Pocket Universe

I remember it like it was yesterday, but it was really ten years ago. On this day in 1998, Steve Jobs introduced the original iMac. At the time, it was criticized by many hardcore computer users for having an all-in-one design that prevented upgrading the monitor separately from the CPU, switching to the then-unsupported USB format for peripherals, and for omitting a floppy drive in favor of a CD-ROM drive. Of course, it ended up becoming amazingly popular, and many of the criticisms turned out to be unfounded. The floppy drive was a legacy item that has not been missed. The iMac actually caused the USB market to flourish, and started a longstanding Apple tradition of using well-known standards instead of inventing their own. And while the all-in-one design still suffers from a lack of expandability, today’s high-powered machines generally need fewer add-ons than machines of the past did, and an all-in-one unit is easy to resell when it’s time to get a new machine.

Of course, the iMac had many design iterations over the years, but the machine of today bears little resemblance to the gumdrop from 1998. Where the Bondi Blue iMac was an artsy experiment, today’s metal iMac is a sleek, futuristic powerhouse. I don’t think anyone can imagine what the iMac will look like in another ten years.

I was considering liveblogging during the Macworld 2008 keynote, but then I decided it would be easier to direct you to one of the other blogs already doing it. So if you’re interested, point your browser at Engadget for their usually excellent keynote coverage.

The best live coverage of Apple’s “The Beat Goes On” special event can be seen at Engadget. So far they have announced 99 cent ringtones, new Shuffle colors, and a new iPod Nano.

Update: Other announcements were the renamed iPod Classic in 80GB ($249) and 160GB ($349) models; the iPod Touch, which is basically an iPhone without the phone, with 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($399) models; and an iPhone price drop from $599 to $399.

Three hundred and ninety nine. Dollars.

They’re going to sell a million of these things. Excuse me…ANOTHER million.

Since I don’t live in Los Angeles, my celebrity sightings are a little less frequent. However, when they do happen, they tend to be pretty significant. A few months ago, I was at the Apple store, minding my own business, when the two guys from MythBusters walked in. Long story short, I shook hands, asked a few questions, and got my picture taken. The End.

Okay, the birthday hoopla can wait: This news is too big to wait.

Contrary to what some people may have thought, the unthinkable has occurred: Apple has reached a new agreement with Apple Corps over the use of the “Apple” name. Specifically (and surprisingly), Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.) will own all trademarks related to “Apple,” and will license (or “licence”) certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps. Additionally, each party will bear its own legal costs.

To be fair, some may have predicted this turn of events, and the question of legal costs may in fact have spurred negotiation talks. But in any case, a long legal battle has come to an end, and I think everyone is better off because of it.

Now to get the rights to the Beatles back catalog….

Today Apple announced three revolutionary products: a widescreen video iPod with a touch screen, a phone, and a revolutionary internet communication device. The twist is, all of these are the same device: the iPhone. I’ll let you read all about it on the site, but basically it’s a small device running Mac OS X that has full iPod capabilities (including a CoverFlow view), a phone with a great user interface that syncs with your contacts on you computer, and a Safari web browser, Google Maps, email, and other widgets like stocks and weather. Oh, and it has a two megapixel camera built in.

It looks really, really nice, and as someone who has always been unhappy with my cell-phone user interface, I am excited about getting a device that actually has a good interface for making and receiving calls. It also fades the music automatically when a call comes in, lets you conference multiple callers together, provides non-linear access to voicemail, and gives you full access to Google Maps, including satellite views and direct dialing of found locations. (During the keynote, Steve found the nearest Starbucks, then called them and ordered 4000 lattés to go.) Add to that a full web browser, and I think I may need to switch carriers. I wonder if I can get out of my contract early.

As always, the analysis at Daring Fireball is inspired and insightful. For more about Boot Camp and what it means for the future of Apple, start with Windows: The New Classic, then continue on to Several Asinine and/or Risky Ideas Regarding Apple�s Strategy That Boot Camp Does Not Portend. Good reading and thoughtful analysis.

