Daring Fireball’s John Gruber runs through some of the iMovie stabilization techniques and how they can be applied. “What I’ve found is that iMovie won’t apply any stabilization at all to a clip that contains any portions which are too shaky to stabilize,” Gruber explains. “But if you break that clip up into two separate clips — editing out the blurry “whipping around” frames — iMovie will then stabilize the separate clips.”

The below video is a great example of iMovie’s stabilization capabilities from Beau Colburn. As explained, the end result is a much more heavy feeling video. “The end result seems to add a certain “weight” to the video, in that it has the feel of being shot with a heavier camera that wouldn’t shake so much in your hand, versus the superlight Mino. It’s not going to eliminate all shakes, but it can certainly minimize them in the right situations.”

Maclife’s Roberto Baldwin has managed to get iPhoto’s new face recognition to work on animals, cats specifically. “Once a base face is established, iPhoto begins finding the person, or animal, on its own. At that point, you just need to confirm the animals face in the Faces’ “Confirm Name” menu.” However, not all impressions of the new facial recognition feature are that great. Some readers in the MacRumors forums are not that impressed with how it performs. “I’ve just tagged myself, and the the suggestion of who it thought were me ranged from everyone from my gran, my two year old niece, and an alarming number of other women (I’m a guy),” a reader explains.

Crunchgear went in depth with iLife ‘09, and overall the reactions are pretty positive. Aside from some minor discrepancies, or rather negligence in attention from Apple, all seems well received. “The most prominent additions are Faces and Places. Places uses embedded GPS data to place your photos on a map and you can use this information to make map-based video travelogues. Although this is great for iPhone shots – the iPhone embeds GPS coordinates in every photo it takes – it’s not so great for owners of non-GPS enabled cameras.”

In regards to iMovie, Crunchgear explains that the new stabilization features mentioned above are great, however the lack of slow motion control and audio editing is still disappointing.

Early impressions about the new Garageband have also been positive for the most part. The software has been made even simpler, but not at the expense of usability. iDVD has only one new feature, a travelogue, and Apple doesn’t even mention iDVD on the physical box of the iLife ‘09 bundle.

Official guided tours can be found on Apple’s website, iMovie is here, and iPhoto is here.

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The new 15″ Modbook Pro is set atop an existing Macbook Pro. Prior to this Modbook Pro, Axiotron only offered standard Macbook configurations so this new Pro model is definitely a step up. If you send them your existing Macbook Pro to get modded, you’ll be looking at a $3,049 pricetag. If you opt for a brand new setup directly from Axiotron you’re looking at a more hefty $4,999 pricetag.

The Modbook Pro is much more seamless than the regular Modbooks. The screen lies flush with the surrounding bezel as apposed to bulging up on the outside.

The images above are of a prototype in a clear plastic case. Axiotron only had one model out of the case and we were able to get a few minutes to privately talk about the device and see how it looked first hand. In our time at Axiotron’s booth, it was apparent that by taking Wacom tablet technology, they were able to bring some really interesting input concepts to market.

Axiotron Modbooks in general are much more widely accepted than many other third party manufacturers. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak fully endorses and supports Axiotron and he was at their Macworld booth today, and should be nearly everyday for the rest of the week.

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The new 17″ Macbook Pro is extremely sturdy. Just like its little brothers, the machine is smooth and feels precision perfect nearly all the way around. The body is seamless and the screen is big and bold. However, Apple decided to include a non-replaceable battery. They claim the battery will get nearly eight hours of solid runtime, and charge roughly 1,000 times for a five year lifespan.

As you can see, the bottom of the notebook is completely seamless which means you cannot swap the battery out. Many people travel with two laptop batteries and when one dies out, they have a backup. With Apple’s new 17″ Macbook Pro, that is not possible. Interestingly, Apple focused a lot of efforts on making the battery even easier to replace on the 15″ Macbook Pro.

When comparing the 15″ and the 17″ side by side, the size difference becomes dramatically noticeable. The thinness and weight of the machine is still really attractive, and the screen real estate is exactly what a lot of people have been waiting for, only with the new body style.

Overall, this machine is a beast. It’s capable of up to 8GB of Ram, and mobile power was clearly at the forefront for Apple when designing this notebook. The addition of a $50 anti-glare option for potential owners takes away what may have been a dealbreaker for many (glossy screen), but the embedded battery might make you think twice as hard before making the purchase.

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Holiday Frames (iTunes link) allows users to import photos directly into the application, and then style them with fun, holiday themed frames. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll receive roughly 30 fun frames to decorate photos with including snowflakes, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s borders. Once you’re done customizing, you can share your photos via e-mail or the PhotoShare network.

