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Tech News You Can UseFebruary 16th, 2010HP goes from netbook to “smartbook” HP’s mobile computing division has taken a liking to one of the newer consumer-tech product categories, the “smartbook,” which refers to encasing smartphone components in a sleek “netbook” body. The Airlife 100, coming out under the Compaq label, uses Google’s Android platform, and the best rumor mills are reporting it will have a Snapdragon CPU.
Apple moving into TV territory Apple’s first attempt to corner the digital TV market, the slow-selling AppleTV, has been holding on, waiting for some “killer app” to make it a must-buy. This may not be the thing to do it, but Apple has still raised more than a few eyebrows with the announcement that its iTunes store will begin selling standard-definition (SD) TV shows for a dollar, half the original price. On Thursday, February 11, the Financial Times reported that Apple reached agreement with an unspecified group of providers to sell their shows for “a buck.” Taking effect around the time the iPad starts shipping, probably in late March, this could give iPad buyers something to do with their new gizmos. However, no mention has been made of HD shows, which makes some insiders think that “old media” execs don’t want to give AppleTV a way up in the crowded entertainment market. For a look at how the TV industry has treated interlopers, just read about the Boxee incident. Office for Mac 2011 It won’t be long before Office for Mac 2011 will debut, and it will have many of the features that are popular in the PC version of Office 2010. “Sometime this year” is as specific a release date as Microsoft has mentioned for the update As with Office 2010, the Mac’s Office 2011 will let users access documents online with Microsoft Office Web Apps. Observers consider this strategy Microsoft’s way of joining the growing number of cloud-based productivity programs, where there is stiff competition from Google. Web Apps include “lite” versions of PowerPoint, OneNote, Word and Excel. Users will access services with a Windows Live account, but a number of functions will only be available in the full-priced version of Office. Office 2011 offers improvements in collaborative work flow, allowing co-workers to become “co-authors” of documents, and from different locations. There are new features to prevent lost edits and address other productivity issues like recovering from crashes. Microsoft has finally added the ribbon, its interface tool for recent versions of Office for PC, to this Mac edition, saying that “the ribbon delivers a modern and fluid experience and also gives you a more consistent experience across platforms, which is key to productivity as 75 percent of Mac users also use a PC.” CRE offers its customers a “modern and fluid experience,” too, and we also work “across platforms” with Macs and PCs both. Whatever you need for your productivity, from post-production to conference breakout rooms, our professional Account Executives are here to help. Call or e-mail for a quick reply, or use the Quick Rental Quote form if you already know what you need. Either way, a click or a call puts us to work for you, fast. Apple’s iPad: New Boom or Big Bust?February 4th, 2010The rumors met reality on January 27th as Apple unveiled its iPad tablet. As opposed to the iPhone launch, however, this one was not met with 100% support from the Apple/Mac fan community. In fact, some folks were downright displeased, predicting failure with a capital “F.” Of course, only time will tell, but right now we know all the specs and can at least tell you the pluses and minuses of the device.
Ups and downs The first thing you need to know is that the iPad is not a small MacBook in tablet form. It’s a big iPhone, except that the only kind of calling you can do is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) with WiFi and a tool like Skype. Lacking a webcam, of course, means voice only, no cool video chats. The unit will run all the iPhone Apps, although it will have its own Apple store. It’s not a Kindle-killer, either. Amazon’s one-trick pony is perfect for the one trick it does – let you read, even in direct sunlight, with its e-ink technology. When Amazon did its research, it discovered that having color, WiFi, a browser and lots of other doohickeys interrupted people’s concentration on reading. Plus, the iPad has perhaps 8-10 hours of battery time, whereas the Kindle and the Sony e-book readers go 150-200 hours on a charge. The specs The specifications are at least as interesting for what is missing as what is there. Powered by a special, Apple-designed, 1GHz A4 chip built by PA Semiconductor, the iPad comes with 16, 32 or 64GB of solid state flash storage, but there is no separate graphics chip, so no multitasking – you can do one thing at a time. The color screen is 9.7 inches, but it won’t display most of the video on the Web (except YouTube) because there is no Flash support. With all the Flash on the Internet, this is a total head-scratcher. Neither is there a USB port, just the single Dock Connector, which accommodate special (and, ahem, separately priced) adapters for a USB connection or an SD card reader. What it does have is: WiFi in the latest 802.11b/g/n variety; Bluetooth, so you can use a wireless keyboard, at least if you’re at a table, instead of the on-screen iPhone-y keyboard; and a 3G version coming out a month after the base model. There’s also a microphone, speaker, headphone jack, digital compass, a few sensors (light, accelerometer, proximity) and A-GPS, “Assisted GPS.” Bottom line Just a tad smaller than a regular magazine and weighing 1.5 pounds, the iPad is hardly a shirtpocket take-along. It needs a case so you won’t scratch it, and a data