Thanks to Mike for sending this one: It�s a conceptual video that asks the question, �What if Microsoft designed the iPod package?”

Ask, and it shall be given unto you! No sooner did we start a discussion on price comparisons between Macs and equivalent PCs, then someone comes along with an article stating that the equivalent Dell laptop is $1000 cheaper than the MacBook Pro. Of course, someone on the Mac side did a more detailed comparison, and found that the MacBook Pro is actually very price-competitive. Then the next day, when Apple announces that they will be shipping machines with better performance than previously expected, he updated the comparison. All are interesting reads.

Edit: The first Macworld article also has links to three previous articles comparing the Mac Mini with a comparably-equipped Dell. Those are also worth reading, as they cover other issues such as configuring hardware, specifications, and the value of certain “intangibles,” such as bundled software.

I’m trying something new today: I’ll be posting notes from the Apple keynote live as they happen. Keep hitting reload on this page to see my notes.

10:02: Nothing yet.

10:06: Wow, Steve shaved!

10:07: A three-act story. Act I: the iMac. Today, an all-new iMac. Three new features: Even thinner. Built-in iSight videocam that’s even higher quality than the regular iSight. (There’s also a new side application called Photo Booth, for taking a still picture of yourself like a photo booth.) He’s calling Phil Schiller now.

10:12: Photo booth. Oh man. They thought it would be great if it had a flash, and they realized that they do: When taking the picture, the screen flashes to white, and it acts like a flash. They also have a bunch of video effects that can be used on the picture: distortions, thermal imaging, Andy Warhol, and so on. Looks like a fun app.

10:15: Feature number 3 is a big one: Front Row. It’s a way to enjoy your media from your sofa. It also includes a remote control. You can choose Music, Photos, Videos, and DVDs. You can control your Mac from across the room, select playlists, see full-screen album art, and so on. You can select all of the photos from your library, or any albums or slideshows. You can also control your DVDs from across the room. (He’s using The Incredibles as the demo.) You can also select your own movies, trailers, video podcasts (Tiki Bar TV?), music videos, and so on. Ohhh…here it comes: If you go to Movie Trailers, it pulls all of the posters off of Apple.com, and streams the trailer directly to you. Okay, that is pretty cool.

10:24: A side-by-side comparison between the Microsoft Media Center remote control and the Front Row remote control. Microsoft: 45 buttons. Apple: 6 buttons. Wow.

10:25: The $1299 iMac is getting a faster processor, remote control, new apps, iSight…and all for the same price. The $1799 model is getting all the same stuff, and the price is dropping to $1699. Shipping today.

10:27: Act II: the iPod. 75% of all MP3 players shipping. Over 1 million iPod nanos shipped in the first 17 days. Now he’s going over the critical praise it has received.

10:28: “What about the white iPod? It has been a huge success for us…so we’re going to replace it.…And yet, is does video.”

10:30: A new 2.5" display. 320x240 pixels. Real-time decoding of H.264 video at 30 fps. MPEG 4 at 30 fps. TV output. The 30GB is 31% thinner than the old 20GB version, and the 60GB is 14% thinner. And yes, it will also ship in black. 30GB for $299, and 60GB for $399. 15000 songs, 20000 photos, 150 hours of video for $399. Wow. And that’s just Act II.

10:35: Okay, that’s all the big news that was expected. What could Act III be? Oh, and they’re showing the new ads now.

10:37: New silhouette ads that take it to a whole new level. The new one actually stars Eminem, and it looks pretty cool. And I hate Eminem.

10:39: Act III: iTunes.

10:40: Five weeks ago they shipped iTunes 5, but a lot has changed in five weeks. So now, it’s iTunes 6. Four new features. Gifting: You can now gift songs, albums, and playlists to people. Customer reviews: Kind of like the Amazon feature, it seems. Custom recommendations: It recommends music based on past purchases and your ratings. And finally, videos: over 2000 music videos available for download today. For the song and the video, it costs $1.99. And oh look! You can download six award-winning PIxar video shorts! The videos are 320x240, take the space of about six songs, and you can play them on five computers and unlimited iPods. No burning, though. And now, the demo.

