This was my 3rd Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet and in my personal opinion, the best one so far.

So why is the SuperMeet so cool compared to the regular LAFCPUG meetups (or for that matter any other FCPUG meetup)?

Besides the fact that Michael Horton, the founder and organizer, is a super great host, you are surrounded by at least 100 million Final Cut Pro users / editors from all over the universe… (Ok…maybe not a 100 million from all over the universe, but definitely by at least a thousand from all over the US and other parts of the world.)

Read all about the Macworld Expo 2009 happening in San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Check out our photos and videos as well!

Check out this time lapse video on how 3 engineers create a real workable Mac Pro out of Lego bricks!

Yes, life is good. After Apple announced and released the iPhone / iPod Toch software update (version 2.0), I had a chance to install it on my iPod Touch (32GB) and play with it.

It’s amazing! You basically now have a ultra mini Mac on the plam of your hand. The iPhone 2.0 software install was a breeze. I ran iTunes, went to my iPod Touch home screen and clicked on the “software update” button. The rest was a simple updated.

The new MobileMe service was introduced by Apple (replacing the current .Mac service) on July 13th (along with the new iPhone and the new iPhone 2.0 software…all at the same time).

The transition, unfortunately, did not go smoothly. Many people complained of .Mac email outages in various locations around the world.

Apple Released last night Pro Applications Update 2008-02 which includes updates to the Final Cut Pro and Compressor.

The Firmware 2.0 for iPhone will be out on July 11th, reports MacRumor.com. 2.0 brings the ability to add applications to the iPhone (and iPod Touch) via the new Apple AppStore which will be introduced at the same time as the firmware 2.0.

There are plenty of rumors (based on the Mac rumor sites) that Apple will seed developers an early build of Mac OS X 10.6 at this year’s WWWDC.

I read a very interesting article about capturing the HDV footage from my Canon XH-A1 directly into Final Cut Pro 6.0.3 using Pro-Res at Moviola.

Check out the March 6th iPhone Software Roadmap movie here.

Electronista is reporting that Sony is in talks with Apple to install a Blu-ray for the Mac and also with Microsoft for their Xbox.

Microsoft doesn’t deny the Sony claims but Apple had no comment.

Want to read more about this? Check out the Electronista article.

Please say it ain’t so! Microsoft Silverlight on an iPhone but not Adobe’s Flash?

Well, not yet (whew!!!!) Though Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that putting t on the iPhone is certainly “interesting.”

InfoWorld reported that Apple’s iPhone SDK delivered far beyond what developers where expecting.

The main feature is the ability to use an internal API of the iPhone to write native applications for it along with offering SQL Lite built into the iPhone so that date can be stored easily in the device.

The award winning film, No Country for Old Men, directed by the Coen Borthers, was edited on Final Cut Pro, MacWorld reported this morning.

PayPal recommends all Safari users to stop using Safari. Main reason: online fraud.

Keith Bachman, analyst with BMO Capital Markets, has cut his price target for Apple’s stock, stating that the iPods and iPhones were no longer “growth drivers” for the company. Bachman says that Apple’s 3 growth drivers, that is, the iPhone, the iPod and the iMac, has turned into one: the iMac.

According to the Financial Times, Apple currently has $18 billion sitting on their blance sheet. Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently said in the Q1 conference call that they like having that “flexibility”.

This is from the “cool files” - City Inn, a hotel in the UK, has new iMacs in every room. Guests can now leave their laptops at home since every room is now equipped with an iMac that has iLife, Office apps and the hotel will let you use the iMac as a TV, internet radio and media player.

iLounge is reporting that the iPhone’s and iod Touch’s SDK will be delayed anywhere between 1 and 3 weeks. Originaly, it was scheduled for the end of February. The SDK would allow third-party developers to write native applications for those devices.

Apple announced that they will release .99 cent movie rental every Thursday. The price is available from Thursday through Monday. Once rented, like all other movies, you have 30 days to watch it.

