About Author: Mike L

Website: http://www.myketech.com
Description: My name is Mike Longo! I love technology, digital media and graphic design.

Posts by Mike L

How To Make Your Own Beats in FL Studio (Fruity Loops)

– March 5, 2013

You can make your own rap beats, background instrumentals, songs, movie soundtracks, whatever you want, using all kinds of electronic instruments and sounds, not just the drums.

With the pro beat making software FL Studio, you don’t need a professional studio or setup with expensive equipment to make your own beats.

FL Studio (also known as fruity loops) is one of the most popular and advanced beat making software in the world used by producers such as 9th Wonder. FL gives you endless options and tools to create your own beats, and is one of my favorite programs to make my own beats with.

you can get the demo here so you can make your own beats for free during the trial.

Here’s step-by-step exactly how to make your own beats in FL Studio (checkout these awesome free FL video tutorials from 20DollarBeats).

Launch FL (Fruity Loops)

Open FL Studio. If you’re staring at the FL Studio interface for the first time and have never made your own beats before, all the knobs, switches, and buttons will look like a foreign language, but not for long..

View > Step sequencer: The Step Sequencer

First, open the step sequencer in FL Studio by going in the navigation menu to ‘View‘ and checking ‘Step sequencer‘. This is the main window you’ll use to create your own beats.

Step sequencer window in FL Studio (View > Step sequencer F6)

Click on the pads next to the instrument to make your own beats. If you right-click on the instrument such as the “Kick”, you can automatically fill in each 2 steps, 4 steps or 8 steps.

Fill in the tabs next to the instrument channels to make a beat.

The Virtual Piano

At the top of the list when you right-click on an instrument is the option to send it to the “piano roll” so you can change the tone of the instrument using the virtual piano.

Make beats with a piano in FL Studio.

To make your own beats the professional way, you need to make beats using multiple patterns, so you can set some of them to overlay each other to create a complete beat. To make your own beat using multiple patterns, just create a new pattern. You can change the pattern or create a new one by clicking the pattern name at the top which will reveal the drop down menu. To create a new pattern or step sequence window, click the “Insert one” option.

You can add as many instruments or sounds as you need to the step sequencer to make a beat sequence using the browser palette on the left side. The default browser list that comes in FL is packed with instruments and sounds that you can use to make your own beats. Just right-click on any instrument or sound you want to make beats with and choose “Open in new channel”, or just drag & drop it to the step sequencer.

Add sounds to the step sequencer window (drag & drop).

View > Playlist: The Playlist

When you’re finished making beats with all the patterns you want to use, the next step is to arrange them in the playlist (View > Playlist F5) to make a complete beat. To open the playlist window, go in the top menu bar to “View” and then click “Playlist”. When you make beats with more then one pattern, the playlist window is where you’ll arrange them in order to make one beat.

Arrange beat sequences or patterns together in the playlist window (View > Playlist F5).

Save your beat

When you’re finished making your own beat, go to File > Export and choose from the following export formats: Wave file, MP3 file, OGG file, MIDI file or a zipped looped package.

The Top 10 Hip Hop Songs About Money for 2013

Mike L

– February 26, 2013

There’s definitely no shortage of hip hop songs about money throughout hip hop history, and who doesn’t like MONEY?

That’s exactly what the following hip hop songs are all about, nothing but the green presidents.

These songs will motivate you to stay on your grind and make more money.

Here’s the top 10 hip hop songs about money for 2013:

10 – Big Sean – Mula

9 – Lil Wayne – Money On My Mind

8 – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees (Feat. Jay Rock)

7 – 2 Chainz – What We Doin (Getting 2 The Money)

6 – Joe Budden – NBA (Never Broke Again)

5 – Rihanna – Pour It Up

One for the LADIES. NO, I don’t like really like this song but Rihanna is hot as @#!$.

4 – T.I. – Go Get It – Download here

3 – araabMUZIK – Getting 2 The Point – Download here

2 – Trinidad James – All Gold Everything (Explicit)

1 – Pusha T – Millions (Explicit) ft. Rick Ross – Download here

How To Expose Fake Beats by Dre vs Real Beats by Dre

Mike L

– February 23, 2013

Beats by Dre are awesome and so is Dr. Dre.

