It feels like only last year when finding a cool video on the Web was a unique event. You'd pass it along by e-mail, we'd all get a laugh, and then move on to other things.

Nowadays (gawd, I sound like a geezer, don't I?), there are two or three thousand video sites and seemingly at least a million videos posted daily. And to find the good stuff you have to walk two miles, probably in the snow.

So this week I thought I'd make it easy on you: Instead of low-brow, amateurish stuff, I found videos you can actually learn something from. I also have other video news and a neat trick to deal with downloaded, archived files.

[Set Rant on]Sometimes I do find a video I want to share, either with friends, or in this newsletter. The problem is too often it's on a site that's embedded with sleazy, explicit ads, and if I can't find a way to extract the video, there's no way, no how I can send you to it. And equally annoying are the videos with the sleazy site's URL embedded in the video. I don't have a solution, but I feel lots better after having fumed a little.[Set Rant off]

Stimulating Talks on TED

If you're tired of videos with dopey guys crashing their skateboards into walls while demonstrating their flatulence skills, you'll like TEDBlog. It's an intellectually stimulating blog that's part of TED.com (Technology, Entertainment, Design). That means they talk not only about technology, but about culture, science, and life.

Here are some examples of their "talks" (actually, videos of presentations by bright people):

• Ben Saunders: Three things to know before you ski to the North Pole
• Ze Frank: What's so funny about the Web?
• Jane Goodall: What separates us from the apes?
• David Bolinsky: Fantastic voyage inside a cell

If that's not enough, look at some of the tech talks, and then browse the rest. There must be hundreds of videos, including some amazing stuff.

If you're interested enough, I encourage you to join (it's free) so you'll get e-mail updates.

You'll have to sit through a short, loud ad at the start of each video, so make sure to turn down the volume before you start watching.

Dig This: Did you know you can unlock your car with a cell phone? It can be done, at least by this guy (be sure to read the comments, too).

More on Videos

Despite my complaints about feeling overwhelmed with video sites, you might have some videos to share (who knows, maybe with me). So read "Tested: The 10 Best Places to Share Video Online."

One other story might interest you: "Vudu Delivers High-Quality Video on Demand--for a Price."

And here's something to amaze you: "Ten Great, but Fake, Tech and Science Videos."

Dig This: How long will you live? The people at the Wharton School of Business say they'll take a shot at the answer. Answer all the questions, and try to be as truthful as you can. I'm apparently kicking the bucket in or around 2026.

Tip: View Archived RAR Files Before Expanding

Have you ever faced a humongous file available for download that's chopped into small pieces with WinRAR? (WinRAR is an archiving tool, similar to PKZip.

Chances are good that the RARed file is a video--and you can't get a preview until all the parts have been downloaded and combined. The issue? Making sure the video that's in the RAR archive is in the right language, of the best quality, and, of course, the right file.

There are two ways to get a preview of the video. In both cases, you have to download part one (it's usually named something similar to filename_part_1.rar).

The first trick is to use WinRAR to extract the RAR file and ignore some of the program's errors. So start the extraction and pay no attention to the WinRAR error message. Choose Extract to and then check "Keep broken files." You'll get enough of the video to preview. [Thanks, Stan S., that's a great tip.]

The second method, and in my opinion, more elegant, is to use the Dziobas Rar Player, a free viewer. Instead of extracting part one of the RAR file, open the Dziobas Rar Player and choose File, then select Streaming from Unrar.

Dig This: Microsoft's entry into the mobile phone arena is sure to give Apple a run for the money--and promises to take the nerd world by storm.

Steve Bass writes PC World's monthly "Hassle-Free PC" column and is the author of PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, available from O'Reilly. He also writes PC World's daily Tips & Tweaks blog. Sign up to have Steve's newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.