Sony released recently their Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD, one of the most affordable HD video editor out there, selling for a mere $40. The application is based on the Vegas Platinum/Pro engine and has most of the Vegas Platinum 9 features, except the following:

- No 24p exporting support
- No Sony AVC export tweaking (a wealth of pre-cooked templates available, WMV export still tweakable)
- No 5.1 audio support (down-mixes to stereo)
- No primary Color Corrector plugin (Curves, and all other Vegas plugins still available)

The Sony Vegas Platinum version has all the features above, making it the most powerful consumer video editor in the market, is selling at $80. However, for those who don’t need all these features, or don’t have the money for it, the Movie Studio HD is a perfect video editor to start with.

Adobe also announced recently their Adobe Premiere Elements 8 video editing software for Window. This major release offers a new Organizer to manage all media in one convenient location.

In addition, SmartFix automatically fixes shaky footage, color and lighting problems; Smart Trim identifies and helps users get rid of the least interesting, lowest quality footage; and SmartMix seamlessly balances audio elements to give videos good sound throughout. Also, with new motion-tracking capabilities, users can add graphics, text and effects that automatically follow a subject within a scene.

Previous versions were also tweakable to support 24p, so it’s possible that the same hack might still be compatible in the new version. Premiere Elements 8 will cost $100 when it releases in November.

JBQ and I went for a walk at the San Gregorio beach today, so I snapped some bird pictures with my Canon SX200 IS digicam. All pics are CC-BY 3.0.

Here’s a list of science fiction-themed or simply scifi-titled songs found on my iTunes library. The songs listed were released in the last 3 year period, and for the ones that have a link there’s a free, legal, download too. Enjoy them just as the uber-geek yours truly is.

* Blitzen Trapper – Sci-Fi Kid (my favorite song on this list, don’t miss it)
* Cage the Elephant – Tiny Little Robots
* Radiohead – Bodysnatchers
* Asobi Seksu – Walk on the moon
* Deastro – Greens, Grays, and Nordics
* The Moog – You Raised A Vampire
* My Robot Friend – Robot High School
* The Faint – The Geeks Were Right
* Fighterpilot – Astronaut
* Golden Bloom – Doomsday Devices
* Girls are Robots – Girl, you are a Robot
* Maritime – For Science Fiction
* The Killers – Spaceman
* MGMT – Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
* Muse – Supermassive Black Hole
* Muse – Knights Of Cydonia
* Kanye West – RoboCop
* Thriving Ivory – Alien
* Shiny Toy Guns – Major Tom (2009 version)
…and an oldie…
* Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark – Walking On the Milky Way

Please take the poll below and let me know if you would like me to continue re-posting my Twitter posts on this blog daily. You see, some of you already follow me on Twitter, and on Facebook (which my Twitter updates are also getting copied), so it might be too much of an annoying duplication for some of you. On the other hand, for the rest of the readers who don’t follow me on Twitter/Facebook, without these Twitter updates there isn’t much blogging going on (you might have noticed, I don’t blog small tidbits anymore, as Twitter has taken over that role). In any case, let me know.

Update: So, it’s settled. Thanks.

• LOST’s Carlton Cuse: “Still thinking about Avatar. Seeing it in Imax 3D — its the moment I realized 2D, 24 FPS filmmaking is soon to be archaic.”
• It makes me sick. It really reminds me of the South Park episode about Paris Hilton and how to become a better slut.
• "The Book of Inkscape" arrived in our home, need to write a review about that too. #
• I wonder why there is no South Park episode about the iPhone and its minions. It would be so fitting… #
• Europe is a very different place than the US: here #
• RED just announced their newest vaporware camera accessories. That company is becoming a joke with each passing day. #
• "Group calls David Letterman's behavior inappropriate in the workplace" says CNN. I disagree, as long as sex was consented between two adults. #
• The only thing I found inappropriate was Letterman having these affairs while he was still on a relationship with the mother of his child. #
• Extrapolating his apology to his then-gf-now-wife on air, she didn't know about these affairs, which makes Letterman sleazy at the least. #

One of the most useful PC video tools available today is Cineform’s NeoSCENE utility. It acts both as a converter to an easier-to-edit-than-h.264 format, and it can remove pulldown off of PF24 (24p-wannabe) streams. Here’s the break down, helping you decide if you must invest on the tool or not. VideoGuys have a sale on the item, saving you $30 (this is not an endorsed link btw, just a heads up).