Fake Beats by Dre…… Not so much.

There’s tons of fake Beats by Dre out there.

Unfortunately fake Beats by Dre products don’t say they’re fake on the tag or in the manual, so you have to know whether you’re getting real beats before you take out your wallet.

Fake Beats by Dre headphones are not covered by the standard beats warranty and will probably break easily or soon after purchase. They also wont be of the same quality or material, and the sound quality won’t be as good as real Beats Audio should be.

The following sources only sell genuine Beats by Dre headphones, not the fakes. eBay is the worst place to look for real Beats, as individual sellers are doing the selling here and shouldn’t be trusted. The seller more then likely is not aware whether the Beats are real or fake, or knows for sure that they’re fake which is why it’s for sale! Also, trying to tell the difference between a fake Beats by Dre box and a real one in a store gets ridiculous. The Chinese counterfeiters are far too sneaky, and it’s like trying to find waldo or a needle in a haystack, which is why getting Beats from trusted sources online is far safer. Leave it to me and you’ll avoid all the fakes from the fakers out there.

Here are 100% genuine Beats by Dre directly from the official MONSTER company on Amazon (you can’t go wrong here):

1 – Call Monster with your warranty code (on the back of battery cover)

To find out right away whether or not you have a 100% genuine Beats by Dre product, find the warranty code on the back of the headphones battery cover. Call Monster (1-800-442-4000) and ask them to look up your warranty code see if you have a real Beats product and if not they’ll let you know right away. If you don’t have a warranty code then you know right away that you have fake Beats by Dre’s.

Expose fake Beats by Dre headphones warranty

The warranty code is located on the back of the battery cover case.

Authorized Beats by Dre retailers

Online stores and To be 100% sure that you’re getting a genuine Beats by Dre product, only shop at authorized retailers which are the stores and websites that only sell the real thing. The following sites are ten authorized Beats by Dre retailers in the United States (more here):

If you’re shopping for Beats by Dre products at a store that’s not an authorized beats retailer, chances are you’re looking at a bunch of fake Beats by Dre.

Search YouTube for ‘fake Beats by Dre‘

Search YouTube to fake Beats by Dre models so you can see what a fake looks like. Videos like the one below show you the difference between fake and real Beats by Dre Pros.

Read the Beats by Dre Safe buying guide

Here’s some tips if you bought a fake Beats by Dre product:

1 – Contact the company or seller and ask for a full refund.

2 – Contact your credit card company and ask for a full refund.

3 – In the U.S. you can report any counterfeit product to the FBI using the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) online form.

How To Make Your Own Shoes – Yeezy’s Custom Shoes

Mike L

– February 17, 2013

Finding the right pair of shoes that’s also the perfect size and color is difficult..

The pair of shoes you’d like might not exist yet, with all the different appearance options such as style, color, size, design and price being considered.

Sure, there’s other, more traditional ways to make your own shoes that may require some poking or needles or whatever; however, this guide is a modern approach to making your own shoes, without actually making your own shoes by fabrication.

The most popular shoe brand companies that let you customize and make your own shoes online are listed right below. To make your own shoes, just use the tools on the webpages provided below that allow you to select a shoe model/size and then choose colors that you think best fit your shoe.

Make Your Own Converse Shoes

The Chuck Taylor All Star shoe is recognized around the world, and symbolizes true simplicity and originality. Converse chucks are the one pair of shoes I’ll wear no matter where the heck I am on earth. In my eyes, a pair of chucks are one of the best casual shoes for anybody.

Make your own Converse shoes

There’s over 25 different Converse shoe models that you can customize and add your own rainbow of colors to. After you make your own Converse shoes, the current estimated delivery time is 3-4 weeks.

Make Your Own NikeiD Shoes

Not everyone likes a typical walking shoe, of course. If you’d rather run places, or jump and dunk, NikeiD lets you make your own shoes with a huge collection of over 150 shoe styles to choose from.