10:50: Demoing video out from the iPod now. Looks like it puts an actual picture of the iPod around the interface when it’s playing back. Weird. Maybe it’s just something they’re doing for this keynote, but if not, it’s very strange.

10:53: One more thing…

10:54: One more thing you can buy off of the iTunes Music Store: TV shows.

10:55: Five shows for download: Lost, Desperate Housewives, Night Stalker…uh, That’s So Raven, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. For new episodes, you can buy them the day after they are broadcast. The shows are downloaded ad-free at 320x240 resolution, and an hour show takes up about the same space as five albums. And the cost? $1.99 per episode. So basically, close to the same price as the DVD versions. Hm. Not so sure about that one. Kinda cool, but kinda pricey as well.

11:02: Bob Iger is on stage now. “It’s always a pleasure to be able to increase our relationship with Apple…not with Pixar, with Apple.” Ha.

11:07: Finale. “What does it all mean?” Yesterday, you could buy music online, put it on your computer, and take it with you on your iPod. Now, one day later, you can buy video online, watch it on your computer, and bring it with you on your iPod. A round of applause for all the people at Apple who worked on all these products.

11:09: Encore. It’s all about the music. A performance by Wynton Marsalis.

11:26: Wynton Marsalis performance ends. Very cool.

And for those of you who like to read obsessively-detailed review, here is Ars Technica�s look at the new Apple mouse.

First Apple decides to switch to using Intel processors, and now a multi-button mouse. Has Hell ever frozen over twice in such rapid succession?

I�ve mentioned Delicious Library before, created by Wil Shipley. Now that Mike is leaving the company to go work for Apple, that leaves Wil as the last remaining founder. You can read a fantastic interview with Wil Shipley on DrunkenBlog. Very interesting stuff.

Let�s see, where to start? First, read this article at iPodLounge which discusses the potentially explicit content on Apple�s podcast directory. (You can also read Jobs� take on the issue at ABC News.) Then for a rebuttal, you can read Parent your own kids! at The Bynk Zone. And finally, scroll down and read the comments, where yours truly makes (I believe) a strong case against Welch�s screed on The Bynk Zone.

If you aren’t reading Daring Fireball on a regular basis, you should be. His latest essay is a discussion of the podcasting phenomenon, with some interesting insights on why Apple chose to get into the market sooner rather than later, and what it means for other companies who want to adopt a similar technology, but without the brand-specific moniker.

As always, there is a good article about the Apple-Intel deal at ArsTechnica.

Speaking of Apple ads….

For those who asked about Janie Porche, here is how she saved Christmas.

For the Apple faithful (or anyone who is interested in a next-generation operating system), Mac OS X Tiger is available today. Apple Stores will have an event from 6 pm to midnight, so you may want to get in line now! While you’re waiting, you can discover the operating system’s new features, read Ars Technica’s always excellent in-depth review, find out about the lawsuit over the Tiger name, or look at the various downloads that already take advantage of the new OS functionality (including a Dashboard widget for searching your Delicious Library media). You might also want to read Slashdot, which provided links to many of these articles, and also offers reader commentary on each.

For those interested parties, Tiger will be released on Friday, April 29. Mark your iCal.

Not only does Janie Porche sing, but she also has a blog!

Oh…who is Janie Porche, you ask? This is Janie Porche. She saved Christmas.

Apparently, the iPod is the music player of choice on the Microsoft campus. I just love the corporate response to this trend. Microsoft, if you guys were creating better devices, maybe your employees would start using them. Just a thought.

Props to Mike for finding this fantastic poem: I Ate iPod Shuffle.

Yesterday, I got to meet one of my idols, and perhaps the person who has had the most influence on my life and career. A few of us were having lunch at a restaurant, and as we walked in, I noticed a man sitting at a table with about ten other people. After we passed him, I said, “That’s Steve Wozniak!” I didn’t want to bother him, since he seemed to be in the middle of a conversation, so I sat down and kept an eye on his table.

