Final Cut Pro Users: Read this book.
Final Cut Pro 4: On the
Spot
Time-saving tips &
shortcuts from the pros.
by
Richard Harrington & Abba Shapiro
I would like to find a
way to start a Lake Arrowhead area Final Cut Pro Users Group. Students, present
and graduated, have expressed a combined interest in making this a success. If
you have any experience in running a user group, please contact me. Furthermore,
if you are interested in joining a user group like this, please let us know as
well. Further details are coming.
Posted at 04:23 PM
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Another article to read...
This one is about the RIAA, or sharing
music downloads.
Posted at 08:59 AM
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Two great articles about Apple Powerbooks!
I will keep adding more...
AL-Book shines in military
presentation.Click here to read
it.PowerBook helped with new
Peter Pan film's lush look.Click here to read it.
Posted at 09:04 AM
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Panther Update
Do not forget to get the new Panther
Update 10.3.1.
Use your
Software Update; it is small, even for those using dial-up.
Hopefully this fixes some of the firewire
issues!
Posted at 05:41 PM
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My Classroom Website (11:30am)
I have spent about four hours this
morning working on my classroom website. It felt good to overhaul some of the
design and create again. Check it out.
Posted at 11:25 AM
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Panther!
New OSX from Apple: Panther Impressions
Coming home from work last night, the box was
waiting for me lodged in the front door. After a long week and all of the fires
going, it was something to look forward to. I decided to install it on my G4/400
Tower (with multiple modifications). I read all over the web that Panther ran decent on older Macs.
At first, the installation process was slower than Jaguar, and it even caused a
kernel panic (without data loss). The second time around was smooth. It does
take a bit of time to install, even after I prepped the computer (repaired
permissions, turned off virus checking, and disk first aid). Once nice thing
about the installation... there are more customization
choices.After putzing around on the G4
Tower, I decided to try it on my AL-Book/1.25. Obviously, this installation was
MUCH quicker and more reliable. Again, I did prep the computer as stated above a
FEW times, and backed up my important data. Following some hours playing with
Panther, the speed jump is significant and the finder is easy to use. Only two
things (of which one I knew) do not work for now. ThemeChanger .6 and Hotmail in
the new Mail.app. I had a haxie in Jaguar's mail.app that allowed me to use the
junk filters for Hotmail. Now, I have to go back to Entourage for Hotmail.
Many websites are complaining about a
lot of incompatibilities. I have checked those out on my machines, and
everything else seems to be working fine, including some BIG programs. I have
not checked AVID Xpress DV yet. I do suggest getting the new Cocktail 3.01 for
compatibility. I did not pay the full
$130; I paid $69 for Panther. In this case, it is worth every penny (especially
Expose!). Some people hate the new Aluminum look; I like it myself. I thought
the Aqua look was too much eye candy for
me.Send me some feedback and I will
keep posting!
Posted at 02:56 PM
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15" Powerbook AL
After a week playing with my new 15" AL
Powerbook...
Last week, I ordered the 15" AL PB with the lighted
keyboard, Superdrive, and 512mb of RAM. Obviously, I knew it would be faster
than my 550mhz TiBook (which was/is a dream machine for 2 years -- I used that
machine for an average of 10 hours a day easily for two straight years). I was
then tortured with waiting a few extra days since Airborne Express is slower
since merging with DHL.
Since its
arrival, the new PB shined out of the box, and Apple gave a few goodies too.
Always interesting with Apple's packaging. About 6 months ago, I bought my wife
a Compaq 900 Presario laptop. It was like opening a new VCR from Circuit City--
box of AV wires and manuals before you get the computer. I
digress.
The first thing I did to
transfer some stuff over to the new PB from the TiBook was use iSync. It took
longer to write these paragraphs than it was to put my full address book,
preferences, bookmarks, and calendars on my new mac. Even though I have been
working with macs since 1987, this was too easy. Then using my TiBook's as a
firewire hard drive (Target Mode), I copied most everything over (ie, Microsoft
Office). Some programs needed to be re-installed, but not
many.
Suffice it to say, after 2 years
of customizing my TiBook, it took two evenings to setup the new AL-Book the way
I like it: with documents, themes, sounds, backgrounds, etc. All in all, I HAD
NO DOWN TIME relative to my work.
In
terms of speed, this is the fastest computer I have ever worked on (on a daily
level). I have a dual P4 Xeon and a dual 1.42 G4 at work; both blazing machines.
But this laptop works with me; no delays, even the little ones; it is so
responsive. I know it will not render as fast in FCP or Photoshop as the "Duals"
can, but I cannot wait for Panther to fix some of that. I will say this; I have
helped customize to G5's for students -- those are beyond fast. Instant
Photoshop effects was impressive, but those are not my
computers.
I went at looked at
comparable PC laptops, such as the Toshiba 17". What a piece of junk, regardless
of the specs. Total plastic -- sort of like the old K cars by Dodge back in the
80's. Toshiba used to make VERY solid laptops, competing with IBM Thinkpads some
years back. Not anymore.
Back to the
AL-Book. It looks solid, feels solid, has so many expansion ports, a lighted
keyboard, dvd-burner with supporting software, great laptop speakers not playing
into my gut, or a CD-ROM that cheaply pops out in front of the machine. It has
the best LCD screen, with a brightness second to none, stable OS, and did I
mention its speed? VirutalPC rocks on this thing, as well as Final Cut Pro and
other major softwares I use. Office just responds so well.... and web browsing
is fun again.
I know a G5 laptop is
rumored to come in a year, but this 15" G4 is one mature machine that does more
than speed up spell checking and pop-up windows al-a Windoze. On top of it all,
I can use Norton Anti-Virus 9's Auto-Check all the time without a noticeable
loss of speed.
I know of bigger and
faster laptops and desktops, but none better (excluding the new
G5's!)
Urbz
Posted at 03:22 PM
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