iTunes 11 is out

Well Apple has released it's huge update to iTunes, iTunes 11. And honestly I find it harder to use, especially playlists. Instead of all on one window, you have to use separate windows, so it actually takes more steps to do things I used to easily be able to do.Here is the album view.And the Playlist viewAnd you can no longer break playlists off, so you can copy between playlists or use it to organize. Now you can only see one playlist at a time. I hate the move to more iOS like single window viewing, instead of being able to view as many windows as I want!Yes the iTunes store is now even prettier, and you can now play songs from the iCloud (if you have a small enough library to do iTunes Match, which I don't), but overall I find it actually harder to use. It is much more focused on Album covers instead of lists, and I have always found lists to be much easier to use (faster and more efficient), and while there are still lists here, they are more hidden. And I have to hit a button to edit a playlist, and then go to where the song is and drag it in, instead of being able to see my playlists and my songs at the same time. The extra step is not easier, it is harder!And I don't think syncing has been much improved. Instead of your connected devices showing up in the playlists they show up on the right, but the menus inside seem mostly the same except the addition of an "On this iPad" which I like since the movies have never been as well organized as playlists, especially when you have a huge list. I hate the thumbnail there view, which has not changed (a list would be much more efficient), but at least you can look "On Your iPad" and more easily see what you have already synced.Here is the On This iPad button.Here is where your iOS devices show up.And what happens when you click on the button. And then you can go into the standard sync section, which hasn't changed much.And another loss of efficiency is that you have to hover over areas on the iOS device to see how much actual space each section is taking up.Adding another step which slows things down.Overall it stills works and I can still make playlists, play music and sync, and there is a better mini player with a search function, but I actually think it downgraded in many ways. I don't think you will have a choice before long, so this is where iTunes is going and if you need to sync and iOS device you need to use the latest and greatest, so here it is, but overall it is not much of an improvement and even might be a downgrade to what we used to have, even if it always has been bloated and slow.EDIT:Well I was wrong…

iPad Mini in person

I have now been in Apple stores twice and checked out the iPad mini and must say it is just about perfect. The perfect size and weight. My iPad 3 gets heavy to hold, and I think the iPad mini would be just right to hold for extended periods of time. it is so light and feels pretty well constructed.I still think the price is way too high though. $250 would be a perfect starting place, and even $299 would just deel better than the extra $30.

FX Factory Updated to 4.0 now with Premiere CS6 Support

Noise Industries has upgraded the FxFactory to 4.0 and added Premiere Pro CS 6 Support. I have a ton of their compatible and free plug ins, but don't actually own this suite (always thought it was a tad expensive), but this gives me one more reason, as I have moved from any version of Final Cut and now prefer Premiere Pro (though I of course still have Media Composer which works with very few plug ins).

Arstechnica on newly upgraded Modbooks

Arstechnica has info on new Modbooks, converted 13" Macbookpro's that have a touchscreen display, a wacom pen and no keyboard, and those who ordered are getting a bigger SSD more memory and a twice as sensitive pen, than originally was offered. I so would love one of these. Don't get me wrong, I love my ipad, but I would love to be able to do real work on it. Just think how awesome this would be for Photoshop! You can check out ModBook's at their web site. Started at $3495, this is really an amazing product, and a great alternative to a WACOM Cintiq (though not admittedly more expensive).

HD Magazine on the MacPro

HD Magazine has an excellent article on the lack of a new MacPro.It basically is how I feel. Many in the industry love Macs, but the MacPro is just not as fast as PC's right now and there are great options from HP and Dell that just have the Speed advantage. Companies are waiting to see what Tim Cook was talking about, but we are not holding our breath, and if Apple does not release a new MacPro that really can compete with high end PC's, people will start moving to PC's for their computers, possibly with a Mac laptop for personal stuff.It really is so sad, but the MacPro's just don't make enough as compared to Apple's consumer products (even though they do make money), so Apple is abandoning the people who kept the company afloat all those years when Apple was doing so badly with everyone else.The consumerizing of Final Cut Pro is further proof of their changing focus, and I don't think that they realize the damage they will be doing to themselves in the long run as all professionals move away from Macs.And that doesn't even delve into the fact that Windows 8 is such a dud, after Windows 7 being such a good OS.

ArsTechnica on Apple Fusion Drive

ArsTechnica has done it usual and gone deeper into Apple Fusion drives, now using a true Fusion drive from a Mac Mini. They show how the technology works and the caveats (if one drive goes the whole partition goes, and everything writes first to the SSD, which you can't control).

Jollyjinx figures out how Apple does Fusion Drive

He was able to re-create a Fusion Drive using an SSD and a regular hard drive. Of course the 2 drive setups means more possibility of errors as if one drive fails, they both fail, but it seems more likely that 3rd parties will be able to offer Fusion drives.He has also posted more on building your own Fusion Drive and Fusion Drive Loose ends.

ArsTechnica on Core i5 or i7 in new Macs

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ArsTechnica has a good article on the difference between these processors in the new Macs.Honestly I hadn't realized there was so little difference in the mobile versions except clock speed (and the quad over dual core versions), though I did think that the i7 desktops had superior performance, cache and hyperthreading (strangely both mobile versions have hyperthreading).

Ken Stone on FCP X 10.0.6

Ken Stone has an excellent and thorough review of the new FCP X Update with many photos.It is an excellent look, and the program does look better, but I still won't be giving FCP X a spin again anytime soon, and no I am not just a hater who feels wounded by FCP X.Honestly while I love the metadata capabilities, and think they should be included in other programs, I hate the timeline. It is unintuitive and unorganized. Cutting DR, I usually have shows with 12-15 Video Tracks and I like to keep them well organized so it is easy to see what is what, and easy to jump in for anyone else and replace a shot if need be, but the magnetic timeline is not at all conducive to that.And it is not set up to easily be used in a multi-user multi-machine environment, which is essential for how I work.I still don't see forcing an editor to work a certain as possibly being the future of editing, no matter how fast it can be. Editors have ways that they like to work, and adding new ways is great, and if they are better people will use them, but being forced to use them is just unacceptable.