Retailers feast on free Facebook tools, shun ads

In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo on a computer screen is seen through a magnifying glass held by a woman in Bern May 19, 2012. Picture taken May 19, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Thomas Hodel

By Alistair Barr

CHICAGO | Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:07am EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Krishan Agarwal, president of online luxury watch vendor Melrose.com, told a roomful of attentive Internet retailers last week how Facebook had helped his company generate about 25 percent more sales in two years.

Then he dropped a bombshell: Melrose spent less than $1,500 on Facebook ads during that time. Everything else the company did with Facebook was free.

"Some of the tools that are free are just a lot better than ads on Facebook," the former Dalton Investments hedge fund analyst explained, echoing other attendees at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

Agarwal's experience goes to the heart of the issues confronting Facebook Inc as it tries to turn its giant global network into a money machine. Advertisers love the platform but don't necessarily see the benefit in spending money on the ads.

Facebook is hoping to allay some of the doubts with new ad formats that provide better tracking of customer behavior. It's also beginning to insert ads directly into the "newsfeed," the stream of updates that all users receive, which should in turn help the company address the challenge of delivering ads on mobile devices.

Yet analysts increasingly suggest that over the long run, Facebook may have to begin charging for services that are currently free. Concerns about the company's reliance on advertising offerings which, unlike rival Google's, have not proven themselves to be game-changers for customers have helped shave $25 billion from Facebook's market value since it went public last month.

"They're in a huge pickle because most of their business is based on growth in advertising," said Forrester Research's Sucharita Mulpuru. But "why buy that cow when you get the milk for free?"

The experience of online retailers, which comprise a big piece of the online ad market and are thus a crucial sector for Facebook to win over, provides a clear view of Facebook's advertising challenge.

"The retail sector isn't buying it," said Fiona Dias, chief strategy officer at ShopRunner, an e-commerce shipping company part-owned by eBay. "With all Facebook's free stuff, retailers don't have to worry whether it works very well. But the moment they pay a nickel, there has to be accountability."

Katie Ennis, e-commerce head at apparel retailer RCC Western Stores, said she had used Facebook ads until she sat down with the head of finance and analyzed the return on investment compared with other advertising the company uses.

"The conversions were just not there. People would click on the ads sometimes but would not buy," she said. "So we completely stopped doing Facebook ads earlier this year."

After about a month, RCC Western noticed a decline in sales. The retailer resumed running Facebook ads and sales recovered.

"So Facebook ads are having an effect, but we're not sure how and we can't measure it," Ennis said.

Giantnerd was an early adopter of Facebook's Open Graph project, which lets shoppers "love," "want" and "own" products on the website of the outdoor goods retailer. When shoppers click on these buttons, those recommendations are shared with friends through their Facebook Timeline.

Facebook highlighted Giantnerd's success in a June blog, saying website traffic from Facebook more than tripled after the retailer integrated with Open Graph, a free service.

CEO Randall Weidberg was less enthusiastic about traditional paid Facebook display ads.

"It has its place, but won't have amazing results," he said during the conference.

FACEBOOK VS GOOGLE

Tracking the impact of advertising is difficult in any medium, and Google's success is largely due to an unusually direct relationship between ad buys and customer actions. When someone searches for something on Google, and ads for the item being searched appear next to the regular search results, the chances of a customer clicking and buying are pretty good.

Facebook users, by contrast, are not typically looking for something to buy. They may get a product recommendation from a friend, then search for it elsewhere and buy days or weeks later. This makes it hard to attribute sales directly to Facebook ads, because purchases are often influenced by other things along the way.

Four out of five people in a Reuters survey this month said they had never bought a product as a result of advertising on Facebook.

CanvasPop, which turns Facebook and Instagram photos into canvas art, has seen success with fan pages and other free efforts such as contests.

But co-founder Adrian Salamunovic said Facebook's analytics service measures the impact of ads on "everything except revenue."