Just a few weeks prior, I had seen an episode of Icons on G4TechTV, where they talked about the history of the Apple ][ and its creators, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. I used the Apple ][ (note the proper spelling, “Apple ][”) back in junior high and high school, and that started my love for computers, and consequently my choices for higher education and my career. Oh, and Woz also created Breakout, which of course was on the Atari 2600, the game system which fostered my love for video games. So, as you can see, saying that he was a large influence on my life is perhaps understating it just a bit.

But besides his numerous contributions to the computer and videogame industries, what really struck me is that it seemed like Steve Wozniak has always just done what seemed interesting and fun to him at the time. After leaving Apple, he spent a lot of time working with school children and helping them to learn about computers, which I also admire. So really, I just wanted to shake his hand and tell him how much I admire him for what he has done.

And without seeming too anticlimactic, that’s just what I did. I waited until he was on his way out, stopped him shook his hand, and basically told him what I wrote up above. I asked him about what he’s been doing, and he said he’s been very busy with his start-up company, Wheels of Zeus. Then he had to catch up with some people and said goodbye.

So that’s about it, my brush with greatness. Oh, and Chris asked me if Jobs and Wozniak still interact at all, and I said I didn’t know. Well, if you go to Woz’s personal page, you can see a picture of him with Steve Jobs from the 2005 Macworld Expo keynote, along with a picture of the two of them from 1975. Amazing.

Oh, and then today, I met Steve Jobs. But I’ll save that story for another time….

“Quarterly Revenue & Net Income Highest in Apple’s History.” Apple sold over 1 million Macintoshes during the quarter, and over 4.5 million iPods, which represents a 26% and a 525% increase in sales, respectively, over the year-ago quarter. To put it in real terms, net profit was $0.70 per diluted share, versus $0.17 for the same quarter in the previous year.

In other words: whoo-hoo!

What I am most excited about is the new iPod Photo. It�s a 40- or 60GB iPod, so you can carry up to 15,000 songs with you, with full-color artwork. But the coolest part is you can also carry up to 25,000 photos with you, and it automatically syncs with iPhoto. Basically, you could take 100 pictures of your kids each month for the next 18 years, and still have room for more photos. To me, that�s pretty amazing.

But who wants to pass around a little iPod to look at pictures? Well, with the included AV connector, you can plug the iPod Photo into a TV and watch your slideshows…with music from your collection, of course. The iPod Photo even automatically formats output to fit on a 4:3 or 16:9 screen. In addition to the cool new color interface, the standard font is Myriad, which is a personal favorite of mine. All this for only $499 for the 40GB version, or $599 for the 60GB.

As anticipated, Apple just announced the new iPod U2 Special Edition. From the site:

Like no other, iPod U2 Special Edition stands out. Jet black, it bears a prominent red Apple Click Wheel and, on the flip side, the autographs of each U2 band member. Available for just $349, it comes with an exclusive U2 poster and, of course, the signature white iPod earbuds. As an extra special treat, it includes an iTunes Music Store coupon you can use to get $50 off your purchase of The Complete U2.” As unique as the iPod itself, this digital boxed set brings together an amazing 400 U2 tracks. Songs span the bands celebrated career. From Boy” to War” to The Joshua Tree” to Zooropa” to the soon-to-be-released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” it includes every U2 album and brings us over 25 rare and unreleased tracks. Look for it on the iTunes Music Store at the end of November.

The rumors are flying about today�s 10am press event that Apple is holding at the California Theater in San Jose. Special guests are Bono and The Edge from U2. I�ll let you read the rumors, and I�ll be back for commentary after the announcement.

So many of my favorite things in one article!

You gotta love Steve Jobs…

�This is the best buying experience not just for a computer, but for any product at any store.”

—Steve Jobs, at the unveiling of the new mini Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Center

Macworld has a great interview with Greg Joswiak, Apple�s V.P. of Hardware Product Marketing, talking about the various design elements in the new iMac G5. Definitely worth reading if you care about elegance in design.

