Technology Rants|Where technology meets humanity

With Megavideo.com on the rise, there are more and more people looking for ways to bypass the 72 min video limit. Below I have listed 12 Alternatives to Megavideo.com. I have also included a review of each website, each review is based on usability uptime, and quality of popular links.

When looking for a TV show that you just missed some times its easiest to find the episode on its home network. Here are a couple of links to popular TV networks

1. Fox | popular shows include American Dad, Bones, House, Prison Break
2. CSB | popular shows include How I met your mother, NCIS, The Unit
3. NBC |
4. Spiketv.com | Popular shows include Deadliest Warrior and the ultimate fighter
5. Discovery.com | Popular shows include mythbusters
6. Travel Channel
7. USA Network
   

When the show you are looking for can’t be found on their home network you can probably find it on one of these linking sites.

1. TVshack.net | Tvshack has a one of the largest database of links and will link to the different videos sources embedded right into the website.
2. FanCast | Fancast has a large database of links. The site has a really good search function which will allow you to find the TV show you are trying to find in no time
3. TV.com | TV.com is a social network where you can talk about TV episodes. Their main focus isn’t around Video links, and their site isn’t as intuitive as other sites. But they do have a wide range of links.
4. Missedashow | Although it’s not the fastest site, it definite has a lot of links.
5. SurftheChannel | This is a great site when looking for recent airings of a TV show. Although I think the TV networks are catching on to this site, because some of the show I used to watch are starting to lose all the links they once had.

USA Net

If you are downloading anything from torrents ::ahem:: windows 7 beta download ::/ahem:: you better be careful with the files you are downloading. The only way to know the file you are downloading hasn’t been tampered with is to check it with an MD5 hash checker.  

Not all files have a verified source providing the hash marks. So in that case, run an updated virus scanner on the file and just hope you haven’t downloaded anything that will kill your computer.

Click here to download a FREE windows MD5 hash checker.

If you are interested in downloading the latest version of the windows operating system code name Blackcomb and Vienna, you are kind of out of luck. Microsoft has closed the customer windows 7 beta preview and are no longer offering the download. But if you’re an avid web surfer you know that you can get the software elsewhere. And if you act fast you can still get a serial number here 

If you are downloading the package via torrent make sure you check to see if the hash marks match the official version. Otherwise you might be getting a virus or a corrupt version. Below are the correct hash marks

CRC32: E8A1C394
MD5: 8867C13330F56A93944BCD46DCD73590
SHA-1: 7D1F486CA569EFFFFB719CFB48355BB7BF499712

If you are unsure how to check the hash marks check tomorrows post for a free md5 checker.

Oh and to be on the extra safe side you better run your download with a virus scanner.

If you are on facebook and twitter you know that when you are updating your status you are limited to about 140 chars. If you want to post a link don’t post a link like this http://robbiekaze.com/internet-tips/how-to-by-pass-megavideo-time-limit/11

Goto http://uforgot.me and shrink your URL, here is the new URL after I shrunk it http://uforgot.me/ucuzeh

Give it a try for yourself!

Oh yea follow me on twitter @robbiekaze =)

Conficker also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm that surfaced in October 2008 and targets the Microsoft Windows operating system. The widely known virus was set to activate today on April 1st, once activated the virus will allow the hackers to capture secure data such as passwords and other critical operating information.

If you haven’t installed an antivirus package on your computer, this is the best time to do so. So far the virus has affected over a couple of million of computers. Although the virus was suppose to activate today there hasn’t been any major reports of the virus.

There are several reason why the virus hasn’t activated yet.

1. There was a bug in the system and it didn’t activate properly
2. The hackers decided to hold off until the heat about the virus cools down
3. The internet professionals and security experts stop the communication between the infected computers and the main host computer

Regardless of the reasons the virus didn’t activate your best bet is to stay safe, and install an antivirus software on your computer. There are a lot of free solutions to to protecting yourself. AVG offers a free download that will protect your computer. Stay protected.

Happy web surfing!

*** As of this writting, this virus only affects PC based computers.

There are many web hosting company claiming their web hosting is the cheapest and most reliable. In order to help my readers find you the best web hosting companies I have reviewed a couple web hosting companies I have worked with.