With NikeiD you can make your own basketball, soccer, running, skateboarding, football shoes and even baseball cleats. Nike makes some of the most advanced and powerful basketball shoes there are and has some pretty eccentric designs.

Make your own NikeiD shoes

Make Your Own Shoes with miAdidas

Adidas has a very similar collection as Nike (NikeiD) including everything from baseball cleats to basketball shoes. You can design everything about the shoe including whether you want your new shoe to come with ‘regular’ or ‘fat’ laces while you make your own shoes using the miadidas app.

Make your own miadidas shoes

Make Your Own Heels

Heels aren’t really my thing, you know, but I thought I’d include something just for the ladies as obviously they wear shoes and also heels and other strange little things that cover their feet. Besides, if you don’t shave your armpits, they definitely make a special gift for your female companion.

If you’re a chic, you already know the deal with the heels and things, just go to Shoes of Prey and make your own shoes after selecting which model you want. Don’t be afraid to make an exotic shoe using something such as snake skin, because your options are not only limited to colors.

Make your own Shoes of Prey heels

Make Your Own Vans Custom Shoes

Vans is mainly a skateboarding shoe company and lets you select custom shoe models to splash some color on. Vans generally has a traditional or casual shoe style similar to Converse. Even if you’re not a skateboarder and have never skateboarded before, Vans shoes make a great casual shoe for everyday use.

Make your own Vans custom shoes

Make Your Own Reebok Shoes

If you’re into fitness and want to make your own shoes to use in the gym or while playing a sport, Reebok is a great brand to choose from. Reebok makes some of the most popular, durable, and efficient fitness shoes in the world. Reebok allows you to add colors, graphics, materials, and patterns, and gives you personalization options while you make your own shoes.

Make your own Reebok shoes

Kanye West who is also known as ‘Yeezy’ or ‘Ye’ teamed up with Nike Air in 09 to make his own custom shoe line named after his nick name, Yeezy. The ‘Nike Air Yeezy‘ was released in 2009 and the ‘Nike Air Yeezy 2‘ or ‘Nike Air Yeezy II‘ came out in 2012. On sites like eBay, people will easily over a grand for different Air Yeezy’s because of limited selection, long waiting lines in stores, and Yeezy’s following.

Kanye West wearing Air Yeezy shoes in Paris

Kanye West wearing his Air Yeezy shoes in Paris

How To Make Your Own Wallpaper Background

Mike L

– February 15, 2013

Tired of that boring desktop background?

Get rid of it.

Make your own wallpaper/background..

This guide is for those creative folks who won’t settle for a boring or standard desktop wallpaper and want to learn how to make your own wallpaper background however possible.

The first step to make your own wallpaper background is to find out the screen resolution for the device that will use your new wallpaper.

Find the screen resolution (1600 x 900)

Have you ever noticed when a background image or photo looks blurry, stretched or pixelated? A background graphic will appear this way if its screen resolution doesn’t match that of the your computer or device, which is why you need to know the screen resolution in order to get the highest quality possible before you attempt to make your own wallpaper. Once you know the screen resolution for your device, you can make your own background with the same resolution.

All you need to know is the screen resolution (width x height) for whatever device (computer, laptop, smart phone, tablet, etc.) that you’d like to make your own wallpaper image for. The screen resolution settings for your device will list the screen resolution (ex. 1600 x 900). If you’re using a Windows computer, laptop, or tablet, simply (1) right-click on the desktop, (2) click on Properties/Personalize/Screen resolution.

There’s also a few resources online that will quickly tell you the screen resolution for your device.

Cartoonized.net – Smart phone screen resolutions
Whatismyscreenresolution.com – All you have to do is visit whatismyscreenresolution.com and it will let you know right away your screen resolution.
Google search – Search Google for your device’s screen resolution (ex. HP 1800 screen resolution).

Now that you know your device’s screen resolution, it’s time to make your own background image.

The easiest way to make your own wallpaper is to use one of the following free resources, which let you upload your own photos or graphics, and then design and add effects to them to make a wallpaper:

The other, more difficult way, is to actually make your own wallpaper by designing some of it yourself with a graphic design program like Adobe Photoshop.

