the personal blog of john montgomery

The next offering in the “Apps I Love” series is Alfred, a killer application launcher. If you’ve never used an application launcher before (Quicksilver was a previous standard), they are great for quickly navigating through your system. But the thing about Alfred is that is so much more. With the addition of the PowerPack, it has totally changed the way I get around on my Mac.

How does it work? After installing, you’ll have a little hat icon in the menu bar where you can access the various preferences for Alfred. The app, by default, will launch on login so that it is ready and waiting to work its magic. By pressing Command-SpaceBar (note this overrides the default Spotlight command), you’ll call up the default Alfred search entry. You can then type in what you want to search for. There are lots of things you can do with Alfred…

Launch Applications
In the following example, I wanted to launch Lightroom, so I pressed Command-SpaceBar and then typed “li” (could have actually just entered “l”, since Alfred will refine its results based upon your past behavior). Pressing return will launch Lightroom. I could have launched any of the other items by pressing the appropriate Command-Number combination shown.

Pressing Command-Space and then "li". Pressing Enter would launch it.

It’s at the point where I hardly ever use the Dock to launch apps — it’s so much easier with shortcuts.

Play Music
Why would you want to use Alfred to play music? For me, it’s because the search functionality is much faster than itunes. The PowerPack has a built in mini-player which is easy to use. Just press Command-SpaceBar and type “it” Return to launch it.

The Alfred iTunes mini-player

Calculator

Clipboard History
Alfred will remember your clipboard history. Admittedly this can be a bit of a security risk if you mac is open to everyone, but mine is on lockdown so it’s fine by me.

Clipboard History

It may seem as though I’m calendar-obsessed, but frankly it’s a critical part of what we do in the collaborative workflow of fxguide and fxphd. In the Chicago offices, we have several calendars which we use to track production, term needs, and even my (insane) travel schedule.

I also love apps that are cleanly and simply designed — they look great and just work.

Put these two things together and I’ve come to rely on an app called Fantastical, which places a calendar icon on your menu bar. By clicking on this icon, you can see at a glance what you have planned for the day (or the next week by scrolling down). It’s nicely presented and always there to refer to.

But the real killer feature imho is the ability to quickly enter appointments in a human readable form. In the example to the right, I’ve simply written:

record fxphdod on monday at 5pm

And it correctly enters the event into my calendar. It’s not perfect, but it works extraordinarily well most of the time.

iCloud is still very much in beta, experiencing the loss of several useful features from MobileMe when making the transition to the new platform. A huge shortcoming of Apple’s calendar functionality is that if the person you want to share a calendar with doesn’t have iCloud, you can only share it read only.

The fxguide/fxphd crew is OSX-centric, but sharing outside the company becomes problematic. So I’ve shifted the hub of my “calendaring” to Google Calendar. This does involve a bit more setup than the pure Apple one, but the extra hassle is worth it…once you find the real instructions on how to make it work
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Well, actually, this included some hiking, trail running, and a bit of photo taking walking. I got up to go running and again it was raining early on Sunday morning. Luckily the showers were brief and I was able to head out and enjoy the morning.

The run starts out at Artarmon train station, which is effectively where I’m staying in Sydney for the month. After a short run through the neighborhoods, the path begins at Artarmon reserve and meets up with the relatively new bike/run paths along the Gore Hill Freeway. Unlike the weekday mornings, the path had quite a few runners, cyclists, and walkers. It then flows into the Bicentennial reserve and Flat Rock Gully before emptying out in Long Bay.

Click through for the GPS track and more images from the run….

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One thing I really enjoy about traveling is running in a new location. I’ts my third day in Sydney and I got up early to to go out, but it was pouring rain. Luckily around 9 it tapered off as there was a gap in the rain coming off the Pacific. I had plotted out a path on Google Maps after hitting numerous dead ends on Saturday — and was very glad I did.

There is a fantastic network of running/cycling paths between the various suburbs here such as Chatswood, Cammeray, North Sydney, and Lane Cove. It seems as though when they put in the Lane Cove Tunnel several years ago, they planned for these paths along the new highway. While some is along that highway, much is through neighborhoods and park lands.

