Updated December 2012
The holiday season just isn't the same without the classic TV
specials, movies, and animated programs that we've come to know and
love. Here are over one hundred Christmas movies and videos you can watch for free on the Web.
Note: Find a link that doesn't work? Please let me know and I'll fix it ASAP!
Mystery Science Theater: "Santa Claus":
After Mike and the 'bots exchange gifts, they get to watch a movie
where Santa Claus has to outwit Satan in order to deliver gifts.
Jack Benny's Christmas Special: An annual event on Jack Benny's radio show, Jack takes a trip to the local department store, only to run into some familiar characters.
Nutcracker Movie: Gorgeous movie from the 80's with design input from the legendary Maurice Sendak.
The Nutcracker (BBC Royal Opera House):
This is a full-length (1 hour, 48 minutes long) video of The Nutcracker
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov and
choreographed by Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov and released by the BBC
(2001).
Hector's Hectic Life:
A messy family dog is told by its owner that it will be thrown out in
the cold, after three puppies show up on the doorstep, complicating the
dog's life. The owner, thinking the dog is responsible for the mess,
finally discovers the puppies and all ends well.
Free television shows, sports events, and special
programming without a hefty monthly subscription? Yes, you really can do
this on the Web, and this article is going to show you eighteen
different sites that offer all sorts of great free TV shows online.
Hulu is one of the best sources on the Web for full episodes of TV shows. They also offer a wide selection of free movies,
documentaries, and animated specials. Usually, Hulu posts an episode
within 24 hours of airtime, which makes it a very convenient way to keep
up with your favorite television shows without being tied to the TV.
Not
only can you watch your favorite FOX shows here, you can also get
episode summaries, cast info, and upcoming previews here. They also
offer behind the scenes information, exclusive looks at new or upcoming
TV episodes, and specific offers only for fans.
Joost
offers a nice variety of programs organized in channels, what's most
popular, and the most recent uploads to the site for easy access. You
can search for your favorite content on Joost by using the internal
search function, browsing the channels, checking out the Staff Picks, or
by clicking the Random button.
Your favorite NBC programs, all in one place. Be sure to visit the NBC Video Library,
where you can find current and past episodes of the NBC line-up.Find
the latest NBC TV schedules here, along with news, an active community,
games, and the official NBC store.
Link
TV provides a wide variety of high quality programming from around the
world, focusing on global news, international events, and different
cultures. If you're looking for a different perspective than you usually
get from network news programs, Link TV is a good bet.
YouTube,
one of the oldest and most popular video sharing and upload sites on
the Web today, is a great way to catch up on TV that you might've missed
or find obscure clips and outtakes from your favorites. You can also
find fan-made video montages of great moments from various programs
throughout TV history.
Current
TV is not a traditional TV network; this is mostly user-created and
submitted free online TV. Founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt,
Current offers viewer-generated content, hourly crowdsourced newscasts,
and documentaries.
There
are literally thousands, hundreds of thousands, of free TV programs
available on the Web. This variety of choice is wonderful, but it can be
somewhat overwhelming. Clicker aims to simplify and streamline this
vast array of choice, putting all the programs you can find online into
one convenient place.
PBS
features many of their programs online in an easy to view streaming
format that you can enjoy right within your Web browser. Make sure to
visit the Explore Topics page to get a feel for what's available, as well as the main PBS Programs page.
Full
shows from multiple networks are available at Xfinity. There are also
TV series, movies, documentaries, short films, and sports events here,
all free, and all available to view within your Web browser.
ABC
offers fans sneak peeks of your favorites, local schedules, full
episodes, photos, even message boards where you can discuss programs and
find people who have your same interests in mind.
Spreety offers so much that it can be a bit overwhelming. To get an idea of what this site has to offer, check out TV Shows A-Z, TV Genres, or Classic TV.
Much
like other sites on this list, Veoh has so much to offer that it can be
overwhelming on the first vist. Best bet for finding your favorite TV
shows to watch? Try the main TV show index.
