iMac Pro had a sneak peek at WWDC

So at WWDC today not only did Apple upgrade it’s laptops and iMacs to Intel Kaby lake processors with more RAM, but they previewed the iMac Pro which will come out in December.

It is a serious pro iMac starting at $4999, with 8, 10 or 18 core XEON processors and AMD Radeon Vega graphics to drive it’s 4K display as well as up to 128GB of RAM. Damn!

Still I would change some things. Intel XEONS are literally generations behind in technology, and their best benefit of using dual processors is useless here. The upcoming i9 processors are much newer tech and also have 18 cores and should be cheaper than Xeons. Even without ICC memory support. And while the Vegas are impressive, I would much rather have an NVIDIA 1080ti for CUDA support.

The fact that Apple is supporting external video cards via Thunderbolt in High Sierra could negate this issue of course, though they only mentioned AMD support.

EDIT: And in a not very pro way, the RAM is not user upgradeable, so you are stuck with what you start ith (very expensive Apple RAM), though at least the 5 grand model starts with 32GB.

Apple admits it was wrong and is working on a new MacPro

So Apple held a little event with Reporters to talk about it’s plans for the MacPro and Pros in general. TechCrunch has a long article on the event.

Finally Apple is saying that there is a pro future with Apple. That they realize they did wrong with the MacPro Trash can, as it was not easily upgradeable, even for them to release an upgraded model (which they finally released at the event along with a price cut, though this should have come out in 2014). They basically admit that they bet it all on dual processor gpus, which has not proved to be what people want (they didn’t mention that they were custom designed connectors that can’t be replaced, or that NVIDIA is moving away from dual GPU’s). And they made a Machine based around thermal constraints, but couldn’t upgrade it because of that afterwards.

They say they have started working on a new modular system that will include a Pro Display, to release not in 2017, which could mean years. They don’t say anything about user upradeable though, just more easily upgradable by Apple, which is good, but not great. I want to be able to use any PC graphics card, like I can in my old MacPro, and have addition PCI slots as well as Thunderbolt 3, USB 3 and the like, and I wouldn’t mind a Firewire 800 port, though I doubt it. Honestly I want an old MacPro tower with new Tech, not Apple once again trying to prove it’s inovation like it did with the trashcan release.

In the interim they have said there are going to make more Pro iMacs. No idea what that means. More cores? Real desktop graphics? NVIDIA instead of AMD!? I doubt it. User upgradeable? Doubt it? Have to get an Origin Omni for that.

I love Mac, and would love to stay Mac. The question is does Apple really understand what Video Pros want? They sure haven’t since around 2010. Still if I can make my 2009 MacPro last until the new MacPro is released, I can see if I can stay Mac.

I would love to stay Mac, and this gives me sone glimmer of hope, but I still worry as if they were so interested in the Pro user they should be much farther along than not in 2017. Must be a very recent decision. I bet with so many Pros moving to Windows they got scared, though not scared enough to add pen support to laptops!

Well that was fun. Replaced the power supply in my MacPro.

So my MacPro has been slowly getting harder to power up of late. I could get it to work, but I had to unplug the power for over 30 seconds, then plug it back in and it would usually power up, though sometimes it was not so easy.

Well last week it stopped powering up at all. If I unplugged the power and plugged it in and hit the power I got a RED LED from inside, but that was it. Not white light and no power.

Luckily I have the Service Manual for my MacPro 4,1. I went through the checklist in the service manual, and didn’t get far. Basically plugged the computer in, and hit the diagnostic button, and the only light i got was the 2 red leds, and I didn’t get the 5V STBY light. So it was either the power supply or the backplane board.

Now I thought it was the powersupply and not the backplane board. I have been running an NVIDIA Geforce and multiple PCI cards, and it is a 2009 macpro, so I figured it was the power supply.

I searched for Power Supplies on Ebay and they all looked used but working, but I didn’t want another used power supply. So my dad pointed me to DV Warehouse. And they had a new power supply for the 4,1 and 5,1 for $228 plus shipping and tax. I got the new power supply today.

