Apple released Final Cut Pro X, the newest version of the Final Cut video editing software, back in 2011. It met mixed reviews: Many long-time users of the program found X's changes in layout a step backwards from the previous version, Final Cut Pro 7.

Regardless which version you have, you've probably achieved a decent understanding of how it works — so we'll skip the basic "tricks."

Instead, we've compiled the most helpful YouTube channels for cool Final Cut tips: shortcuts, visual effects and color grading, to name a few. Some are geared specifically for X, while others highlight techniques that can be used across all versions, whether you're looking to brush up on a few techniques, or just curious about how other editors work best. Read more…

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When National Geographic started looking into alternatives to cable, it found an as-yet-unreleased product that might be a good fit: YouTube paid channels.

The National Geographic Society was in a quandary. It knew it wanted to launch a video channel for kids based on the success of its children's magazine and games, but wasn't entirely sure which platform to use. The company initially considered creating another cable channel, but it wasn't convinced that advertising — the main source of revenue for TV channels — was the best business model when going after that type of audience.

Instead, National Geographic started looking into alternatives to cable, including reaching out to YouTube last August. National Geographic had found great success in the past publishing clips on YouTube, but the video site said there was no way to monetize a video channel other than through ads. But in October, YouTube got back in touch with National Geographic to propose its new YouTube paid channels. 

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An update to the YouTube app for Android and Google TV gives you the option to automatically pair these devices, and watch videos from your phone or tablet on the TV.

Once the devices are paired, you can browse videos on your Android YouTube app and click the TV icon to play them on your Google TV.

The Android device can also be used as a remote control, with pause, scroll and skip options at your disposal. While the video is playing on the Google TV, you can use the Android device to find the next video to watch or browse the web without interrupting playback. Finally, you can connect multiple Android devices to the TV, all of which can then add videos to the playlist.

Google has been working on connecting Android devices with Google TVs for several years. In November 2010, Google launched YouTube Remote for Android. In February, Google filed a patent that describes a system of voice commands through which you can operate your Google TV with your Android device.

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The folks from uptime monitoring company Royal Pingdom have assembled a gargantuan list of various internet-related stats from 2012, and it's a very interesting read.

Though we've seen nearly all of these numbers before — for example, we covered Facebook passing 1 billion users in October as well as Twitter's 200 million in December — seeing them all in one place reminds you of how small and insignificant we are in the vast ocean of data that is the internet. Read more…

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