Final Cut blues: crawling back to iMovie (for now…)

After some weeks of tinkering with Final Cut and being amazed and dazzled with its capability, I’m – only for the short-term – returning to iMovie and here’s why:

GRATIFICATION WITHDRAWAL!

Santa is disappointed too.

Yep – Final Cut is absolutely amazing and in-depth but it’s darned humbling!

No matter what I do in Final Cut, it looks like ‘The Suck’ (…as my man is known to say). I’ve ripped up footage, mis-aligned audio, and haven’t posted project-related clips on the blog in for-ev-ah (despite interviewing folks on a regular, fantastically fun basis e.g. footage is ready to fly!).

I fear this means I’m impatient in learning this. Ok! But the truth is, methinks learning in a collaborative environment with this may be useful. Or is that wimpy?

What’s your Final Cut (Express or Pro) learning-curve experience?!

Apple outshadows Xbox + Macbook comes early for birthday

My man’s birthday is in April; and I didn’t want to wait LAST MINUTE for his gift.
{ subtext: I’m a sucker to see him glow with joy }

Plus Apple Recon gives Apple sales updates…in-ter-est-ing (blowing Xbox away).

Feldman justifies Jobs with saucy lingo: why Apple rejects Open Source

Lauren Feldman sums it up with common sense and a sharp tongue.

Listen to a geek song: new Mac owner gives lyrical thanks

We recently gave an older Mac to DC Media Maker Phil Shapiro who connects unused computers to others wanting them in the community. It’s a great program. And the Mac’s new family, Mary, sang a song of glee.

…makes life worth livin’!

Geek debate: iPhone & Steve Jobs’ sales forecast

An interesting thread unfolds at Sharing the Truth.

Many Mac and tech loyalists chimed in on Jobs’ potentially over zealous sales forecast for the iPhone. Coming from a sales, non-tech background — I believe his $10m is appropriately aggressive as Apple’s leader. He is after all not only Apple’s Chief Enthusiast but its champion in profitability as well.

UPDATE: -more iPhone info on network carriers.

Geek-takes: Google Earth & iPhone, the day after

Cool Google update per Techcrunch with an iPhone take-down at Graceful Flavor’s place.

Apple’s iPhone with iPod: yes, it is that hip & that cool

We guessed it was possible and now it’s here.

Interview pipeline: dreaming of Macworld ’07 next week

Mmm, wouldn’t that be a fine interview source to scope out developers at Macworld, San Francisco! Maybe I can watch who attends (could that info be tracked? maybe not…) — to get potential interview leads, esp core software folks.

This guy cleverly included Macworld in his 2007 predictions…ha!

Apple’s service, iMovie, & the project’s first female techi interviews for project

Just returned from Thanksgiving in Charlotte, NC. All was fantastic (heartburn heartburn heartburn). There’s much to give thanks for; & the trip brought that point home.

Thanks very much for the varied insights to my recent experience with Apple’s non-web customer service. The DVD-R format worked perfectly for burning my first short (…completion of which brought tears to the eyes – sappy but true). I cut it with Apple’s iMovie, which has been a good first-step program for smaller projects. In the next 12 months, I aspire to train on Final Cut Pro.

Yowza!

Next-up for this week’s interview pipeline:
-following up with Tony Boyd & his wife in Silicon Valley;
-meeting with DC Web Women‘s technical director & her husband (the project’s first female ‘geek’ to participate);
-securing a Skype interview with Navigance’s CEO-&-spouse

May all be excellent your way.

Apple customer service *not* the apple-of-my-eye

In between meetings today I called two different Apple customer support lines with a general question. Neither department knew the answer (one support member transferred me to sales who then wanted to transfer me elsewhere).

And the second customer/sales agent said I needed my computer’s serial number to avoid being charged for the call. Yikes(!) + odd(!).

I just cut a 7-minute short & needed to burn two dvd discs on Mac’s intel core duo machine. The question was thus:

Which dvd format e.g. plus or minus is most conducive to this type of Mac?

Time was pinched so at the office supply store I bought both formats. After reading more later, I learned the system should accept both types.

This was the first time to utilize Apple’s customer support teams (non-web). Ugh.

What’s been your experience?