Here, you can sort by popularity, date added, alphabetical order; by
clips or full episodes; or by language (dozens of languages are
available here).
OVGuide searches all over the Web for full-length episodes, movies, videos, animation, and documentaries. Check out the main TV index that shows you what they've got to offer, as well as the main index of all the literally thousands of TV programs that OVGuide has for the avid watcher.
Revision3
is a site that offers original content productions from people all over
the world. These programs are Internet-based, completely original, and
is especially focused on "special interest" content.
You
can find all of your favorite content on Sidereel, including the most
popular and current programs, upcoming exclusive sneak peeks of
premieres, Web-specific broadcasts, and the latest episodes. You can
also make a personalized calendar of all your favorites on Sidereel so
you'll never miss an episode again.
Blinkx
is a video search engine that offers literally millions of hours of
available video content online to watch for free. World news,
entertainment, sports, it's all here. You can even create your own
Blinkx TV channel with your own personalized mix of content, choosing
whatever you want to watch (via a simple keyword search) on a daily
basis.
Truveo, a video search engine owned and operated by AOL,
offers a very high quality selection of videos organized into specific
genres: sports, music, technology, comedy, etc. The best place to start
is the TV Shows index, where all the most popular TV shows on Truveo are placed for easy access.
Most people know the value of a college degree. Studies have
traditionally shown that college-educated people tend to earn more money
over the entire arc of their career. However, a college education can
be prohibitively expensive. Does this mean that college is an
unattainable dream for people who can't afford it? With the advent of
free classes and programs on the Web, absolutely not. In this article,
we're going to take a look at five fantastic (free!) sources for taking
all sorts of great college classes on the Web, anything from computer
statistics to Web development and much, much more.
Note: While many colleges and universities offer a wide variety of
free courses online in the form of podcasts, lectures, tutorials and
online classes, most of these courses are not accredited or part of an
actual accredited degree. However, that does not mean they are not
valuable or will not add value to your overall education and/or resume.
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
was one of the first in the realm of venerated institutions to offer
free courses online to anyone who wants to take them. These are all real
courses that have been offered at MIT, and there are over 2100
different classes from which to choose from. Classes are available on
anything from Architecture to Science, and include free lecture notes,
exams, and videos from MIT. No registration is required.
edX edX is
a collaboration between MIT and Harvard that offers classes from MIT,
Harvard, and Berkeley online for free. In addition to a whole host of
classes offered to students all over the world, edX also tracks how
students learn online, keeping on top of research that could impact
further class offering. This particular institution does award
"certificates of mastery" to students who complete certain courses on a
higher level; these certificates are free at the time of this writing,
but plans are in place to charge for them in the future.
Khan Academy Khan Academy
is a collection of videos on subjects ranging from computer science to
test preparation. More than 3400 videos for K-12 and up students are
available. In addition to this vast library of videos, free assessments
and exams are available so students can make sure they are retaining
what they are learning about. Everything here is self-paced, meaning you
can go as fast or as slow as you need to, with customized badges and a
proprietary points system to show off your progress. Parents and
teachers can also participate, since Khan Academy offers the ability to
see what their students are doing via real-time report cards. This
website has grown into one of the most popular learning destinations on
the Web and is well worth a visit for anyone who is looking to learn
something new.
Berkeley Berkeley Webcasts
is Berkeley's online hub for audio and video classes streamed all over
the globe. Search for a specific class or topic, or, use the search menu
to look at information by semester or department. You can also look at
the list of recently added classes, or view all classes at once.
In addition to online classes, Berkeley also offers students the
ability to virtually take part in events (such as guest lectures) on
their YouTube page.
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins,
one of the world's premier medical learning institutions, offers a wide
variety of public health courses and materials. Students can look up
classes by course offering title, topics, collections, or images. There
are several different ways that courses are presented: with audio, with
case studies, core courses for the Hopkins Master of Public Health, and
several more. For anyone looking to advance their healthcare career
without sacrificing quality, this is the first place to look.