Apple released this morning Mac OS X 10.5.2., with over 60 fixed, enhancements and improvements.

Flip4Mac WMV Components, the software that lets you run Windows Media video files on the Mac using QuickTime, has been updated.

According to Apple’s website, security update 2007-009 v1.1 addresses an issue introduced in Secuity Update 2007-009 that may cause Safari to quit when browsing certain websites.

Apple updates GarageBand and Quicktime software applications.

Did you use a Windows machine but “saw the light” and switched to a Mac?

Man! They just don’t stop (thank goodness…continues improvement). There was a flurry of updates last night between Apple and Adobe.

Apple released a bunch of updates for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Sountrack Pro, Color, DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Cinema Tools, iPhoto and Tiger.

The Mac (for those of you who don’t own one) has something called the “dock”. It’s the same thing as the “task bar” in Windows. The big difference is you can drop your application icons on it and launch your application from there.

If you are wanting to hear all the nice things about Mac OS X 10.5 and how easy it is to install, just read my previous blog, “My Experience Upgrading From Mac OS X Tiger to Mac OS X Leopard“.

I was going to wait to hear what other people’s experience was like upgrading to Mac OS X Leopard, but after visiting the Apple Store in Pasadena, I could not wait. I purchased Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) for $129. In fact, I purchased 2 copies. One for me and one for my work computer.

Ok, so this is not a big “digital media” story, but you know what, I’m freaking out!  Why you ask?

NBC announced that they will not renew their deal with the iTunes store due to pricing issues, piracy and the fact that they just want to piss me (personally) off.

Warning: Installing Parallels 3.0 on your new Intel Mac can (and most likely will) be a very bad and frustrating experience. In my case, bad is an understatement, it was horrific. I had to install multiple times with tons of research on the web, but once installed, it’s sweet to use! So read on!

Adobe released a beta version update for Flash Player 9 with the following features:

I just got my new iMac 24″ 2.8GHz 4GB 750GB HD machine and I’m in love all over again. Sad…bad true…I love this machine…just don’t tell my wife. Opening the box, I felt like a little kid opening up his gifts in Christmas, though, in my case, to be more accurate, it would be Hanukkah.

I currently own the last generation iMac G5 and it is a slow one! So I decided it was time to upgrade my Mac to a more powerful one. I use my Mac for all my media creation (video, podcasting, photography….using Final Cut Studio 2 and Adobe Lightroom). I still do all of my web development on the PC (because I use ColdFusion and IIS…so please…no emails that say “you know you can do web development on the Mac right?”….yes I know….)

I love rumors! In fact, I love them so much, I like to start some of them sometime. Ok…Not really, however, MacRumors.com is reporting that Apple is considering creating a cheaper iPhone Nano to compete with cheaper phones in the market (in the $300 range).

Not a bad idea. I did play with an iPhone and I loved it, but the price is too steep for my budget.

I can see buying a cheaper Nano iPhone if the price/functionality ratio is a good one.

Want to read more about this cool rumor? Do a Google search for iPhone Nano and you’ll get tons of articles on it or just head on to the MacRumors.com site and read their rumor:
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/07/09/cheaper-iphone-nano/

Cheers!
- Marcelo Lewin
The Digital Media Dude
http://www.thedigitalmediadude.com/

Ok, I have to tell you, I’m pretty sick and tired of all the publicity, stories in the newspapers, web sites, radio and TV all saying the same thing, that is, drinking the Apple Kool-Aid.

“The iPhone will break new ground…”

“The iPhone is a revolution…just like the iPod”

“The perfect phone…the iPhone”

Please! Come on people…It’s a phone…Just like any other phone.

But, I’m open minded, and I do like Apple and its products. So I decided to go to the Brea Apple Store and check out what the big deal was.

After fighting with all the people that were in the front corner where the iPhone is displayed, I finally got to see it.

There it was…in all it’s glory…