For those who are interested in what makes our country great, the iTunes Music Store has the 2004 Republican National Convention Speeches available for free download. I can�t link directly to the page of all the speeches, but there is a link on the iTumes Music Store home page. In particular, I really enjoyed Rudy Giuliani�s speech, and I think you will too.

After a long delay and lots of rumors, the new G5 iMac is finally available! The previous desk-lamp form factor has been replaced with a new design reminiscent of the Cinema Displays. Apple is also playing off of the iPod in terms of style and design, which is a nice touch. So now, all the consumer-level machines have a polished white finish, and all the professional-level machines are brushed aluminum. Apple does know how to design nice machines.

The new iMac comes in a 17- or 20-inch widescreen display, with either a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz processor. Prices start at $1299 for the 17-inch 1.6GHz model, all the way up to $1899 for a 20-inch 1.8GHz model. The system itself is only two inches thin, and can even be wall-mounted. Toss in a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, maybe some Airport Extreme wireless networking, and you have an elegant system that you can put just about anywhere.

Some of you may know that HP is shipping their own branded version of the Apple iPod. However, one twist that HP is providing is user-printable tattoos (HP…always gotta work printers in there somehow!) so that users can customize the look of their iPod to match their moods. I have to admit, it�s an intriguing idea. Look for images of Flame and other tattoo ideas at the official website, and you can find images of pre-made tattoos at HP�s website and the Mac Observer. You can even try out a flash demo of the new tattoos! I actually think this is a pretty cool idea. Personally, I�d walk around with a 90125 iPod, or maybe a Vapor Trails iPod.

Apparently, Duke is giving away iPods to all incoming freshmen. I have to say, that�s pretty cool.

In the tradition of sudden and unexpected announcements (at least, unexpected to some of you), Apple today announced the latest iPod. This one is notable for several things: First of all, it features the elegant Click Wheel, first seen in the iPod Mini. If you haven�t seen one, the Click Wheel (patent pending) is a touch-sensitive scroll wheel that can also be clicked to go to the menu, go forward or backward one track, or play and pause. It is much better than the previous iPod, which used touch-sensitive buttons. While they looked nice, they were a little too sensitive and lacked any tactile feedback, so users would often themselves accidentally skipping tracks when they picked up the iPod or brushed it accidentally. The new Click Wheel should take care of that problem through Apple�s traditional elegance in design.

Other features include a new Shuffle Songs top-level menu item, 12 hours of battery life, a slightly thinner body than the previous generation (the new one is 0.69 inches), and a new $399 price point, which is $100 cheaper than the previous 40GB model. That new price point is a little misleading, however, since the new 40GB model no longer includes a dock or the remote and headphones, each of which runs another $39. I commend unbundling those items from the new iPod though, just because many people might have a dock from a previous iPod, or a set of perfectly good headphones, and they shouldn�t have to pay more for something they won�t use.

Another day, another round of great new Apple products. It seems like every one is more momentous than the last. This latest keynote was for Apple’s 2004 WorldWide Developer’s Conference, so it naturally focused primarily on Tiger, the new version of Mac OS X which is due out next year. (They had some posters up advertising Tiger with phrases like, “Redmond, we have a problem,” and, “Introducing Longhorn.” I thought it was quite clever.) But before the new software announcements, there was one significant hardware announcement…
Yes, the rumored 30" Apple Cinema Display HD was finally announced. It offers a mind-bending 2560x1600 resolution, although at a seemingly unattainable $3299 price tag. Still, for those who can afford it, it seems like the perfect tool for the video editor or Mac enthusiast. It still might be a little out of my price range for the time being, so I’ll probably have to settle for the redesigned 23" display. Oh, and the new smaller enclosure is the perfect complement to the G5 case design.

