Final Cut Pro X on the Mac App Store

For years I've used iMovie and wanted to upgrade to Final Cut Pro, but couldn't justify the hefty price tag - Final Cut Express has been an excellent stopgap. Today that's all changed with the arrival of Final Cut Pro X on the Mac App Store!

£179.99 is a compelling argument to switch to Final Cut Pro; combined with Motion 5 and Compressor for £29.99 each. Like the upcoming release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Final Cut Pro X is only available from the Mac App Store!

Final Cut Pro X (Mac App Store)
Motion 5 (Mac App Store)
Compressor (Mac App Store)

Is Mac App Store exclusivity good or bad?

iPad 2: the ultimate authoring tool on the move?

Will you be buying an iPad 2 (or 1.5 as I prefer to call it)?

It's slimmer, lighter and faster than its predecessor and runs iMovie and GarageBand. A scaled down version of iMovie (iTunes) is already available on the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch (4G).

This marks a departure from the iPad as predominantly a point of consumption and, with the addition of two cameras, repositions it for authoring, too. Such a device would be compelling for on location use.

Although reading digital comics on its larger screen would be preferable to an iPod touch, I'll be skipping iPad 2 and await Retina Display support, which is rumoured in September. Plus, I need to replace my ageing iMac (early 2007) when Mac OS X 10.7 Lion ships!

shop@Panasonic

For my birthday, last Wednesday, I received a Panasonic DMR-EZ47:

*2-in1 DVD & VHS Combi
*Full HD 1080p Up-Conversion
*DVB-T Tuner and 7 Day EPG
*HDMI with VIERA Link
*Super Multi Format - Record and Play ALL DVD Formats
*Super Easy GUI
*Dual Layer Compatible
*16X - R Compatible
*DV-in
*MP3, JPEG from -R
*500 Line LP Mode
*1 Sec Quick Start and Record
*VHS to DVD Refresh Dubbing

Ultimately, I decided that a built-in HDD was overkill! As it was my birthday, the sales person made the recorder multi-region and included a HDMI cable/DVD-R pack gratis! That puts shop@Panasonic on a par with the Sony Centre for customer service.

My various College and University video productions will be transfered from VHS to iTunes via this paradigm:

VHS > DVD > HandBrake > iMovie > iTunes!

Next month Apple will start shipping Time Capsule 1TB and my pre-order is in! Review to follow.

Have a great weekend... I'll be clearing out clutter from the garage! It's surprising how much junk gets accumulated!