Big update for Final Cut Pro brings improved support for 4K and the new Mac Pro
As Apple’s finally put its redesigned Mac Pro up for sale, the company’s also seen fit to update editing software Final Cut Pro. Version 10.1 optimizes “rendering and playback” for the new Mac, but for users of other “select Mac computers,” the most significant change will likely be the addition of 4K monitoring over Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI, meaning the program now fully supports 4K — you can upload straight to YouTube in that resolution, too. It also revises how clips are organized using libraries, and generally adds a heap of workflow and behind-the-scenes improvements that could finally appease those who weren’t impressed by Pro X when it launched.
Final Cut companion wares Compressor and Motion have been updated, too, and both are now also able to share content in 4K. Compressor boasts a new look and broader encoding support, while Motion has been optimized for the new Mac Pro and its dual AMD GPUs. As the version notes for all three updates are too numerous to squeeze in here, we recommend checking out the individual changelogs at the source links below.
Filed under: Software, HD, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac (1), 9to5Mac (2)
Source: Mac App Store (Final Cut Pro), (Compressor), (Motion)
Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X with 2013 Mac Pro Compatibility, 4K Content [Mac Blog]
Alongside the start of online orders for the redesigned Mac Pro, Apple has released a major update for Final Cut Pro X. The program now supports optimized playback and rendering utilizing the dual AMD FirePro graphics chips found in the new Mac Pro, along with support for video monitoring at resolutions up to 4K via Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI on select Mac computers. The update also includes 4K-optimized content, and a host of other additions and performance enhancements.
What’s New in Final Cut Pro X version 10.1
Final Cut Pro X version 10.1 adds the following features:
– Optimized playback and rendering using dual GPUs in the new Mac Pro
– Video monitoring up to 4K via Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI on select Mac computers
– 4K content including titles, transitions, and generators
– Libraries allow you to gather multiple events and projects within a single bundle
– Easily open and close individual libraries to load just the material you need
– Option to import camera media to locations inside or outside of a library
– Automatically back up libraries to a user-specified drive or network location
– Project Snapshots let you quickly capture the project state for fast versioning
– Audio fade handles on individual audio channels in the timeline
– Add precise retime speeds by entering them numerically in the timeline
– Non-rippling retime option
– One step Replace and retime
– Custom project frame sizes
– Through edits displayed on all clip types
– Join Through Edit command removes bladed cuts to clips in the timeline
– Detach audio with Multicam clips in the timeline to manipulate audio and video separately
– Make video- or audio-only edits into the timeline with Multicam Clips as sources
– Blade and move audio in J- and L-cuts
– Ability to roll audio with J- and L-cut splits open
– Option to hide the Event browser to gain more screen space for viewing
– Native support for .MTS and .MT2S files from AVCHD cameras
– Used media indicators on source clips
– Improved performance with large projects
– Improved performance when modifying or adding keywords to many clips at once
– Easily move, copy, and paste multiple keyframes
– Option for the linear animation with Ken Burns effect
– Improved image stabilization with InertiaCam and Tripod mode
– Import photos from iOS devices
– Proxy and playback quality controls accessible in Viewer menu
– Support for portrait/landscape metadata in still images
– Effects parameters, fonts, and text size included in XML metadata
– Improved support for growing media and edit while ingest
– API for custom Share operations using third-party software
– FxPlug 3 with custom plug-in interfaces and dual-GPU support
– Share directly to YouTube at 4K resolution
Final Cut Pro X is available in the Mac App Store for $299.99. The 10.1 update is free for current customers. [Direct Link]
     |
Apple’s Redesigned Mac Pro Now Available for Online Orders
In line with yesterday’s announcement, Apple’s redesigned Mac Pro is now available for order through the company’s online stores. The Mac Pro currently ships by December 30.
The new Mac Pro is available in two stock configurations, starting with a $2999 model equipped with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor, 12 GB of RAM, dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics chips, and 256 GB of flash storage. A higher-level $3999 model bumps the specs to a 3.5 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon E5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and dual AMD FirePro D500 graphics. Additional build-to-order options are available for up to a 12-core processor, 64 GB of RAM, dual AMD FirePro D700 graphics, and 1 TB of flash storage.
| |
Best Holiday 2013 Deals on iPhones, iPads, and Macs
Ahead of the Christmas holiday, several major retailers are offering significant discounts on popular Apple products like the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, and various iPads and Macs. We’ve gathered the best holiday deals below for consumers looking to get the latest Apple products for lower prices.
