Kibbles & Bytes Blog

This Tuesday, Apple previewed the next version of its professional video editing software: Final Cut Pro X. The application, which was presented at this year’s Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet, has been described as a complete rewrite of the existing program. Presenter Peter Steinauer described Final Cut X as: “Something as revolutionary as the first version of Final Cut Pro when introduced in 1999.” Though Apple has yet to issue an official release highlighting Final Cut Pro X, numerous details were confirmed by Steinauer Tuesday.

Final Cut Pro was last updated in 2009, and since its last revision there have been several highly anticipated updates from its base of over two million users. Among the most highly requested features were a UI overhaul and full 64-bit compatibility. FCP users will undoubtably be excited to hear that Final Cut Pro X implements both. Making use of Grand Central Dispatch, FCPX will utilize all available system cores and GPU for background rendering, resolution-independent playback from SD to 4K, and ColorSync management. Additionally, the new software looks to finally banish the dreaded “writing video” render box–Steinauer hinted FCPX will allow for background rendering and for users to edit while importing. For legacy users who have become accustomed to preparing dinner while their video renders, this feature alone will warrant a day-one purchase, assuming it comes to fruition.

Other new features to Apple’s editing system include content auto analysis, auto audio clean up, range-based keywording and smart collections. Steinauer also demonstrated Clip Connections and Compound Clips. The former locks audio and video clips together so that they appear as one clip in the timeline and stay synced when moved, and the latter collapses media into a single clip on the timeline. The timeline itself has also been redesigned in FCPX, enabling smoother and easier edits, easier clip trimming and more. As Steinauer’s presentation was very much a preview of the upcoming release, it is likely the software will undergo additional changes leading up to its release this June, which Steinauer confirmed is when Final Cut Pro X will debut in the Mac App Store for $299.

_Dear Friends,_

This week it’s Ben writing for Don while he’s in China. Spring is finally in the air here in Vermont. The seemingly endless masses of snow were vanquished by a formidable foe–nearly 70 degrees of glorious sunshine–over the weekend. Burlington emerged from its winter slumber and dosed its denizens with an extra-large helping of spring fever. The bug bit me so hard that I decided it was a good idea to go for my first hike of the year. I twisted a few arms and gathered a group of friends to hike nearby Mt. Philo. In my excitement I neglected the fact that snow doesn’t melt instantly, and when it does it creates mud. As we hit the base of the trail, our running shoes and shorts were met with slushy residual snow and goopy mud. Momentarily dissuaded, I offered up my building’s laundry services and we pressed on, slipping and sliding up the mountain. We rewarded ourselves at the top with a picnic and champagne toast. Having never before tried it, I attempted glissading down the snow-covered trail on our descent. This yielded very mixed results, and I now have a brown–originally white–tee shirt to prove it.

Earlier in the week, we had a special guest in the office. Cody–as we now know him–was a lost yellow lab picked up by Jan, our director of marketing, who found the pup wandering stray in her town. As he was without a collar, tags or a microchip, we posted photos to our Facebook “*page*”:http://www.facebook.com/smalldogelectronics and Twitter “*feed,*”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog hoping for any kind of lead. Thanks in part to the prevalence and power of social media, we were able to reunite Cody with his family by the end of the day. A great guest once he got used to the other dogs in the building, Cody is welcome back to the office for water and biscuits any time!