http://<mybook live ip address>:9000/webbrowse eg.  my ip was set to 192.168.0.88 so for me the url is be  http://192.168.0.88:9000/webbrowse 3)  Prove to yourself that it works: Click on the Videos link and pick something to play.  You will see that you can expand to full screen and jump to any point in the video. 4)  Navigate To The Start Page You Want: After playing a video, click BACK to either the TwonkyMedia Start Page or drill down to where you want to start.  For example, if you always want to access Videos, then Bookmark the Videos, which in my case is http://192.168.0.88:9000/webbrowse/O0$3 5)  Save your Favorite to look like an App Icon: Cli...

IN THE MARKET FOR AN APPLE MACBOOK? If you’re in the market for a MacBook but feel the price is a little steep for your wallet, you should think about buying a refurbished MacBook from Apple. WHAT EXACTLY IS ‘REFURBISHED’? I’m pretty sure when people find a product with the word ‘refurbished’ printed on it, they’ll tend to stay away from it because they think there’s something wrong with it. If there WAS something wrong with the product, rest assured the problem was found, repaired and tested. In other cases, refurbished could also mean ‘open box’ items. What can happen is if an item gets returned to the store because the purchaser simply wasn’t happy, the item goes back to the manufacturer, tested and once again put back on the market and label as a ‘refurbished’ item. APPLE’S STRINGENT QUALITY PROCESS When discussing Apple refurbished products, some units are returned due to technical issues but all units undergo Apple’s stringent quality refurbishment pr...

Calibration of your battery is essential every once a month, depending on your usage, it can be done once every six months. For your information, calibration is the act of discharging your macbook pro, android mobile phone, iphone, laptop or any devices’ battery power life until it is not bootable. Below is the step by step tutorial: Step 1 – Completely drain your battery until it completely shuts itself off. Step 2 – Turn the device on again and let it shut itself off one more time. Step 3 – Charge your device while it is off for over 8 hours. When you’re done, you should see a significant increase in your battery’s charge life. This can be seen with a dramatic increase in battery life even under heavy usage. We’ve tested this method on both our android mobile phone and Sony laptop and it works. Yet to test it on our iPad. We believe this battery calibration trick works on almost every notebook, laptop and mobile phone devices. If you happened to have a samsung, dell, hp, toshiba or a...

Do you have videos sitting on your hard drive that you’d like to put on a playable DVD? Here is a free solution in DVD Flick. DVD Flick can take a number of video files stored on your computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. It also allows you to add custom subtitles and navigation menus.   [amazon_carousel widget_type=”SearchAndAdd” width=”400″ height=”200″ title=”” market_place=”” shuffle_products=”True” show_border=”False” keywords=”dvd media” browse_node=”” search_index=”All” /]   FEATURES: Burn near any video file to DVD Support for over 45 file formats Support for over 60 video codecs Support for over 40 audio codecs Easily add a menu Add your own subtitles Easy to use interface Burn your project to disc after encoding Completely free without any adware, spyware or limitatio...

Looks like Google Chrome OS has been beaten to the punch. Introducing Joli OS, a light weight web centric operating system for your netbook and antique computers. If you’re thinking Joli OS is just like Google Chrome OS? You are correct, however, there are 2 main differences between the two operating systems: 1. Google Chrome OS does not dual boot with Windows 2. As of this posting, Google Chrome OS is not yet released So Joli OS has access to hundreds of apps that you can install such as Audacity, Powerpoint Viewer, GIMP, just to name a few. If you watch my video, you’ll see how you can create a LIVE version of Joli OS to try before you commit to installing on your computer system. Joli OS is light weight for Netbooks and a great way to resurrect old computers no being used collecting dust in your closet or basement. DOWNLOAD LINKS: Joli OS + Windows Dual Boot ISO: http://www.jolicloud.com/download/jolicloud-express Joli OS ISO:  http://www.jolicloud.com/download/jolicloud-...

It’s an old trope, one that has almost entirely lost its meaning over time, but there’s another Linux distro that is designed for the average (or slightly below average) computer user. This one, however, is about as close as any have come to creating an idiot-proof Linux distro. Pinguy OS (www.pinguyos.com) is based on Ubuntu and is mighty fun to play with. A Little Background Pinguy OS was built by a fellow named Antoni Norman who wanted a Linux OS that he could give to friends and family – without haing to constantly provide tech support. He’d been recommending Ubuntu but grew frustrated with how stark it was. Even though it’s relatively easy to add software, codecs, and the like with Ubuntu’s repositories, he found that many novice users were still having trouble finding everything they needed to make their system work as they wanted it to. What’s somewhat amusing about Pinguy OS is that it has a certain Mac feel to it. It’s pretty, it...

Hey readers! Just finished uploading a new video UNBOXING a Flip Ultra HD U2120 High-Definition Camcorder . Watch it!Then visit my YouTube Channel and SUBSCRIBE ! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0dd_D8L0-o

BASIC SPEED MAXIMIZING TIPS This post will show you the basics of boosting your BitTorrent download speeds. I won’t get you to install patches or run patches…I don’t want to mess with your operating system. The best BitTorrent client to use? Look no further than uTorrent . uTorrent is a freeware, closed source BitTorrent client by BitTorrent, Inc. It is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X . Both versions are written in C++.It gets the “ µ ” in its name from the SI prefix “micro” meaning one one-millionth and it refers to the program’s small footprint by using the UPX executable compressor. The program is designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients such as Vuze or BitComet. What we’re going to show you is basically how to properly configure your BitTorrent client for the best possible connection without running any OS hacks or patches. You’re first going to run a few tests: 1. Ba...

For those that like to post videos like I do, you may find this product comparison useful. This is a short comparison between the 2 best video cameras used for video blogging or VLogging, the Flip UltraHD and Kodak Zi8 . Flip UltraHD – records in .MP4 format – 8 GB storage capacity – captures in 720p resolution – built in mic. – flat bottom surface to stand up device – includes rechargeable battery pack and the option to use ‘AA’ batteries – fits nicely in hand Purchase your through Amazon. Kodak Zi8 – expandable memory SD slot – capture 720p and 1080p – external mic. jack – records in .MOV format (not compatible with Sony Vegas) – case design does not let you stand the device upright – proprietary rechargeable battery – slightly thinner than Flip Ultra HD Purchase your through Amazon. Transfer .MOD Files To .MPG

Ok, so this will help you with getting started with bit torrent. For all you readers that are still not in the Torrent game. Check list: uTorrent software (aka Torrent client): http://www.utorrent.com Website to download Torrent files: http://www.isohunt.com Steps: 1. Download uTorrent on to your desktop and install it. After installing you should find a new “U” icon on your desktop. Launch uTorrent. 2. Open up Internet Explorer (or whatever you surf the internet with). Navigate to http://www.isohunt.com 3. (On IsoHunt) Use the search bar and type the movie you want. Figure 1. shows the search bar. Type ‘Iron Man’ as an example Figure 2. shows the results of your search. Pay attention to the column “S” noted by the red circle I drew around the column. “S” stands for SEEDERS. SEEDERS are the number of COMPLETE copies of the movie out there available to download from. Click “S” and you’ll organize the column by the torrents...

LifeCam HD-5000 ANNOYANCE: Turn off Auto-Focus I’m sure the reason why you’ve stumbled upon this article was due to the horrendous auto-focus feature of Microsoft LifeCam’s. LifeCams, PRETTY NICE BUT CAN PISS OFF I like Microsoft’s LifeCams, picture quality is very good but not in low light environments. However, the auto-focus is feature is irritating when recording. THE EASY FIX THROUGH LIFECAM DASHBOARD Open the LifeCam Dashboard Uncheck TruColor Click on Properties Click on the Camera Control tab Uncheck the box next to Focus under Auto Click Apply (to save your changes) You can also follow the advice from the video below. This quick video will show you how to turn OFF the auto-focus on your Microsoft LifeCam HD-5000 web camera. It’s all in the LifeCam Dashboard! This should work for any webcam that uses Lifecam software. Amazon.com Widgets  httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ17EG4VJ0o

Stream video with subtitles on PlayStation 3 (PS3) and XBox 360 with PS3 Media Server. A guide to streaming movies / videos from your desktop PC to your gaming console (PlayStation 3, XBox 360) with subtitles using PS3 Media Server. REQUIRED FREE SOFTWARE: PS3 Media Server: http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/downloads/list AVISynth 2.5.7: http://sourceforge.net/projects/avisynth2 Win7 Codec Pack: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Win7codecs_… Be sure to setup the directory that contain your movies if it’s your first time running PS3 Media Server.       httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9zVHHCE2s

HARDWARE ERROR? SOFTWARE ERROR USER ERROR? As simple as it may sound, people can still mess up burning an .ISO image to CD or DVD. I’d have this in past where I would but an .ISO to disc and when I went to go use the disc of it was burned..it just didn’t work. I though it was my burner…maybe me? Then I searched for different software, and I’m glad I did because I came across IMG BURN. IMG BURN WORKS GREAT, AND IT’S FREE! The results of my searching brought me to IMG BURN. Using IMG BURN was very simple. I have yet to burn a coaster using IMG BURN. And another plus of using IMG BURN, no need to crack software, it’s open source which means it’s free! And the free software is dependable, i’ve been using it for 5 years and also use it to burn my music CDs. A VIDEO ON IMG BURN Here’s a short video, BY REQUEST, on burning an .ISO image file to DVD/CD disc. Hopefully more than one person will find it useful. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egu3hhahClo

How To Replace A Hard Drive From A PlayStation 3 (PS3).

A quick video on the new updates and changes to Microsoft’s NEW XBox 360 S (slim).