1 – Open Adobe Photoshop, and let’s get to work!

Download Adobe Photoshop if you haven’t already, which you can use completely free for a month before you have to pay to continue using it. Thirty days is, however, more then enough time to make your own wallpaper design.

2 – Create a new canvas using your devices screen resolution

Open Photoshop. In the top menu bar, navigate to File > New canvas or use the Windows keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + N”. Use the screen resolution of your device as the width and height pixels for the new blank canvas.

3 – Get creative and make your own wallpaper graphic

Only you know how to make your own wallpaper in a style that you like, I don’t want to tell you exactly what to do. Everything you need is on the left-side on the Photoshop window, where you’ll find every tool you’ll need to design and make your own background in Photoshop. You definitely don’t have to make your own wallpaper by designing it from scratch, as you could also easily drag images or graphics onto the blank canvas you made. Be sure to checkout the “Filter” drop-down menu in the top menu bar, which has a bunch of effects that can l

Still staring at a blank canvas … ?

For a creativity or inspiration boost, checkout the following Photoshop posts:

Cred: lukeschmader

Want to use your own background image on your other devices like laptop/computer, smart phone or tablet? After you make your own wallpaper, you can use it on devices other then your computer as you can easily save your background in multiple different resolutions that match all your devices. Typically, any device that has a screen you can make your own background for. You can make your own wallpaper for your smart phone, your laptop, your tablet and any other electronic device that houses a screen and allows you customize the background image.

Get your own background using free photos/designs

If you’d rather not spend the time making your own background, the following resources provide high-quality backgrounds images that you can set as your own background.

Flickr.com is filled mostly with personal or random photos, with an abundance of casual photos so you’ll never know what you might find. All photos are available in different resolutions or sizes, but each image varies in available download sizes.

Deviantart.com is filled with high-definition background images with an abundance of abstract backgrounds.

Interfacelift.com is a powerhouse for the some amazing high definition photos, most of which are nature scenes. One of the best benefits of interfacelift is that every background image is available in every single screen resolution format for every device including smart phones and tablets.

Google Image Search can be set to filter your search to only show images that match your screen resolution.

The Most Useful Website for 2013 Extends Your Memory Online

Mike L

– February 14, 2013

If your memory is as good as mine, you have no idea what you ate for dinner last night.

How do you remember important things ?

Do you write on yellow sticky notes or send emails to yourself? If you trust yourself to remember important things, good luck to you, especially as you get older.

Let’s face it – We forget things all the time. We may forget things all the time without ever remembering them or realizing we forgot something.

What do I do to remember what I don’t want to forget ?

I save everything that’s important to me online because I trust the internet more then my own memory or a yellow sticky note. I used to forget important things and then eventually remember them when it was too late until I developed the habit of saving everything that’s important to me online using one of the most useful websites for 2013.

The most useful website for 2013 is SpringPadIt.com , which lets you put all your most important thoughts, notes and anything else neatly online into many different “smart notebooks”. What’s a smart notebook? You’ll know right away exactly what a smart notebook is the first time you visit springpadit.

SpringPadIt.com – Smart Notebooks

It gets even better. Browse through the thousands of smart notebooks on springpad created by other people without signing up, such as these vegetarian recipes one or this modern architecture collection. Search for groups of notebooks by category, to get started checkout the tech category, and then you can change the category using the drop-down menu. You get the idea.

Modern Architecture springpad smart notebook

If you see a notebook you like on springpad, you can easily add it to your personal collection by clicking the “spring it” button in the upper-right corner. Here’s some useful notebooks on springpad:

Once you see how these “smart notebooks” really work, it’s easy to see how you can extend your memory and never forget anything again by taking full advantage of the power of springpad and similar sites such as Evernote.

How Do I Enable Cookies? Here’s How Using Every Web Browser

Mike L

– February 2, 2013

How do I enable cookies? Unfortunately, the type of cookies here don’t exactly come with chocolate or raisins. An internet cookie is a piece of information or text that is stored by the web browser you’re using.

