Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 6th January 2024.

6th January 2024.

I have something of a confession, there.

I’ve used iMovie to make videos, over the past few years.

And generally been happy with it.

Unfortunately?

My use of the app took something of a nosedive, recently: with the collapse of my old iMac.

My only alternative?

Was to use the free version of ClipChamp: on my aging Lenovo ThinkPad.

It wasn’t necessarily the easiest experience: video editing isn’t on a  machine that age.

The best work to describe the whole experience?

Is clunky.

Spoon-bendingly, chest-pain-inducingly, gear-grindingly, clunky!

Thankfully, and with thanks to all who helped, it was only a temporary measure: an updated version of iMovie — and a new Mac mini— helped.

Today, though?   I felt using ClipChamp’s online version of the Mac seemed in order.

At least to do the intro video for today.

ClipChamp seems to have exported the eighteen seconds worth of video slightly faster than iMovie.

But we’re talking about a matter of seconds, there: and I suspect that the online version I used, leveraged some of Microsoft’s cloud servers to do that.

I don’t think I’d make the change permanently: but ClipChamp seems OK.

There’s a wider choice of transitions, and filters, to it over iMovie.

But, counting against it?

iMovie has better integration with macOS: and can access my various media libraries, far more directly than ClipChamp.

And the current version — iMovie 10.4, on a Mac mini using macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 — seems to able to queue projects for export: hand, as far as I’m concerned.

I suspect neither would be of interest to pro users who use things like Avid, the various Adobe editors, and Apple’s own Final Cut Pro.

But?

Both seem equally viable options for me and other home users.

~≈⌘≈~

Oh, JUST as a thought … ?

My nephew, Jude, was over, yesterday.

As a result of him turn thirteen, recently?

I’ve been able to add him as a manager* to two of the YouTube channels I run for him on YouTube.

If you’d like to subscribe to @MikeytheRabbit or @BobbytheCat, you’d be welcome to!

~≈⌘≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 6th January, 2022.

6th January, 2022.

Yep, I’ve got a blood test, today: after the last set I had, missed something!

Apparently?   It’s tracking both my liver and kidney function.

This will show they’re (comparatively) fine.

Or, at least, what’s going on for them, and what treatment may be needed as a result.

Here’s hoping!

~≈®≈~

As an extra point … ?

I had a Reboot your CV course, yesterday: something arranged by the Restart programme I’m on.

I think it was helpful enough for me to make minor improvements to my CV.

I have to admit, though … an hour and a half’s worth of MS teams meeting … ?

Didn’t half drag … !

~≈®≈~

JUST as a minor point … ?

You’ve heard of cryptocurrencies, yes?

In case you haven’t, they’re a kind of digital currencies: then — these days — need a lot of computing power in order to run.

Each unit of a cryptocurrency has a digital serial number on something called a block chain: working that serial number out, and verifying it and its owner, and where it is on the chain, is what takes the energy.

The process is called mining, so you know.

There’s been a lot of discussion of that energy usage: especially as, the last I knew, the energy used was roughly equal to Iceland’s annual electricity output.

Something game changing may have happened, though.

As Kosovo banned cryptocurrency mining, yesterday.

Global energy prices — and the blackouts that mining is contributing to — helped make that decision.

Personally … ?

I’m wondering what that will mean for the future of cryptocurrencies: and when or if we’ll start talking about a cryptocurrency bubble.

~≈®≈~