Click for a larger version.

The decade is almost out, so it’s time for my best-of list. Mp3 links are legal. Here we go:

Most influential tech
1. iPhone smartphone
2. iPod mp3 player
3. Mainstream HDTV
4. Digital cameras
5. Nintendo Wii

Most influential camcorder
1. Canon HV20 (has the strongest subculture)
2. Canon GL-2
3. Panasonic HVX-200
4. Canon XH-A1
5. Panasonic DVX-100

Most influential cellphone
1. iPhone
2. Blackberry
3. Motorola RaZR
4. Nokia Communicator
5. Palm Treo

Best album
1. Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor
2. Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts
3. Blitzen Trapper – Furr (3 free songs)
4. Longwave – Secrets are Sinister
5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up from Below

Best song
1. Cloud Cult – The Tornado Lessons
2. Coldplay – Talk
3. Fleet Foxes – Mykonos
4. Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
5. Midlake – Head Home
6. Blitzen Trapper – Sci-Fi Kid
7. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
8. System of a Down – Aerials
9. Muse – Map Of The Problematique
10. Madonna – Paradise (Not for Me)

Best TV show
1. Lost
2. Firefly
3. South Park
4. BSG
5. 24 (season 2 only)

Best movie
1. The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
2. District 9
3. Equilibrium
4. X-Men (trilogy)
5. Iron Man

Coolest random stuff of the decade
1. Taking the lid off on global warming
2. An African-American President
3. The two Mars rovers
4. Smartphone revolution
5. Creative Commons

Worst stuff of the decade
1. Too many wars
2. Global warming
3. Terrorism
4. Recession
5. RIAA/MPAA against the People

• Much congrats to Adobe for bringing Flash to major smartphone platforms and adding GPU accel to desktop as well. This is so cool for video. #
• Apple is making fools of themselves for not working with Adobe on this. It just shows how stupid an otherwise innovative corporation can be. #
• I think I am a bit sick tonight… Hopefully it's not flu. #
• After years of searching, I found Greek-style crackers to eat with my Greek mountain tea with honey. Now the experience is complete. #
• I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am going back to bed. #
• I was going to get the MSI U200, but after the latest Flash news about accel, I want one w/ nvidia chip. Which means a Macbook or Latitude. #
• The dropbox iPhone client can only upload pics because there isn't a usb/fat32 independent common file area. One of my iPhone gripes. #
• Bought 20 Minute Hourglass' EP on iTunes. Local Bay Area band, very good sound. They have potential. @indiequick #
• Damn you Aaron of Live105's Soundcheck. You're making me buy more music. Just bought the Band of Skulls album too. But, but, it was only $6. #
• I can't stand "House MD" anymore. After 2 years of cast changes, the cast is back to the original one, like nothing happened. As for his… #
• …addiction, it went away & came back. In other words, absolutely nothing has changed in the characters in the last 5 years. Terrible show. #
• Received Premiere Elements 8 in the mail, will write review soon. Just for fun. #

• Watched “Terra”, a movie made by two Greeks. Good scifi movie. #
• I checked the state of the HF-S10/100 videos on Vimeo. Not a single artistic video made with these supposed HV-series replacement cameras! #
• The seasonal flu shot can make one twice as likely to get swine flu, a new study suggests. I was ready to get the shot yesterday but didn't. #
• Going to see our friend @david_adams (OSNews owner) later today. It's been a while. #
• WTF? Apple won't let me update my *free* ipod and iPhone apps just because my credit card expired. #

• Watched the Wolverine movie: plot moved too quickly (needed an additional 10 minutes), and there were a few too many super-heroes packed in. #
• Madonna vs Lady GaGa on SNL tonight. Madonna agreeing to do THAT sketch shows what I've always said: GaGa is the Madonna of the 21st Century #
• The opposition that GaGa gets today, is the same one as Madonna getting in 1985. I was alive and sentient back then folks, I know. #
• I do think Madonna also believes that GaGa is the only female pop artist who can match her success eventually. Spears, Rihanna, Aguil can't. #
• We did quite some retail therapy with @jbqueru today. Bought clothes, shoes, iPod accessories. I even got some Greek mountain tea! Yum! #
• People are reporting that their 7D shuts down after ~18 minutes of 60p recording (overheating). I think I'll wait for the next-gen VdSLRs. #