Video Edit's project editing screen

Enter Video Edit, an application by Winnipeg developers DHI Inc. Video Edit allows you to easily cut together multiple clips, trim them inside the application, and render them to a new clip, which you can then send to YouTube, email, post on a blog, Facebook, Twitter et cetera.

I got an early look at Video Edit and my experience with the application was good. The editing was quick, easy and the rendering time was fast, as promised. I found only a few shortcomings, which I’m sure will be addressed in later versions of the app.

• You can’t delete project files. Creating a project is easy enough, but when you’re finished rendering it, if there’s no further edits or additions to make, you’d think removing it from the project list would be an option. Not so.
• While every other part of the application operates in either portrait or landscape mode, the Camera Roll screen forces portrait mode.
• Uploading clips to YouTube or posting them to other sites must be done outside the application in the camera roll, after you’ve rendered the clip. I’d like to see an option to upload it inside the application directly following the render.

Video Edit employs help overlays to get you started. It's so simple you barely need them.

But that’s it – just three small gripes on an otherwise great application that fills a much-needed gap in the iPhone’s functionality.

For more info on Video Edit visit www.videoeditapp.com. To be released June 2010.

However one significant beef I have with this option is that the controls on the factory system are terrible for selecting music. I have 3770 songs in my library, and scrolling through them with a slow-to-react wheel is definitely not the most efficient method of selecting music. Especially when I need to do it quickly and get back to keeping my attention on the road.

To circumvent this problem I’ve gotten into the habit of picking an album or playlist before I get into the car and then plugging my phone into the USB port. Once that happens, you relinquish control of your music to the car’s controls, which, as previously mentioned, are shitty.

But I shouldn’t have to do that. I want to be able to quickly find what I want to listen to and get on with the driving. I hate to say it, but I think Ford’s Sync technology actually does a great job of this.

One way that I like to listen to my music, and maybe this is weird, is to put my library on shuffle, find a song from an album I like, then turn shuffle off to hear songs from that album. I can’t do this in the CSX, though, because it sorts songs by song name and not by album.

My solution is to create a playlist with all the songs in my library sorted by album name as opposed to song name. It should allow me to do what I want to do – scan through a bunch of songs until I find the one I want and then turn off shuffle to hear that album.

Despite my grief with using the system this way, I should say that the USB port in the car is a really amazing feature and something that sold me on the car originally.

So now that I own both the iPhone 3G S and a MacBook Pro, I really don’t see what possible use I could have for the new iPad. First off, what a terrible name. I’ve been reading for weeks that the rumoured names for the device were iSlate, iTablet, iPad … and iPad wins. Get ready for the maxi pad jokes, Apple. Actually, MADtv has that pretty much covered in this sketch from four years ago.

And okay, it’s a nice device for consuming media, and the iBook store is neat, but the iPad falls in its ability to be a do-everything device. It lacks a camera and it doesn’t multitask. I heard one defence for the iPad stating that it was made this way on purpose, as to not pull sales away from the MacBooks. That makes sense, but then what do I need the iPad for? I haven’t quite figured it out.

So the fanfare and the hype that has been building up for weeks didn’t quite deliver what it promised, but when does it ever do that? I’d say rarely ever. Maybe iPad version 2.0 will take some of the critics cries into consideration.

Another disappointment I felt during the whole Apple CES keynote was that I expected iPhone OS 4.0 to be released, but it looks like I’m going to have to wait for that, too. I guess that’s okay, though, as I don’t think I’ll upgrade to OS 4.0 until blackra1n or somebody else figures out how to jailbreak it. And my guess is Apple is going to make it a lot harder to do this time around.

All being said, yes. I’m a total Apple fanboy now.

And look at the super awesome shiny wonderful case I am getting for my MacBook! Excited!

Apps I Use Every Day

Facebook
Tweetie 2 (twitter app)
Google Mobile (has voice-activated searching)
Evernote (for keeping track of ideas)
Remember the Milk (for tasks)
Remote (to remote-control your computer’s iTunes library)
CameraBag (neat photo taking app with filters)

Apps I Use Rather Frequently

Flixster Movies
Air Canada
Bump (contact sharing app for iPhones)
Urbanspoon (restaurant suggestion app)
Epicurious (recipes)
LinkedIn (social network for business)
eBuddy (multi-platform instant messaging app – MSN/Google Talk)
Photoshop mobile (photo editing app)
Shazam (recognizes music and tells you what it is – from the commercials)

Other Fun Things

PocketGuitar
Ocarina (flute application – blow into the microphone and press on the buttons to make sounds)
Boxcar (push notifications for twitter)
Kijiji
NESynth
Rogers My Account
FS5 Hockey – air hockey game
Tetris
Shrek Kart (like mario kart)

That’s about all for now. have fun! You might also consider jailbreaking your phone to allow it to install apps not sanctioned by Apple. These are things like MyWi (which turns your phone into a wireless network hub, so you can access your phone’s internet connection from any laptop, anywhere), a flashlight application, et cetera. There are myriad customizations you can do to your phone with an app called Winterboard, but be wary. It may slow down the phone’s performance.