"We take advantage of all the free things," he said. "Occasionally we spend money on Facebook ads for certain campaigns, with mixed results. If there was an out-of-the-box way of tracking revenue generated from Facebook ads, that would make a huge difference to a lot of people."

Facebook is searching for better ways to track impact. Brad Smallwood, its head of measurements and insights, said on Tuesday that Facebook is launching a competition with the Advertising Research Foundation to encourage new ways of measuring return on ad investment.

Winners will get funding from Facebook to develop the projects, Smallwood said.

"We haven't given marketers a good understanding of how to evaluate these things," he added.

Facebook has also rolled out new types of paid ads recently - such as Sponsored Stories and Ads with Social - that may be easier to measure and track.

"While advertisers to-date have seen mixed results from Facebook ads, 'sponsored stories' and offers are showing signs of improving results," wrote Colin Sebastian, an analyst at RW Baird, in a recent investor note.

Weidberg of Giantnerd agreed that the newer sponsored stories ads have been more successful.

FREE VS PAID

Facebook recommends marketers use free tools to get customers engaged online, then pay for ads such as sponsored stories to spread successful campaigns to a broader audience.

One of its newest ad formats is called Promoted Posts. When companies post updates for fans on their Facebook pages, the messages only reach some followers. They can now pay to get posts into the News Feeds of more of their fans.

Advertisers who only use free marketing tools on Facebook "are leaving a huge opportunity on the table to reach more customers," Facebook spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana said.

Still, analysts have begun to speculate on if and when Facebook might begin charging fees for some of the services that are now free.

"They could experiment with charging for Facebook pages if you are a certain sized retailer," said Sebastian. "They have to be very careful though. They are trying to create as big a funnel as possible and over time try to monetize that. They would not want to limit the growth of the funnel at this point."

Facebook spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana declined to comment on the possibility of future fees.

(Editing by Edwin Chan and Jonathan Weber)

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Netbios Share Scanner 1.0

In this day and age, there is the constant risk of information leak and other security issues regarding the Internet and networks. In order to keep sensitive data belonging to your company and customers safe at all times, you should constantly check your systems for security vulnerabilities to ensure that you keep at least one step ahead of any attackers. Netbios Share Scanner is one of the free tools available from SecPoint, a leading producer of IT security software. The homepage contains a new and improved tutorial video which will guide you through the straightforward and quick process of scanning your network for vulnerabilities. The software is available for both Linux- and Windows-based systems. To scan a network, it is simply a matter of starting the command-based program, entering the IP address for the network you want to scan and, if required, the user name and password to log into a secured site. You can then choose a format for the output report and leave the program to scan the server.

Netbios Share Scanner 1.0 Anti-Virus Tools software developed by SecPoint ApS. The license of this anti-virus tools software is freeware, the price is free, you can free download and get a fully functional freeware version of Netbios Share Scanner. Do not use warez version, crack, serial numbers, registration codes, pirate key for this anti-virus tools freeware Netbios Share Scanner. Always use genuine version that is released by original publisher SecPoint ApS.

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Pentax 16 Megapixels Optio WG-2 Waterproof Camera

Pentax announced two cameras to replace last year's WG-1 series - the Pentax WG-2 and WG-2 GPS. Both cameras are pretty-much identical except that one comes with GPS and the other one without. Both cameras are Waterproof up to depths of 40 feet, Shockproof protects camera drop up to 5 feet, Crushproof to withstands weights up to 220 LBF (pound-force), Coldproof to sub-freezing temps of minus 10 degrees C (14 degrees F), and Dustproof design protects the camera from dusty environments.The WG-2 and WG-2 GPS features a new backlit 16 Megpaixels sensor, a wide angle 5x (28-140mm equivalent) internal optical zoom lens, Full HD 1080p movie recording in H.264 format, 3-inch LCD at 460,000 dots with anti-reflective coating, and Pixel Track, Digital, and Movie Shake Reduction to ensure blur-free images and video. It also comes with Fast Face Detection technology including Smile Capture and Blink Detection, and a Handheld Night Snap mode produces a single blur-free image from four images of the same scene. An optional SportMount Chest Harness at $50 allows hands-free Full HD movie capture.