Lunarpages

5 out of 5 stars

Lunarpages has one of the best support teams I have worked with. I have called, emailed and bugged their tech support many times. And I can personally say they have helped me with all my problems. When ever i get a new web design or web programming contract, I always try to point them to LP. Right now they have a sale going that is unbeatable. For under $5 dollars a month, you get unlimited bandwidth, file space, and a free domain name. This is an unbeatable deal.

At first I was taken back at their unlimited deal, I even called an asked what the catch was. Simply put they said as long as the files stored are used on your website you are ok. So try not to back up your whole computer.

Hostgator

4 out of 5 stars

Hostgator offers everything you need for serious website. Hostgator is currently only offers Linux hosting, but will be offering windows hosting in the soon. I really don’t count this as a draw back because honestly who is using a windows server now-n-days. The packages – Baby and Swamp – allows for unlimited “add-on” domains, which is very useful for any serious web developer, especially if you have multiple web sites. The cPanel (control panel) is one of the best control panels in the web and with the Fantastico script installer, you can set up your website with the best open source scripts with just a few mouse clicks.

A big plus about Hostgator are their state of the art server. All of their Dual Xenon servers are hosted in a data centers in Dallas TX. They offer 99% uptime guarantee, which is the standard in the industry.

1and1

4 out of 5 stars

1and1’s dedicated support is based in the United States in suburban Philadelphia. What’s good about this web hosting company is that they have moved up to their top-of-the-line Titan Linux root servers. All transactions can be done online, even cancellations and technical support claims, Most of the time 1and1 will get back to you within a few minutes.

1and1 are always upgrading their server hardware to ensure the best performance and connection possible. Its data centers are constantly protected and monitored by automated support systems that also allow maintenance and analysis for all linked clients. Furthermore, the industry standards of safety, power, security, connectivity and performance are surpassed by the advanced data centers of 1and1.

Siteground

4 out of 5

Although siteground’s website isn’t the prettiest thing on the net, they definitely make it up with their great support staff. Once you work with siteground a couple of times you will be very impressed with the quality of the work of their staff. Siteground like most hosting companies offers a cPanel and Fantastico making it easy to set up blogs or ecommerce sites.

But aside from this, you will be surprised and pleased at how fast every page in the cPanel loads. This is possible because of the 1G connection, clients can download and upload data with speeds even higher than 10MB/s. Now, who wouldn’t want to have a fast server like what Siteground has?

Post your own reviews in the comment boxes. 

Enter To Win A Free MegaVideo Account

Megavideo.com is a popular youtube style video streaming website. If you are anything like me you usually don’t have time to watch a lot of TV. Between working, going to school, and doing what seems like a 100 things at once. Usually the only time to catch a  TV show is between 1 to 2am at night (the time when you get home from a bar).

If you been to surfthechannel.com and you have tryed to watch more that 72 mins of megavideo in 24hrs. Here are a couple of tips to bypass or quickly reset that timelimit.

Clear cookies and change your ip address.

Really the only way megavideo can track you is two way client side and server side tracking.

Internet Explorer

1. download firefox (why are you using internet explorer?)
2. continue below

Firefox.

1. Click tools -> Clear Private Data or press (ctrl + shift + del)
2. uncheck all the options except for cache and cookies
3. press Clear Private Data Now
4. unplug your router for about 60 seconds. and then plug it back in.

(You may have to unplug your router a few times to get a new IP address… )

You should be able to refresh you browser and continue watching your shows (for another 72mins). If for any reason this doesn’t work check to see if you have a static IP address from your ISP. This trick will only work if you have a dynamic IP address.

***After some research some people are reporting there is a second method.

This trick applies to all browsers.

1. Click on the video that you want to watch.
2. press play on the video
3. then pause the video and just let it buffer all the way
4. unplug your computer from the internet or disconnect it from your wireless network
5. watch your video. If the video was buffered all the way you can now watch the video with out any problems
6. when you want to watch a new video or surf the internet again, just reconnect your computer back to you wireless network

Give it a try

here is a link to How I Met Your Mother season 1, eps 1.