Higher definition YouTube collage: Rickrolling to new extremes

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While YouTube might be taking its time upgrading the resolution of uploaded videos, one enterprising developer has coded up a web page to display a synchronised YouTube video wall, allowing four videos to be played almost seamlessly.

It all feels a bit hit and miss, and relies on someone creating four videos, one for each quarter of a much larger original video.

Given that the highest non-widescreen YouTube videos currently play at 480 x 360 resolution, creating a 2×2 wall offers up a 960 x 720 video. It’s not quite high definition, and there’s definitely some judder, not to mention the YouTube watermark plastered all over the screen, but it’s an interesting experiment…

YouTube Video of the Week: Computer history via interpretive dance

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Again, not quite on YouTube, but I couldn’t resist this adorable video of pixellated office workers taking you through the history of computing in the form of interpretive dance. The music’s rather charming as well. I think we might have a rival to our very own Tech Trumpet.

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Google still trying to monetise YouTube, adds "click to buy" links on videos

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Google has long admitted that it’s having trouble making any money from its purchase of YouTube. The latest wheeze is to add clickable “Buy this now!” links on videos of buyable stuff. I’d love to show you you a less-grainy picture, but it only works in the USA so far. Check out the Amazon and iTunes links below the video.

The Goog is promising to expand the program internationally, as well as expanding the range of things it advertises next to. This scheme might also placate content owners, who will be happier to learn that there are now “Buy this” links next to the content that they own, but didn’t upload themselves…

YouTube Video of the Week: Musical Road

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This is a musical road. It’s near Lancaster, California, and was built for an advert. When you drive over the tarmac, it creates harmonics that play a tune. Obviously the faster you drive over it, the faster the song will be. Interesting to see the Doppler effect come into play, though, when other cars drive by.

Oh, and while we’re talking YouTube videos, Shiny Shiny have a brilliant XKCD comic this morning.

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This week, YouTube has been banned in… Kuwait

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Oh dear. The poor people of Kuwait will no longer be able to watch poorly-lit webcam footage of women dancing to Latin American hip hop in their underwear, thanks to a fresh batch of religious outrage.

As ever, it’s the old portraying-Mohammed issue that’s lead to Kuwaiti officials demanding a ban on the video streaming site, thanks to it featuring videos that could offend Muslims. Here’s how the Kuwaiti top brass demanded the ban in a memo to the country’s ISPs…