Flickr's streaming videos are concise, higher-quality than similar vid-sharing sites, and hard to download using web-based converters. Orbit Downloader, the runner-up to our readers' five favourite download managers, can grab the FLV file from a Flickr video and drop it wherever you'd like, and the software's maker has posted a short tutorial on how to pull it off. Orbit doesn't seem to work with Chrome all that well, but users of IE, Firefox, or Opera should have no trouble getting their files.

The Digital Inspiration blog points out that one can get ulimited access to the Video Training Company, a site with more than 70,000 video tutorials focused on software, programming, and other technology, with a three-letter promotional code. If you're determined not to have to bother anyone in accounting for advanced Excel tricks (or learn any software package or OS, really), enter rtm as a promotional code at the sign-up page below. The offer goes for one week, and may not last, so now's your chance to grab Quicktime or Flash-based how-to videos. Found an instructional vid worth sharing? Tell us about it in the comments.

Windows only: Free media file converter FormatFactory is a handy all-in-one utility for taking one kind of audio, video, or picture file and converting it to another. The interface is a dead-simple drag-and-drop affair, and it's meant for running batches of files through converters—FLVs to Windows Media, MPEGs to iPod-friendly video, DVDs to DivX files, etc. You won't get a lot of options for quality control, compression rate, or other tweaks, but for some folks, that's really a benefit. FormatFactory is a free download for Windows systems only.

Trying to find videos from some of your favourite video mega sites like YouTube and Daily Motion can be a pain on a phone. Web site VuClip provides a mobile-friendly search engine for a large pool of video sites, delivering those videos seamlessly to your phone. In my tests with a Windows Mobile phone and a Blackberry, watching YouTube videos via VuClip was a much more enjoyable experience than trying to use YouTube itself.

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Your crafty older relatives used to have to mail-order their video tutorials or wait for "This Old House" reruns to get their DIY on, but the age of streaming video has been good to those who like to tinker and try out neat tricks. From prying open beer bottles with telephone bills to picking locks, from sealing chips to folding T-shirts, we've posted a lot of concise but instructive clips at Lifehacker. Today we're featuring 10 of our favourites, chosen for the tricks they teach as well as their watchable quality. Get ready to fill some weekend project time.

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Wired's How-To Wiki steps through how to turn your Nintendo DS into a full-featured digital sketchbook with a homebrew application called Colours. With Colours installed, your DS's lower screen is the painting surface; the upper screen shows your image output. Getting started requires a homebrew hacking kit and some sleeve-rolling, but when you're done the results are really impressive. Hit the jump for a video of Colours in action to see what I mean.

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Windows Vista only: Freeware Vista Media Centre plug-in vmcNetFlix streams Netflix Watch Now videos to Windows Media Centre extenders, including the Xbox 360. You can also manage your queue, browse movies, and do just about anything else you'd want from a Netflix plug-in. Previously mentioned MyNetflix incorporated all of these features, but so far it does not support streaming to extenders. If you've been tempted by the new Netflix streaming box but don't want to throw down cash when you've already got a 360 in your home theatre, vmcNetFlix is a sure winner. It's in beta and still a touch buggy, but it's very promising. Hit the jump to check out a video of vmcNetFlix in action.

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You've been talking to (or screaming at) your Windows PC for years, but unless you were willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on pricey software, chances are it wasn't listening to a word you were saying. With Microsoft's new freeware tool, Windows Speech Recognition Macros, the days of you talking into your computer's unsympathetic ear are over. Not only is it listening, but it's up to the task of doing whatever you want it to.

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The Tombuntu blog points out that the latest Hardy Heron release of Ubuntu Linux doesn't play nice with multi-platform video/DVD converter HandBrake—at least not the version with a nice graphical interface. For those syncing their iPhone or iPod touch with Linux, or just wanting to get the job done, the author runs through using the command-line-controlled HandBrake CLI. There's one very simple command to modify and paste that should work for most systems, with options to scale the quality and add markers. Still want a GUI for this job? Try WinFF, which is also available for Windows.

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Windows only: Freeware application DExposE2 is a clone of Mac OS X's Expose feature for Windows XP and Vista. Aside from the basic Expose features, which we've seen from a lot of clones in the past, DExpose2 features a handful of extra features like interactive previews, hot corners, multi-monitor support, and more. If you like the look and feel of Expose but have never found a good substitute for your Windows PC, the freeware DExpose2 may be the best available. DExposE2 comes in portable and installable flavours, so you can check it out with a quick download and no install. Hit the jump for a video of DExposE2 in action.

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