murrays

Roy, Thanks for the information on the FCP "needs". See my post to Jeff about identifying his needs...for what he wants to do, an iBook might do it. Back to FCP and FCExpress...I thought that the main differences were that they have left out the off-line editing and ability to deal with formats other than DV25. My impression from reading the material on Apple's website is that FCE would be a great step up (at a reasonable cost) from iMovie for someone like myself that is only interested in doing stuff in DV25. What more could you do with Premiere (excluding format issues) than FCE? What does FCP allow a person to do that can't be done in Premiere...and vice versa? I am very curious as to what circumstances would warrant a step up from iMovie to FCE or to Premiere/FCP. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Jeff, I just looked over the entire thread again and if you were confused before you asked for advice you must be _real_ confused now. You've gotten lots of good advice but I think a lot of it has gotten pretty far afield from what you asked us for. I think you need to sit down and think about what you want to be able to do...and then buy a system that will do that for you. (By way of background, I am a professional accountant up here in Canada and I have spent a lot of time helping clients choose and learn to use computer systems to do accounting.) Identifying needs is the key first step. What sort of editing do you want to do? A straightforward cleanup, titles, transitions between scenes and add some music? Or, do you want to do something more complicated? What finished product do you want? Do you just want to export the finished video back to a tape or might you want to put them onto a DVD? Think about what you want to end up with...and the decision of where to start will become easier. You also have to consider your capabilities and interest in learning anything complicated. Do you have the time or inclination to learn a complicated program? Do you want something that you can plug your camcorder into and just start working with? You have received lots of advice on ways to proceed...your analysis of your needs and capabilities should help you eliminate alternatives. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

The 12" Apple Powerbook WITH a DVD burner is $1,999 US. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Another possible way to protect yourself from on-line ripoffs is to use a credit card to pay. You can dispute the charges to your credit card. I think some cards even offer extra protection for on-line purchases...Amex??? Anybody have experience using cc companies in this fashion? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Lots of previous posts, including pictures, etc. Do a search on RAWA in this forum for lots of reading material and pictures. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I haven't bought a copy of Virtual PC yet but I may sometime soon. I talked to my Mac dealer about it and he suggested that I buy the DOS version and then install my existing copy of Win98. It saves a bit of money compared to the VPC versions that include a version of Windows. Something to keep in mind if you have a copy of Windows you can use. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

JJ, If your only reason is for video, take a very good look at a Mac. I disagree that they are more expensive. A Mac with a DVD burner, all the software you need included will cost you as follows: emac 1499 iMac 15" flat panel lcd - 1699 iMac 17" flat panel lcd - 1999 I think it compares very favourably with pc alternatives. Add in the fact that Apple topped PC World latest Service and Reliability survey, the integration afforded by Apple writing the software, the operating system and building the hardware and the ease of use...it's a very good way for you to go. IMO. iMovie is the best consumer level video editing program. Personally I don't think you will need anything else...based on your description of your needs. Anyways...before a pc/mac war breaks out, I am going to go and check out iMovie3 which just installed in the background while I was typing this message. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

The larger the hard drive, the better. Digital video (DV) eats up tons of space. 60-80 gb at an absolute minimum. Memory - at least 1/2 gig. I've had a Mac for editing for over three years...easy yet you can do a lot with the free suite of software (now called iLife)...iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD (If you want to burn DVDs) and iTunes. These applications are all being updated sometime today. If you want a higher end software you can buy Final Cut Express which is Apple's pro level program which has been maximized for DV. It sells for $299 US. It sounds like you want to archive a lot of your footage...I'd suggest a DVD burner or Superdrive equipped Mac to do that. The new software being released will make setting up a DVD extremely easy - based on the writeups on Apple's site. I'll be downloading that software this evening and seeing how easy it is to set up chapters for a DVD. I have to wait for my dealer to get my copy of iDVD3 as it isn't a free upgrade. When I receive it in the next week or so I will have a project all ready to burn. I will report back later on how all these upgrades work out. Good luck and have fun "kicking the tires"

I worked with 2 women a while ago that had the "old" style laser surgery done. One was thrilled, the other was not. The woman whose surgery didn't work had both eyes redone. Still didn't work. When I left that job to move to where I am now she was going in to have just one eye done for a THIRD time. Around the same time, I looked into having lasik done. I went to an ophthalmologist to get his opinion. He was a brusque, no-nonsense physician. He told me he didn't recommend laser surgery of any description except for patients who needed the surgery to get their eyes into good enough shape to finish the correction they needed with regular glasses. He told me he had several patients who wished they had never heard of laser eye surgery. He felt it was still too early to tell what the real long-term effects would be. There is no doubt that it seems to work for most people but in the end I wouldn't take that chance with my eyes...I didn't want to be one of the exceptions. They are your windows on the world and I think this is a very serious decision for anybody to make. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I'm running off to work but do a search on Tony Hathaway's posts...he recently posted on his Wes helmet. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Hmmmm...I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car...old sig line I always liked... I want to go violently, at the age of 90, at the hands of a jealous husband who caught me in the act with his hottie 20 year old wife. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Wow! To me that is a malfunction you really have to work at giving yourself. To my mind though, if it was your day to screw up and pack yourself a function that isn't a bad one to have...certainly better than a pc in tow as there are no entanglement possibilities. Reserve into clean air and your main container closed tight. I have been considering changing to a throw-out on my next rig but I think I will stay with a pull-out. I don't plan on doing any Birdman suit jumps where a throw-out is definitely recommended. Thanks for explaining how these functions were accomplished..and thanks for all your updates on the 300-way over the last while...definitely throughly enjoyed by yours truly... -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