I honestly didn’t expect to see this one. So, how could Apple top their already revolutionary iChat AV? Why, with the new Tiger version of iChat AV, which has several significant improvements: First, it uses the new H.264 Advanced Video Codec, which provides a much higher video quality than the current version, over the same bandwidth; secondly, the new iChat allows up to ten people to chat over audio simultaneously; and finally (and most significantly), it also allows you to video chat with up to three other people at the same time! And not content with that new feature, Apple implemented their traditional UI flourish to multiple video chats, where each person’s picture is placed in a pseudo–3-D environment, complete with a black floor that reflects the video chat! (Check out the screenshot to get an idea of what I’m talking about.) When Steve demoed it, I literally said, “You have got to be kidding me!” It’s that cool.

Spotlight is another cool feature that looks to revolutionize the way people use comptuers. The simplest explanation would be that Spotlight is a systemwide search function that returns results immediately. To go into a little more detail, Spotlight searches for text strings in the filename, subject line, sender field, copyright information, or even the contents of files themselves. In the demo, the search string was “Pixar,” and it pulled up all files with Pixar in the copyright information. Or when searching for “Half Dome,” it found a PDF file about Yosemite, where “Half Dome” was listed in a tiny font in one part of the file. You can search for text, or contacts, or all files that have been modified in the past week that contain “blog,” or any of a number of other combinations. And when you’re done with your search, you can save it as a Smart Folder, which will always contain all files that match that search criteria. Extend that to Mail, and you have folders that contain, say, all flagged email messages that you received at your work address in the past week. I’m going to find this technology very handy.

The new Dashboard is basically the Mac OS X version of Konfabulator, which is a cool application in its own right, but has a few UI deficiencies that Dashboard improves upon. Remember the old desk accessories from the first Mac OS? Dashboard is basically a collection of those, but all stored on a layer that can be accessed at any time, on top of what you are doing, and then dismissed just as easily. So you can pop up a calculator, check your stock prices, check the weather in Glendale, then dismiss the widgets and get back to your work. And it looks like these widgets will be easy to create and customize, since they are based on JavaScript and HTML.

Another cool technology that looks like it has a lot of potential is Automator. Automator is basically a visual interface for putting together complex scripts, called Workflows. You select from a number of different Actions, string the results together, and you have a sequence of repetitive tasks that is performed for you automatically. The example that was used in the keynote was finding all thumbnail images on a certain web page, pulling up the original images, saving those to a folder, importing them into a new album in iPhoto, applying filters to each picture, putting them into a new slideshow with a Cube transition, then sending that slideshow to iDVD to be burned to a DVD. The entire workflow took about two minutes to set up, almost completely with drag and drop, and the resulting workflow can be used to pull images off of any web page for archiving to DVD. And if you still don’t get my explanation, check out the web page for more information.

Finally, the new version of Safari has support for RSS feeds. In case you’re not familiar with it, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and an RSS feed contains the content of a given web page, without all of the extraneous formatting and layout. For example, the RSS feed for this site (currently available on the “Syndicate this site” link on the right-hand sidebar) contains the text of this article, along with category and author information, but none of the other text styles or sidebar entries that you see on the main page. So a program that can access these RSS feeds is able to organize content from a variety of different sources, and present it in a simplified layout that lets the user find the data he wants more quickly, without having to wade through various web pages. If you haven’t used it, it’s the future of web surfing, and I’ll try to talk more about it at a later date.

I go away for a few days, and suddenly Apple has a bunch of new announcements! There are the new speed-bumped G5s (the top-of-the-line machine is now a dual 2.5GHz for only $2999!), but that’s not the big news. The big news is something that is so simple, yet so groundbreaking, that it’s amazing that no one has thought of it before.

I’m talking of course about the new Airport Express, which is simply a cheap Airport Extreme (802.11g, for you PC users) wireless base station that plugs directly into the wall. Instead of buying a $250 base station, you can buy this $129 device that does most of what the base station does. It can be used to extend the range of your current wireless network, or you can pack it along and have wireless access in a hotel room or at a friend’s house. And it also has a USB port, so you could wirelessly share a printer between multiple computers.

Not revolutionary enough? Well here’s the best part: It has an audio jack. So you plug it into the wall behind your stereo system, run the audio jack to the stereo, and you have an instant wireless network for streaming music from your computer to your stereo. Or plug one in to a socket in the kitchen, add a pair of powered speakers, and you have you entire music collection in the kitchen. It’s such a simple idea, but at the same time so revolutionary. Take your entire music collection, and just play it wherever you want, anywhere in the house, simply and easily. It’s brilliant, which is the kind of thing that Apple does best.

So as you may know, I just got back from working at NAB, the National Association of Broadcasters convention. I was there for two days, and worked two morning shifts in the Apple booth. The rest of the day I had free time to wander around the show floor, but I actually spent most of my time back in the Apple booth, watching the demo presentations and trying out the new apps. Here’s a quick summary of what caught my eye:

Both of my shifts were spent demonstrating Final Cut Pro HD. I had to fake my way through a few things, because I work primarily on Final Cut Express, but overall I think I was able to show the product off really well. The HD support is excellent, from 720p24 all the way up to 1080i60. You could even play back HD video from a Powerbook hard drive, which is an impressive feat considering the video bandwidth. On the dual-processor 2Ghz G5, it can run four HD streams simultaneously in real time. But overall, the product pretty much sells itself. I was especially pleased by all of the people who stopped by raving about how great the product is. You can get a top-of-the-line G5, a 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display, and the Final Cut Pro HD software for $6000. For a full HD editing system, that is an amazing deal.

Motion was the application that impressed me the most. It’s a little difficult understand the full scope of the program without actually seeing it, but I’ll try to explain it. Basically, it’s a full-motion animation and titling application, with behavioral animation and real-time previewing. So for example, you could set the title text for your movie, then apply a Fade In behavior, use Throw to have the text get thrown in from offscreen, then have another object come in and knock the letters away using real-world physics and simulated gravity. Or you could easily create a field of butterflies that constantly fly around another object. Then you change the color of some of the butterflies, add a Glow filter to others, maybe add a Blur effect…and you can do all this in real-time, while the butterflies are continuously flying around. It is really spectacular, and you should see it. Motion is expected to ship this summer.

Even if you don’t know what Shake is, you have definitely seen movies that used the software. In fact, the last seven Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects were all made with Shake. (For the record, the movies were Titanic, What Dreams May Come, The Matrix, Gladiator, and all three Lord of the Rings movies, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.) Again, look at the web page to get more details, but basically Shake is a compositing program that can handle movie-resolution projects. They did a demo at the show using plates from a scene in Return of the King: They started with a 4K (4000 lines of resolution) background plate of Mordor, added in an animation of the Eye of Sauron, punched up the glow on the top of the volcano, added smoke effects, model shots of the two main gates, and animated orcs on the gates. Then, they composited in lots of 2K plates of actors in orc costumes, shot against a blue screen, which were then matted out, color corrected, and placed in the scene. To fill out the back of the crowd, they had tons of shots of computer-generated orcs and trolls that were all composited together, along with rotoscoped outlines and a height map that was used to put in additional dust and haze effects. Then all of the elements were color corrected and adjusted to fit in the film frame. If you have any interest in film effects at all, it was a beautiful sight to behold. I even recorded the demo on video, so I will be able to show it to all of my friends.

I actually didn’t spend much time looking at DVD Studio Pro, and I don’t know many of the new features that were added for this release. The only one I can remember offhand is the graphical display of your DVD layout. They did show a full workflow demonstration, where a video was edited in Final Cut Pro HD, titles were added with LiveType and Motion, music was added with Logic Pro, then everything was output to Compressor to prepare it for DVD, then those files were imported into DVD Studio Pro where addition menu effects were added using Motion, and then the entire project was burned to a DVD. And this all took place in about a half hour, maybe less. It was truly a wonder to behold. I haven’t begun to scratch the surface of what DVD Studio Pro can do, but it really is easy to use and extremely powerful. I hope I can get many more chances to use it in the future.

Once again, Apple manages to coalesce all of my geeky interests into one! Their latest coup is a deal with Disney to put their library of music exclusively on iTunes until September 30. You can read the whole press release at Apple and Walt Disney Records Team up to Deliver Exclusive Soundtracks on iTunes.