Apple unleashed several major updates to its professional video editing software suite this morning, featuring Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4. Final Cut Pro X was rebuilt from the ground up and is said to reinvent video editing. Apple’s SVP Phil Schiller expresses his enthusiasm:

“Final Cut Pro X is the biggest advance in Pro video editing since the original Final Cut Pro. We have shown it to many of the world’s best Pro editors, and their jaws have dropped.”

Many popular Hollywood movies have been edited in prior versions of Final Cut Pro, giving some serious clout to it’s abilities, a few include X-Men: Origins, No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading, 300, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Where the Wild Things Are, Eat Pray Love, and True Grit.

Despite being a complete redesign with hoards of new features, the price of Final Cut Pro X and it’s component apps have actually dropped substantially, and they are all available as downloads through the Mac App Store:

• Final Cut Pro X – $299.99
• Compressor 4 – $49.99
• Motion 5 – $49.99

Each new app release is already at the top of the Mac App Store “Bestsellers” list, indicating both enthusiasm and a significant pent up demand for Apple’s latest video editing package.

System Requirements are a bit stricter this time around, requiring Mac OS X 10.6.7 or newer, an Open-CL capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later, both must have at least 256MB of VRAM. Your Mac should also have at least 2GB of RAM, but 4GB (or more) is recommended. You can read more about the GPU requirements on Apple support.

Embedded below is a first-look walkthrough of Final Cut Pro X, for those interested.
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Uninstalling applications from Mac OS X is probably the easiest method of removing apps from any operating system, and it’s far easier on a Mac than anything you’ll encounter in the Windows world. Deleting apps is so simple that some new Mac users are left wondering what else they’re supposed to do, I have received several family tech support questions where they are determined to find an “Uninstall Programs” control panel like in Windows – this is not the case on a Mac, where app removal is dead simple.

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Just what you’ve been waiting for. Now you can hide your Facebook usage in plain sight with a crafty app called ExcellBook. That screenshot you see up top is Excellbook in use, it makes Facebook look like some boring old MS Excel spreadsheet, creating just about the best Facebook disguise I’ve ever seen.

Even the app icon looks kind of Microsoft Office-ish, which makes Excellbook a very sneaky cover that certainly hides Facebook well, assuming your company didn’t block Facebook access completely that is.

I tried the app out and it works as advertised, but I couldn’t figure out how to change the default language from Spanish, unless you can figure that out your boss might think you’re suddenly working in another language if they look too close. What’s the motivation here? Other than to kill productivity, TheNextWeb says the app is some kind of publicity stunt for a clothing company, but there’s no hint of that in the app.

You can download ExcellBook for Mac OS X or Windows at the appropriately named BeStupidAtWork.com.

Use it, don’t abuse it, and try not to get fired.

Ever wondered how Mac OS X would work with a large touch screen? Curious how iOS would perform on a bigger screen than the iPad’s 9.7″ display? These videos will show you how both of Apple’s fine OS’s look on a 21″ touch panel. The Mac OS X video is shown above and the iOS video is embedded below.

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Did you know you can instantly access a dictionary, thesaurus, or Wikipedia entry for a word or phrase, from nearly anywhere in Mac OS X? All you need to do is remember a super easy three-finger tap trick.

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The next time you hear someone talking trash about the iPhone or Apple’s future in the mobile world, present this impressive fact: Apple has enough cash that it could buy outright most of it’s hardware competitors in the mobile phone industry.

Yes, as ridiculous as that sounds, Apple could buy most of the industry, that means Apple could pay cash and acquire HTC, Nokia, RIM, LG, Motorola Mobility, and Sony Ericsson, the only remaining competitor in the mobile vendor space would be Samsung, which is worth $53 billion.

This impressive data and graph come from Asymco, who says that it’s entirely feasible that Apple’s $70 billion in cash and liquid assets could soon be worth more than the entire mobile phone industry:

The more remarkable thing is that as market values of phone vendors continue to decline, Apple’s cash will continue to grow dramatically. Indeed, a time may soon come when Apple’s cash will be worth more than the entire phone industry.

I wonder what Apple’s competitors think about that?

The iOS line is gearing up to be a viable contendor in the video game console world, thanks largely to the new wireless AirPlay video mirroring feature coming in iOS 5.

It works like this: an Apple TV2 becomes a wireless receiver that an iOS 5 equipped iPad 2 can then export it’s screen to, the TV can then either mirror the iPad 2 display, or if an supports it, the TV can display different images than what is on the iPad 2, turning the iPad 2 into a controller. Yes, that means the feature is currently limited to iPad 2 in beta 1 of iOS 5, but I suspect that will broaden to the rumored A5 equipped iPhone and possibly other iOS hardware through some jailbreak tweaks.