These are just two of the default thirty holiday frames that can be applied to your images.

In our time spent with Holiday Frames, the application works pretty smoothly. There may be some hangups if you’ve purchased the app within a week or two ago, but Big Canvas has pushed an update through and all is well at the moment.

We have covered an application from Big Canvas before called PhotoShare, and they definitely have some talent over there. Big Canvas founder and president, Satoshi Nakajima has a very clear vision of how the mobile market can enhance social communication and sharing. Through the company’s applications, he is hoping to help further this space, while having fun at the same time. If you’re planning on sending some photos to your friends or family this year, you may want to think about sprucing them up with some holiday frames first.

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While the 24-inch Cinema Displays were announced this past October at the special MacBook event, units have only recently begun shipping. Ars reiterates that the new Cinema Displays only support machines which utilize Apple’s mini DisplayPort Connector, a feature that is said to come equipped on all future products. So, if you are in possession of an older Mac or PC that lacks this connector, you best start thinking about buying a new notebook or wait for Apple to release a proper adapter.

First impressions of the screen show similar characteristics to the current iMac facade, minus the Leno-esque chin. The display weighs in at 21lbs (9.5kg) a mere 4.4 lbs lighter than the iMac, showing that it is a bit on the hefty side.

The display comes equipped with a power cord that reaches from the back of the display to an outlet and has an additional cable that splits into 3, including the USB 2.0 and DisplayPort, and MagSafe adapters. The DisplayPort sends video into the display and integrated iSight, while the USB provides Audio for the built-in speakers and integrated USB hub. The MagSafe adapter is assumed to dispense up to 85W of power, enough power to charge a MacBook Pro. Similar to the iMac, the three USB ports connecting to the internal hub are situated on the back of the display.

Utilizing only these three plugs a user can operate the attached notebook in either a closed clamshell position or open to have an even larger screen area. Clint Ecker from Ars notes, “I’ve been using it in clamshell mode and sliding the MacBook Pro underneath the display, while typing on a Bluetooth Apple keyboard and using an RF Logitech Mouse (which is working fabulously so far). The main feature that appealed to me over owning both an iMac and a MacBook Pro is that I can share the screen when I’m at home, and effectively pull out a few cables and take my machine on the road with me.”

One intuitive feature is that OS X can instantly recognize when the monitor is hooked up, for example using the display’s iSight or USB audio while disabling it from the attached notebook. One last observation that was made shows the display to be just a bit brighter than the iMac screen. I must say that I am indeed envious of the folks over at ArsTechnica. Aside from being able to hold their own fingerprint counting competitions, they can now look in the mirror all day while they work!

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The user interface is polished and very refined. iPhone owners will love the interaction while performing a search.

Our first impressions, the app responds surprisingly well, and Google’s voice interpretation efforts are clearly being showcased. The application allows you to speak into your device, and then converts the sound into a digital file which is sent to Google’s servers. The servers will then try and analyze the information to determine the best search results to display. Unlike many applications aimed at achieving the same functionality prior to this one, (not surprisingly) none have worked as well as Google’s.

Search results are displayed quickly and are very easy to navigate. This is why we love Google.

After some initial trouble communicating with Apple in getting the update pushed through to the App Store, it has finally been made available. You can download the app here.

If you are familiar with, or have used either “Say Where!” (link) or “Say Who” (link), you’ll know that voice recognition on the iPhone has been nowhere near ready for public consumption. In order for user input to change so dramatically, and for a mass amount of people to adopt it, the inevitable lag in parsing the audio content would need to be greatly reduced. Google’s attempt at voice interpretation is a major step in the right direction. The application delivers search results fast, and with relative ease. Major phrases are understood, and even less common words and phrases are interpreted well. Overall our initial reaction to the application is great.

Interestingly, Apple has recently been rumored to be working on some visual enhancements to search results as we know them today. Specifically, speculation has led us to believe that Apple will be utilizing Google’s back-end search abilities, and enhancing the way data and search results are presented.

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As Cult of Mac points out, the new application employs a native Microsoft Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS) implementation, leveraging the mobile tile set to speed up map displays, and provides what promoters call “one of the best mapping experiences on the iPhone.” Njection Mobile can be downloaded via the iTunes store (link) for $9.99 and includes the following features:

• Speech notification of Speed Traps based on your current moving direction and distance to closest point.
• Microsoft Virtual Earth display of Speed Traps.
• Live Updates of speed traps updated from the website or other iPhone users.
• Support for Landscape and Portrait mode.
• Speed Trap Ranking based on level of enforcement and time of day area is monitored.
• 3G and 2.5G* Compatible. (2.5 users are not as accurate to their current location but still can use the service)
• Submit Speed traps from the iPhone or on the website.
• Rate Speed traps from the iPhone or on the website.
• Many more features still in the works.