A world-class education online
As you can see, the quality of these different institutions is
top-notch. There's no need to sacrifice financially for a college
education when you've got Ivy League schools offering all sorts of great
courses online for free! For even more on Web-based education, I invite
you to read Free Courses, a great collection of even more free classes from all over the Web.
August 2012 - From Gizmo's Freeware - Introduction - http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-bittorrent-client.htm
Since its inauspicious public appearance
8 years ago bittorrent has become one of the major download formats.
With good reason too: it's fast, equitable and efficient. If you haven't
yet installed a Bittorrent client on your PC, you should as there are
some great freeware clients available. In Bittorrent the best clients
are free. (In fact, if a client costs money, it is most likely a scam).
If you are unaware of the bittorrent protocol, you may take a look at my article, What is Bittorrent, as well as the listings within Searching for Torrents (Best Free Torrent Search Sites) to see the massive amount of content available through bittorrent.
Testing
Anyone with knowledge of bittorrent knows that it is nearly
impossible to have a testing procedure that is foolproof in measuring
small differentials in speed among bittorrent clients. This is due to
the fact that your download speed depends on the upload of other active
users and there is no control over their actions while testing.
However, I have been testing clients for this category for several years
and am convinced that the better clients can be separated from the
others.
For this round of testing, I used 3 torrents and 2 magnet links. One
of the torrents was extremely healthy, over 700 seeds and few peers,
and was used just as a raw speed test for the clients. Another torrent
was a healthy swarm, 60 seeds and 20 peers, and the last torrent was a
weaker one with 20 seeds and 15 peers. One of the magnet links was for
the same torrent that was healthy and the other was a very weak swarm
with only 9 seeds and 5 peers.
The differences between the Superior clients and the good clients
was not as marked as last time, but there still was a difference.
Testing was performed on both Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP SP3 running all of the 5 test torrents and magnet links above.
Ranking
Previously, I separated the bittorrent clients that had toolbars
etc., to a listing below those that bittorrent clients that had a clean
install. I decided to rank the clients based upon their results on the
testing, their features and their help resources, giving the greatest
weight to the test results.
I will make note of those that have installs or other changes to your
system that are not necessary for the proper function of the bittorrent
client. I will strongly suggest that if you choose a bittorrent
client that has these unnecessary add ons, to not accept those changes
or add ons.
Discussion
Superior Bittorrent Clients
Although these superior bittorrent clients are listed in order
according to the ranking criteria above, I will point out that the
differences as far as speed are so slight that in real life there would
be no real difference. Any one of these bittorrent clients will perform
as good as can be and the choice usually comes down to which GUI suits
your personal preference.
qBittorrent is
once again my top pick in this review. I was unaware of the existence
of this client until it was suggested by IronPlatypus in the comments
here a couple of years ago. Once again qBittorrent quickly got going
on the torrents and on the magnet links. qBittorrent was also stable
and efficient in both operating systems tested. Its RAM use was low
and stable as was its CPU use. It has all the features that an ordinary
user would want and is unlikely to cause issues on any Windows system.
Their built in search runs quick and has a good number of sites included
at default. I am usually not a big fan of built in searches, but since
this allows you to visit the web page for the torrent and see
comments/ratings there, I find this search useful. Plugins
for additional sites are available. A downside to this client is that
it basically is a one person operation, which might affect growth and
support. The updates seem to be coming regularly, so the growth is not
an issue as of yet (in fact they seem to do more updates than the other
clients). The Wiki and Documentation have improved, but still parts are out of date. The situation at the forums is good. Response at their bugs page is excellent and the responses are from the developer. qBittorrent is a clean install, no addons etc.
Pros: Low and stable RAM and CPU with all the necessary features.
Excellent performance on torrents. Development still seems to be very
active and responsive to users. Clean install, no addons etc. Cross
platform client.
Cons: Basically a one person operation, which could affect progress
(though it has not as of now). Support has improved, but could be
better. Not that well known and not accepted at many private torrent
sites (though the situation is improving).