Watch these videos to see the potential here:

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If you run iOS 5 beta 1 on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you might be interested to know the beta includes an automatic expiration date of August 4th.

For those with proper access to the newest beta releases from iOS Dev Center, this won’t be an issue as long as you upgrade to the newest betas as they become available from Apple. This leaves those who had a friend activate their UDID or who used the VoiceOver tweak to run iOS 5 on an iPhone without a dev account – this could very well effect you. If you are running the beta without a dev account, I suggest downgrading from iOS 5 beta before this becomes a potential problem, you don’t want to be stuck with a useless iPhone on August 5th.
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Have a Steam game library along with some save game files? Maybe you’d like to move those games and the gaming library to another hard drive or even another computer? Did you just get a new Mac? Maybe you upgraded your hard drive and went with a clean Mac OS X install, but you want to maintain all of your Steam saved games from the old drive so you can pick up where you left off. There are many reasons why you might want to move a Steam game collection and Steam game files to a new hard drive.

This tutorial will show you how to move a Steam game library and Steam saved games collection to another hard drive or computer. We’ll assume you have some basic networking experience along with file management know-how.

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Sometimes the best way to avoid distraction when trying to work is to isolate other components and hardware, so I really like the simplicity of this Mac setup. It’s just the essentials, a MacBook Air 13″, some school books, and coffee, nothing to pull your attention away.

Most students are out for the summer, but if you are taking summer classes or just prepping for Fall term, don’t miss out on Apple’s 2011 Back to School Promo which gives you a free $100 App Store gift card with a discounted purchase of any Mac. There are some rumors suggesting the Air will get an update soon though, so if you’re looking at Apple’s ultralight waiting another month could be to your benefit.

Picture via Flickr

Apple has started to air a new iPad 2 commercial on TV, it’s titled “Now” and follows a similar theme to the other two recent iPad 2 TV ads.

“Now we can watch a newspaper, listen to a magazine, curl up with a movie, see a phone call, now we can take a classroom anywhere, hold an entire bookstore, and touch the stars. Because now, there’s this.”  iPad 2

In classic Apple style, it shows people what they can actually do on an iPad, and manages to convey quite a bit in just 30 seconds. All in all, it’s an enjoyable commercial, and if you watch TV you’ll probably see airing soon if you haven’t already.

Apple has provided Mac OS X 10.7 Lion volume licensing information for education and business customers looking to upgrade to the newest version of the Mac operating system. The pricing and licensing information differs from the generous personal licenses, and is only relevant to those who require group licenses.

Business Licensing

Once Lion is released, business customers will be able to purchase Lion and Lion Server directly from Apple by calling 1-800-854-3680 or by purchasing through the Business Store on Apple.com.

• Volume licensing contracts are $29.99 per license, with a minimum purchase of 20 licenses
• Maintenance contracts that include the next version of OS X after Lion are $49.99, also with a minimum purchase of 20 licenses

Education Licensing

Schools and education customers will have the option to either buy Lion online through the Education Store, or to contact their Apple Education Account Representative directly. An addition bonus for education customers is that Lion comes as part of a software collection, which includes Mac OS X Lion, iLife, and iWork.

• Lion volume licenses start at $39 per license, with a minimum of 25 licenses

Anyone who currently holds a volume license will apparently receive one redemption code for each contract, which can then be used to download Lion from the Mac App Store. That copy of Lion can then be used to install Lion on other Macs throughout the volume licensing. There is no specific mention of DVD’s, but anyone can make a Lion install DVD rather easily.

Update: Here is the information repeated directly from Apple’s “OS X Lion for Business and Education” document:

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OK so Mac OS X Lion won’t be released until next month, but if you do a little preparation now you should be able to save at least 15% off the already low $29.99 price. How? Simple, buying iTunes Gift Cards on sale and redeeming them on the Mac App Store.

Here’s the deal with eligible gift cards, they’re labeled a million different things, ranging from iTunes Store gift cards, to App Store gift cards, to iBooks gift cards, but they’ll all redeem on the App Store, just make sure they have that Apple logo.

Here’s a few sale examples:

• RiteAid is currently offering $25 iTunes Gift Cards for $20
• Best Buy was recently selling all iTunes cards at 15% discounts both in store and online
• Target frequently has iTunes, iBooks, and App Store gift cards on sale for 20% off
• Walmart has sold $50 iTunes gift cards for as little as $35

This is one of the unseen advantages to Lion, or anything else for that matter, being distributed exclusively through the Mac App Store, easy discounts!

