Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO–A schoolboy and his father have unleashed software that lets people listen to YouTube’s vast collection of music videos as if it were a private collection.

Muziic software created by 15-year-old David Nelson enables computers to mine YouTube’s rich database of songs and play customized lists of tunes free of charge.

“The Muziic player is a pretty cool little thing,” said analyst Matt Rosoff of technology industry tracking firm Directions On Microsoft.

“It looks and works a lot like iTunes in that it is a downloable desktop application; but you get all the content from YouTube. You have an all-in-one-place library of music for free.”

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Witnesses have quickly posted a video of the plane crash in Buffalo, New York.

Here’s one of the video clips posted on YouTube by user SpikeTheCowboy711 who lives in Buffalo, New York.

Excerpt of the details of the crash:

NEW YORK — (UPDATE) US media reports say 49 people were killed when a commercial plane crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York.

Officials told reporters several people were killed, including one on the ground, but declined to confirm reports that all 48 people on board the plane were killed.

US media reported the Continental Airlines plane was arriving from Newark, New Jersey before crashing some eight kilometers from the airport.

MSNBC said the plane hit the home and burst into flames at 10:10 pm (0310 GMT).

CNN showed burning wreckage in the center of a residential neighborhood and reported that two people were taken to a local hospital.

Agence France-Presse

VATICAN CITY–The Vatican will publish a report on Friday detailing the launch of Pope Benedict XVI’s own dedicated channel on YouTube, the Osservatore Romano newspaper said.

The deal with search engine giant Google, which owns the video sharing website, aims to “secure the Pope’s presence on the web,” the Vatican paper said Thursday, adding that Benedict has always had been “fond of new technologies.”

The report will be published when the German-born pontiff will officially launch his YouTube channel.

Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican’s communications department, told the paper the pope hopes to reach out to “the digital generation.”

By Marjorie Gorospe

“UNHAPPY the land that is in need of heroes.”

This is a notable quotation from German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It is now the core message of Mae Paner’s (a.k.a. Juana Change) latest video posted on YouTube.

Taking the role of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), Paner portrays a domestic helper who talks about how OFWs are often considered as “bagong bayani” or new heroes of the country due to sacrifices they make.

These new heroes work abroad, leaving their families behind to find jobs elsewhere.

“We do not need praises, we need money,” Juana Change says, as she tells a stranger on a plane about her feelings working abroad.

While more and more Filipinos work abroad as professionals, some end up doing jobs that are menial.

In the video, her character mocks government officials who go abroad to hide their ill-gotten wealth.

The video eventually ends with a familiar face: national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

It was as if Paner was showing the two faces of heroes. Rizal sacrificed his life for the country; while OFWs continue to sacrifice comfort and dignity to support their family and eventually our economy.

But as Bretch’s saying goes, this country still needs more heroes who have the genuine interest to serve the country minus personal interest, desire for power and corruption.

Watch her video:

This unexpected reaction from an Iraqi journalist is now getting more hits on YouTube. Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi from Al-Baghdadia television network threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on December 14, 2008.

Reports indicated that Bush later laughed off the incident.