plan with AT&T so you can use the WiFi or 3G. What remains to be seen is, Who will buy this thing? Apple fans with iPhones already shell out to AT&T, so it’s hard to believe they’ll double their monthly bill for a larger iPhone with little added functionality. MacBook Pro rentals at CRE won’t be threatened, since the iPad doesn’t run any Mac software. People who are PC-centric and don’t like Apple in the first place are hardly going to rush out to buy this device, either. The iPad appears to a number of observers to be the first pure entertainment play from Apple since the iPod. It is not a productivity enhancer, not easy to use as a phone or book reader, has a closed platform that may hinder third-party development and costs from $500 to over $800 in a somewhat bizarre pricing structure. It just may be that Apple has made an expensive toy for jetsetters and tech collectors, but if you see the “Steve Jobs magic” at work again, post a comment and let us know! In the meantime, for true Apple productivity, CRE has the Mac Pro rentals and laptops, along with convention technology and everything else you need from Apple, H-P and other companies. From office equipment to Audience Response System rentals, our Account Executives have the expertise and the equipment to help you get the job done. Call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form and we’ll get right on it for you. Reviews of Computer & Technology News of 2009December 29th, 2009
This past year, for computer lovers, was as good as it gets. While every year sees new inventions and further refinements of existing products, 2009 was a landmark year in many ways. From the new MacBook models that CRE now rents to new display technology and “wireless everything,” 2009 was a big year. Laptops have gotten more powerful while getting lighter. Leaving aside the new netbooks, subject of a future blog, the laptop sector has made big strides in power, heat dissipation, battery life, displays, and connectivity. The year started off with dual-core processors limited to the MacBook Pro laptop rental and PCs, and ended with quad-core processors available at the high end of some lines. Desktops have changed in terms of power and ports. Apple dropped the original FireWire 400 connector for FireWire 800 (backward compatible with an adapter). USB is king of the hill for connections, with USB 3.0 right around the corner promising another serious speed bump. Ethernet? Faster. Phone modems? Disappearing. Hard drive capacities are into the terabyte (TB) range and no one gets a PC with just “a gig of RAM” anymore. Even low-end PCs now come with 2-4GB of RAM. Powerhouses like CRE’s quad- and eight-core HP computer rental can have up to 32GB. LCD Displays – Seeing is believing Computer users can thank display manufacturers for their less-strained eyes. The LCD and LED-backlit monitors look better, use less power and emit less radiation. Plasma monitor (rentals) are still tops in the largest sizes, while the Apple Cinema Display 24-inch LED monitor is what every post-production pro wants under the tree this year. Look, Mom, no wires on technology rentals Yes, it was a “wireless” year, for sure, and not just in terms of Web browsing at the coffee shop. The mouse, your phone, the printer, your TV – everything is hooking up with everything else by radio, Bluetooth, WiFi and (it seems) smoke signals, too. It’s not just tablet PC rentals that provide portability with connectivity. Your phone, its headset and your office all-in-one have all lost their electronic umbilical cords. This coming year, watch for wireless recharging of these devices. If you want to know what else to watch for in 2010, keep checking our blog. We will feature tech trends in 2010, laptop and desktop guides, a netbook report, gadget updates and other problem-solving, trend-spotting news. In the meantime, when you’ve got work backed up and no time to waste, remember that CRE is here to solve your problems with just the right tools. Contact us or fill out the Quick Rental Quote, and an expert Account Executive will take good care of you. That’s what we do! Review the New Mac Computer Desktops – CRE RentalsDecember 17th, 2009Several times this year, most recently at the end of October, Apple upgraded and updated its Macintosh product lines. It still has its top of line Mac Pro towers, last “refreshed” in Q1 2009, but now has faster iMacs with larger screens and a potent Mac mini. (Not that it will replace the Xserve line that CRE rents, but the mini can now be purchased with Mac OS X Server installed.) The new Mac laptops are pretty exciting, too; read the MacBook Pro laptops review. Go with a Mac Pro When the Mac Pro high-performance desktops like CRE rents get their next refreshing in early 2010, they may get Intel Xeon six-core processors, according to a recent unconfirmed rumor on the Web site, Hardmac. The Core i9 chip will increase performance while decreasing power usage, or so the story goes. The Mac Pro might also have a modified motherboard with a 10 Gbit/second Ethernet port (a major increase) and support for 8 and 16 GB RAM modules (current maximum is 4GB). This allows a potential total of 128 GB of RAM. A new iMac for you? The iMac line has had two screen sizes in its modern (flat panel) version, now measuring 21.5 and 27 inches, but has new LED backlit displays with 16:9 widescreen ratio. A 21.5-inch imac rental has a high-resolution 1920 x 1080 pixel display. Movie lovers should note that the 27-inch model’s Mini DisplayPort supports bi-directional connections – just connect an HD source and your iMac is an HD monitor. The iMacs now have 4 SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of RAM, and four different Intel processors. The 21.5-inch models can be configured with 