It was certainly not the easiest install. First off the 4 hex screws are pretty well hidden and there is not much room to turn them. It took me a good half hour to get the screws out and pull the old power supply. And it was literally filled with dust. LITERALLY FILLED WITH DUST! The problem with Apple hiding the power supply so well, is it is so hard to clean out. You only have access from the back panel and that leaves no place for the dust to leave. Honestly it should be easier to remove so it is easier to clean. I can bet many MacPro deaths are because of all the damn dust in the power supply.

So I put the new power supply in, took the time to put those damn hex screws back in, replaced my PCI cards and hard drives.

And it powered right up. It was the power supply.

So lets hope between that and the new video card I can easily get a few more years out of this machine before I have to replace it and it is time to move to Windows.

Problems with Apple Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless Headphones, sending for service

I seem to be hard to be hard things, because they don’t last. I used to use Bose overear headphones for my dog walks every morning, but after a year or so they stopped working with a microphone even with a change of cable.

For Christmas last year I was given a pear of Apple Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless headphones. I didn’t want the Apple Airpods, because I don’t trust that they won’t individually fall our or I will immediately lose one. The Beats seem like a much better idea because of the cord in between them and that they wrap around your ears.

Overall I have been mostly happy with them. The battery life is very good, the sounds is good, and after trying out all the earpieces I found ones that mostly stay in my ears, though I am constantly pushing them on more.

For me the major problem is the connection to my iPhone 6. I take my dogs for walks every morning, Indiana Bones for 45 minutes and JK for 30 minutes. And even with my phone and headphones fully charged, and my phone in a case on my hip I lose connection constantly. Mostly it just stops playing, and I can use the inline remote to start playing again, but about once a day it completely disconnects and I either have to wait for it to reconnect or go into bluetooth and force a reconnect. As I said I can usually start again quickly, but not always and sometimes I have to pull my phone out to get them to play again. And this is a real pain when I am being pulled by Indy and especially when I am also carrying a full dog poop bag as well. I just want them to not stop! Not only that the problem has been getting much worse. At first it was happening maybe twice a walk, but now it can happen up to 10 times a walk!

Also the microphone does not seem great. Partially I think it is because it on the cord that wraps back around your neck, so it is behind your mouth so has to be powerful and so it picks up a huge amount of wind noise. My mom is constantly complaining about the sound quality.

The range in my house is pretty good, especially if I have my iPhone in the middle of the house, it reaches pretty far, but can’t make it outside, or through too many walls for sure.

I have tried resetting my PowerBeats3 and have restarted my phone, but the stopping persists, especially when I am out and walking (seems to work better in my house). I contacted support and they are sending me a case and will check them out, and if they find a problem they will send me a like new pair, and if they don’t they will charge me for the inspection, even though it is still on warranty.

And maybe the issue is my iPhone, but I will find out. Just can’t stand the constantly stopping.

I do love not having the cord to my phone, especially when walking the dogs, and I really like the wire behind my neck to keep them safer, though it could be a little longer in my opinion. They are great when they are working, but when stopping all the time they are frustrating.

I bet they work much better on an iPhone 7 with the custom bluetooth hardware. And maybe it is interference from also having an apple watch? I just don’t know!

I will update once I hear from apple.

Red Shark article on Mac Pro users wanting a simple powerful box

Red Shark has an article on Mac Pro users not caring about design, just wanting a powerful expandable box. I love the idea of a MacPro Classic with modern inards. Heck I would be OK with a PC box with Modern Mac innards, but the MacPro Classic is exactly what I want. Or honestly an even bigger box, with not only the 4 drive slots, but also a 4 drive raid with RAID hardware built in.

It isn’t going to happen though. Tim Cook does not get the Pro user or care about them at all. There hasn’t even been a speedramp on the Trashcan, and the video cards are old tech! Besides most pros want CUDA and NVIDIA.

Hell if Apple really cared enough they would let a 3rd party build a new MacPro. I want an Origin PC MacPro! And give me a choice of Xeon or i7 chips!

Once I can afford it my tower will become a PC, likely an Origin. I will likely keep my iPad and iPhone. They work great and do certain things better than my Surface 4 i5 can do.