Deluge
had some issues with the version I tested one year ago, but I received
an email from one of the developers indicating the issues for Windows
users had been resolved and he was correct. Like qBittorrent, and
unlike the rest of the bittorrent clients tested, Deluge was very quick
to get going on all the test torrents and magnet links. Deluge does
have a good reputation and is accepted at most private sites. Its forums, user guide and FAQ
provide a good level of support. Deluge has a clean install, no
addons etc. Deluge's performance was just a hair behind qBittorrent.
Deluge is a very basic bittorrent client, it does not have the search
feature of qBittorrent and others, but many users prefer that and will
find Deluge to be a superior client in its speed performance. Its RAM
and CPU use are low and stable, but not quite as low as qBittorrent.
Deluge did have an issue with the Add Torrent screen on magnet links as
it did not show the files, so one can not deselect before adding (but
may deselect after adding)
Pros: Cross platform client that is stable for the most part
and efficient. Well accepted at private trackers. Excellent
performance on torrents. Good help resources. Clean install, no addons
etc.
Cons: Issue with Add Torrent screen not showing files for
magnet links so they can not be deselected before adding to download
(they may be deselected after adding).
µTorrent
has been top pick here in the past and is still a superior bittorrent
client, and it falls just behind the above two clients in the testing.
With the excellent results on the test torrents, the fact that it is a
stable and low resource using client (matching top pick qBittorrent) and
the vast amount of features packed into this tiny program, this is a
top flight bittorrent program.The support provided by µTorrent's FAQs, guides and forumsis
excellent, though it has diminished a bit from past years. µTorrent
does try to foist a toolbar, home page change, search engine change and a
software download during install. Once you get past the install addon
and change issues, this is an excellent client for all Windows users.
µTorrent is by far and away the most popular bittorrent client.
µTorrent does have an issue on the Add Torrent screen when adding magnet
links where it does not show the files, so files may not be deselected
before adding (they may be deselected after adding). NOTE: Magnet link
issue fixed in version 3.2. They also added streaming capability in
recent version. However, I am unable to test this as I have nothing to
stream to. Recent versions of µTorrent have been in disfavor at many
private sites, supposedly for reporting to the tracker issues.
Pros: Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with
a large amount of features packed into a tiny package. Excellent help
resources. Streaming capability.
Cons: Has had critical security alerts at Secunia.
(though none on this version). Toolbar install (not necessary for
program) and search/home page change enabled at default on install. OpenCandy
installer offers software not necessary for the program. Recent
versions of µTorrent have been in disfavor at many private sites,
supposedly for reporting to the tracker issues.
BitTorrent.
Everything I said about µTorrent, above applies to BitTorrent as the
two are identical in their options and engine. Both are owned by
BitTorrent, Inc., and are developed by the same development team. If
you prefer the name BitTorrent and its purple color over the µTorrent
name and its green color, then that would be the only reason to choose
this client over µTorrent.
Even though the two clients are the same, BitTorrent is still banned
at most private torrent sites (even though they accept µTorrent ).
BitTorrent releases tend to come out a bit after the µTorrent releases
ffor some reason.
Transmission-QT
(Windows) is not an "official" release of the Transmission team, but
has been touted in their forums for years and recently moved to its own
site. Even so, it has become one of the best bittorrent clients for
Windows. Its performance on the test torrents and magnet links puts it
on a par with all of the above in real world application, though it did
fall slightly behind. Basically, Transmission-QT tested equal to
µTorrent and BitTorrent, but was put below them on my list due to being
unofficial and due to its lack of comparable help resources. This
version ran stable and efficient as well on both of my Windows operating
systems (though it used a bit more RAM than the above clients. Many
users will find its simple interface appealing. The help resources are
limited, but for more savvy users this is an excellent choice. Even for
newer users, the setup guide that I have prepared will be all you need
to get up and running well. This version is not accepted at private
trackers, even though the main Transmission is well accepted at almost
all private trackers. This client has a clean install, no addons etc.
