Have a Half-Off Weekend: MPIX Sale on 8x10 Prints

Posted Friday, February 27, 2009

I'm going to start getting a reputation as an MPIX shill.

But hey, as long as the photofinisher offers deals like these, I'll mention them. From now until the end of Sunday: half off on 8 by 10-inch prints.

I've wanted to try their Metallic and True B&W options for a while. At $1.24 (US) apiece, this might just be the time.



Multi Me-dia: An Interview and a Radio Show

Posted Monday, February 23, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down in San Francisco's Washington Square for a video interview to talk about iPhoto '09 and iMovie '09 with my friend Frederick Johnson, who used to work on the iLife team at Apple and is now a photographer, video blogger, and senior marketing manager at Data Robotics, makers of the way-cool Drobo.

You can watch the interview at Frederick's site.

If that isn't enough me: Last Wednesday, I hosted a call-in computer radio show whose subject was the growing number of Web sites that let you sell hand-made art objects or publish your own books. (Think iPhoto books, but with the ability to sell them on your own free storefront.)

The main subjects of the show were Etsy (for buying and selling hand-made artwork and the like); and Lulu, an amazing site that lets you self-publish everything from books to films to audio CDs. I talked with representatives from both companies.

If you make your own art and you'd like to sell it online -- or if you dream of self-publishing your own book -- you can download an archive of the show (11MB MP3 file).

And that's enough of me for today.

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MPIX Running 25% Off Sale on Big Prints

Posted Monday, February 16, 2009

I really like the photo lab MPIX. I've got no connection to them, other than being a happy customer -- a couple of the company's gallery wraps hang on my walls.

Until February 25, MPIX is offering 25 percent off on standard prints in sizes 16 by 20 inches and larger. The details are at the company's blog, but the long and short of it is this: enter the promotion code largeprints09 when you check out, and the discount's yours.

Think big!



From iMovie '09 to Flickr

Posted Tuesday, February 10, 2009

One of the many things I love about iMovie '09 is a return of some of the features the old iMovie HD had: video effects and slow motion.

To test these features, I made a "long photo," as videos are called on the Flickr photo sharing service. I started by using the Create Freeze Frame command to begin the clip with a static image, then I added a cross dissolve to the video clip.

I modified the video clip in a couple of ways. I added the Aged Film effect, I slowed its motion, and I desaturated it to remove the color. After adding the soundtrack from my iTunes music library, I used the audio clip trimmer to time the audio so that the music's crescendo would coincide with the pigeon "fly by."

I love this kind of movie project: a short snippet of video, modified and enhanced with music to set a mood. It isn't time consuming to create, and it certainly won't tax the patience of your audience -- perfect for the Internet age.

Shall we pay a short visit to Paris?

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Macworld's Coverage of iLife '09

Posted Monday, February 09, 2009

My colleagues at Macworld have been doing an outstanding job covering the new iLife '09 release.

Here are quick links to some of their efforts.

iPhoto '09 reviewed. High-profile upgrade debuts face recognition and geotagging.

iMovie '09 reviewed. Apple's new video editor surpasses all previous versions. (And I'm happy to say that Tidbits' managing editor Jeff Carlson, who has forgotten more about iMovie than most people will ever know, is revising the iMovie chapter of my book!)

GarageBand '09 reviewed. With each version of GarageBand, Apple tries to explore a different angle, hoping to bring in a new audience. What GarageBand '09 brings to the table is the possibility that more people will stick around for a second look.

"But Jim," you ask, "why didn't Macworld have you review any of the iLife '09 programs?" The reason is that I often work for Apple as a contractor (indeed, I'm working on a project for the Mothership right now). Macworld's conflict-of-interest rules prohibit authors from reviewing products made by companies that pay those authors. It's another reason you can trust Macworld to give you the straight scoop.

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Happy '09!

Posted Thursday, February 05, 2009

Hi, everybody!

It's true that I haven't posted anything new since August. I was busy with a couple of projects, some travel, some photography, some presidential voting, and some miscellaneous adventures.

But I'm still here, and I'm already at work on an iLife '09 edition of the world's top-selling iLife book. The book is likely to roll off the presses in May.

I'll be updating some of the dusty pages on this site over the next week or so. Stay tuned!


And thanks to my friend Ken Z for reminding me to remind you that I'm still alive. :-)