The most stunning part was Flat Rock Gulley, where the entire drainage for the surrounding suburbs runs. I first ran along the rim and then found a trail which lead down into the gulley to the rushing waters. I was actually quite close to the harbor and hoping to make it, but couldn’t cross the several foot high river torrent. The gulley was a lush rain forest with some amazing bird wildlife and plants. I’ll take my camera the next time.

I walked quite a bit this morning just to take in the sights, so my stats weren’t great. But sometimes it’s not about the numbers, but the sights.

Distance: 5.07 mi/8.16 km
Duration: 1:11:00
Average Speed: 4.3 mph/6.9 kmh
Elevation Gain/Loss: 726ft/720ft 221m/220m

I’ve been dealing quite a bit with our health insurance industry in the states, attempting to provide insurance for the employees of fxphd. That’s a different and fucked up story, but it has opened my eyes to how state-supported healthcare in other countries is, at the very least, a great safety net. But that’s the insurance aspect — let’s just talk about where we stand in the world regarding life expectancy:

50th.

Pathetic.

See The CIA World Factbook for the figures.

I’ve decided to start 2012 with a new series of posts reflecting upon how the US could look outside our borders for examples of how to improve things, as well as a reality check on things that really aren’t something to brag about in our country. I really do love living in the United States with all it brings; each time I return from visits outside the country I’m truly happy to be home.

That being said, my travels over the years have pointed out many areas that could be improved in the states. I’m not suggesting we emulate them fully — there are many problems with the social welfare structure in Europe and the UK. But we do have something to learn.

What’s especially disappointing is our current political situation, where (mainly), the Republican party often drapes itself in the flag, turning its back on the facts and pointing out how wrong it is to look outside the borders for ways in which we could be better (see Mitt Romney, Gingrich, Santorum)

So I figure I’ll take a lookat some realities as to how the United States compares with the rest of the world. Some will be based purely in facts/stats — and others will be more based upon my experiences. One thing that I’m sure will be true is that those that think we’re number one will be sorely disappointed.

I’ve been working with OS X Lion installed on my MacBook Pro for the last several weeks and the experience has been incredibly painless. It’s not my main “production” workstation as I’m still using a MacPro tower at work for Nuke (Nuke 6.3v1 does not run under Lion) and Smoke and large scale projects. But I still use various mainstream desktop apps such as Adobe CS5.5 and do my main web development on the MBP. I listed the main apps I use on my MBP below.

I thought I’d put together some initial thoughts and suggestions. It’s not meant to be a full up review — for that go, to a professional such as John Siracusa’s review at Ars Technica whose reviews are always incredibly in-depth.

That being said, here’s a quick overview of my initial thoughts/suggestions I feel you might find useful….
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While the verdict is definitely out (or in most minds already delivered) about Final Cut Pro X — I’m happy to see this press release from Red Giant. Reading between the lines, it seems as though the new SDK might actually be decent. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I’ll be interested to see what develops. As I mentioned in my previous post, living without Colorista II would make Johnny a dull boy….

Portland, OR (June 24, 2011) – Red Giant (http://www.redgiant.com) today released a formal statement on the Company’s position on, and plans for supporting the newly released Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Red Giant president and co-founder, Andrew Little, comments:

With the release of Final Cut Pro X, there have been a lot of questions and concerns about the future of Final Cut Pro and the plug-ins that run inside it.

First, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve already conducted extensive testing, and we are very excited about the FCP X release. We’re confident that, as Final Cut Pro X evolves, it will fuel new growth in the market and as a result, allow us to share our tools with a much broader range of users who want to create beautiful work.

Red Giant’s industry leading set of color correction and grading tools, such as Magic Bullet, are well known for ease of use, powerful performance, extreme flexibility, and simple design. And they are perfectly suited for the current and next generation of Final Cut Pro users.

In terms of development, you’ll be seeing Magic Bullet products available on Final Cut Pro X very soon. In fact, with the SDK in hand, we’ve already begun the engineering effort for what will be free Final Cut Pro X updates for current users.

As FCP X continues to change and grow, you can count on this: Red Giant will be ready for FCP X when FCP X is ready for you. At Red Giant, we know that products are only as good as the team and community that support them.

The headline is what I think Apple should have called the app that was released earlier this week. Mark Dascoli (who works for us at fxphd) and I were chatting about this at work. We both felt that much of the whingeing about the new Final Cut X that’s been going on could have been avoided through a more well thought-out roll out that managed expectations through a tiered product line.

