Screencasting on the cheap

There are some very good free screencasting options, so you don't need to shell out a fortune to capture your onscreen activities and audio when you want to make that 'how to' video.

The question you need to ask yourself is, "Do I want to download some software to my desktop or do it online?"

You pays your money (zero, zilch, nothing, nada) you makes your choice.

Well here are a few of the ones I've used and found to work for me.

Download option

For Open Source it has to be CamStudio. This pretty much does all you'd want; you'll need to configure it to achieve the right output.




The other download option is the Jing project. It looks more slick, and has a funky thingy do-dah that sits at the top of your screen for easy access to create a screenshot, a screencast or share the video. It's made by TechSmith, who also make Camtasia Studio and Snag-It.


Online option

The online option that I use is called ScreenToaster.

Record your screencast online

An example of one I've done:




ScreenCastle is the latest online screencast option.