Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Apple to hold “Back to the Mac” media event October 20

I started watching the keynote... Got bored with the iLife '11 demo dragging on forever. Took about 20 minutes for iPhoto and still two more apps to review.. Ugh. I'll go back and look at the highlights later today.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
I started watching the keynote... Got bored with the iLife '11 demo dragging on forever. Took about 20 minutes for iPhoto and still two more apps to review.. Ugh. I'll go back and look at the highlights later today.
Click to expand...

Yeah super boring keynote so far.
 
I don't think we're any where close to doing multitouch editing on professional software. It would be a pretty massive re-code to do this. Apple JUST stated that they are not getting behind multitouch on vertical monitors. So I just don't see it happening on professional software for a LONG time. iMovie on iPad for amateurs making movie trailer templates? Sure...but not FCP or AVID.

I edit all the time on both AVID and Final Cut Pro. I am trying to think about how this would save time, add efficiency or any other reason for them to put the hard work into it. I just don't see it. The point of multitouch would be to eliminate the mouse and the keyboard. There is no way you could add in enough commands for the regular edits & clicks that you use all the time in professional editing: match frame, add effects, trim, overwrite/insert, subclip, title tool, etc. etc. I am trying to see it, but just don't think it's realistic.
 
Jeff Coatney said:
I expect some multi-touch interaction on the next Final Cut Pro. The world of editing could get very exciting next year.
Click to expand...

Which will be useless to the majority of professional editors who use Wacom tablets. Otherwise they get carpal tunnel syndrome.

I got quite bad carpal tunnel at age 23 due to excessive Final Cut Pro mousing (used the program day-in day-out for 4 years). Switched to Wacom and Avid and it saved my career by allowing me to get more done faster with fewer wrist flicks. So I remain dubious of Apple multitouch "improvements" :)

If they could just implement gestures like Quantel, or an interface that didn't need as many clicks, it'd be nice. Jog and shuttle by drawing circles with your wacom, etc. FCP's keyboard shortcut system has improved since the early days, at least. Anyway, who cares. Avid + Resolve + Nuke + ProTools beats FCP Studio. For anyone looking for real editorial advances, I think Storm holds more hope than FCP :P

Apple is interesting in as much as it provides the only hardware that affordable Resolve and Storm run on. Plus a nice operating system. And they didn't announce much in the way of new hardware or operating system features today (ZFS where are you?).

Anyway, I'm very happy I bought my sub-$1000 Wacom & touchscreen-packing 6GB RAM HP Touchsmart laptop - instead of listening to Steve Jobs talk about how nobody wants a screen you can touch or draw on.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
Bruce, tell us what you really think! ;-)

About the announcements today, I am wondering if I can possibly run AVID MC5 on the new Mac Book Air. Anyone have thoughts? It requires 7200rpm drives per their specs, but obviously SSD don't have rpm's. I don't know how to compare these...do SSD's have a read/write faster than 7200rpm spinning drives?

I would love to get AVID and/or FCP working on a Mac Book Air. Anyone have thoughts on if this would be possible? Then, I can take these shows with me on the road. :-) I already edit some national tv shows for TLC on an iMac with a little USB drive. It'd be awesome to get it even more portable.
 
I agree with Jobs in that most don't want a vertical screen to reach out and touch for any lengthy usage. But that doesn't mean we don't want touch screens or the ability to flip those screens around or fold them back onto the system to put them into a flat orientation, which is more ideal.

IMO, I think Apple has the multi-touch thing down very well. Even with other multi-touch products on the market now a few years after the first multi-touch devices appeared, Apple still does it way better than anyone else. What we need now is to combine multi-touch with pressure-sensitivity. If I could have a multi-touch, multi-device Wacom to replace both my Intuous 3, mouse and also do everything a Magic Trackpad does, that would be like the best thing ever.

I want a Wacom Cintiq display that is completely wireless and has a 10bit 'retina' display capable of 300dpi, iPad level (or better) multi-touch ability, and I can still use all my pressure sensitive pens on it... Yep, we'll get it someday. Who knows when. The wireless video interface alone doesn't even exist yet -- not to drive resolutions like that, anyway.

All little issues and complaints aside. The new Macbook Air looks nice. I don't have a use for one, but for the casual Macbook user, it makes perfect sense. If the next generation model does the same with double the RAM, faster CPU and adds either USB3 or LightPeak, I'll buy one.

@Kevin,

I bet the new MB Air would run FCP just fine. It's more powerful than the 15" MBP I bought in 2006, which I cut a multitude of RED projects on. Small stuff, but a couple short films did get cut on that MBP. Of course an external RAID was connected. But realistically, small stuff TV commercials, etc.. It might just work with the 256GB model 13". If it had USB3 or other fast connection, you could throw a couple 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" drives into a RAID about the size or a bit smaller than a 3.5" HDD and take that with you for workspace. The last couple revisions of the Macbook Pro and now the Air are rather impressive when all aspects are considered. Great hardware choices overall. It's the connectivity that's killing them as "pro" tools.
 
Kevin Wild said:
Bruce, tell us what you really think! ;-)

About the announcements today, I am wondering if I can possibly run AVID MC5 on the new Mac Book Air. Anyone have thoughts? It requires 7200rpm drives per their specs, but obviously SSD don't have rpm's. I don't know how to compare these...do SSD's have a read/write faster than 7200rpm spinning drives?