While a pull-out system does eliminate the possibility of a pilot chute in tow, it also introduces other "human error" factors into the equation. I know several people with pull-outs who've had to go silver after having an impossible pull. On further inspection on the ground it was discovered that in each case misrouting of the bridle inside the container created the problem. At least with a throw out, a good gear check should catch a misrouted bridle. It's a bit more difficult to check for that when everything except the pud is buried under the closing flaps. But....if a misrouted bridle is the problem...on a pullout you aren't trailing a pc...the reserve launches into clean air...very big difference. You know, I've jumped a pull-out for 22 years and I've never heard of anybody having a hard pull on one for years. I thought that problem was designed out in about 1980. Do you have pictures that would illustrate how this could be packed on a pull-out as I am having a very hard time understandling how it is possible. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

An eMac with a DVD Burner is the lowest cost Mac option with a DVD Burner. They are designed to be tough for school use. Put at least 1/2 gig of ram into it. Lowest cost Mac laptop with a Superdrive/DVD burner in it is the new 12" Powerbook....they come in all three screen sizes now..12, 15, and 17". I think a Mac is a far better option for what you are proposing as all the software is integrated and ready to go. I could see you spending a lot of time trying to get a PC to do what you want...especially if you have no personal experience. Projectors...don't know about them or how the eMac would connect. Projectors seem real expensive....maybe think about renting a projector when you have determined how much you will really use it. If your projector use is going to be limited, why buy one? Hey, if you rent you could look at buying a new 17" Powerbook. Nice...but likely a waste of taxpayer's money. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Kevin, If it makes you feel any better, I recently heard that a friend of mine with 9,000+ jumps and over 30 years in the sport recently packed himself a similar pc in tow. I don't think you'll ever let this happen to you again. Good job on saving yourself and kudos for being man enough to post and take the inevitable flak....I certainly learned from your experience and that is why you posted. Thanks for posting, especially the pictures. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I just ran a little test...I have no idea how valid this may be in the context of the camcorder mentioned... Using Quicktime Pro, I converted a short dv file of 7.5 mb to an MP4 file. The MP4 file was 660kb...but definitely poorer quality. It got very blocky. I think that MP4 will compress information a lot but I haven't been impressed with the videos I've compressed using Quicktime. I have converted a lot of music to MP4 files (AAC) and they are quite a bit smaller than even a 256 sample rate mp3 but sound much better. I edited to add a couple of screen shots...it was a rough day here doing Play-doh animation with my 3 & 5 year olds Birth.jpg is MP4, birth-dv.jpg is the DV capture. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Thanks to everybody for their suggestions...taking the tape out and turning off demo mode worked perfectly. I had my camera on a tripod for over an hour making a Play-doh animation (with my 3 and 5 year old sons helping) and the camera never powered down. I should be good to go for doing time-lapse photography. Blue skies, -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I have just been looking at some software (mac) called) Stop Motion Studio that allows you to use your dv-cam to do stop motion videos...like claymation. This works by having the dv-cam in camera mode and connected to my computer by firewire and then pressing the space bar when you want to capture a frame. I would like to do time lapse photography..i.e. a shot every second or half second or longer. I've exchanged e-mail with the software developer and he thinks this would be something he could easily incorporate into the software. But I'm pretty sure that my digicam would power down (Sony PC-1) after a few minutes. The software developer isn't sure how this could be overridden to permit this usage. I ran through all my menu choices (I don't have a manual) and the only two that I can think of would be a choice called "Commander" - which I don't know what it does or "Demo Mode"....which doesn't seem to do anything. Anybody out there have any ideas or suggestions? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

This reminded me of a friend of mine who was out one night, just bopping around having a good time. He asked this one girl to dance, she declined...obviously waiting for Mr. Right to arrive, an hour or so later, after dancing with some other women, asked her again....same cold response. Near closing time, she was looking around a little anxiously...Mr. Right hadn't arrived....my buddy asked her again if she wanted to dance. She said. "Yes." He said, "Good, I hope somebody asks you to," and walked away. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Episode 3.... I haven't forgiven Lucas for Jar-Jar Binks yet. Was Phantom Menace any good? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I just saw this thread and am glad you got so much good advice. The first two weeks were the hardest for me. The absolute hardest. it's gonna get easier. hang in there.. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Dave, Parafoils are square T10's They don't turn very fast but I do know a zoomie that broke his ankle under one doing a low turn. Certainly not like burying a toggle on most of today's canopies though. I jumped one a long time ago that had ropes and rings on it instead of a slider. Basically, when you threw your pilot chute out it went about 30 + feet behind you before the bag came off your back...pretty funny on a hop and pop to look back and see you pilot chute so far away -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Take a look at using Turbo Tax's web based preparation and filing. If you can file a 1040EZ the price is 12.95 plus 4.95 for the State tax return. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

haha...Nope, I would not know that! I've been getting e-mail from Lindows for over a year now and find it an interesting proposition so I read the e-mails they send me to see how their business is developing. I liked how Microsoft tried to get an injunction over using the "Lindows" name and lost. The latest thing is that MSN may be blocking e-mails from Lindows to MSN subscribers.. As people receiving e-mails from Lindows have subscribed and asked for this mail it looks like Microsoft is being...itself. Lindows is now trying to gather evidence of this happening...You know what I think? Some lawyers are gonna make some dough!! It will be interesting to see how they do over the next few years. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Anybody out there tried installing Lindows OS? What has your experience been like? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey