Former Google alumni launches Howcast, a web 2.0 ‘How To’ video site. For an in-depth analysis of the site Tech Crunch wrote a great story about the new site. The site, Howcast.com, is a really cool, and actually very useful version of YouTube.

So, if you see the name of the site, Howcast, and still don’t know what the site is, well, it’s an instructional video site. Sign-up is free, as it is with most web 2.0 companies. Even before you sign-up, however, you can view any videos and wiki’s available on the site. Once signed up you have access to some great other features, such as suggesting ‘how to’ topics for future videos. you can also review and rate other users suggestions. If you’re feeling particularly generous and knoledgable on a subject, you also have the ability to upload your own ‘how to’ videos, although, I guess they’re called ‘howcasts’.

A good number of the videos so far are done in house by the Howcast staff. They look very professional and polished with on-screen graphics and professional voice overs. They seem to be the best production wise, of course. I would like to see some additional features. Maybe some kind of option to include the Howcast on-screen graphics into an uploaded how to video. Maybe even some minor editing tools of some sort. Then all the videos could have some form of professionalism. That would be great.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to know how to do something or you know how to do something people need to know, Howcast.com seems to be a great new place on the web for sharing and helping.

Boom!

Digg the song. Or is it Digg this song? Whatever it is it’s not bad. Performed by Kina Grannis. This isn’t the first song she’s done. Just the most internet related. Check out some of Kina’s other songs on her YouTube page here.

So, the story doesn’t end here. She’s looking to make it to the Super Bowl. In a contest from Doritos. You play it. We air it.

It’s only 3 days until the voting ends (December 31^st)! We are down to the top 10 bands. The winner will have their music video played during the super bowl AND a record deal with Interscope Records. So who should you vote for? Well, duh. The half Japanese(?) hot chick! Am I right? Kina Grannis is her name, being hot is her game. Really, she’s actually pretty talented. A guitar player and singer and did I say she was cute? She grew up in Mission Viejo, CA and recently moved to Austin, TX. Which by the way is only the best city EVER? So go already and check her out. Vote for her at www.crashthesuperbowl.com.

The writer’s strike is going on two months now and there’s no end in sight. Thanks a lot Writer’s Strike of America, you’re ruining television. So what can you do to pass the time? SuperLame has the answer with some great online alternatives to tv’s upcoming reality onslaught.

Joost - 19,000+ TV shows, 390+ Channels. They’ve got shows you’ve probably heard of, like MTV’s Punk’d, Ren & Stimpy, and CBS’s hit drama CSI. Then there’s a slew of older, lesser known, and obscure shows you may not be familiar with. All of it comes in a nifty little program you download and run all for free. They do have ads, but it’s not that bad, usually one short ad before a show.

YouTube - Now here’s a little site you may not have heard of. Okay, so we all know about YouTube. It has everything on it. From original content, to commercial stuff people upload, there’s something for everyone. The best thing is, they have so many users the content is constantly being updated.

Chime.tv - This isn’t a video content site so to speak, it’s more of a aggregate for video content. They pull video from all the biggies on the net. Places like YouTube, Veoh, MySpace Video, and more. They also put it in a very pretty and easy to use Web 2.0 package. It’s one of my favorites. And somehow the videos seem like they actually load faster than on the site they originate from.

Channel 101 - You may have seen the short lived sketch comedy show Acceptable.tv on VH1 last year. Well, the show was canceled and the guys behind that have returned to their original project Channel 101. It’s great for off the wall sketch comedy and crazy web shorts.

Podcasts - Okay, so “podcasts” is not a site, but it is a great new format where you can find a ton of news, entertainment, and anything you can think of. Apple’s iTunes is a great place to start if you aren’t very familiar with podcasts. iTunes gives you a simple, great way to find podcasts in whatever category you’re looking for. There’s also a lot of online podcast directories, like Odeo, Podcast Alley, and Blubrry, just to name a few.

You know what, Mashable wrote a great article on 33 Ways to Watch Free TV Online. Don’t just take our word for it, check it out for yourself

Strike!

Sooooo….There’s this site called Viddler. I never heard of it until now. It’s a video sharing site, a lot like YouTube…and maybe even better. I see a lot of potential for this site.

“But Veda, why do you think it could be better than YouTube?” I knew you were going to ask. Well…come close…listin very carefully….You can comment on the time line. Yes, comment like you do on YouTube but these are like “LIVE comments” that pop up at the bottom of the screen on cue as the video plays. So you can comment on a specific part of the video. (Remember Pop-Up Video?) You have to check it out to really know what I’m talking about. But wait, that’s not the only thing. You can also add your advertisements on the videos. You do this through tags. Viddler will match up your advertisements to the tags that are in the timeline. So your advertisements will only show on relevant videos. Also, you only pay for your ads when someone actually clicks on the advertisement. Pay-Per-Click is what they call it. Pretty sweet huh? So check it out at www.viddler.com

You can now add an avatar, or icon, or whatever you want to call it to your profile. That way any time you comment it will show up next to your comment and people will see it and love you. I know this isn’t anything new to most sites, but we’ve just added it to ours. That means it’s new. I’m still sick so this is the most I can do right now.

Hopefully I’ll be making some forums soon to help build out the community part of CounterAgent. I welcome any suggestions you might have. Let me know of the community type stuff you use or like. Just email me at: contact@counteragent.com or use the link up top^.

I went ahead and recorded a little video to demonstrate how to use the new feature. You probably won’t need to watch it, but I’m posting it anyway.

Boom! *Cough*

Marco Tempest is a magician AKA Virtual Magician. This guy has performed some interesting sidewalk magic using an ordinary camera phone without post production or camera tricks, wait, they are camera tricks, anyway. My favorite trick is the one he does with the iPhone. (I’m gonna get me one of those) Check him out at Virtual Magician. And after you watch the video with the iPhone magic, I’m guessing you’re gonna want to know where you can get those wacky magic gimmicks. I got u…Hottrix. This site has magic downloads and other cool stuff you can do with your device. To list a few of the downloads: iMunchies, iBeer (shown above), iBug, iRescueCall and NerdAlert. Get ready to be the life of the party geeks! Oh, and this is not just for iPhone, they have downloads for Palm OS, iPod or Treo.

Veda

Yeah, she is pretty hot, but control yourself or she’ll blow her rape whistle. Project Aiko is a sweet new girl android created by Trung Le. What will those crazy Canadian Asians do next? Anyway, she must have been involved in a tragic accident because she’s in a wheelchair. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she’s got plenty of baggage too. As demonstrated in the video, if you try to steal second base, she’s not having it.

You have to check this out. Here’s a quote from the official Project Aiko site, it sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi Original B-Movie:

With our current technology it is impossible to design software and hardware to mimic all systems of life. However, with Project Aiko, we are one step closer to designing an artificial intelligence neural network system which uses both dynamic software and hardware linked together to mimic part of human behaviour. By using Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System (aka B.R.A.I.N.S) software together with a custom designed Humanoid (aka Aiko), we hope one day we will make an android as close to a human as much as possible.

I voted it Best Acronym Lifeforms Love System (aka B.A.L.L.S), eh?

Boom!

Can’t wait for Beowolf to see the new J.J. Abrams trailer for his super secret new movie Cloverfield? Well, now you don’t have to. Someone has graciously captured and posted the new trailer on YouTube for our viewing pleasure. I’m sure it has Mr. Abrams blessing, right? Well, we all know the internet can’t keep a secret. Oh well.

If you want to see it ahead of time and don’t want to pay $10 for a ticket just to see Angelina Jolie as a mostly nude CG character then this might be what you’re looking for. The sound from the trailer is really bad, but at least the video is crappy too. Maybe you can find a better version on the net. If you can, let me know and I’ll replace this one.

Boom!

Update: Apple has released the full trailer online in all it’s HD glory here.

What? Don’t tell me you haven’t seen the Hard At Work videos on YouTube. Where have you been….oh yeah…playing Call of Duty4…okay. Talking about 4…Episode 4 is my personal favorite. “Accounting, I love accounting 1-2-3-4-5…” It’s a little like The Office with the whole talking-to-the-camera thing. Love it, I’m a big Office fan and can’t get enough. Oh, and if you’ve checked out some of the episodes already, have you noticed all the Alienware in the background. They will neither admit nor deny any affiliation with Alienware.com. Hmmm…. Why are you still here?

Go watch it already http://www.youtube.com/user/itsnotyouitsmetv

Veda

I was surfing as usual and found this pretty cool site: www.howitshouldhaveended.com. How’s that for a name? If you can’t tell by the address this site is about how some movies should have ended.Like Spiderman 3, LOTR, Underworld and my favorite….Superman, of course. “I’m Batman, that’s what I do.” LOL just can’t get enough. Per the website Spiderman HISHE has over a million hits on YouTube. Wow! That’s a lot. Daniel Baxter does the artwork and some of the character voices. Tommy Watson is the humor guy and Bryan English is the music guy. Check it out, I’m sure you’ll enjoy. If you have any cool sites you would like me to share with the rest of the class email me at contact@counteragent.com

Oh, and the guys running the site are also working on an alternate ending for Halo 3, coming soon.

Later, Veda