Pros: Efficient and stable with excellent speeds. Simple interface. Clean install, no addons etc.
Cons: Not an "official" release of the Transmission team and is lacking help resources.
Excellent Clients
These clients ran a notch below the superior clients above. They
still have a loyal following and will appeal to some users, though I
feel the differences in performance deserve a lower ranking here.
Vuze
was at one time the top pick here and was for a long time my favorite
client. I was a big supporter when they moved from the Azureus to Vuze
model, but the Vuze model has really disappointed. Although the client
has improved its RAM use greatly since the Azureus model, it still is
one of the big RAM users, though this is really not an issue in this day
and age. It also looks like this has been put on the back burner as
the Vuze team seems to be working on another project. Their install
includes a toolbar, deceptively named Vuze Remote, and home and search
page changes enabled at default. There is also a software install
offered and it also has advertisements in the Vuze portion of the
client. Vuze is still an excellent client with a wide variety of plugins (though many are no longer supported) and options and information. Their help resources (Vuze-Wiki and Vuze forums)
have taken a step back, but the Wiki is still an excellent source of
information, Its performance on the tests put it a notch below the
above superior clients, but was better than it fared last year. Note
that the Mainline DHT plugin should be used, particularly to get good
results on magnet links. Many users like the intricate details this
program provides and its streaming capabilities.
Pros: There is a wide variety of options and information within the program and an impressive array of plugins (many work, but many are also no longer supported) to satisfy any need. Cross platform. Streaming capability.
Cons: Though the client has improved its RAM use in the past few
years, development has not moved much recently. The Vuze interface is
useless for all but a few who like the streaming capability. Bing
Toolbar install and home page change enabled at default on install.
Advertisements within free version of Vuze interface. Performance on
large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.
Tixati is a relatively
new bittorrent client that entered this review for the first time three
years ago. It is also an appealing client, with its varied GUIs and
layout. Tixati was very stable in both RAM and CPU on both of my
systems. Its use of those is higher than the top 5 clients here, but it
is still very easy on system resources. Tixati always seems to be in
active development and the developers are receptive to users input.
Compared to µTorrent/BitTorrent, Tixati is a Mom and Pop operation,
which many users will prefer, but some may be wary. This is reflected
in their promise never to include addons/changes such as seen in
µTorrent/BitTorrent/Vuze Their help facilities have grown and are kept up to date. Their forums
are responsive, but not at the level of µTorrent's, which has the best
support forum. It s performance on the test torrents was disappointing
this time as it had quite a delay in getting going on a couple of the
test torrents/magnets. their interface options will appeal to many
users. Their clean install will appeal to all.
Pros: Generally stable and efficient with a good variety of
options. Developers are active and responsive to user requests.
Attractive interface. Good help resources. No addons etc. during
install.
Cons: Help resource, though very good, could use some more.
Smaller operation, which you may or may not like. Performance on test
torrents was not up to the Superior clients.
BitComet
has always suffered, unnecessarily in my opinion, from an image of a
cheating, or poorly built client. The language issues of having a
development team that is Chinese speaking only has hurt them over the
years. Its performance on the tests was very disappointing this time,
particularly with their 64bit version. Their 32bit version ran equal to
Vuze and Tixati. They have removed the home page change et al, from
their install. They do have a good deal of self promoting ads, including
links to pay services and I find their interface cluttered with items
that should be cleared up. But, BitComet does have a wide variety of
options and for the most part runs stable. They also have an excellent
support structure through their two forums (ToComet and UniteTheCows) and their blog and wiki .(there is a nice FAQ at the Wiki).
Pros: A stable client that was just behind the superior clients in
efficiency and features. They offer a wide variety of features and
excellent help resources. Their torrent exchange and other community
features may interest some users.
Cons: Apparently still has issues as initial seed on torrents.
