I just bought a Canon HG10 which is a pretty nice consumer High Definition digital camcorder that records the video onto an internal hard drive.

What I did not think of, which I cant believe but it happens to all of us, is that HD camcorders record in AVCHD format which is ahead of its time right now. AVCHD stands for Advanced Video Codec High Definintion and it is basically a format that most High Def Camcorders have adopted to compress the files. The only problem there is just about no software that will make that video be viewable on your personal computer. As icing on the cake, if your main computer is Vista x64 (64 bit), you are really in trouble.

The Canon came with some junk from Corel that did not give me the options I wanted to edit my video. In fact, it would not even install on my 64 bit machine. I hear the only other option for Canon’s is the Pinnacle Suite but they have not ever been a recommendation by me. Just not what I am looking for. Ideally, I would want Adobe’s Premier Elements to work but it wont. I have heard there may be an update so I will keep looking.

My solution:
Good thing I have a brand new MacBook Pro with iLife 08. iMovie took the video off of my camera with no extra software, it just worked the first time. It looks like Apple’s Final Cut and Final Cut Express will also work. Ok, ok, I now see why the movie industry is still on Macs. So now I will import the movie files from the camcorder onto my mac and then transcode them into a format my 64 bit machine reads and then I can just pick and choose quite a bit of software that will work with the mpeg4 codec for example. I think I will go with Premier Elements 4.

Conclusion:
If you run any Windows X64 machine, forget about AVCHD for now unless you want to do what I do. If you own a 32 bit version of Windows, you might want to use the software your camcorder came with and then transcode the files into something else, and then move it to your favorite movie editing program. If you own a Mac, upgrade to iLife 08 and you should be good. For more advanced techniques, try our Final Cut Express. So what is my point in all this? The computer and software industry is still not ready for AVCHD, if you buy a High Definition Camcorder that uses AVCHD, prepare for your favorite video editor not to work and prepare to do some work to get your movie edited.

I just updated my iPhone to the new version 1.1.3. There are some very cool features but we are still missing some well needed features.

What we got:
-Ability to make web sites booked marked on the main screen. You can now bookmark a web site and add a link on your main iPhone screen. Cool I guess, makes it easy for me to get to Google quicker.
-Ability to move icons. This is nice.
-Pinpoint yourself on a map and some other cool mapping features. You can make a pinpoint in real time with your actual location and map yourself somewhere.
-Ability to send a single sms message to multiple recipients. Nice.
-Windows 64 bit support. Finally!
-Apps. The SDK will be released soon and we will be seeing cool software.

What is still missing:
-Copy and Paste. What is Apple thinking. We need a way to copy and paste right away. I suspect that we would have this if it were Apple’s choice but I suspect there is no way to create this on their touch screen without it affecting the way their current touch system works. Although there must be some way because any Windows Mobile phone can do this.
-Video. We still have no video. All Apple has to do to is make the software tell the camera to take more pics in succession. No hardware modification needed.
-Microsoft Exchange Server support. I think there is no way we will get this but I would really like to see real Exchange support not this imap junk.
-Voice Dialing. We are still missing voice dial. I hope some company creates this with the sdk.

That is all I can think of right now. I cant wait to see some of the cool software from people from the sdk.

Disclaimer: I have not owned or seen the MacBook Air. I am basing this on the specs that have been published.

First of all, I should say that I hope I am wrong. I really want this product to succeed. I would consider the MacBook Air a "pusher." By "pusher" I mean it pushed technology. We have seen Apple push competitiveness in technology with the iPhone and I would really like to see laptops be smaller and do more. The Air is just too early before its time.

Why the MacBook Air will fail:

1. The price. I have been waiting about 3 months for MacWorld before I bought a notebook. I ended up buying a MacBook Pro because I received much more for only a little less money. I think this is too expensive for kids and just not enough stuff for business.

2. The hard drive. Did anyone notice Apple went to one of the slowest hard drives possible today. They did that for size but if I had my way, I would go 7200 rpm in my notebook. I settled for 5400 in my Pro but I would not go to 4200 in the Air. You might remember the Air is available with a solid state hard drive which would make me want the notebook but not for an extra $1,000. Yes, $1,000 extra for a 64GB solid state flash drive.

3. The Ram. The ram does not look like it is able to be upgraded. This is not good for a computer. I would argue that 2 GB of Ram is more than enough for this computer given you get a 4200 RPM hard drive but I would eventually want the ability to upgrade. Some software may eventually in the future require more than 2 GB of Ram to run smooth.

4. The Windows compatibility. This is only a suspicion because it has not been tried yet but how will Windows work on this computer. Obviously, this point is mute for most Mac Fanboys but I am a Windows user. How do I know that Windows will work at all with this new touch pad. Im sure and I hope I will be proven wrong in a few weeks after someone tries to install Windows.

5. The expandibility. I could not survive with one USB port. I suspect eventually USB will work wirelessly just as Bluetooth does now buy we are a long way off from that so I think people are going to need more than one. No express card slot. How are any businessmen going to put their wireless modems in these notebooks. Firewire. Hello! I thought Apple was big on Firewire. No Ethernet, they are really going far with this wireless thing.

So after badmouthing the Air, I would like to tell you why I hope people catch on because if people buy, it will force other manufacturers to focus on improving their technology.

1. The chip. I cant believe how small they got this thing. This may be too early but, this technology can be used to make really powerful mobile phones and smaller laptops.

2. The solid state hard drive. I can not spend $1,000 for only 64 GB. Even if it will take a beating and be faster, it is just too much money. I hope that the cost will come down as more and more companies and consumers look into solid state hard drives. These drives should help battery life too. They are just too high right now, I hope Apple succeeds and the price comes down.