Color Correction Test with DJI OSMO+, Canon 60D and iPhone 6S and Visual Effects of Gun Shots

I shot some test footage with 3 of my cameras, my DJI OSMO+ my Canon 60D and my iPhone 6S. I color corrected the footage using DaVinci Resolve 12.5 and did the Visual Effects in Adobe After Effects.

The visual effects include adding the gun shots, light flashes, and color correcting the orange tip of my gun so it is gray.

I was trying to show my ability to color match the footage from such different 3 cameras, as well as add the visual effects to make an interesting little sequence.

Let me know what you think!

More fun with iCloud Bookmark sync

So after giving up on LastPass because it is not e10 multiprocessor compatible, I have been trying to sync my bookmarks using Firefox Sync, Chrome Sync and iCloud Bookmark Sync for windows. Unfortunately iCloud bookmarks is garbage, because it has no simple way to either clear bookmarks, or force a sync from a single source, and unfortunately it often gets completely corrupted! To clear it you have to disable sync everywhere except your mac, and let it sit, then clear your bookmarks and either import or create a new clean set. Unforunately this process is very unstable. It requires much switching off sync and waiting, and hoping.

Keep your fingers crossed, as I am.

LastPass 4 does support e10s in Firefox, but no word on Xmarks

So I was let know that LastPass version 4 does in fact work with e10 multiprocessing in Firefox. The normal update does not work, so you need to install LastPass 4.0 from the web site.

There is no word on Xmarks though.

So I am now running the iCloud Bookmarks Plug In on my Surface Pro 4 to sync between Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. And using Firefox bookmark Sync to sync from my mac to my Surface Pro.

Looks like Xmarks and Lastpass will never support e10 Multiprocessor in Firefox

So it looks like neither Xmarks or Lastpass will ever support e10 Multiprocessing in Mozilla Firefox. For years Mozilla Firefox has been my browser of choice because of all of it’s extensions. There was a short period where I used Chrome, but it is not as customizable. Firefox though is changing and is becoming multiprocessor, and that requires re-writing plugins to work with e10, or they won’t work. Right no Firefox will still work without e-10, by keeping Firefox in the old mode without mulit-processor support.

I contacted Xmarks/Lastpass support to see about their e-10 support, and I got this response.

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to Xmarks Support.

Through testing that we were unable to install Xmarks in Electrolysis e10. At this time, we have no plans to launch Xmarks compatibility with e10. I will submit a formal feature request ticket advocating your desire if you’d like.

Thanks,
Jeremy

So basically a paid service will never update their software and will very shortly lose all support for Firefox my favorite browser! Time to kill my accounts for xmarks and lastpass!

Of course now the question is how to replace these essential programs. I am going to try out Firefox Browser sync, and iCloud sync. Unfortunately iCloud Browser sync only runs on windows, but I have my Surface Pro 4 running Windows 10, so I can try Safari Browser sync to sync between Chrome, Firefox and Safari on Mac. And it is e10 supported, so that might work. I will keep my backup in Firefox on my mac so I can keep replacing my good backups.

RedShark article on time to take a new look at Final Cut Pro X 10.3

So RedShark has posted an opinion piece on Final Cut Pro X 10.3 and why you should give it a second look now because it is so fast and has become so powerful now. The author gave it a new look after looking at this video.

It is interesting and it does look powerful now, and full of most of the features it should have had on release.

Still a couple of things give me pause. Number one being this quote from the article on the magnetic time line:

The stress of knocking your entire sequence out of sync is gone.

I can honestly say that I never had any stress about knocking a timeline out of sync in any NLE. You learn how to use it and never have an issue with knocking stuff of of sync. To me that is not a reason to create an all new paradigm for the timeline, because I have never had a problem with knocking things out of sync!

And second I just don’t trust Apple anymore. Sure I love OS X and wish I could stay on it forever, but without having a customization “Pro” machine like the old MacPro I can’t see them as Pro. And that is why they have to make FCP X work on less powerful machines so well, because they don’t have a viable alternative. And no way am I ever getting a trashcan even if they do upgrade it. Not having it upgrade able or internally expandable means it will not last like my MacPro from 2009 has! And I don’t trust apple to not just kill FCP X one day. They did it with Shake. They did it with FCP 7. They did it with Color. They did it with DVD Studio Pro. They did it with Aperture. I just don’t trust them anymore.