If you’re wondering how do I enable cookies, the set of instructions you’ll need depends entirely on which web browser you’re using. Instructions on exactly how to enable cookies using the most popular web browsers are listed here. No matter which browser you have, you can enable cookies in just a few steps by navigating into your web browsers settings, typically the Privacy settings.

Photo by ssoosay

Learn how to easily enable cookies using the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, and Opera.

How do I enable cookies using Google Chrome?

Open Chrome settings
Select “Show advanced settings” at the bottom of the page
Click Content settings in the “Privacy” section
Click “Allow local data to be set”

How do I enable cookies in Google Chrome

How do I enable cookies using Mozilla Firefox?

Open Firefox options
Click the “Privacy” tab in the top menu
Set the “Firefox will:” to “Use custom settings for history”
Check the box next to “Accept cookies from sites”

How do I enable cookies using Internet Explorer?

Click the wrench in the upper right hand corner and select “Internet options”
Select the “Privacy” tab in the menu bar at the top
Drag the slider to the bottom to enable all cookies

How do you enable cookies using Safari?

Click the wrench in the upper right corner of the Safari browser and then click “Preferences…”
Click the “Privacy” tab in the top menu bar
Under “Block cookies:” choose “Never”

How do I enable cookies using Opera?

Click the drop-down Opera menu in the upper left hand corner
Navigate to “Settings” and select “Preferences…”
Select the “Advanced” tab in the top menu bar
Click on “Cookies” in the left pallet
Check the box next to “Accept cookies”

How to enable cookies with Opera browser

The Top 5 Most Secure Online Password Managers

Mike L

– January 17, 2013

Unless you have an above average memory or you use the same password for every online account you use, it can definitely be a little difficult to remember every single password you may need.

A secure password should include numbers and capital letters, both of which make it even more difficult to remember the exact password for any given account.

Sure some web browsers allow you to save your password every time you have to login, and then you won’t have to remember or type in your password again as long as your using that web browser right.. But what happens if you change browsers? Or get a new computer? That’s why finding the right password manager is the most secure option.

I don’t trust myself to remember every password I have for all of my accounts, and believe me, they’re loaded with numbers and capital letters. Most of the time I can remember all of my passwords, but there does come a time or two when I have to login to that one account that I don’t use that often.

1. PassPack

To make sure I won’t ever forget another password again I use a free online password saving service at PassPack.com, which neatly organizes all my online accounts including the username or email and password for all of my most important accounts.

2. LastPass

LastPass is a password manager that you can download and supports Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and popular mobile devices. Click here to automatically discover the LastPass software version that best matches your default device/operating system.

3. KeePass

KeePass is a completely free and open source password manager that stores all your passwords in a single database, allowing you to access everything with one password. KeePass supports almost every single operating system and mobile device, so there’s nothing you can’t use KeePass with.

4. My1 Login

My1 Login has a sleek and simple interface that’s extremely easy to use, no manual or YouTube instruction video is required. Sign up right now for free, here.

Need to know more about My1 Login? Watch the video below which will explain exactly how the My1 Login works in a just over minute.

5. logmeOnce

LogmeOnce has a unique password calculator which can help you choose a strong password. The calculator tool will automatically suggest strong passwords for you, as well as rate the passwords you’ve chosen. Checkout 26 things you should know about password safety from LogmeOnce.

10 Smart Watches That Can Read Texts and Check Your Pulse

Mike L

– January 15, 2013

What does your watch do? Tell time? Yea, that’s boring…

Want a watch that does more than just tell time?

Looking for a good way to cheat on tests in school? (Just kidding…)

Imagine a watch smarter than what you’ve ever imagined before. Imagine simply shaking your wrist to ignore a call, or reading incoming texts, emails, tweets, social network status updates and checking the weather all right from your wrist. Do smart watches have your interest yet? They’ve definitely got mine, I’ve already picked out the one I want and plan to get it.

