Is Apple Killing the MacPro

After reading this report from AppleInsider I wrote the following letter to Apple and left it to them as feedback. I know they won’t listen and don’t really care, but I sure do.

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is considering killing the MacPro as it is no longer profitable.

What I don’t think you get is how many graphics houses and editing houses will be leaving the Mac completely if this happens.

Without NVIDIA cards you can barely edit with Premiere Pro or even use programs like SMOKE, and if the artists are going to move to PC, there whole facilities will go PC, and Apple will lose a lot of it’s coolness, and a lot more business than they think they will.

AVID already gives you PC and Mac Versions on one disc, and without a MacPro, and it’s PCI cards you lose a lot of functionality, like AJA or Blackmagic cards (and no the thunderbolt cards are not as good, and there is no SAS storage solutions for thunderbolt).

Still an Alienware is looking better and better. Kick ass NVIDIA graphics make it the only choice for an editing laptop (since Premiere Pro needs an NVIDIA card), and if the MacPro goes, then it is time to move PC.

I already feel betrayed by you for what you did to Final Cut Pro X, as I have been an avid Final Cut Pro supporter since version 3, and Final Cut Pro X is not it’s replacement, but a program that has some of it’s functionality and is not superior to AVID or Premiere Pro, and if you get rid of the MacPro that will be the last straw.

I am not a windows fan, and think the fact that the main programming language for Windows 8 being HTML 5 is just shooting themselves in the foot, but at least I can use high end graphics and will still have PCI slots!

Please Apple I love you, and have since my Apple IIC, but more and more it looks like you are leaving me the graphic pro and video editor behind, and it makes me sad, but you are making a PC and windows look more and more attractive.

Please keep making MacPro’s and keep updating them (quicker than you have been) and make them compatible with more graphics cards, because we will keep buying them, but if you stop making them we will be leaving the Mac in Droves.

Jonah Lee Walker
Video Editor and Graphics Artist

Automatic Duck Plugs Ins are FREE!

thankyou

I honestly thought with them moving to Adobe that the old plug ins were gone for good, but it seems not as Automatic Duck has released all their old plug ins for FREE!

I already owned Pro Import AE 5.0, which allows you to import either Final Cut Pro 7 or AVID Media Composer sequences into After Effects. You use Free XML exporter for FCP and it works almost perfectly. A must have.

Pro Export FCP 5.0 is for FCP X and is to allow OMF export.

Pro Export FCP 4.0 lets you export either OMF or AAF from FCP to AVID, and I previously owned this.

And their is Pro Import FCP 2.0 which allows you to import an AVID sequence into Final Cut Pro.

And they are all FREE. So download them now. Sure they will not be updated again, but free is a huge price drop!

Walter Murch on FCP X

FCP.co is reporting on some things reported in twitter feeds from the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group where Walter Murch spoke. And a report from Chris-Portal on the event, and it seems that he doesn’t like it, and may be done using Final Cut Pro to edit features with.

While Walter is encouraged by the updated FCPX version last month, he hasn’t used it on any real work yet, so he is cautiously optimistic (and still traumatized he says). “Do they love us? No…I know they like us….but they keep saying they love us??”



Actually sounds like he while he has used AVID in the past, he is going to try Premiere Pro to see where it is at, and then see if it is AVID or Premiere Pro.

Personally I am liking Premiere Pro, though it still needs some features to go on par with FCP 7 (though it does beat it in others).

Finder weirdness in OS X Lion

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I don’t know if this just affecting me, but I am having some finder weirdness in Lion.

First off it is not working as it did with Spaces when I had it set to have one finder for all windows, though I have the finder set for all, it seems I get some finder windows in some of the windows in Mission Control, and not in others.

And even weirder, I often have the same folder open in two different windows by different sorting methods, well it seems that this can’t be done anymore. When I change the sorting method in one window, it changes other windows with that same content to the same sorting method. WTF? This is horrible, and not how it should work at all!

Is this just happening to me, or have others noticed this?