So if you are feeling a little risky and are willing to rely on iPhone software to spare you a pricey speeding ticket, even though you can’t yet rely on its service, this application is for you!

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If you are dying to get away from iTunes and the way Apple does media business, perhaps you’d be interested in Netflix Watch Instantly. Netflix is passed the first phase of beta development, and they’ve decided to open up the new client to beta users.

Installing Microsoft Sliverlight 2.0 during the setup process.

With the availability of Watch Instantly, Netflix is trying to get a slice of Apple’s media content pie. Not only are they attempting to derail you from purchasing content via iTunes, they want you to ignore Quicktime and iTunes all together. Netflix has integrated Microsoft Silverlight technology into a custom client that sits in your web browser. Once you’ve installed the necessary components, navigating back to your Netflix account will show a ‘Play’ button next to your playable content.

When skimming through time, the content is broken in modules as shown above.

Be aware that there are known bugs, and Netflix is currently logging them (the client has made Firefox 3 crash twice on me already). As VentureBeat points out, the video quality is only decent, nothing special. When comparing it to content downloaded from iTunes, Netflix’s media looks just sub par. But the Xbox version of Netflix’s Watch Instantly will serve up content in HD.

The video quality is not great, which is disappointing.

Additionally, Netflix allows you to authorize up to six different devices. Not only different computers are counted as one of the six machines. Roku boxes, certain Blu-ray players, xBox’s and soon TiVo will also count as an authorized device.

“Forget about iTunes” is what Netflix trying to say. “Our subscription based business model is much better.” But as Apple CEO Steve Jobs has pointed out, the subscription based way of doing things leads to users being angry, frustrated and almost zero flexibility in business negotiations with studios, and exclusive content providers. That’s why Apple (with iTunes) has steered clear of a subscription based model, instead allowing pay as you go availability. Netflix, with Watch Instantly, is nearly the exact opposite. You pay monthly, and then have access to the library.

Read – Beta Program Opt-in Link
Read – Netflix Blog Announcement

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Specs for this Macbook Pro: 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2×2GB, 320GB Serial ATA @ 7200, 6MB shared L2 cache, 1066MHz frontside bus

The box is extremely lightweight. Always a good sign. Apple has definitely factored in their overall carbon footprint. Like Steve said, smaller boxes, smaller palettes, less fuel and so on.

NOTE: Up until now, Macbook Pro’s have shipped in black boxes like their desktop kin. These are white.

The initial impression the notebook gives off when you open the box is very solid. It simply looks like a more unified machine. The unibody enclosure seems to wrap beautifully around the edges. It has more of a Macbook Air-like essence to it. Which is completely the right direction for Apple to be heading in.

The entire notebook is lighter and feels much sturdier than its predecessor. Both the weight and load balance throughout the entire machine seem spot on. So far, first impressions of the new Macbook Pro are very impressive.

The magnetic latch has finally been inherited by the Macbook Pro. No more of that pestering hatch closure. The way the shell seamlessly fits together when you open and close the machine give it a wonderfully high-end feel. Everything that Apple has been working to refine throughout its entire notebook line over the past few years has clearly made its way into the new Macbook Pro.

Apple has moved all of the ports to one side of the machine. The ports are: MagSafe power port, Gigabit Ethernet port, One FireWire 800 port, Two USB 2.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort, Audio line in, Audio line out, ExpressCard/34 slot, and a Kensington lock slot. The optical drive is on the other side. It looks just like an optical drive.

A core strength in the new Macbook Pro is the ability to swap out hard drives, and the battery, very easily. You can swap between hard disk drives and solid state drives for the first ever (officially) on an Apple notebook. To many users, this equals pure bliss.

Initial impressions and reactions given from unboxing and handling the Macbook Pro have been impressive. Apple has clearly been working on this for a long time and the level of refined detail can be seen when the box is first opened. From first picking up the machine, to flipping the lid open, design and aesthetic influence taken from the Macbook Air and iMac have been fused together to produce Apple’s classiest notebook yet.

Stay tuned, MacBlogz will continue to provide in depth reviews and analysis of Apple’s new notebook line.

Update: Per request, I’ve uploaded some more photos at the MacRumors forums here.

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