Still not accepted at a few private trackers (although this issue is
rightfully being resolved) . Self-promotional advertising banners and
popups within client. Performance on tests were very disappointing
with the 64bit version, but decent with the 32bit version.
Download Programs That Have Bittorrent Support
I receive comments suggesting download managers that support
bittorrent and tested a couple this time around. Free Download Manager
did perform equal to the excellent clients on torrents (it does not
support magnet links), but was below the superior clients. I would not
suggest this for a bittorrent client, but if you already have it
installed, want to use only torrents and not magnet links, only occa
sionally download torrents and do not want to install an additional
program then it is acceptable. Though I would still suggest, even to
those users, to try one of the superior clients listed here.
Related Products and Links
There are guides for getting the best download speed for each of the Top Pick bittorrent clients above, here at Gizmo's Tech Support Alert:
Gizmo's Freeware award as the best product in its class!
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Low and stable RAM and CPU
with all the necessary features. Excellent performance on torrents.
Development still seems to be very active and responsive to users.
Clean install, no addons etc. Cross platform client.
Basically a one person
operation, which could affect progress (though it has not as of now).
Support has improved, but could be better. Not that well known and not
accepted at many private torrent sites (though the situation is
improving).
A portable version of this product is available but not from the developer.
Windows XP/Vista/7 Linux Mac
Deluge
9
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Cross platform client that is
stable for the most part and efficient. Well accepted at private
trackers. Excellent performance on torrents. Good help resources.
Clean install, no addons etc.
Issue with Add Torrent screen
for magnet links so that files may not be deselected prior to adding
(but they may be deselected afterr adding)
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows XP/Vista/7 Linux Mac
µTorrent
8
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Excellent speeds on torrents,
efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into
a tiny package. Excellent help resources. Streaming capability
Has had critical security
alerts at Secunia. (though none on this version). Toolbar install and
search/home page change enabled at default on install. Open Candy
Installer offers additional software during install. Recent versions of
µTorrent have been in disfavor at many private sites, supposedly for
reporting to the tracker issues.
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows XP, Vista, 7, Wine Mac Linux (Alpha)
BitTorrent
8
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Same as µTorrent above as
they are identical bittorrent clients.
Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large
amount of features packed into a tiny package. Excellent help
resources. Streaming capability
Same µTorrent above, except
that BitTorrent is not accepted at most private torrent sites.
Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (though none on this
version). Toolbar install and search/home page change enabled at
default on install. Open Candy Installer offers additional software
during install. Recent versions of µTorrent have been in disfavor at
many private sites, supposedly for reporting to the tracker issues.
There is no portable version of this product available.
Windows XP/Vista/7
Vuze
7
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
There is a wide variety of
options and information within the program and an impressive array of
plugins (many work, but many are also no longer supported) to satisfy
any need. Cross platform. Streaming capability.
Though the client has
improved its RAM use in the past few years, development has not moved
much recently. The Vuze interface is useless for all but a few who like
the streaming capability. Bing Toolbar install and home page change
enabled at default on install. Additional products not necessary for
program offered during install. Advertisements within free version of
Vuze interface. Nag screen on uninstall. Performance on large swarm
torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.
There is no portable version of this product available.
Java support /Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008/7/NT, Linux, Mac
Tixati
7
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Generally stable and
efficient with a good variety of options. Developers are active and
responsive to user requests. Attractive interface. Good help
resources. Excellent performance on torrents. No addons etc. during
install.
Help resource, though very
good, could use some more. Smaller operation, which you may or may not
like. Performance on test torrents was not up to the Superior clients.
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 Linux
BitComet
6
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
A stable client that was just
behind the superior clients in efficiency and features. They offer a
wide variety of features and excellent help resources. Their torrent
exchange and other community features may interest some users.
Apparently still has issues
as initial seed on torrents. Still not accepted at a few private
trackers (although this issue is rightfully being resolved) .
Self-promotional advertising banners and popups within client.
Performance on tests were very disappointing with the 64bit version,
but decent with the 32bit version.
