Samad’s Blog

I’m currently thinking about starting a new site. I’ve run several websites, the most notable are DFWHyundais.com and an online store (no longer in existence, so no need for a URL). I’m thinking about starting a new site.. I want to do a store but I’m not sure what to sell. The other thought I’m having is some kind of community site, relating to a certain subject, for example Nintendo DS or Wii games. Of course, my blog will still be around.. this is just to keep me busy and out of trouble

Any ideas?

I keep a Yahoo e-mail account for security purposes.. usually whenever I sign up on a forum to ask a question and know that I won’t be staying there long I will give out that address. So today I went to check to see if any legit e-mails had been sent to that address - when I checked my Bulk Mail folder, this is what I saw:

Amazing! In the year 2038, when I’m 51 years old, I will be looking for a new car, some action, and auto insurance. Spectacular!

So Gmail recently rolled out with an IMAP service, and knowing some of the benefits of IMAP compared to POP I decided to switch over. I set everything up using Google’s guide for IMAP on WM6 to the word. However, I ran into issues as soon as the first Send/Receive action completed. For some reason, only the headers were downloading!! I didn’t think much of it, and since its a new service from Gmail I thought I might give it a few days for them to sort out the kinks and try again. Now I’m back on POP access.

But curiosity is never more than a hop, skip, and jump away.. and I wanted to see if I was the only one with these issues. Seems like I’m not. And here. Especially considering that the e-mail that was downloaded was all HTML based. So it definitely is a kink in Google’s system.. which will hopefully be sorted out soon (since they did state that they were “working on it”).

Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can finally use labels on my WM device!

Super Mario Bros. 3 has (finally) been released on Wii’s Virtual Console! Quite possibly one of the best games available of all time, the game is available for only 500 points on the system. Along with the original game, a few short minigames are included which really make it a sweet deal. I just downloaded my copy, and I know I’ll be playing for a really.. REALLY long time (or at least until Super Mario Galaxy is released next week!!)

I found out about it originally because of DigitalBattle.com, thanks you guys for posting about it!

Everyday, I receive 4-8 spam comments on my entries. I’ve only had this blog for what, a few months now?? Damn spammers, nothing better to do but fill up blogs and other websites with useless advertising for their fraudulent products. Fuck them!

A few posts ago, I wrote an article on how to download YouTube videos using Firefox with the GreaseMonkey add on. Now, we’ll cover how to download videos from Facebook. A lot of the text was similar, so instead of creating a completely original post I copied and edited my original post.
First, you will (obviously) need a Facebook account and you will need the Video application installed in order to watch any videos. The application is created by Facebook, so its a trustworthy application.

I’m not aware of any websites that you can use to download Facebook videos - you will need to go the software route. Personally I don’t see this as a downfall at all, because I can simply click “Download Video” while watching it without having to remember a lengthy URL of any sort. Also, I find it worthwhile because Facebook videos are generally better in quality (bit rate).

Let’s begin!

1. After installing Firefox, get the Grease Monkey add on - located here - you will need to restart Firefox after installing this add on.
2. Download and install the Facebook Video userscript - located here
3. Once the script has been installed, simply go to Facebook and find a video you like - underneath the player, to the right is a “Download Video” link (if it doesn’t show up, restart your browser). The link is located under the large “Share” button. Once you click the link, you will be offered an FLV file - find a place on your hard drive to save it and press OK. You’ve successfully downloaded your first video from Facebook!

But.. you can’t play this video in most players! You need some kind of FLV player, such as the one found here, or you need to convert it to a different format. I personally use Videora iPod converter to convert all types of video to iPod format, but you could easily use Quicktime Pro to convert or any other major conversion software. Just Google both programs to find the relevant websites. Once you’ve converted it, pop it into iTunes, transfer it to your iPod, and enjoy your new video!

So I’ve found myself into another complicated mess.. which I helped myself create. That’s so fucked up. Why do I do this to myself?

Downloading videos from Facebook.. coming soon.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvNfnPOFT8c]

I’ve recently started putting more videos on my iPod, and I’ve gotten tired of trying to find these videos on P2P programs and other various areas. As I frequent YouTube a lot, I thought there would be a way to download them from the site, however YouTube doesn’t offer a download service. So I decided to look around and find some way to download them, and I came across a bunch of crappy articles about it (though I must admit, a few were really good and helpful).

To sum it up, there are two ways to download.

A) Without any additional software - simply visit a site such as http://www.keepvid.com and you can download a YouTube video there in FLV format (you will need to rename the file you download). The only issue with this way is that if you frequently visit YouTube or other video hosting websites, its hard to keep track of all the URL’s. This is where the next way comes in handy.

B) With additional software. If you’re not using Firefox already, I suggest switching to it because its a LOT better than Internet Explorer.. and you need it for this method

1. After installing Firefox, get the Grease Monkey add on - located here - you will need to restart Firefox after installing this add on.
2. After completing step 1, you need to install the Download YouTube Video userscript located here
3. Once the script has been installed, simply go to YouTube and find a video you like - underneath the player is a “Download Now” link (if it doesn’t show up, restart your browser). If you click this link, it will offer the video to you with the extension .htm - just download it, and once it’s finished rename the file to have the .flv extension. You’ve successfully downloaded your first YouTube video!

But.. you can’t play this video in most players! You need some kind of FLV player, such as the one found here, or you need to convert it to a different format. I personally use Videora iPod converter to convert all types of video to iPod format, but you could easily use Quicktime Pro to convert or any other major conversion software. Just Google both programs to find the relevant websites.

That’s all you need to download and convert YouTube videos - next time, Facebook!

This was probably the biggest surprise launch I have seen on a Nintendo system in the USA. This game was released as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan, as a sequel to the original Mario Bros. we all know and love. Most Nintendo gamers have encountered this game in the past - Super Mario All-Stars had an “upgraded” version of this game, with better graphics. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for Gameboy Color also had this game as an unlockable. A few other versions of this game are out there as well, but for the first time in US history this game was released as the original Japanese import version on the Wii Virtual Console. It was released October 1st (2007), and costs 600 Wii points. Definitely worth every penny.

Since it was released on VC, I decided I wanted to play it on my DS and my cell phone whenever I wasn’t near the TV, so I went on a hunt for the ROM. After searching for approximately 6 days in a row, I was about to give up and just deal with having to play this game strictly at home. However, I finally found the ROM, patched it with an IPS patch to restore the start menu screen, and now its on my DS, my phone, and on my computer - so I can play whenever and wherever I want. It’s definitely an extremely addicting game, and if I had an NES I would definitely find an imported version somewhere (though it might cost a bit!)

I strongly suggest picking it up ASAP off of Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console, as they may remove it after a short while, like they did to the Australians and Europeans. If all else fails, just search for the ROM and play that - just remember that piracy is bad, and you should own the original copy of the game if you play a backup of it.

For those of you wondering how to create telephone links on web pages, the code is below. If someone with a mobile phone clicks this link on your web page, it will ask them to confirm the number and then proceed to call the number on the link. Note: I haven’t tested this with many cell phones, only Windows Mobile phones using PocketIE, and it works just fine.

<a href=”tel:##########”>Link Title</a>

It needs to conform to your country’s dialing rules, and the example above uses US dialing rules (10 digit number). If its long distance, add the one before it.