I would love to get AVID and/or FCP working on a Mac Book Air. Anyone have thoughts on if this would be possible?
Click to expand...

The processor's an ancient Core 2 Duo that maxes out at 1.8ghz. So it'd kinda suck for anything HD, I guess. (EDIT: oops, missed the 2.1ghz option on the 13" - so it'd just scrape by?)

Plus you have a soldered-in SSD, so no chance at upgrading sizes. And soldered-in RAM. And no USB3 (unlike $600 Eee netbooks) so no chance of plugging in a fast external drive.

Nice screen though.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
Well, I edit these reality shows every week now and don't have USB3, so I guess that's not a problem.

D'oh...stupid moment...of course AVID is talking about the speed of the external media drives and not the speed of the internal drives. Obviously, I wouldn't have media on the SSD drives.

What other things would prevent it from working with AVID...graphics card, I guess? Seems like the CPU speed, the RAM at 4gigs, the drive connected via USB would all work on the MBA.

I really want to avoid having my lightweight MBA for daily tasks and my heavy lifting computer for editing. Would love to have just 1 that is as small and light as MBA. I want it all! :-)

Kevin
 
Kevin Wild said:
Well, I edit these reality shows every week now and don't have USB3, so I guess that's not a problem.

D'oh...stupid moment...of course AVID is talking about the speed of the external media drives and not the speed of the internal drives. Obviously, I wouldn't have media on the SSD drives.
Click to expand...

You are using external USB2 drives for footage currently? Then you should be okay (unless the Air has an unusually slow USB2 interface / driver - they do vary a tad - for example Apple's latest releases have slower Firewire transfer rates).

Kevin Wild said:
What other things would prevent it from working with AVID...graphics card, I guess? Seems like the CPU speed, the RAM at 4gigs, the drive connected via USB would all work on the MBA.
Click to expand...

Graphics card is fine. If you can get by with the processor slowness (Avid suggests 2.4ghz minimum and this is 1.8 so it'll be a tad slow - oh hang on you can get 2.13 with the 13" - so that's good) you could very likely do offline editing very nicely?

Jeff Kilgroe said:
What we need now is to combine multi-touch with pressure-sensitivity. If I could have a multi-touch, multi-device Wacom to replace both my Intuous 3, mouse and also do everything a Magic Trackpad does, that would be like the best thing ever.
Click to expand...

Well, my sub-$1000 laptop has multitouch finger input (without pressure-sensitivity), plus pen input (with pressure-sensitivity). I can do multitouch hand gestures on it to scroll around and press buttons with my left hand and draw with my right.

Jeff Kilgroe said:
All little issues and complaints aside. The new Macbook Air looks nice. I don't have a use for one, but for the casual Macbook user, it makes perfect sense. If the next generation model does the same with double the RAM, faster CPU and adds either USB3 or LightPeak, I'll buy one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if it had a LightPeak or USB3 port that provided enough power - so you just plug in a Wacom screen / tablet with one cable (unlike the crazy combo of wires we need now). You can get small USB2 touchscreen auxiliary displays that power from the USB connection too, so maybe Wacom is working on something like that. USB2 provides 500mA power and USB3 is double that - enough? Hopefully LightPeak will be more? Also Intel was promoting the idea of upping the power output on USB by A LOT.

Anyway, yeah, agree, we'll get there. Okay back to work (and writing and storyboarding my own stuff when I have time on my little laptop, yaay).

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
My 2006 MBP was a 2.33GHz C2D (fastest in its day) with 600MHz RAM clock and a 120GB HDD.

The 13" Air can be up to a 2.13GHz C2D on an 800MHz bus and RAM clock with 256GB integrated FLASH/SSD.

Is it meant to be a powerhouse workstation? Not at all. It may not be the latest and greatest CPU, but it's damn impressive what they have done with it.

Without better external connectivity options, it's a DOA product for my uses. Too bad, because the form factor is nice (based on the previous 13" Air) and the build quality looks to be even better now -- it was great before. The 13" 256GB model would be a great system for my mom, though. She could replace that old black Macbook she bought when they first came out.
 
yawn... still enjoying my last generation 15" MBP with Expresscard slot
 
I think it would be great if after announcement of new and fantastic feature of going full screen when you press "+" on a window...in 2010...

...Monty Python knight came on the stage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3ln6mp0HNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTt-ewgKm5A



Watching announcer using multi-touch on a mouse which slips over the table was fun.
He also had to hold it with other hand once.



As far as MacBook Air...design is a step up IMO. Two USB's make sense finally. Ditching the movable port connector with cover will save money for repair. Not too happy about ditching the buttons on touchpad, though. I hope the texture of the body is finer than on current MBP's, where it's too rough compared to previous non-unibody versions.

11" version seems like a nice and handy thing for minimal hassle while carrying around, without pro-video/photo work in mind. Chiclet keyboard remains to be horrid typing and design solution, classic MBP one was best ever IMO. Screen resolutions are nice, although it will be an adventure hitting buttons on OS which is not resolution independent. I'm interested in viewing angles.

In any case...netbook sized Mac is something I could use...waiting to see about handling 1080p and if some Apple-typical blunders might appear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top