Some of these deals, many of which are in-store only, may vary by location and are only available while supplies last. All iPhone deals listed require a two-year contract.
iPhone 5s (Regularly Starts at $199):
– $119, 16GB: Walmart (In-store only through Dec. 24)
– $119, 16GB: Sam’s Club (In-store only through January)
– $125/$225/$325, 16/32/64GB: Best Buy (In-store and online)
– $120/$220/$320, 16/32/64GB: MacMall (In-store only through Dec. 19)
– $150, 16GB: Target (In-store only)
iPhone 5c (Regularly Starts at $99):
– $25, 16GB: Sam’s Club (In-store only through January)
– $27, 16GB: Walmart (In-store only through Dec. 24)
– $20/$120, 16/32GB: MacMall (In-store only through Dec. 19)
– $50/$150, 16/32GB: Best Buy (In-store and online)
– $50 with $50 Target gift card, 16GB: Target (In-store only)
16 GB iPad mini (Regularly $299):
– $260: Toys R Us (In-store only)
– $299 with $50 Walmart gift card (In-store only through Dec. 24)
– $299 with $100 RadioShack gift card (In-store only through Dec. 24)
– $299 with $30 Target gift card (In-store and online)
iPad Air (Regularly Starts at $499):
– $479, 16GB: MacMall (In-store and online)
– $450/$550, 16/32GB: Toys R Us (In-store only)
Macs:
– $100 off MacBook Airs: Best Buy
– $160 off 21.5-inch iMacs, Models ME086LL/A and ME087LL/A: Best Buy
– $160 off 27-inch iMac, Model ME088LL/A: Best Buy
– $24-$49 off current generation 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros: MacMall
– $59-$99 off current generation 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros: MacMall
– $29 off current generation 13-inch MacBook Air: MacMall
– $10-$102 off current generation iMacs: MacMall
MacMall’s Mac deals last through December 19, while Best Buy’s are through December 24. Both are available both in-store and online.
| |
Software Allows Hackers to Activate MacBook Webcams Without Green Warning Light
A recently resolved criminal case shows how a high schooler was able to hack a classmate’s laptop in order to take nude photographs with he computer camera without her knowledge, before attempting to use the images to extort her.
Though Apple’s FaceTime camera is designed to always illuminate the adjacent green light at the top of the screen, software has been written to separate the camera and light hardware, allowing both illegal — and legal, the FBI has used similar software in criminal investigations — ways.
While controlling a camera remotely has long been a source of concern to privacy advocates, conventional wisdom said there was at least no way to deactivate the warning light. New evidence indicates otherwise.
Marcus Thomas, former assistant director of the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, said in a recent story in The Washington Post that the FBI has been able to covertly activate a computer’s camera — without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording — for several years.
A pair of students at Johns Hopkins examined Apple’s webcam indicator [PDF] and discovered both how to disable the LED indicator, and a way to modify OS X’s kernel keep nefarious users from taking control of the LED. The vulnerability they described does not work on Macs built after 2008, but it is likely that similar hacks exist for newer machines.
In the older vulnerability described in the Johns Hopkins study, the software bypasses a hardware interlock that the camera uses in an attempt to ensure the indicator light illuminates whenever the camera is active. It is not known precisely which software package the defendant in the case used to compromise his classmate’s computer, but the Hopkins study is the first public confirmation that Apple’s camera system can be compromised.
The easiest way for users to protect themselves — aside from standard security protocols like not downloading strange applications, or allowing untrusted people access to the computer — is to put a small piece of tape across the camera.
| |
Study proves that you can secretly hijack an older Mac’s webcam
If you believe common wisdom, it shouldn’t be possible to take over most webcams without alerting users. The indicator LED is supposed to be hack-proof, after all. However, a pair of Johns Hopkins researchers have recently published a research paper showing that it’s possible to control the camera while keeping the indicator dark. Their proof-of-concept app, iSeeYou, reprograms a controller chip on pre-2009 Macs to separate the camera and LED functions; users can flick the light on and off like a switch. Apple is aware of the issue with its own systems, but it hasn’t said whether or not there will be a fix. It’s also unclear how many newer Macs or other PCs are at risk. Regardless of the exact threat, the study isn’t very reassuring in an era of widespread surveillance — if a pair of academics can stealthily record your activity, it’s likely that professional spies can do the same.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple
Via: The Washington Post
Source: JScholarship
Apple, China Mobile Have Yet to Reach iPhone Deal
Apple and China Mobile have not yet finalized a deal that will allow the world’s largest carrier to sell the iPhone, reports Reuters. Earlier in December, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that negotiations were all but complete, with the two companies on track for a release sometime around December 18, the expected date for the carrier’s 4G launch.