Lytro Camera Hands On

Photo Rumors has some video of the newly announced Lytro Camera using Lightfield technology that allows you to refocus an image after you take it, or even make the image true 3D. The Lytro is an amazing new technology that has to be seen to be believed.
Lytro
From the video it sounds like the image is 1080 by 1080 for now, but has an instant shutter, and turns on quickly. Check it out at their website. it is $399 or 8GB and $499 for 16GB. Very very cool!

And the CEO says that Video is on their roadmap. That will be unbelievable. I can’t wait.

TUAW on Disabling Autoupload for iCloud Photo Steam

TUAW has an article on why you should disable AutoUpload for iPhoto and Aperature in the photostream of iCloud.

photostream-upload-cjr

This is what to uncheck in iPhoto, otherwise you will upload all your new photos from iPhoto, which is fine from you iPhone, but if you are shooting camera raw, is going to quickly fill your iCloud (which only comes with 5GB of space) and you iOS device.

I mean luckily I have 25 GB of iCloud space as I was a mobile me subscriber, and I have a lot of documents and comics on my iPad, but it only has 10GB free of the 25GB of iCloud space, so putting up full size RAW images would be disastrous. And you can still add images to your photostream by dragging and dropping, though you can’t remove images (which is plain stupid in my opinion).

Adobe’s new Deblurring Tech

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on Adobe’s amazing new Deblurring technology.

Petapixel is reporting

deblur1_mini

If this works this well, this will change photography, and hopefully eventually video as well. Check out the article to see more examples. I Can’t wait to get my hands on this, which will likely be in CS6.

New Canon EOS 1D X

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Cinema 5D is reporting

that Canon has announced it’s new flagship camera, the Canon EOS 1D X.

Well one mystery is solved,

canon1dx

It is an 18 MP camera full frame, and can shoot 12 FPS in RAW. And it has very exciting new video features:

– 1920×1080 at 24, 25 and 30fps, as well as 1280×720- at 50 and 60fps


– manual audio levels (also during recording)


– ISO range for movie shooting runs from ISO 100 to- 51,200 (surely a new low-light king)


– 2 compression options “IPB” or “ALL-I” (all intra-frames)


– The EOS-1D X still records movies using the H.264- codec but it is the compression type within this codec- that has been changed (!!!).


– ALL-I means every frame for itself!


– no more 12 minute clip length, clips can now be up to- 30 minutes. (clips over 4GB will continue in new file)


– SMPTE Timecode!!! (Nice nice) (Rec. Run, Freerun- and 2 more modes)


– live audio level meter on the rear screen during filming- and the ability to adjust the audio recording level during- filming.


– “silent control” audio level adjustment through- dedicated button.


– 29.97fps and 59.94fps non drop frame for NTSC land


– no more .THM files. –> thumbnails are now metadata- inside the actual video.


– improved (?) moiré and line skipping performance


– it looks like still 8bit (biggest booh)



Still not a real Canon Video Camera based on their DSLR technology, but an exciting DSLR that will be out in March of next year for $6800.

I think that the next announcement will a video camera based on similar technology, like the Sony F3.

Read the full press release at Canon’s site. And a video trailer is available.

Here is the feature sheet.

canoneos1dx1



DaVinci Resolve 8.1 FCPX Support

that DaVinci Resolve 8.1 now has support for FCP X and conforms and roundtrips. So you can now do a full color out of FCP X, though you audio is still going to be hard to conform without tracks.

You can even move an FCP 7 edit to FXP X using resolve, which is pretty huge. Now they need to add Premiere Pro support!

The Provideo Coalition is reporting

No More Quickster

Got an e-mail from Netflix yesterday, and it seems there is no longer going to be a quickster. They will keep DVD and Streaming under one roof, just like people want. Seems the negative feedback worked, and the CEO just totally messed up. I am quite glad, though it might be a mistake changing back after announcing.

Dear Jonah,

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.

Respectfully,

The Netflix Team