fixed : how to download a video from LinkedIn

Question :
I was scrolling through some LinkedIn pages as I came across an instructional video on a subject I am interested in. Since I want to be able to view this video offline also, I tried to download it directly from LinkedIn, but simple methods for doing that don’t work, as it is an embedded video.

Is there any way to download this video from LinkedIn to my Mac ?

Answer :
Yes, there is.
To download a video from LinkedIn (or X/Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest or Vimeo), do this :
– first, if it’s an video that has been reposted, click back to the original post
– then, click on the More (3 dots) button in the upper right corner of the post
– from the pulldown-menu, click “Copy link to post”
– open the online video downloader : LinkedIn Video Downloader
– then, paste the URL(that is on your ividsible clipboard) in the fetch field and click DOWNLOAD
– wait a few moments and the video will appear on screen (on the ExpertsPHP.com website)
– then, click the “Download Video File” button and you will find the video in your Downloads folder on your Mac

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

NOTE : this same method works for embedded videos from X/Twitter, Tiktok, Pinterest and Vimeo also. You just need to copy the URL of the original post and use the corresponding online video downloader :
X (Twitter) Video Downloader
TikTok Video Downloader
Pinterest Video Downloader
Vimeo Video Downloader

fixed : how to increase the playback speed of a QuickTime video

Question :
I have some MP4 videos of online courses that contain a lot of blabla… if they were Youtube videos, I would be able to increase the playback speed to 1.5x (150%) or even 2x (200%) to increase my efficiency. However, these online courses were delivered to me for offline playback in QuickTime on macOS, but now I can’t find the button (or maybe ‘the trick’ ?) to increase the playback speed… so I seem to be stuck on having to watch them at the ‘normal’ s…l…o…w… playback speed…

Is there any way to speed this up ?

Answer :

Yes, there is !
Even though it’s a little more hidden than you are used to with YouTube videos, QuickTime is able to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in three ways, that differ in the range and number of playback speeds available :

1. the basic method :
– when de video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then click on the >> button (top right on the control panel)
– from the popup list that appears, select “Playback Speed
– then, select the desired speed from the 5 options that appear :
   0,5x  ( half speed )
   1,0x  ( normal speed )
   1,25x ( 25% faster )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster )
   2,0x  ( double speed )

2. the precise method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down the ALT-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in small steps of 10% :
   1,1x  ( 10% faster / slower )
   1,2x  ( 20% faster / slower )
   1,3x  ( 30% faster / slower )
   1,4x  ( 40% faster / slower )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster / slower )
   1,6x  ( 60% faster / slower )
   1,7x  ( 70% faster / slower )
   1,8x  ( 80% faster / slower )
   1,9x  ( 90% faster / slower )
   2,0x  ( double speed / half speed )

3. the hyper speed method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down either the CMD-key or the SHIFT-key or the CTRL-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in huge steps :
   2x  ( double speed forward or backward )
   5x  ( 5x faster = 5 seconds per second forward or backward )
   10x  ( 10x faster = 10 seconds per second forward or backward )
   30x  ( 30x faster = half a minute per second forward or backward )
   60x  ( 60x faster = one minute per second forward or backward )

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : current version (or replacement) of Jaksta downloader app on macOS

Question :
For years I have been using the Jaksta app for downloading online videos like YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo, and even embedded videos from any website. But now, for some reason Jaksta has stopped updating the Jaksta for Mac (apart form one picture still claiming “Video and Music Downloaders for Windows and Mac”, but all other reference to the Mac version and support or download options have gone).
I’ve found some video-downloaders that can only download from YouTube, and apps like YTD, 4K Video Downloader and VideoProc, but those are primarily made for Windows users and they are nowhere near as versatile as Jaksta….

What can I do ? How do I download embedded videos on my Mac ?

Answer :

Currently there are 2 Mac-apps that can do about the same that you were able to do with Jaksta for Mac, so not only download videos from YouTube and other online video platforms, but also download embedded videos :

Downie by Charlie Monroe
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in
– combination with Permute-app delivers extra fast video conversion to multiple formats & sizes

PullTube by MyMixApps
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in

PullTube, Downie and Permute are available in FREE test-versions, where unlimited use can be unlocked by buying a licence or via the Settapp subscription service that gives access to over 200 macOS & iOS apps for a monthly fee.