If you’re wondering what you can do with a smart watch, the possibilities are almost endless as smart watches come with an app store allowing you to download and use thousands of apps. Here’s six things you can do with smart watchs:

1. Play music
2. Incoming texts, and emails
3. Download useful apps
4. Check social network updates
5. Use voice command
6. Place and receive calls

Keep in mind, all this good stuff is happening on your wrist. The idea of using a smart watch while swimming, at the beach, or anywhere where the water level is high and you don’t want to risk bringing your phone I think is a cool idea.

The following smart watches all can definitely do a whole lot more then just spin the handles of time. Many of them connect and interact with your smart phone via a Bluetooth connection. Below you can see how some of the hottest smart watches out right now work and interact .

1. Sony Smartwatch

The Sony Smartwatch looks almost like an iPod nano or tiny iPhone on a wrist band. It’s only 0.3 inch thin, it’s looks good, and you can check who’s trying to reach you all with a swipe or touch. The Sony Smartwatch is currently available for $129 and is compatible with Android phones.

2. i’m Watch Smart Watch

The i’m Watch is designed, engineered, and built entirely in Italy, and it’s compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems. The i’m Watch is available comes in an array of colors and is currently available for $389.

3. Pebble Smart Watch

The Pebble honestly looks a low-end kids watch, but none-the-less, it is one of the many popular smart watches gaining attention. It also currently has a price tag of $150, which is relatively low compared to some of the other smart watches in this list.

4. WearIT Smart Watch

A sports based smart watch from WearIT, featuring a heart monitor app and a focus on well-being and health. The WearIT sports smart watch was only just released to the public eye this year at CES 2013 and is not currently (1/15/2013) available to purchase.

5. Martian Smart Watch

Martian makes watches that are no doubt intelligent, but also obviously stylish. Martian smart watches come in many different models and size made to suit any gender and style. There’s currently 12 different Martian watch models available to pre-order here.

6. Leikr Sports Smart Watch

I’d imagine the Leikr smart watch would attract some dedicated athletes, joggers or runners. The leikr has a pretty big screen for a smart watch and features a live GPS map. It’s a watch designed to give you all the running and health stats you need in a single glance.

7. Cookoo Smart Watch

The Cookoo smart watch is compatible with iOS devices including the iPhone and iPad. With the Cookoo smart watch, you can receive notifications for incoming calls, missed calls, Facebook messages and updates, calendar reminders and appointments, or when your iPhone or iPad is low on battery. Cookoo smart watches come in different models currently starting at $129.99 here.

8. CST-01 Smart Watch

The CST-01 is undoubtedly the thinnest smart watch on this list. It also has a huge support base of over 3,136 backers on KickStarter who have donated over 400,000 dollars to support the production of the CST-01 watch.

9. G-Shock GB6900AA-7 Smart Watch

G-Shock watches from Casio are extremely popular. The GB6900AA G-Shock series is compatible and can interact with the iPhone only. If you’re a fan of G-Shock watches, would like a watch that is a little tougher and more durable then the average, and want some advanced technology thrown onto your wrist, the G-Shock GB6900AA is a great choice. Checkout the video below for a demonstration of everything this watch is capable of, as well as what the heck to do once you actually have your hands on one.

10. MetaWatch

One glance at the MetaWatch and you would think it was simply a stylish surfers watch. A further look inside reveals some of the most advanced watch technology to date. All MetaWatch models currently support Android devices and will add support for iOS devices soon.

Google Search Trick – The Changing I’m Feeling Lucky Button

Mike L

– January 14, 2013

You’ve seen the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button before, you know the one right next to the “Google Search” button on Google’s homepage.

Some find the button incredibly useful to quickly load the first search listing web page for whatever your search is. Other’s simply ignore it or are scared to hit it. I just discovered the button can do more then just loading the first listing for your search.

This morning while pointlessly hovering my mouse over the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button I noticed the button itself started to spin. I was trying to remember what the heck I wanted to search Google for and then the button suddenly switched to “I’m Feeling Hungry”.

Hahaha..

Your Next Car Could Drive Itself – Google’s Been Busy

Mike L

– December 19, 2012

Yeah it’s the 21st century, we’re living in the digital age and it’s only getting cooler.

If I gave you all the materials in the world that you would need, could you build a laptop or phone? Would you be able to visualize and semi-understand all the individual small metal components and devices that are necessary to power all of our devices?

There’s obviously some really smart people out there, or there’s an alien spacecraft that the government is stealing amazing technologies from.

Even with all this amazing new technology, who the heck saw autonomous cars coming? I thought for sure we would get to flying vehicles first.

I think there’s a ton of people who absolutely can’t stand driving (I’m not one of them, I like driving). Good news for those folks, Google is looking to perfect the first autonomous vehicle, and is getting close every day. Take a look at the video below so you can see for yourself what’s going on here.

The autonomous vehicle technology is now legal in California (go figure) with plenty more states to follow.

“GM’s Cadillac division expects to produce partially autonomous cars at a large scale by 2015, and the automaker also predicts it will have fully autonomous cars available by the end of the decade.” – CNN

Top car manufacturers like BMW and Audi have shown interest in autonomous vehicle concepts, so the future for autonomous cars looks promising.

How to Make a GIF from a Video File

Mike L

– October 25, 2012

A gif or animated gif is essentially a collection of many individual animation frames rapidly cycling through to create the appearance of a moving animation. The graphics interchange format is the most convenient and simple to create a simple or advanced animation that can easily be shared anywhere on the web.

If you’d like to learn how to make a gif from a video for the first time, you can easily do so just by following along with this guide. In fact, making a gif from a video is easier then making a gif any other way, and this guide uses the free program VirtualDub which you can download right now.

Sure, you could use Adobe Photoshop or any of the many other animation programs out there, and even many free online tools such as GifNinja.com or ImgFlip.com, but VirtualDub gets the job done quickly and efficiently, plus it’s completely free!

If you’d like to learn how to make a gif from a video using other methods, such as from scratch or by using an image sequence, I recommend Adobe Photoshop. If you’re using a Mac, you’ll need to use Photoshop as VirtualDub only supports Windows. You can checkout my complete guide on how to make an animated gif to learn about other methods you can use to make an animation.

Note: If you have a short enough video clip and don’t need to crop out a specific scene, you can head directly over to GifNinja.com to convert your video right into an animated gif.

Follow along with the five simple steps below to quickly convert any video file into an animated GIF:

1 – Download & Launch VirtualDub

Download VirtualDub here for free and launch the program.

2 – Open the Video in VirtualDub

Go to File, and click Open video file, or simply drag and drop the video onto the VirtualDub window.

Wondering how to make a gif from a YouTube video? The following tools can convert a YouTube video directly into an animated gif! Just copy and paste the YouTube link into the tool.

You can also use some of the other free website tools listed below to save a YouTube video to your computer, and then open the video in VirtualDub to make a gif.

3 – Crop part of the video (optional)

It’s ideal to keep animated gifs short and simple to minimize loading times as the majority of gifs are displayed on the web. To crop out a specific part of your video in VirtualDub use the selection tools at the bottom of the window. Navigate the slider to a starting point and click the left selection tool, then navigate the slider to a ending point and click the right selection tool. Finally, in the top menu bar go to Edit, and select “Crop to selection”.

How to make a gif from a video in VirtualDub

The left and right selection tools can be used to shorten the video

The numbers underneath the navigation slider displays the number of frames the video contains. You’ll notice a short vertical dash above each number, which symbolizes the number of frames at the location of the dash. The last number displayed on the right is the total number of frames the video file contains. On average, you’ll want no more then a hundred frames in your animated gif as this is ideal for the graphics interchange format and will help avoid your gif from freezing up while rotating through frames.

Also, it’s important to note that sound is not supported in the graphics interchange format (.gif), so you should select an action scene instead of a scene with dialogue. It may look weird in your animation to see a mouth moving and people talking without any sound to back it up you know what I’m sayin ?

4 – Save as an animated GIF

At the top of the VirtualDub window navigate to File, Export, and choose Animated GIF.

5 – Preview the GIF in a web browser!

That’s it, you just learned how to make a gif from a video using one of the easiest methods. Here’s a preview of an animated gif of a short action scene from the movie Stolen with Nicholas Cage.