With all the negativity out there I feel like I have to apologize, but even with only a couple days in the app, I’m finding a lot of things I like about it. What’s truly getting lost in the discussion is that there’s actually some really cool stuff in the software. From a start, it certainly seems speedy and the background processing and 64-bit multiprocessor support really helps make things flow. Even Motion got some nice updates, including sharable presets called widgets and templates.

I respect the fact that Apple is trying a new interface and approach for a non-linear editor. I think it’s high time that someone has done that and I’m glad that they’re taking a stab at it. I’m game to see if there is a new approach that actually lets us edit faster and be more flexible and creative. I’m also pretty sure that creating a new editing program is difficult, otherwise we’d have more of them.

Together these things pretty much ensure that V1 is gonna have some hitches…and I’m willing to deal with them if it means something positive in the long run. A complete rewrite of the software means you don’t just easily lift code from a mature product — you have to re-write it — hence, the V1 moniker. But hitches are one thing…serious workflow omissions in a “pro” product are another.

But with that being said, I’m checking it out with an open mind to improvements in the future. At least one that is focused on our needs at fxguide and fxphd, which is editing and finishing for web delivery. The only sure thing I can say right now is that I’d miss Magic Bullet Colorista II….that can’t come soon enough.

Examining those specifics further is another post as I need more time in the software.

For now, I’d simply like to contrast what actually happened with what could have happened. I think breaking the product line into two would have made a big difference in managing expectations. Get the software out now as it is and then release a higher end version later this year. Especially since Apple has already (supposedly) revealed that several lacking “pro” features will be out in a software update. Leave the venerable Final Cut Studio available and shipping as it works and there’s no pressing need to change. Release Final Cut X as it is now and put out the following press release which speaks to the future:

Apple Revolutionizes  Editing With New Final Cut Product Line

 
CUPERTINO, California—June 21, 2011—Apple® today released Final Cut X, a revolutionary new version of the world’s most popular video editing software which completely reinvents video editing.  Apple® also announced that Final Cut Pro X, an advanced version with features targeted towards the professional market, will ship later this year.  Built on a modern 64-bit architecture, Final Cut X is now available from the Mac® App Store™ for $199.99. Final Cut Pro X when its released will be available from the Mac® App Store™ for $399.00 or a $200 upgrade from Final Cut X.

“Final Cut X is the biggest advance in video editing since the original Final Cut Pro,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We have shown it to many of the world’s best editors, and their jaws have dropped.”

“I’m blown away by what Apple has done with Final Cut,” said Angus Wall, Academy Award-winning film editor. “Final Cut X is incredibly modern and fast, but most importantly it lets you focus on telling your story in the most creative way, while it actively manages all of the technical details.”

Completely rebuilt from the ground up, Final Cut Pro X is a 64-bit app that takes full advantage of the latest Mac hardware and software so you never have to wait for the next edit, even if you’re working with 4K video. Final Cut Pro X uses multi-threaded processing and the GPU on your graphics card for blazing fast background rendering and superb real-time playback performance. Additionally, a ColorSync-managed color pipeline ensures color consistency from import to output.

Final Cut X also includes powerful tools for audio editing and color correction, and is complemented by two companion apps, Motion 5 for professional motion graphics and Compressor 4 for advanced media encoding, available from the Mac App Store for $49.99 each.

Final Cut Pro X

The professional version, Final Cut Pro X, will be available later this year. It will include features targeted specifically towards pro users, including:

• Final Cut XML and EDL support, allowing interchange between other applications
• Broadcast monitor support
• Importing of Final Cut Pro projects
• 64-bit advanced Plugin API for third party creative tools
• Multiple timeline workspaces with on the fly format changes
• Native R3D support

“We’re excited about the high end features in Final Cut Pro X,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We’re especially excited about the fact that we don’t have to waste time developing video i/o — because tape based workflow is something for mimes of the past, not tech-saavy professionals.” 

Pricing & Availability

Final Cut X is available today for $199.99 from the Mac App Store. Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are available today for $49.99 each from the Mac App Store. Final Cut Pro X will be available later this year for $399.99 from the Mac App Store. Upgrades from Final Cut X will be available for $200.00. Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut X can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutx.