Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Lesson 05
Reporting Aggregated Data Using the Group Functions
?# What are group functions?
Group functions operate on sets of rows to give one result per group.
!# Types of Group Functions
* AVG, COUNT, MAX, MIN, STDDEV, SUM, VARIANCE
!# Group Functions: Syntax
Select group_function(column), ... From table [Where condition] [Order By column];
You can use AVG and SUM for numeric data.
Select AVG(salary), MAX(salary), MIN(salary), SUM(salary) From employees Where job_id LIKE '%REP%';
You can use MIND and MAX for numeric, character, and date data types
Select MIN(hire_date), MAX(hire_date) From employees;
COUNT(*) returns the number of rows in a tabel
Select COUNT(*) From employees Where department_id = 50;
COUNT(DISTINCT expr) return the number of distinct non-null values of exp.
To display the number of distinct department values in the EMPLOYEES tabel:
Select COUNT(DISTINCT department_id) From employees;
Group functions ignore null values in the column:
Select AVG(commission_pct) From employees;
The NVL functions forces group functions to include null values:
Select AVG(NVL(commission_pct, 0 )) From employees;
Creating Groups of Data:
GROUP BY Clause Syntax
Select column, group_function(column) From table [Where condition] [GROUP BY group_by_expression] [Order By column];You can divide rows in a table into smaller groups by using the GROUP BY clause.
All columns in the Select list that are not in group functions must be in the GROUP BY clause.
Select department_id, AVG(salary) From employees GROUP BY department_id;
The GROUP BY column does not have to be in the Select list.
Select AVG(salary) From employees GROUP BY department_id;
Using the Group by Clause on Multiple Columns
Select department_id, job_id, SUM(salary) From employees Where department_id > 40 Group By department_id, job_id Order By department_id;
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Lesson 04
select to_char( salary, '$99,999,00') Salary from employees where last_name = 'Ernst'; select last_name, to_char( hire_date, 'DD-Mon-YYYY') from employees where hire_date < to_date('01-Jan-90','DD-Mon-RR'); select last_name, upper(concat(substr(last_name, 1, 8), '_US')) from employees where department_id = 60; select last_name, salary, NVL(commission_pct, 0 ), (salary*12) + (salary*12*NVL(commission_pct, 0 )) AN_SAL from employees; select last_name, salary, commission_pct, NVL2(commission_pct, 'SAL+COMM', 'SAL') income from employees where department_id IN (50 , 80); select first_name, length(first_name) "expr1", last_name, length (last_name) "expr2", NULLIF(length(first_name), length(last_name)) result from employees; select last_name, employee_id, coalesce(to_char(commission_pct), to_char(manager_id), 'No commission and no manager') from employees; select last_name, job_id, salary, case job_id when 'IT_PROG' then 1.10* salary when 'ST_CLERK' then 1.15*salary when 'SA_REP' then 1.20*salary else salary end "revised_salary" from employees; select last_name, job_id, salary, DECODE(job_id, 'IT_PROG', 1.10*salary, 'ST_CLERK', 1.15*salary, 'SA_REP', 1.20*salary, salary) REVISED_SALARY from employees; select last_name, salary, DECODE (TRUNC(salary/2000, 0), 0, 0.00, 1, 0.09, 2, 0.20, 3, 0.30, 4, 0.40, 5, 0.42, 6, 0.44, 0.45) TAX_RATE from employees where department_id = 80;
Lesson 03
select employee_id, last_name, department_id from employees where LOWER(last_name) = 'higgins'; select employee_id, concat ( first_name, last_name) Name, job_id, Length (last_name), instr (last_name, 'a') "Contains 'a'?" from employees where substr(job_id, 4 ) = 'REP'; select round (45.923,2), round(45.923,0),round(45.923,-1) from dual; select trunc(45.923,2),trunc(45.923),trunc(45.923,-1) from dual; select last_name, salary, mod(salary, 5000) from employees where job_id = 'SA_REP'; select last_name, hire_date from employees where hire_date < '01-FEB-88'; select sysdate from dual; select last_name, (sysdate-hire_date)/7 as Weeks from employees where department_id = 90;
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Lesson 02
select employee_id, last_name, job_id, department_id from employees where department_id = 90; select last_name, job_id, department_id from employees where last_name = 'Whalen'; select last_name from employees where hire_date = '17-feb-96'; select last_name, salary from employees where salary = 3000; select last_name, salary from employees where salary between 2500 and 3500; select employee_id, last_name, salary, manager_id from employees where manager_id in (100,101,201); select first_name from employees where first_name like 'S%'; select last_name from employees where last_name like '_o%'; select last_name, manager_id from employees where manager_id is null; select employee_id, last_name, job_id, salary from employees where salary >= 1000 and job_id like '%MAN%'; select employee_id, last_name, job_id, salary from employees where salary >= 1000 or job_id like '%MAN%'; select last_name, job_id from employees where job_id not in ('IT_PROG','ST_CLERK','SA_REP'); select last_name, job_id, salary from employees where job_id = 'SA_ReP' or job_id = 'AD_PRES' and salary > 15000; select last_name, job_id, department_id, hire_date from employees order by hire_date; select last_name, job_id, department_id, hire_date from employees order by hire_date desc; select last_name, job_id, department_id, hire_date from employees order by 3; select last_name, department_id, salary from employees order by department_id, salary desc; select employee_id, last_name, salary, department_id from employees where employee_id = &employee_num; select last_name, department_id, salary *12 from employees where job_id = '&job_title'; define employee_numb = 200 select employee_id, last_name, salary, department_id from employees where employee_id = &employee_numb undefine employee_numb;
Lesson 01
Basic SELECT Statement
Select *| {[DISTINCT] column|expression [alias],....} From table;Select identifies the columns to be displayed.
From identifies the table containing those columns.
Select * From departments;
Writing SQL Statements
# SQL statements are not case-sensitive.
# SQL statements can be entered on one or more lines.
# Keywords cannot be abbreviated or split acros lines.
# Clauses are usually placed on separete lines.
# Indents are used to enhance readability.
# In SQL Developer, SQL statements can optionally be terminated by a semicolon(;).
# Semicolons are required when you execute multiple SQL statements.
# In SQL*Plus, you are required to end each SQL statement with a semicolon(;)
select department_id from departments; select last_name, salary, salary + 300 from employees; select last_name, salary, 12*salary+100 from employees; select last_name, salary, 12*(salary+100) from employees; select last_name, job_id, salary, commission_pct from employees; select last_name, 12*salary*commission_pct from employees; select last_name AS name, commission_pct com from employees; select last_name "name", salary*12 "annual salary" from employees; select last_name||job_id as "employees" from employees; select last_name || ' is a '|| job_id as "employee details" from employees; select department_name || q'[ Department's Manager ID:]' || manager_id as "department and manager" from departments; select department_id from employees; select distinct department_id from employees; describe employees; SELECT first_name, last_name, job_id, salary AS yearly FROM employees;
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Basic Windows Application
// Hello, world! program #includevoid main() { printf("Hello, world!\n"); }
And this is how it look's "Hello, World!" Windows style.
#include// main Windows headers // the main entry point to your program int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nShowCmd) { // show a very simple message box with the text “Hello, world!” displayed MessageBox(NULL, TEXT("\tHello, world!"), TEXT("My First Windows Application"), NULL); return 0; }
compiled with vs 2008 express
Halo Legends
Zeitgeist: Addendum
According to director Peter Joseph, the film attempts to locate the root causes of this pervasive social corruption, while offering a solution.In its conclusion, Addendum stresses the need for belief systems to embrace the ideas of emergence and interdependence. He outlines concrete steps that can be taken to weaken the monetary system. The film suggests actions for social transformation, which include boycotts of the large banks that make up the Federal Reserve System, the mainstream media, the military, and energy companies. It is also suggested that people reject the political structure.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Test Java 01
/* * To change this template, choose Tools | Templates * and open the template in the editor. */ package elsoexire; /** * * @author Razuro */ public class Datum { private int ev = 2010; private int honap = 10; private int nap = 13; public Datum() { this.ev = 2010; this.honap = 10; this.nap = 13; } public Datum(int ev ,int honap, int nap) { //return ( $y % 4 == 0 && ( $y % 100 != 0 || $y % 400 == 0 ) )? true : false; setEv(ev); setHonap(honap); setNap(nap); } public void setEv(int ev) { if(ev >= 1 & ev <= 3000){ this.ev = ev; } } public void setHonap(int honap) { if(honap >= 1 & honap <= 12){ this.honap = honap; } } public void setNap(int nap) { if(((this.ev % 4 == 0 && ( this.ev % 100 != 0 || this.ev % 400 == 0 )) == true) & (this.honap == 2) ){ if(nap >= 1 & nap <= 29){ this.nap = nap; }else{ this.nap = 0; } } if(nap >= 1 & nap <= 31){ if((this.honap <= 6) & nap <= 30 & this.honap != 2){ this.nap = nap; } else if(this.honap >= 7 & nap <= 30) { this.nap = nap; } else if((nap < 28) & this.honap == 2) { this.nap = nap; } } else if(this.honap %2 != 0){ if((this.honap >= 8 ) & nap <= 30){ this.nap = nap; } if(this.honap <= 7){ this.nap = nap; } } } } @Override public String toString() { return "Datum{" + "ev=" + ev + "honap=" + honap + "nap=" + nap + '}'; } }
Monday, May 24, 2010
Trinigy Vision SDK v7.6.3
Leadwerks Engine SDK v2.3
SpeedTree v5.0
GLBasic SDK v7.203 Premium
Worldweaver DX Studio Pro v3.2.1
3DSimED v2.6a
Game Maker v8.0 Pro
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Protecting yourself when downloading using µTorrent
Friday, March 19, 2010
Battle of the Thumb Drive Linux Systems
Damn Small Linux 4.4.6
Ultra-small (and efficient) Linux distribution using an older version of the Linux kernel (great for real old hardware, not so hot for the newer stuff).- Min. requirements: 486 Intel processor with 24MB RAM.
- Image size: 50MB (forever, according to project leaders).
- Boot time: 23.1 seconds.
- Features: Firefox and super-slim Dillo browser both available. Access to tons of built-in, geeky tools like SSH/FTP servers; Built-in Conky display. Right-click access to nearly anything.
- Needs improvement: Cluttered menus (necessarily so, perhaps). Hardware detection is tricky - missed, or just didn't set up, my ThinkPad's USB mouse, Intel Wi-Fi card, and integrated sound. Graphics are definitely old-school VESA, which might grate on some.
- Who would like it: Anyone with really, really old hardware, or those who feel comfortable at a command line or in networking jargon.
Puppy Linux 4.1
This light bootable system can run from a USB stick, but if a system has more than 256MB of RAM, Puppy can move itself entirely onto a "ram disk," letting the user pull out their portable drive and keep working. Read Gina's walk-through of Puppy for details.- Min. requirements: Pentium 166MMX with 128MB RAM.
- Image size: 94MB
- Boot time: First boot: 43.5 seconds, with pauses for interface prompts; More if choosing better XORG video driver. Boot after session saved and configuration set: 32 seconds.
- Features: Network connection wizard can get most decently savvy users online. Support for MP3s and other proprietary media (even Blu-Ray burning!) on first boot-up. Many unique tools (Puppy podcast grabber, PDF converter, custom Puppy distro maker) and good picks (GParted partition editor, password manager). Wizards offered for most hardware types not auto-detected and other tasks.
- Needs improvement: The gauntlet of first-boot questions and video options can be trying (suggested video modes not working, choices not entirely clear). Wireless config worked when manually set up, then disappeared. Like Damn Small Linux, menus can be cluttered and hard to navigate.
- Who would like it: Those looking to dedicate a thumb drive, or at least most of it, to a working, fast-moving, persistent desktop.
Xubuntu 8.04
Basically the Ubuntu platform, optimized to run the lighter Xfce desktop manager.- Min. Requirements: 128MB RAM for live session (192 to install); Pentium-class processor assumed.
- Image size: 544MB
- Boot time: 48.4 seconds.
- Features: Ubuntu-specific apps and tools (Add/Remove programs, Firefox modifications, settings manager, etc.). Switch-able support for GNOME and/or KDE apps. Can install in Windows without partition changes (via Wubi). Network manager offers most painless wireless connections. Native support for NTFS drive access.
- Needs improvement: No built-in persistence option. Systems near the low end of RAM requirements will feel the pinch with multiple apps open.
- Who would like it: Basically, anybody who favors an Ubuntu system, but would like a slimmed-down version run from a USB stick, with a few of its programs remixed.
Fedora 9 Live
The Fedora Project has its own handy, Windows-friendly Live USB maker that makes adding Fedora to your USB drive—without damaging your other data—pretty simple. Read our Fedora-on-a-stick guide for more info.- Min. requirements: 400 MHz Pentium II, 256MB RAM.
- Image size: Approx. 725MB.
- Boot time: 45.5 seconds.
- Features: Support for PowerPC hardware on even the newest Fedora releases. Customized "persistent overlay" for storing documents and data. Generally strong, updated GNOME and KDE desktops, with some new features added quickly.
- Needs improvement: Enabling NTFS drive access and proprietary media playing would've been nice defaults. Occasional hang-ups when accessing certain system features. Bleeping and chirping system sounds get old very fast.
