Google is getting more social , and its web analytics tools are no exception; Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools have added new tools for tracking the impact of tweets, likes, +1s & more on your website’s traffic. Google Webmaster Tools now has a “+1 Metrics” section, which provides reports on the impact of the +1 Button on search. The new analytics show how +1s affect your website’s clickthrough rate (CTR).
The number of adults in the U.S. who make phone calls over the Internet has risen exponentially in recent years.
3D is no longer exclusive to movie studios. If you can scrape together two camcorders, some sticky tape and access to a hooked-up computer, you’re just a few steps away from making your own three-dimensional cinematic works of art. This is largely thanks to YouTube ‘s free online 3D Editor suite . Mashable spoke to Samuel Kvaalen, YouTube software engineer who helped develop the product. Kvaalen told us why the video-sharing company created the tool in the first place: “The idea was trying to make creating 3D videos accessible to as many users as possible in a simple, easy manner.” So is it really easy to make your own 3D YouTube video? After a quick walk-through of the software with Kvaalen, we tested it out. Here’s our super-simple, step-by-step look at how to shoot and edit a three-dimensional video. 1. Shooting As far as hardware goes, you’ll need two cameras, ideally the same model, although you can use any two that can record at the same resolution. You’ll also need some way of holding them together and some 3D glasses so you can edit and view the final result. We used two Cisco Flip MinoHD pocket video cameras. We separated them slightly with Blu-Tack in order to reach the power button on the side of the camera. Be sure to use a ruler or other straight surface to ensure the camera’s lenses are at exactly the same height.
One fun and free way to personalize your iPad is with a wallpaper background. There are thousands of wallpapers out there, so to help you narrow down the choices we’ve hand-picked 15 fabulous options that are available to download — for free — from trusted websites.
NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 11:55 p.m. ET Sunday, embarking on its last voyage toward home. After undocking, Endeavour flew around the station at distances of about 450 to 650 feet, with crew members taking videos and photos of the station. During the flyaround, the Endeavour crew conducted a series of tests called STORRM (Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation) which will make docking to the ISS easier for future spaceships. The Endeavour will spend another two days in orbit until it lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 1. See our choice of some of the most interesting photos from Endeavour’s last voyage below, and check out a more extensive gallery over at NASA’s official site . Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage Endeavour's final voyage [via NASA , Space.com ] More About: endeavour , shuttle , space For more Tech & Gadgets coverage: Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad
Here’s a novel idea: Hide a smartphone inside the back of a tablet, and you can have the best of both worlds. That’s what Asus has done with its PadFone, nestling its new Android smartphone into a docking bay in the back of its larger-screened tablet companion, complete with a small door that closes behind it, storing the handset out of sight. You’re looking at the first pictures to surface of this unusual configuration, which reminds us of the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone.
Mashable recently kicked off its Gadget of the Day Series , supported by the Energizer Inductive Charger . Each week, we’ll review a number of gadgets that catch our interest. In case you missed them, here are the gadgets from our second week — read on for great reviews of Nike’s SportWatch GPS, the Logitech Alert Security System, Altec Lansing Orbit USB Stereo wireless speakers, Logitech’s HD Pro Webcam C910, and the GoFlex Satellite. Looking for even more gadget reviews? This roundup will appear every weekend during the series, and you can check out all of our gadget coverage on the Tech & Gadgets channel . 1. Nike+ SportWatch GPS Runners of all levels who want an accurate assessment of their runs should check out the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS. It’s accurate, and with a little software-side tweaking, it could be the perfect scoring system for your daily exercise routine.
Internet Explorer 9, which was released Monday , was downloaded 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours it was available, according to Microsoft. The beta version of this iteration of the browser was downloaded only 1 million times during the first day of its availability. For the final version of IE 9, that’s almost 98,000 downloads per hour, or 27 downloads per second, however you want to look at it. “We want to thank everyone around the world for downloading IE9 and the enthusiastic reception,” Ryan Gavin, Microsoft’s senior director of Internet Explorer, wrote on the IE blog
This post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication. Whenever you bring up the idea that the cycle of innovation must, at some point, come to an end, you inevitably evoke the memory of Charles Duell. For the uninitiated, Duell was the commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in 1899 supposedly said , “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” We can all have a good laugh at Duell’s expense now (even though he may never have actually said that), but perhaps we shouldn’t. After all, isn’t Duell’s sentiment generally true in a lot of cases? For instance, have cars really changed that much since the ’50s? Sure, they’re more fuel efficient and they now have OnStar systems and USB ports , but they’re still basically the same — four tires that you operate with a steering wheel. They still (mostly) run on gas. They’ve been perfected, but are they fundamentally different? Or take toasters. Is the toaster you could buy in 1971 really all that different from today’s? For all I know, toaster technology may have advanced dramatically since then, but as a consumer, there’s really not much difference. It took a minute or so to make toast 40 years ago, and it still does today
By now you’ve probably heard about Watson , the super-smart computer that will throw down against Jeopardy’s greatest champions in a trivia-soaked battle to decide the fate of humanity. If the humans win, we retain our mantle as “Earth’s Most Awesome Thing Since Dinosaurs,” and Watson heads back to taking drive-thru orders at White Castle. If Watson wins, we’re required to hand over the nuke codes and henceforth refer to it as “Supreme Lord of All Circuits and Flesh.” Then it gets all Matrixy , etc. etc. But it wasn’t always this way