Android/Mac: If you want to take screencasts or screenshots of your Android phone and instantly have them saved to your computer, AndroidTool makes the process as simple as a single click for Mac users.

Windows: Windows only lets you take simple screenshots out of the box, and its built-in screencasting tool doesn't even output a standard video file. oCam is a free utility that solves both of these problems.

Windows: Among the screen capture and encoding tools, Microsoft's name probably doesn't come up. Too bad, because their Expression Encoder offers a free, high-resolution screen capture tool that works great for how-to recordings, demonstrations, and other desktop video capture needs.

Trying to diagnose computer issues remotely is really hard unless you can see what's actually going on. The next time your someone needs your help with their computer, point them to ShowMeWhatsWrong and have them take a quick screencast.

Firefox: If you need a simple screen recording tool but don't want to install an extra application just for the task the CaptureFox extension brings screen recording to Firefox.

Screenr is a web-based screencasting application that makes sharing short screencasts painless.

Screencasting doesn't have to be a complicated affair. If all you need is a quick screencast to show a friend how to do something or commemorate your awesome Line Rider skills, Screenjelly can deliver.

If you need to create a simple screencast but don't want the hassle of installing and configuring software, ScreenCastle gets the job done from any Java-enabled web browser.

ScreenToaster, the totally web-based screencasting tool we took for a spin two months ago, has quietly rolled out a whole bunch of new features, including HD-quality YouTube uploads, Flash/QuickTime downloads, and more recording tools. The two big items in ScreenToaster's update are HD-quality auto-uploads from your final editing screen, along with the ability to download either a .swf Flash file or a .mov QuickTime movie from your full-screen or partial screencast. There's a drawback, however, in the form of a ScreenToaster logo embedded in the corner, and WebWorkerDaily reports that YouTube exporting loses any supplementary webcam footage and subtitles.

ScreenToaster, fresh out of restricted beta, is a web-based screencasting tool that can record your desktop from any computer with a browser and Java. It's great for quick demonstrations, and for beginners.

After signing up for a free account (name, password, email), you're pretty much set to go. Screentoaster supports Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari—actually, pretty much any browser that can run a Java applet. Get your desktop or apps set up, hit the "Start Recording" button on ScreenToaster's main page, and you'll end up with something like this:

Yesterday you saw a fuzzy video demonstration of Aero Peek, one of the new features coming in Windows 7. Peek supercharges Windows' taskbar thumbnail previews, and lets you view, close, and switch between multiple windows by just hovering over the taskbar thumbnail, as well as pin programs to the taskbar permanently. Here's a firsthand screencast of what this looks like in action on your desktop.

Tester invites started going out to the dramatically-overhauled new Yahoo Calendar beta, and we were one of the lucky ones to give it a spin. The new look and feel brings YCal into 2008 (finally!) with a dynamic interface including drag and drop events, Flickr integration, multiple calendar subscriptions and—gasp!—a built-in to-do list. For too long, YCal has looked like it was stuck in 1998, even though it launched way earlier than Google Calendar or other flashy web-based calendar tools, so we're thrilled to see it get back in the game. Let's take a look at the new YCal beta in action; a full screenshot and a quick screencast are yours below.

Windows only: Small utility KallOut integrates into popular desktop programs such as Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Firefox and lets you search the web for text found there. Simply highlight text inside the application (like PowerPoint) and right click to choose your search engine. Here's a video demonstration of the integration:

Photoshop funny-man Donnie Hoyle tackles displacement in the most recent tutorial of his "You Suck at Photoshop" series, explaining how to insert new layers on top of photos without making them look out of place. The video demonstrates the method by inserting a new name on top of a jersey and blending it in with both the shadows and texture of the cloth behind it. The method is simple enough and the results are impressive. Like all of Hoyle's guides, this one's borderline NSFW depending on whether or not you're wearing headphones. You Suck At Photoshop #13: Displacement

Windows/Mac OS X only: Free screenshot and screencast sharing application Jing—which we first mentioned a year ago—turned one this week, and to celebrate they've significantly upgraded their free storage and transfer offerings. You now get up to 2GB of screenshot and screencast storage and 2GB of transfer per month on Screencast.com, which is 10 times the space and double the bandwidth. I'm a huge fan of Jing as the easiest cross-platform tool I've used to quickly share screenshots or screencasts (it's great for offering quick tech support). Anything you make with Jing can automatically be saved to Screencast.com, a local folder or network drive, an FTP server, or even Flickr (new since we first covered it) for quick sharing. Jing is freeware, Windows and Mac OS X only. Jing

Hilarious (in the dark humor way) Photoshop tutorial guy Donnie Hoyle is back with another installment of "You Suck at Photoshop"—this one showing you the ins and outs of Smart Objects. See the previously posted episodes: Touch Up Your Pics in Photoshop, Master Photoshop's "Select Colour Range", Paths and Masks, and Distort, Warp, and Layer Effects plus Covering Your Mistakes and Manual and Clone Stamp.

Mozilla user experience guru Mike Beltzner demonstrates some of Firefox 3's best features in this detailed screencast.

New Flickr photo browser TagGalaxy explores the Flickr tag-o-verse using a planet metaphor. Type in a tag you're interested in, and TagGalaxy will instantly assemble a system of planets that represent those tags. Click on a planet to browse and zoom photos. Words don't do TagGalaxy's beautiful visualisation justice, so check out the screencast above for a quick demo if you're too lazy to head on over there yourself. (Sorry for the herky-jerkiness of the video, in reality it's smooth as silk on-page.) Tag Galaxy

We love screencasts because they can teach you how to get things done on your computer, but one creative filmmaker went beyond the howto and choreographed a full music video to Mac application actions. The result is the mesmerising video above, which will hopefully add a little fun (if not productivity) to your day. To find out more about the video, hit the link below for an interview with the creator. There's also a shortened Windows XP version. Got a screencast you want to share? Our system automatically embeds YouTube videos, so just drop 'em into the comments below. TUAW Interview: Filmmaker Dennis Liu