- Who would like it: Anyone who has enough computer power, and USB space, to want a complete, up-to-date GNOME or KDE desktop running.
Top 10 Cross-Platform Apps that Run on Windows, OS X, Linux, and More
Whether your important data lives in the cloud, on your laptop, or on a different operating system, you shouldn't have to use sub-par tools to get at it. These downloads work with every major operating system, along with some not-so-major (mobile) ones.
All of these applications run on all three major operating systems—Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux—and most can be loaded onto a thumb drive and run as a portable app on any Windows system. Some can also be accessed from the web, and a few have dedicated mobile apps for most phone platforms. We've distinguished which apps work where at the front of each item. If we've missed any platforms, please tell us so (politely!) in the comments.
10. Buddi
Computers: Buddi is a financial management application developed with financial non-experts in mind. Sure, it can import your CSV file from a bank or financial firm, and it does all the standard financial calculations and projections. But the way it switches between money figures, and walks you through the importing and setting up of your accounts, makes it a real open-source find, and you can easily swap profiles between your laptop and desktop systems, if needed. Looking for something with a bit more mathematical oomph? Money management alternative GnuCash has you covered.
9. KeePass
Computers, portable, cellphones: You use a multitude of applications and web sites that require passwords, license keys, and administrator codes. On one computer alone, that makes it worth having a central vault for all that stuff. If you use more than one computer, having a consistent KeePass database is really, really helpful. Encrypt your master password database with a file only you have access to, and/or a truly secure single password, and you can take that list just about anywhere—on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhones, Android, BlackBerry, Palms, on a USB drive, or pretty much anywhere. Open-source coders love to write KeePass apps, so there's a very good chance you'll always have this clever password management system at your side. For help getting started with KeePass, check out Gina's guide to securely tracking passwords. (It also works great in conjunction with Dropbox.
8. TrueCrypt
Computers: TrueCrypt is a multi-platform security tool for encrypting and protecting files, folders, or entire drives. The software behind it is open source, and so likely to be supported and developed beyond its current version and platforms. It's only on Windows, Mac, and Linux at the moment (though that's no small feat), but it can be made to run as a portable app, and its encryption standards—AES, Serpent, and Twofish—are supported by many other encryption apps that can work with it. In other words, TrueCrypt makes you feel better about taking all the revealing information about yourself or your work on the road. Check our guide to encrypting your data for more.
7. Thunderbird
Computers, portable: Mozilla's desktop email client is an excellent tool for reading, sending, and archiving email, even if it doesn't get a ton of love these days—seeing as how seemingly everyone's doing their email thing on the web. But even if you don't use it as your main email client, Thunderbird remains the most reliable way to back up your email from any service and, in most cases, still access it when the web interface goes down. With the imminent release of Thunderbird 3, and the portable version to follow right after, Thunderbird might just turn a few more folks back to the idea of desktop email.
6. Pidgin and Adium
Computers, portable: They're not the same program, but they come from the same open-source roots. These instant messaging clients do the yeoman's work of connecting to all the major chat protocols and helping you maintain a universal buddy list. Pidgin does the job adequately, if without a ton of pizazz, on Windows and Linux clients (you can spice it up a bit with these snazzy plug-ins), while Adium, compiled from the same libpurple code library, is written with OS X's glassy looks in mind. Both are crucial if you don't want to run multiple memory-sucking IM clients on all your machines.
5. Miro
Computers, portable: Miro doesn't get enough love (here or elsewhere) for being a pretty great all-in-one aggregator for all the video on the web. The open-source video player handles video podcast feeds, Hulu streams (which you can subscribe to, show-by-show, TiVo-style), live streams, local files, and anything else with moving pictures with ease and grace, and you can take it wherever you go to ensure you can watch your favorite web-accessible or desktop videos.
4. 7-Zip
Computers, portable: 7-Zip doesn't have the sexiest job on a computer, but since no two operating systems accept all the same compressed file formats, it's an essential download. It tackles the RAR files that file sharers are so fond of, makes sense of .tar and .gz files on Windows systems, and has its own compression format (.7z) that's space-saving and quick.
3. Firefox
Computer, portable, and (coming soon on non-Maemo devices) mobile: Even if you don't think it's the absolute fastest or most cutting-edge browser, Firefox is safer than the well-known standard on most Windows systems, and it's customizable in every last detail. That makes it worth keeping on your USB drive as a go-to option for browsing at the in-laws or at home. With add-ons like Xmarks or Weave, it's also easy to keep your bookmarks—and keyword bookmark searches—within reach on any system. And when Firefox Mobile, a.k.a. Fennec, makes its debut on mobile phones, we might see some rather awesome synchronization of everything, right down to the last tab you had open at home.
2. Dropbox
Computers, web, mobile: Dropbox creates a single folder that you'll always be able to access, no matter where you are. That folder can actually sync files and folders from anywhere on your system, but the concept remains the same—instant backup for anything you drop in one location, across multiple computers, through Dropbox's web site, on the iPhone, and on mobile browsers. That makes it perfect for music you love to listen to, documents you need to work on, and photos you pick up at a relative's house. In other words, feel free to stop emailing yourself.
1. VLC Media Player
Computer, portable: Managing the multitude of codecs, formats, and restrictions on media files, from one system to another, is a pain you don't need. VLC Media player, installed on any system, just works. It's built with the goods to process, convert, resize, and stream just about any file you can find with audio or video, and its presence on a USB drive ensures nobody ever comes up embarrassed when their nephew's soccer video just won't play, even though, they swear, it worked just yesterday. For a guide on making the most of VLC's cross-codec powers, read Adam's tips on mastering your digital media with VLC.
Five Best Portable Apps Suites
Once upon a time, easy remote computing was a pipe dream, now people routinely carry gigs of data around on flash drives smaller than a modest pack of chewing gum. Manage your apps and data with these portable application suites.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite portable application suite with us. We've tallied the votes and now we're back with the top five nominations for your review. A note on the reviews: portable applications suites usually contain dozens and dozens of individual applications. We'll be unable to list every single one here and we urge you to visit the site of the suite to check out the full application list.
LiberKey (Windows, Free)
LiberKey doesn't have the polished menu found in the PortableApps suite, but its menu is functional and conveniently arranged by program type. LiberKey opts to put things in categories labeled according to what they do, so even if you've never seen an application that is included in the LiberKey suite you'll have a pretty good idea that it's a Color Picker or Security Tool based on the folder you find it in. It's a useful feature given that the Ultimate installation installs around 250 applications—you're bound to see quite a few you've never used before.
PortableApps Suite (Windows, Free)
PortableApps is the Grand Daddy of portable application sites. Between John Haller—the founder of the site—and the dozens of developers, packagers, translators, and the hundreds of people that participate in the forums, the sheer number of people working to polish the PortableApps suite has resulted in a very comprehensive package. The PortableApps suite includes basics like Firefox for browsing and Pidgin for instant messaging but also includes—in the full package—Open Office. You could download all the individual portable components separately of course, but what really ties everything together is the PortableApps menu system. Seen in the screenshot above, the menu system is clean, includes a backup utility, and makes organizing your portable apps and documents simple.
Portable Linux (Free)
Many of you took the stance that running portable apps in Windows was great but way too restrictive. Booting a computer into a distinct operating system gives power users the ability to run the machine as their own without any risk to the native operating system on the machine. You can find dozens and dozens of Linux distributions which can be modified or tweaked to run off a portable drive. If you're just getting started with using a LiveUSB version of Linux, however, we'd suggest taking a peak at one of our past features on portable Linux use: Battle of the Thumb Drive Linux Systems—one of the contestants, Puppy Linux, is pictured in the screenshot above. If you want to get a sense the number of Live Linux versions out there, check out The LiveCD List here.
Geek.Menu (Windows, Free)
Geek.Menu is a branch in the PortableApps development tree. Geek.Menu uses the same convenient installation files from PortableApps.com that the original PortableApps suite uses. The layout is similar but Geek.Menu has several key enhancements—you can check them out here—like support for TrueCrypt, creation of categories within the menu structure, and automatic application execution on menu startup. You'll note—from the screenshot above—that Geek.Menu doesn't come preloaded with software. To get Geek.Menu off to a quick start you can download the PortableApps suite and swap out the menu systems.
Lupo PenSuite (Windows, Free)
Lupo PenSuite mashes up a familiar looking menu with a huge offering of applications. Taking a note from the LiberKey school of portable suite production, Lupo PenSuite throws everything at you but the kitchen sink. Need to tinker in the Windows Registry? Lupo PenSuite has 8 applications just for registry editing. You can check out the full app log at this link. If you're looking for a suite that sports everything from a web browser to a DVD burner and everything in between including security tools and torrent clients, Lupo PenSuite has quite a list of offerings.
Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters
So many video file formats, so many handheld video players, so many online video sites, and so little time. To have your favorite clips how you want them—whether that's on your DVR, iPod, PSP or desktop—you need the right utility to convert 'em into the format that works for you. Commercial video converter software's aplenty, but there are several solid free utilities that can convert your video files on every operating system, or if you've just got a web browser and a quick clip. Put DVDs on your iPod, YouTube videos on DVD, or convert any video file with today's top 10 free video rippers, encoders and converters.
10. VLC media player (Open source/All platforms)
Ok, so VLC is a media player, not converter, but if you're watching digital video, it's a must-have—plus VLC can indeed rip DVD's, as well as play ripped discs in ISO format (no actual optical media required.) VLC can also play FLV files downloaded from YouTube et al, no conversion to AVI required. Since there's a portable version, VLC's a nice choice for getting your DVD rips/saved YouTube video watching on wherever you go.
9. MediaCoder (Open source/Windows)
Batch convert audio and video compression formats with the open source Media Coder for Windows, which works with a long laundry lists of formats, including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, AAC+, AAC+V2, MusePack, WMA, RealAudio, AVI, MPEG/VOB, Matroska, MP4, RealMedia, ASF/WMV, Quicktime, and OGM, to name a few.8. Avi2Dvd (Freeware/Windows)
Make your video files burnable to a DVD with Avi2Dvd, a utility that converts Avi/Ogm/Mkv/Wmv/Dvd files to Dvd/Svcd/Vcd format. Avi2Dvd can also produce DVD menus with chapter, audio, and subtitle buttons.7. Videora Converter (Freeware/Windows only)
Videora Converter is a set of programs, each designed to convert regular PC video files into a format tailored to your favorite video-playing handheld device. The Videora program list includes iPod Video Converter (for 5th gen iPods), iPod classic Video Converter (for 6th gen classic iPods), iPod nano Video Converter (for 3rd gen iPod nanos), iPod touch Video Converter, iPhone Video Converter, Videora Apple TV Converter, PSP Video 9, Videora Xbox360 Converter, Videora TiVo Converter, and Videora PMP Converter. Lifehacker alum Rick Broida used Videora in conjunction with DVD Decrypter to copy DVDs to his iPod.Honorable Mention: Ares Tube for Windows converts YouTube and other online videos to iPod format.
6. Any Video Converter (Freeware/Windows only)
Convert almost all video formats including DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI to MPEG-4 movie format for iPod/PSP or other portable video device, MP4 player or smart phone with Any Video Converter, which also supports user-defined video file formats as the output. Batch process multiple files that AVC saves to a pre-selected directory folder, leaving the original files untouched.5. Hey!Watch (webapp)
Web application Hey!Watch converts video located on your computer desktop as well as clips hosted on video sites. Upload your video to Hey!Watch to encode it into a wide variety of file formats, like H264, MP4, WMV, DivX, HD Video, Mobile 3GP/MP4, iPod, Archos and PSP. Hey!Watch only allows for 10MB of video uploads per month for free, and from there you pay for what you use, but it's got lots of neat features for video publishers like podcast feed generation and automatic batch processing with options you set once.4. VidDownloader (webapp)
When you don't want to mess with installing software to grab that priceless YouTube clip before it gets yanked, head over to web site VidDownloader which sucks in videos from all the big streaming sites (YouTube, Google Video, iFilm, Blip.TV, DailyMotion, etc.), converts 'em for you to a playable format and offers them for download. Other downloaders for online video sites buy you a Flash FLV file, but VidDownloader spits back an AVI file.3. iSquint (Freeware/Mac OS X only)
Convert any video file to iPod-sized versions and automatically add the results to your iTunes library. iSquint is free, but Lifehacker readers have praised the pay-for iSquint upgrade, VisualHub, which offers more advanced options for a $23 license fee. Check out the feature comparison chart between iSquint and VisualHub.2. DVD Shrink (Freeware/Windows only)
Copy a DVD to your hard drive and leave off all the extras like bonus footage, trailers and other extras to save space with DVD Shrink. Download Adam's one-click AutoHotkey/DVD Shrink utility to rip your DVDs to your hard drive for skip-free video play from scratchy optical media.Honorable mention: DVD Decrypter (beware of advertisement interstitial page), which Windows peeps can use to copy DVDs to their iPods.
1. Handbrake (Open source/Windows, Mac)
Back up your DVD's to digital file with this open source DVD to MPEG-4 converter app. See also how to rip DVDs to your iPod with Handbrake.