The Hacks You Need to Know
I've collected several helpful little "hacks" over the years to help me get things done.
For example...
Want to download a YouTube video, but you don't subscribe to YouTube Premium?
Go to Y2Mate, enter the address of the video you want, and hit download. You could also type "pi" after the word "Youtube" in the video's URL, and you'll get to the same place.
For example, if the video you want to download lives at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpz1Ncgx1KQ, then typing https://www.youtubePI.com/watch?v=zpz1Ncgx1KQ will let you download it.
Is the video you just downloaded too large to use the way you need to use it?
Upload your video to FreeConvert, choose your desired "Video Quality & Size", and after a few moments, you'll have a smaller file size.
Want to watch content that hasn't been made available in your country?
Download the free Opera browser, then turn on the built-in VPN.
This trick allowed me to watch the fascinating (and disturbing) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver segment on Data Brokers on YouTube, which as a Canadian, I wouldn't otherwise have been able to do because "The uploader has not made this video available in your country."
Want to read an article that lives behind a paywall?
If the paywall appears as a pop-up once you visit the site, you might be able to use the Instapaper Text bookmarklet to access the content.
To use this trick, go to this site and drag the "Instapaper Text" button to your bookmarks toolbar. Then, whenever you come across a site that shows you the start of the article before hitting you with a paywall, simply click the button: the full text will be available in a clean, easy-to-read format.
Want to see exactly how it works? Business Insider recently published an article titled, "Leaked Amazon audio shows CEO Andy Jassy address several of the company's most pressing issues — but dodge employees' top concerns about low pay" but it lives behind a paywall... a paywall that was no match for the Instapaper Text button.