You’ll probably need to shop around a bit and check your local newspaper (you know, those stacks of thinly sliced trees) or even your good old fashioned snailmail junkmail, thats where I found the RiteAid offer that I took advantage of. I heard that Target is discounting packs of them right now, but this probably varies by store and their website doesn’t indicate any such sale.

So grab a couple iTunes gift cards on sale, add the balance to your Apple ID now, and wait for Lion to come out. If you’re not thrilled with the App Store distribution model, don’t forget you can burn a Lion installation DVD yourself too.

The latest version of iTunes includes the great “Automatic Downloads” ability which automatically syncs your new app, music, and book purchases to all of your other iOS devices. This is the first part of iCloud that is available free to iTunes users, but most users won’t see the benefit because it’s not enabled by default. Let’s change that.

Enable iTunes & iCloud Automatic Downloads

You’ll need to download iTunes 10.3 which includes iCloud beta support, and you will also need to use the same iTunes / Apple ID on the devices that you want Automatic Download to work with.

• Open iTunes Preferences
• Click on the “Store” tab
• Check the boxes next to what you want to automatically download and sync between your iOS devices: Music, Apps, Books

Once this is enabled, iTunes will automatically sync new purchases to your iOS devices. This means you can buy a song, app, or book on your Mac or work PC and it will automatically transfer to the iPhone in your pocket and your iPad at home, as long as you’re connected to the internet through Wi-Fi or 3G.

This is obviously a great feature, just keep an eye on data usage if you’re on a limited data plan and downloading via 3G frequently. iCloud itself is free, but your cellular data plan isn’t.

Update: this feature seems to be limited to iTunes users based in the USA for now, this will likely change as iCloud rolls out of beta.

10 years ago Apple opened their first Apple Store in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and this video shows CEO Steve Jobs giving the first tour of the store. It’s a fun look at Apple’s recent past, and you’ll see a lot of hardware from yesteryear, including iBooks, flower power iMacs, PowerBook G4 Titaniums, PowerMac G4’s, you’ll even catch a glimpse of Mac OS 9 and the original Mac OS X 10.0 box. Watch carefully and you’ll hear Steve reference “MP3 players” that are sold as accessories in the store, because the iPod wasn’t even out yet. Oh how times have changed!

Facebook is about to release an official iPad app, according to the New York Times. The app is said to be freely available “in the coming weeks” and not just a rescaled iPhone app version, instead it is optimized specifically for the iPad’s larger touch display. From the NYT:

People who have seen the application said it has a slick design that has been tailored for the iPad and its touchscreen interface. Facebook developers and designers have also overhauled the Facebook Chat and Facebook Groups features for the application. And the app will go beyond the features available on the Facebook Web site by allowing users to shoot and upload photos and videos directly from the iPad’s built-in cameras.

“The photo and video experience is amazing, offering full resolution and full-screen images,” said a person who has seen the app.

Currently, iPad users are forced to either run the iPhone and iPod touch version scaled up 2x which provides a rather unattractive user experience, or just load the Facebook website directly in mobile Safari. Neither of these are ideal solutions, and a native app has been highly anticipated by Facebook users, although there are also several interesting alternatives like the Facebook photo frame & news feed web app that was designed for the iPad in mind.

You can set any image on the web as your Mac desktop background wallpaper directly from Safari. This means you don’t even need to download the picture to your computer to set it as the desktop background, you can just find a picture on the web and immediately use it as the wallpaper on the Mac.

The next time you’re browsing the web and you find a nice picture you’d like to use as your Mac desktop background wallpaper, just use this quick little Safari trick.

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Updated Mac hardware will not ship until Mac OS X Lion is publicly released or at least finalized sometime in July, this is to insure that new Macs will include Mac OS X Lion and iCloud preinstalled, according to a new report by AppleInsider.

The decision is expected to impact the release dates of several unannounced products, including a refreshed MacBook Air, a new Mac Mini, and even a Thunderbolt Apple Cinema Display.

For instance, new Thunderbolt-enabled Sandy Bridge MacBook Air models expected to go into production this month have been ready and waiting for some time, according to people familiar with the matter. But management is currently unwilling to usher the new models into the market with the current Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system.

Instead, the Mac maker is said to be locked on waiting till it can image the new notebooks with a Gold Master build of Lion so that buyers are afforded the latest and greatest Apple experience. This includes complimentary iCloud services that will come built into the software

In a similar manner, AppleInsider also suggests that refreshed iPhone and iPod touch models will also depend on the release of iOS 5, which is set for Fall of this year.