If you think the regular pricing of any of these apps is too high (e.g since you expect to only need them for the incidental use), you can search the web for discount codes or check if macOS app bundles like BundleHunt and StackSocial currently feature them.

fixed : I can’t find the correct flag symbol in Whatsapp

Question :

When I am typing messages in Whatsapp I sometimes want to include emoji like the flag of my country… so I open the emoji list and I get overwhelmed by the number of flags available, so I pick the flag that looks like the one I want, only to find out after posting that it turend out to be the flag of another country… quite embarrassing honestly…

I live in The Netherlands, so this happens quite often, since our Dutch flag is nearly identical to the Luxembourg flag and in tiny emoji size is easily mixed up with the flags of Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Egypt…

Is there any way to always pick the correct flag ?

Answer :

Yes, there is, and it’s rather simple… just do this :
– if Whatsapp is open, make sure the regular typing filed is available and the keyboard is visible
– then just typ the name of the country you want in full (with or without a starting capital)
– now in the text correction suggestions bar just below the typing field, the correct flag will turn up as a suggestion on the right
– just click on that to insert it into your message

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : typing a degree symbol ( superposition-O ) on your iPhone

Question :

Is it possible to typ the ‘degree symbol’ ( the mini-version of the letter O or number 0 next to the top of a letter or number ) on your iPhone ? If so, how do I do that ?

Answer :

Yes, and doing so is rather straight forward – if you know where to look :
– on your iPhone (in iOS) open an app that you can use to typ texts (like Notes, Mail or Whatsapp)
– typ your text as usual until where you need the degree symbol
– then long-press the number 0 key and a popup will appear where you can select the degree symbol, just click it to insert

That’s it

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : convert .webp animation to animated .gif

Question :

I just received a message with an animated picture in it, that I want to save on my Mac to maybe send it to someone else later on. I thought it would be an animated-GIF file, but it turns out to be a .webp-file when I save it to my Mac.

Is there a way to convert this .webp animation to an animated .gif ?

Answer :

Yes, and it is rather simple, just do this :

  • on your Mac, right-click on the icon of the .webp-file
  • in the popup-list that appears, choose “Get Info”
  • in the “Get Info” window that opens, goto “Name & Extension” and replace the “.webp” extension by “.gif”
  • and to make double-checking easier, uncheck “Hide Extension”
  • then, close the “Get Info” window (by clicking the X-marked red dot top left)
  • now, open the renamed file in Preview.app to check if it has multiple images inside
  • then, open the renamed file in your webbrowser to check if the animation runs smoothly

That’s it !

Note : this works if the original file inside the .webp-animation is an animated GIF, it’s not sure if this will work for any .webp-animation

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : create a poll or multiple-choice questionaire in WhatsApp

Question :

I want to test the waters on some subject in a WhatsApp-group I’m in. Let’s say I want to know how everybody feels about doing something together or not. I’ve seen someone else post a polling questionnaire like that in another WhatsApp-group, and I want to do something similar…

How do I do that ?

Answer :

To create a poll (a questionnaire) in WhatsApp, do this :

  • make sure you have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on your iPhone
  • open WhatsApp and go to the group you want to post the poll in
  • click on the + (the Plus-sign) bottom left (next to the field where you normally type new messages)
  • in the popup list that opens, select “Poll”
  • in the “Create Poll” window that opens, at “Question” type the initial question for your poll/questionnaire
  • then, at “Options”, add the first multiple-choice answer you have in mind
  • then, just below, type the second multiple-choice answer
  • now, upon typing the second multiple-choice answer, you will see that an extra field will appear for an extra answer you have in mind
  • if you want to add a third (or fourth or fifth) multiple-choice answer, type it
  • so, when you have all multiple-choice answers typed, leave the bottom field empty (it will be marked with “Add” in grey)
  • now, if you want people to limit their response to only one answer/option, set the “Limit to only one choice” open (to the right) ; if not, leave it closed (to the left)
  • then click “Send” top right and your poll will be posted in your WhatApp-group
  • as soon als people start filling out your poll/questionaire, their face-icons/avatars will show up next the answer of their choice, so you can monitor the most and least popular answers

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