TextDiff Compares Your Documents and Files for Changes [Downloads]

Windows only: TextDiff is a simple and portable tool for quickly comparing and merging changes in documents and files.

Plug in a pair of documents and TextDiff will quickly highlight all the differences by line and by the portion of the line which has changed. You can ignore spaces and special characters, edit the text from within TextDiff, and generate reports highlighting the differences. For file comparisons you simply point TextDiff at the two different folders and it will highlight which files share names but otherwise fail to match each other.

For another text comparison tool, check out our guide to WinMerge. TextDiff is freeware, Windows only.

TextDiff [via The Portable Freeware Collection]

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UTube Ripper Saves and Converts YouTube Videos [Downloads]

Linux only: Video downloading utility UTube Ripper saves a copy of your favorite YouTube videos for your offline viewing pleasure, even converting them into a non-flash format.

Installation on Debian-based versions of Linux like Ubuntu is a breeze—just download the .deb file from the downloads page and double-click to install everything. You'll want to make sure that you have Adobe Flash and the ffmpeg library installed as well, or the utility won't end up working properly.

Once those steps are completed, you can launch the utility, paste in a link to a YouTube video and click the Download button to retrieve a copy. The Convert FLV section of the application will let you convert into MPG or AVI format, or you can use the "Rip audio only" option to convert a YouTube video into an MP3 file.

UTube Ripper [SourceForge via Addictive Tips]

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How Modern Processors Are Made [Science]

I knew that processors—like castles—are made of sand. But I didn't know they required stuff like ion implantation at more than 185,000mph, electroplating, and the creation of up to 20 metal layers of transistor connections in 500nm.

Thankfully, Intel has put together a slide show to tell how the little things are made, from sand grains to the final packaging, going through all the dicing, the slicing, and the dancing. [Intel via Dark Roasted Blend]

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YouTube Experiments With 3D Video; Supports Multiple Headache Technologies [YouTube]

One cross-eyed Googler has been spending his 20% on a 3D video display system for YouTube, which is open for experimentation/testing/goofing off right now.

It's a little rough right now, but it's already plenty of fun to play with, at least until your inevitable migraine sets in. The interface lets you switch between a fairly long list of viewing options, be it a particular type of glasses—red/cyan or amber/blue—or a simple cross-eyed option, all rendered from a single source file. It's incredibly obvious, simply mashing two-panel source video together in a variety of ways, but it's a surprisingly elegant way to deal with fragmenting 3D technologies. Details about how to activate and upload for the feature, as well as some samples, are available here. [SERoundTable]

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AMD's Neo to hit nettops, all-in-one PCs soon

AMD's Neo ultra-portable platform was seen as something that just might rival Intel's mighty Atom in the oversaturated netbook space when it debuted back in January, but up until now, the system has remained largely in the background. Indeed, it has only found its way into a select few machines, none of which have managed to gain any sort of traction beside the sea of Atom-based alternatives. Now, however, it seems as if the chips -- which were originally engineered for ultraslim, thin-and-light laptops -- may find themselves shoved into an array of nettops and all-in-one PCs. Here lately, a slew of underpowered SFF-type desktops and PC-in-a-monitor type units have found favor with bargain hunters, and Bob Grim, the outfit's director of client marketing, isn't looking to miss a golden opportunity. To quote:

"We've known all along that this type of technology would really work well in multiple platforms and multiple types of form factors. These CPUs perform better than the Atom processor, and the graphics are superior. These things... can play Blu-rays, they can play games."

There's still no word on who exactly plans on equipping their future machines with this here platform, but considering just how tired we are of Intel's sluggish N270 and N280, we'll take all the competition we can get.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

AMD's Neo to hit nettops, all-in-one PCs soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:18:00 EST. Please see our ter ms for use of feeds.

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