3. Keyboard. Finally a ultra mobile computer with a keyboard I can type on. Screen is not too small either. Nice to see 13.3 rather than 11 or 12 inches.

4. CD Rom technology. I love the fact that you are able to borrow and Windows or Mac CD rom drive from a computer in the same network. What a smart idea but if you travel, plan ahead of time.

Conclusion: The MacBook Air is just ahead of its time. No kid want to rely on his parents computer to do anything so they are going to go with a regular MacBook over the Air because of the expansion ports and CD rom. This is most likely the same reason for business people. They are going to need a place to put their wireless modem, so they are going to opt for the MacBook Pro. To be honest, you can get a pretty good MacBook with a whole lot more features for the same price as the Air. Personally, I think if Apple could get the Air’s price point down to around $1,100, they might have another iPhone success and Im sure it costs less than that so what’s the problem? I dont know what they are thinking but I really think the price is too high for what you get. Hopefully I am wrong. I want the Air to be a success.

So after hearing the new iPhone update was going to be released today I was happy. But I was filled with so much anticipation. Steve Jobs never mentioned anything about Windows 64 bit compatibility.

So I updated my iPhone firmware on a 32 bit machine. Then proceded to update iTunes on my 64 bit machine. (I hacked the current 7.5 version to work on my 64 bit-it was easy not really a hack) So as I went to the Apple site to upgrade to 7.6 I noticed that something said it was compatible with 64 bit machines. This was great I thought, my itunes wiill now officially work with my Windows Vista 64 bit machine but what I really hope for is the iPhone to work too.

Well, guess what? It did. The iPhone has some really cool new features and it now works with 64 bit versions of Windows operating systems. Well, I have only tried it with Vista Ultimate 64 and none others. Not sure about XP. If someone has XP x64, and the iPhone, please leave a reply.

With Steve Jobs’ Key note only a few hours away, here are my predictions for the 2008 for it. I have no knowledge of anything. These predictions are all guesses (or what I would like to see).

Macbook Pro gets:

• Solid State Drive option,
• Upgraded Core 2 Duo Processors
• BlueRay Burner or reader (I really hope for this)
• Bigger standard Hard Drives

Mac Book gets:

• Bigger standard Hard Drives

iPhone gets:

• Updated iPhone to get High speed AT&T High speed that is. (wont be ready for a while)
• Update current iPhone memory to 16 GB standard
• Some sort Starbucks iPhone relationship will be announced.
• The new version 1.1.3 will be realeased.
• There will be great focus on the iPhone.
• The iPhone will be compatible with 64 bit Windows systems. (I demand this!!! I need this!!!)

Mac Mini:

• The mini gets a redesign.
• The hardware is upgraded.

Others Predictions:

• Something regarding integrated wireless technology will be announced.
• Possibly a new ultra mobile touch screen Macbook!
• At least one new hardware product will be announced.
• A new service for movies is announced.
• iTunes adds a service, probably the one above.

So I have a Drobo but I may be selling it but only for a reason that most people wont care about.

Drobo is the worlds first Data Storage Robot that serves as a 4 drive external hard drive and promotes no data loss. Esentually it keeps two copies of your file on separate drives which is really cool. What is really cool is that you can even swap a drive Drobo is on and running. So if you want to upgrade a drive, just take it out and put in the new one. You must only do this on one drive at a time and wait a while before swapping another because when you took the old drive out, Drobo lost the second copy of your data and it will have to format and copy the files to the new drive. Status lights will tell you when this is finished.

Cons: No Network interface, Drobo is USB only. I am using Drobo as data backup even though it is not marketed that way. The Drobo folks would like you to use and rely on Drobo as your one device to store files not as backup.

And finally the reason I am not keeping it, it gets fairly loud. This would not normally be an issue for most who turn their computer off at night but I don’t for data backup reasons and I sleep in the same room as my computer.

Finally a robust backup solution. Just got my HP MediaSmart Server a few days ago and am messing around with it. I have to say I love the fact that there has been such a great array of available software for the server, way to do it right Microsoft.

Huge blunder that hampers my tinkering… No 64 bit support! My main system is 64 bit and there is still no compatibility with it. I have been told, possibly by CES this will change. I really hope so.

This little HP device is perfect for any Home or small business. Finally a cheap server for a business although Im sure Microsoft states somewhere in its ULA that it cannot be used for business. Who cares it works well. I will report back later when I have a more comprehensive idea of everything. BestBuy sells them online.

There is a huge flaw in the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I love the iPhone but I wish I could sync it with my computer. I run a 64 bit Windows operating system for various reasons and my iPhone is not recognized. Apparently Apple only wrote drivers for a 32 bit Windows OS.

I cannot believe they forgot this and what really makes me mad is the fact that the ipods do work on my computer. What is Apple thinking? Most of their ipod owners have Windows machines and not OSX. Windows 64 is a small crowd but I see I am not alone after a Google search.

Anyone reading this and not understanding what the heck I am talking about… Don’t worry! You have a 32 bit Windows operating system which is fully compatible with the iphone. You would know if you have 64 bit.

At first, I refused to pay $200 for the iPod Nano but after going into the store and playing around with it I fell in love. The user interface is really intuitive and the screen is really nice.

Most people would rather pay more money for the bigger regular iPod because of more storage but most don’t realize it has moving parts and can break really easily, especially in the hands of kids. All of the iPod Nano’s have flash memory, which means no moving parts, and that means they will last better in a bumpy environment.

Just go to Apple.com to see the latest iPod Nano.