A China Mobile store promoting Apple products last week
While China Mobile did launch its 4G network earlier today, bringing 4G speeds to its more than 700 million customers, there has been no sign of an iPhone deal.
Xi Guohua, the chairman of the world’s largest mobile phone carrier, said on Wednesday morning that his company had no announcement to make on any deal to carry Apple’s smartphones. Xi was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Guangzhou, a southern city of China.
Multiple signs of an approaching deal between the two companies have popped up during the final months of 2013, with Apple receiving licensing needed to operate on China Mobile’s TD-LTE standard in September and releasing the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c with TD-LTE support.
Though a deal has not been struck, it is clearly in the final stages as China Mobile has been accepting iPhone pre-orders and heavily promoting both the iPad and the iPhone in stores across China.
China Mobile is expected to bring millions of new customers to Apple, significantly increasing the company’s presence in China. While Apple currently has deals with smaller carriers China Unicom and China Telecom, both carriers combined have fewer subscribers than China Mobile.
Apple’s stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent following the lack of a deal announcement.
| |
Pebble Opens Developer Portal, Appstore Coming in 2014 [iOS Blog]
Pebble, the company behind the popular Pebble Smart Watch, today announced the opening of its new Pebble Developer Portal. With the Developer Portal open, Pebble app developers can upload apps that will be distributed in the company’s upcoming Pebble appstore, slated to launch in early 2014.
The appstore, which will function similarly to other app repositories from companies like Apple and Google, will allow Pebble users to download an array of apps for their smart watches, from watch faces to more complex applications developed especially for the device.
When it launches in early 2014, the Pebble appstore will be a first-of-its-kind wearable tech application directory—giving Pebble users a one-stop-shop for searching, browsing, and installing Pebble watch faces and apps directly from the iOS or Android Pebble smartphone app.
Pebble’s Developer Portal comes after the November release of its Pebble SDK 2.0, which added four new APIs including Javascript, Accelerometer, Data Logging, and Persistent Storage. Pebble also recently gained support for iOS 7 notifications via the Pebble Smartwatch app, greatly enhancing the functionality of the device.
The Pebble Smart watch can be purchased from the Pebble website for $150. The accompanying Pebble Smartwatch app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
| |
Apple’s new Mac Pro will finally go on sale December 19th
We knew it was coming, now it’s almost here. Apple has confirmed that the new Mac Pro will go on sale from tomorrow, starting at $3,000. For that, you’ll get a 3.7GHz quad-core Xeon CPU (“with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz”), 12GB DRAM, two AMD FirePro D300 GPUs, and a 256GB SSD. As usual, you’ll be able to order online via Apple’s online store, through various resellers and, perhaps most importantly, Apple’s retail stores. While there’s no word on whether you’ll be able to walk out of an Apple Store with a Mac Pro tomorrow, the fact that it’s assembled in the US suggests that could be the case, at least in the States. We’ve contacted Apple for clarification and will update you when we know more.
Source: Apple (Businesswire)
Samsung and TSMC to Share Production of Apple’s 14-nm A9 Chips in 2015
Samsung has signed a contract to produce 30% to 40% of Apple’s 14-nm A9 chip family in 2015, with the remainder of the production load being handled by other Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), reports Digitimes.
The news comes after a report back in July stating that Apple had signed a deal with Samsung to cooperate in producing A9 processors based on a 14-nanometer process node, though it was not known then whether Samsung would be the sole supplier of the chips. The claim also came weeks after TSMC confirmed a deal with Apple to begin producing A-series chips in 2014, but was also followed up by a report in September stating that Samsung would also be helping out with A8 chip orders as well.
Apple has apparently been seeking to reduce its reliance on Samsung as a component supplier as the two companies have become fierce rivals in both the mobile marketplace and in the courtroom. The two companies have, however, continued working together in several areas, particularly where Samsung’s competitors in the component market are unable to match its technology, production capacity, or pricing.
Furthermore, a look into the A7 processor in September revealed that Samsung was indeed the manufacturer for the chip, with the chip produced at a smaller 28-nm node compared to the 32-nm A6. Currently, the A7 chip is used in the iPhone 5s, the iPad mini with Retina Display, and the iPad Air. Teardowns of all three devices revealed that the iPad Air includes a slightly faster variant of the A7 chip clocked at 1.4 GHz compared to the iPhone 5s and Retina iPad Mini which both include an A7 chip clocked at 1.3 GHz.
| |