The WG-2 is listed for $349.95 in a choice of Black or Vermillion Red colors, while the WG-2 GPS is listed for $399.95 in Shiny Orange or Gloss White colors. Here's the summary of review by Steve's Digicam:"Our indoor samples show the same high levels of image noise throughout the ISO range, which softens the image. It is incredibly noticeable when looking at the text on the left side as well as in blue areas both from our indoor and outdoor images. By the time you reach ISO 800, all of the sharp lines and details within the image have disappeared. Any settings above that are unacceptable. Assisting with your low-light images is a small, built-in flash unit with a range of up to 18ft. (W) at ISO auto. This range will shrink drastically when the ISO is set to an acceptable level, or if you are shooting underwater. This is something to consider if you will be using the flash often. With the WG-2 in portrait mode, the camera detects and follows any faces within the frame very well. This face detection software also makes it possible for the camera's Smile Capture and Blink Detection modes, helping to make sure your portrait shots are the best possible;  even if you are not ready.

Our sample images came out very nice, with the two faces perfectly in focus and with great exposure. Using the camera's built-in flash for fill, we did not see any redness in the eyes of either of our subjects. If you look closely at the image, you do see the noise again and how it completely takes away the texture from the skin of both subjects.Underwater, the WG-2 offered a very enjoyable experience. Whether you are shooting in a pool or at the beach, the LCD is easy to see most of the time. The camera also handles these situations very well, adjusting for color and light sensitivity when using the preset "underwater" shooting mode. Even face detection worked fairly well, detecting faces underwater; including faces that had goggles on. The only unfortunate issue is the much higher ISO settings, causing a huge increase in noise vs. what the same shot would be out of the water. The Pentax WG-2 allows you to capture full 1080p HD videos at 30fps with sound instead of just still images if the need should arise. It is lacking a dedicated video recording button, meaning you will have to take time to set the camera to movie mode before you can record. Once the camera is in movie mode, you still have a long lag of approx. 1.2 seconds before the camera starts to record after you press the shutter release. Once recording you have a movie limit of up to 25 minutes, no matter what size memory card you are recording to. Our recorded video plays back perfectly on the camera and on an HDTV via HDMI cable. On the computer, the full 1080p movie is a little choppy and the audio is a little off sync.Bottom Line - The Pentax Optio WG-2 is a very hardy digicam, designed to survive anything that you can throw at it - or throw it at. This "lifeproof" camera features a 16-Megapixel imaging sensor, 5x internal optical zoom lens, LED macro ring lights, 3-inch LCD and built-in GPS, giving you a little more than you would find a standard point-n-shoot. While it is stylish and versatile, there is a lot of noise within the images and the battery life is atrocious. With a MSRP of $299.95 USD for the non-GPS model or $349.95 USD, the price falls in line with the other "lifeproof" cameras that we have seen. You might also want to check out the Canon PowerShot D20 or the Panasonic Lumix TS-20 if you're in the market for a lifeproof camera."

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Time Inc. Now Selling Subscriptions Through the App Store

U.S. iPad owners can now subscribe to the iPad editions of all 20 of Time Inc.'s magazines through Apple's Newsstand, including InStyle, People, Sports Illustrated and Time, the company announced Thursday.

Time Inc. has been selling magazines on the iPad for almost as long as the two-year-old device has been on the market. Until now however, users were unable to subscribe to its magazines within the App Store. Instead, they had to subscribe to individual print editions through Time Inc. or a third-party vendor, and then authenticate those subscriptions through their respective apps. Some magazines, such as Sports Illustrated, deviated by offering bundled digital subscriptions on their websites, which permitted users to access content from a variety of connected devices.

[More from Mashable: Apple’s Insanely Great 1986 Clothing Line [PICS]]

Why didn't Time Inc. allow subscriptions to begin with? The company contested Apple's terms for the offering, which forbid the sharing of subscriber information with publishers. That information that is critical to Time Inc., which needs it to sell advertising packages.

Some publishers, including Conde Nast and Hearst, have bystepped this obstacle by asking users to opt-in with their information immediately after purchasing subscriptions in their apps. If users refuse, they may be prompted again to opt-in when they attempt to open certain features, like article bookmarking. A Time Inc. spokesperson told Mashable that the majority of customers have agreed to share their data with publishers via those methods; as such, the company now feels that "Apple understands our needs as publishers and we feel confident we can manage our subscriber base well," the spokesperson said.

[More from Mashable: Twitter’s Expanded Tweets Now Show More Interactive Content]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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SpaceX founder talks Mars with Caltech grads

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Fresh off SpaceX's historic return from the International Space Station, company founder Elon Musk said Friday that he would like to see humans settle Mars and become a "multi-planet species."

The 40-year-old entrepreneur reiterated his vision to graduates at the California Institute of Technology, a private university 10 miles northeast of Los Angeles known for its science and engineering programs.

Musk said he hoped some of the newly minted graduates would work toward Mars colonization, either at SpaceX or another outfit.

"You guys are the magicians of the 21st century. Don't let anything hold you back," he said. "Imagination is the limit ... go out there and create some magic."

Musk made headlines last month when SpaceX became the first private company to make a roundtrip supply run to the space station — a task that had been dominated by governments. With NASA's space shuttle fleet retired, the space agency is outsourcing the job to private industry.

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule splashed into the Pacific on May 31 after a virtually flawless nine-day test flight that included docking with the multibillion-dollar orbiting outpost and delivering a load of food, clothing and equipment to the astronauts aboard.

Earlier this week, Musk accompanied NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on a tour of the Dragon capsule that was plucked from the ocean and trucked to SpaceX's factory in Texas. Save for a few scorch marks from the fiery re-entry, the bell-shaped capsule weathered its maiden journey.

Caltech board of trustees chair Kent Kresa called Musk an "inventor, entrepreneur, visionary and relentless dreamer."

Musk jokingly replied: "I'd like to thank you for leaving crazy person out of the description."

The audience cheered when Musk recounted the historic flight, which he called a "white knuckle event."

"It's a huge relief. I still can't quite believe it actually happened," he said.

SpaceX aimed to launch the next supply mission in September under a contract with NASA and has predicted that astronauts could hitch rides to the space station in as little as three or four years. SpaceX planned to test the next version of the Dragon — designed to carry crews — later this year.

The South African-born Musk, who made his fortune at PayPal Inc., founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. a decade ago and has poured millions of his own wealth into the rocket startup. The company suffered three rocket failures before finally succeeding. Besides SpaceX, Musk also runs the electric car company Tesla Motors.

Musk's ultimate goal is beyond Earth orbit. To achieve that, the company needs a reusable spaceship capable of making the long trip to the red planet and complete with life support systems.

Musk called the feat "right on the borderline of impossible" but one that's on SpaceX's to-do list.

___

Online:

SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com

Caltech: http://www.caltech.edu

___

AP Science Writer Alicia Chang can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

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Talk of Microsoft tablet resurfaces

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is gearing up to unveil its own tablet to boost its new Windows 8 operating system and counter Apple Inc's hot-selling iPad, according to media reports on Friday.

Such an effort, which the company has not confirmed, would be a departure from its usual focus on software and potentially throw Microsoft into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> and Hewlett-Packard Co .

The world's largest software company has invited media to a "major" announcement in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, but has not provided any details.

In the absence of information, talk is swirling that Microsoft will introduce its own tablet, according to anonymously sourced reports in the New York Times and the AllThingsD tech blog. Microsoft declined comment on the subject and those reports.

It is not the first time such talk has surfaced, as Microsoft looks for a way to make an impact with its new tablet-friendly Windows 8 operating system and put the best product it can in the market to counter Apple's iPad.

Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google Inc may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

"Anything is possible if they don't feel their partners are doing it right," said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner. "But it's hard to compete with companies that sell your stuff and still have a great relationship with them."

Other analysts suggested an own-branded tablet may be chiefly aimed at kick-starting the market for Windows tablets working on ARM Holdings Plc microprocessors - a new venture for Microsoft, which has traditionally relied on Intel Corp chips.

Microsoft charges hardware makers $50 or more to incorporate its software in machines and analysts suggest that hardware makers are struggling to produce tablets at a low enough price to challenge the iPad. By making its own tablets, Microsoft would presumably use its software for free, bringing down the overall price.

"It suggests to me that they've struggled to get OEMs (hardware makers) on board to bring the prices down, so they feel they have to subsidize these products to get them out of the door, at least in the first iteration," said Al Hilwa, an analyst at tech research firm IDC.

Making its own hardware for such an important product would be a departure for Microsoft, which based its success on licensing its software to other manufacturers, stressing the importance of "partners" and the Windows "ecosystem."

When it has ventured into hardware, the Redmond, Washington-based company has a mixed record.

Apart from keyboards and mice, the Xbox game console was its first foray into major manufacturing. That is now a successful business, but only after billions of dollars of investment and overcoming problems with high rates of faulty units - a problem which was nicknamed the "red ring of death" by gamers.

The company's Microsoft-branded Zune music player, a late rival to Apple's iPod, was not a success and its unpopular Kin phone was taken off the market shortly after introduction.

Microsoft has tried hard to generate the type of excitement Apple gets for its secretive product launches, but usually disappoints. Talk was rife at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2010 that Microsoft would pre-empt Apple's iPad with a slate of its own devising, but it never materialized.

The company killed off a two-screen, slate-style prototype called Courier later that year, saying the technology might emerge in another form later on.

(Reporting By Bill Rigby; editing by Andre Grenon)

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Skype 5.10.0.114

Skype is software for calling other people on their computers or phones. Download Skype and start calling for free all over the world.

The calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption. You don't even need to configure your firewall or router or any other networking gear.

Additionally it doesn't just work on Windows. Skype is also for Mac OS X, Linux and PDAs using Pocket PC, with a native look and feel for each platform. Talking, sending instant messages or even file transfers work between different platforms like a charm.

Skype calling - Skype has all the features of an ordinary phone so it's even easier to manage your calls.Video calling - see who you are talking to at the same time as speaking to them.Add Skype and SkypeOut contacts - Add contacts who use Skype and those who use ordinary phones so you can call more people.Organising groups - group contacts under certain names and share them with your contacts so they can talk to them too.Basic chat and emoticons - when it's not convenient to call, chat or Instant Message (IM) your contacts.Group chat - for when it's easier to chat or Instant Message (IM) all your friends at once.Profile settings - change how you appear to the world and let people know a bit about you.Conference calling - talk to more than one friend at a time.Import contacts - search your address book to find friends and family that already have a Skype name and start calling them for free.View Outlook contacts - view and call your Microsoft Outlook® contacts quickly and directly from your Skype contact list.Quickfilter and Speed-Dial - find Skype contacts, recent chats and SkypeOut contacts quickly and easily, then enter their Skype name to call them back quickly.

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State Law Runs Afoul of Protections for Internet Providers, EFF Claims

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is challenging a Washington State law that criminalizes advertising for underage prostitution, claiming it runs afoul of federal protections for websites and ISPs for the actions of their users.

The law, SB 6251, seeks to limit the sexual exploitation of minors by making it a felony to run advertisements for such services. It requires online advertising platforms to attempt to verify in person the age of people whose sexual services are advertised.

The legislation was signed into law by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire on March 29 and was set to take effect last week. Its enforcement has been delayed as the result of a legal challenge from the online classifieds site, Backpage.com, which is owned by Village Voice Media. Backpage.com has sued the state and county attorneys general in federal court.

EFF filed a motion on Thursday seeking to intervene in the case on behalf of Internet Archive, a digital library that archives Web content.

Both Backpage and Internet Archive assert in their filings that they do not condone underage prostitution, but they argue that the law should not punish online service providers.

"At its core, this lawsuit is about the ability of the state of Washington to impose liability on online service providers for hosting and disseminating content created by third parties," the Internet Archive motion reads.

The law "will force, by threat of felony prosecution, websites and others to become the government's censors of users' content," Backpage alleges in its challenge.

Holding online service providers liable runs contrary to the immunity carved out in the federal Communications Decency Act, specifically in Section 230, both suits assert.

"The appropriate way to combat illegal speech online is to prosecute the people who are engaged in bad conduct," said Matt Zimmerman, a senior staff attorney at EFF.

In a joint statement on Backpage's suit, the law's sponsor, Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a Seattle Democrat, and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn called the classifieds site "an 'accelerant' of the commercial sexual exploitation of children."

"We know, based on the experience of multiple online and print forums for escort services, that the only way to be sure that Backpage.com isn't being used to sell children for sex is to verify the ages of the people advertised on their site," the two said.

Internet Archive is seeking to intervene in the suit because Backpage doesn't adequately represent its interest in the case, Zimmerman said. For example, the website may opt to settle with the state in order to avoid prosecution or may not adequately pursue the aspects of the law that are of most concern to the Internet Archive.

Internet Archive "wants to get the court to fully engage and fully evaluate the legality" of the state's move to hold service providers liable, Zimmerman said.

The next hearing in the case is set for July 20, when the judge will decide whether to turn the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would remain in effect while the case is argued.

Tennessee has already passed a law similar to Washington's. New York and New Jersey are considering similar legislation.

Cameron Scott covers search, web services and privacy for The IDG News Service. Follow Cameron on Twitter at CScott_IDG.

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Muvee Photo Creations version 6.6.2

I like photography, and I'm quite sure that any person with photography as a hobby, would like to create a custom calendar with his own photos, or a greeting card, a photo book, a gallery wrap or why not a wedding album?

As mostly you need a specific software for each of the projects mentioned above, but Muvee Photo Creations comes with a complete solution with all the features that you need. Muvee Photo Creations is very easy, and you can create all that you need, even from the first usage of the software! You just select what do you would like create, and the Wizard will take you through all necessary steps to get a splendid result. When the Wizard is done, you can still edit with ease whatever you want in your project, add new photos, new pages, more text, change the fonts, sizes, color, and of course to change the order of photos. Also in the calendar Wizard, you can add specific dates and their description, or you can select the religion and the important holidays will be added in your calendar.

Muvee Photo Creations is free to use, and all the features are working great. But, if you don't buy a license key, you won't be able to print your documents or to export them as PDF's or JPG's...With the free version, you can only print your projects at Muvee.com, and they will deliver the printed albums or calandar or whatever you do, to your home.

App pro's: Easy to use, to manage photos layouts, to insert texts, fully customizable albums and calendars;

App con's: Standard image size cannot be zoomed-out, not so many templates for photo albums;

Conclusion: It's very easy! It has never been easier to create a photo album, a custom calendar with your family photos, or a paper to wrap a box. As I mentioned before, the software is free, but you need a license key to print your work at home.

Why use muvee Photo Creations?

High Quality - Every order placed with muvee Photo Creations is beautifully crafted with the highest quality materials. We know your memories are important and we back it up with our quality assurance guarantee.
Desktop Access - Since our free design software is running directly from your desktop you don't...

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Opera 12 arrives with webcam APIs and experimental WebGL support

Browsing Ars Technica in the new version of Opera

The Opera Web browser got a boost today with the release of version 12. The update brings a number of new features, improved performance, and enhanced support for modern Web standards. It also offers a preview of several experimental features, such as full hardware-accelerated rendering.

Opera 12 has a lot to offer Web developers. The new version includes preliminary support for WebRTC, an emerging standard that is being drafted by the W3C Web Real-Time Communications Working Group. WebRTC will eventually enable standards-based audio and video chat in Web applications. There is also support for the WebRTC media capture APIs, which allow Web content to capture live media streams from the user’s microphone and webcam. As some readers might recall, we first wrote about that functionality last year when it arrived in the Chrome developer channel.

The WebRTC getUserMedia API works out of the box in Opera 12 and can be used by any website. Due to the potential privacy and security implications, the user is automatically prompted by the browser before the feature is allowed to be activated. All we had to do to get it to work with our standard getUserMedia demo (which had previously only been tested in Chrome) was remove the WebKit prefix on the API call.

The new webcam capture API protects privacy by prompting the user for permission.

In addition to the WebRTC features, Opera also added support for CSS3 animations and transitions, and CSS generated content for paged media. The latter introduces features like a footnote value for the float property and other capabilities that are useful for specifying the presentation of printed content.

Another noteworthy addition to Opera 12 is support for the Do Not Track header. When the user enables the Do Not Track feature, the browser will append a flag to every HTTP request to inform servers that the user wants to opt out of behavioral tracking. The efficacy of this feature is predicated on the voluntary compliance of advertisers.

Do Not Track is not yet universally supported, but is steadily gaining momentum. Opera users can enable the header by clicking the “Ask websites not to track me” checkbox in the Security section of the browser’s preference dialog. The feature is a welcome addition for privacy-conscious users.

Opera 12 has added process isolation for plugins, a long overdue improvement that will considerably boost the browser’s stability. According to Opera, plugins like Flash account for approximately one-third of the browser’s crashes. Moving the plugins into a separate process will help address that issue.

The Opera developers are working on bringing hardware-accelerated rendering to the entire browser, including the user interface. This is a major undertaking that will require more time to complete, but experimental support is available today in Opera 12. Users who want to test the feature can enable it by following the instructions that were posted on the Opera desktop blog earlier this year.

Because the hardware-accelerated rendering is still a work in progress, it won’t uniformly increase the browser’s performance at this time. There are some conditions in which it will actually make performance worse than the efficient software rendering mechanism that the browser uses today. Alongside hardware acceleration, Opera 12 has also gained preliminary support for WebGL, allowing it to render 3D graphics in an HTML canvas. The WebGL support requires hardware acceleration, so both features must be enabled in the opera:config panel in order to work.

In version 12, Opera has extended its rich theming system with support for simple wallpaper-like themes. This lightweight theming mechanism, which works alongside traditional Opera themes, is a bit like the Firefox feature that was formerly known as Personas. Opera has a public gallery of browser wallpapers that users can choose from, including simple patterns and textures, nature imagery, and renderings of cartoon characters.

Opera 12's lightweight theming system lets users express their inner brony.

In the interest of keeping the browser svelte, several unpopular legacy features have been removed in the newest version. The biggest casualty is Opera Unite, the browser’s built-in programmable Web server. First introduced in 2009, the aim of Unite was to give users the ability to share content on the Web without having to cede control of their content. Unite was a fascinating concept, but it proved to be too esoteric and impractical to attract a large audience. Another major feature that was removed is support for desktop widgets, miniature HTML applications that float over the user’s desktop.

The accelerated pace of development from leading browser vendors has led to increased competitive pressure in the browser landscape. Opera continues to provide a compelling alternative to its more mainstream rivals.

The browser’s core feature set and standards support have remained strong while its configurability and surprising assortment of built-in tools (including a BitTorrent downloader and IRC client) have helped it retain the devotion of its small but loyal fan base. Users can download Opera 12 and check out the release notes at the company’s website.

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