3.06 GHz or 3.33 GHz Intel Core2 Duo processors, but the “serious fun” starts with the 27-inch iMac. It is configurable with the aforementioned CPUs, a 2.66 Quad-Core i5 or a 2.8 GHZ Quad-Core i7 processor. The two Quad-Core options take the iMac to the level of performance first seen in the Mac Pro – very impressive! Mini goes maxi The Mac mini has two new configurations: one model featuring a 2.26 GHz Intel Core2 Duo, a 160 GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM; the second has a 2.56 GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor and double the hard disk and RAM (320 and 4 GB, respectively). Both feature seriously upgraded graphics capabilities via an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M chipset. These minis are becoming very popular as “small-but-mighty” servers especially for small businesses or for off-site, temporary offices at a convention center. Call one of our Account Executives today and find out how a Mac Pro rental or iMac rentals can help increase productivity or solve those backlog problems. Give us a call or send an e-mail, or simply fill out a Quick Rental Quote form. We are Mac rental specialists and are here to help. Review of the New MacBook Pro Laptops – CRE RentalsDecember 15th, 2009
The base model MacBook Pro retains the classy, aluminum unibody and the slick multi-touch trackpad of its predecessor. The positive additions include a SecureDigital memory card slot, full-size backlit keyboard, a FireWire 800 port, a color-enriched display and a permanent (non-removable) battery good for up to seven hours on a charge. These macintosh laptops are faster, have more ports and offer a longer-lasting battery! Mid-range and top of line MacBook Pros One rung up the MBP ladder is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.53 GHz processor, above which there are 15- and 17-inch models available with CPUs up to 3.06GHz. All MBP models have a 1066 MHz frontside bus, 3MB of shared L2 cache (as much as 6MB for the 15- and 17-inchers) and run applications faster than ever. When you choose to rent a MacBook Pro or iMac rental, you can be assured that you’re getting the state-of-the-art in desktops and notebooks. The basic graphics subsystem is a power-saving NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, offering integrated graphics processing for solid, everyday performance with long battery life – the best choice for an MBP to rent for “cruising” conventions and conferences. The 17-inch MBP and certain 15-inch models have the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics board, offering powerful performance for graphically demanding work. Powerful, colorful (and green) The MacBook Pro’s glossy LED-backlit widescreen display has 60 percent greater color gamut than previously, for richer and brighter colors. Everything you see – including the display itself – is spectacularly clear, with performance that is solid. With its seamless glass enclosure, this display is strong, durable, power efficient, mercury- and arsenic-free – and greener than ever. Every MacBook Pro has a large hard drive, up to 500 GB, or you can opt for a 128 or 256 GB solid-state drive (SSD). The MacBook Pro also supports up to 8 GB of high-speed RAM, has the iSight webcam and a microphone built in, and ups the wireless ante to 802.11n for even faster communications. There are two USB 2.0 ports (three on the 17-inch model), a FireWire 800 port for speedy peripherals and a Mini DisplayPort that can easily power the new Apple LED Cinema Display. Apple didn’t forget the entry-level MacBook laptop, either, giving it a unibody of its own (plastic, not aluminum), a new battery technology and a few other tweaks. Try MacBook rentals for an upcoming corporate event. Curious about the new Macs and what they can do for your company? Talk to one of CRE’s expert Account Executives today – send an e-mail, make a call, fill out a Quick Rental Quote form – and find out everything you need to know about the new Mac laptops. You can also read our round-up of the latest Mac desktop computers, as well as an overview of other new Apple technology. Blazing New Trails with Both Macs and PCsOctober 30th, 2009We are truly living in a virtual world now. Many of the best new ideas in computing and communications are technologies that transport your voice, your face, and your mouse, keyboard and touch-tone commands through cyberspace into someone else’s computer or other device. It’s all about “connectivity with control,” at least for this news cycle. PC remote control If you need help on your computer, it is now possible for someone at a remote location to log right onto your computer with you and even take control of your system. This is not some advanced, expensive add-on technology. It’s built right into Mac OS X’s iChat application, and is easily done in Windows Vista and the new Windows 7, as well. This could completely change how your company maintains its PCs. Remote operators can log on to corporate workstations to perform a remote computer repair and/or ongoing maintenance—for PCs across the hall or across the country. You can also train remote employees by taking control of their screens and showing them what to do. If you want to test all of these capabilities without interrupting any ongoing work flow, consider renting iMacs from CRE. The iMac runs both Mac OS X and Windows, so you can test all the different setups and combinations. Telephonic control Let’s say you’ve decided to host your own Web site and/or a company intranet. Imagine being on the road and remotely monitoring CPU, memory, disks, uptime, load averages and more, using only your iPhone. More Apple talk New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller may have inadvertently disclosed Apple’s long-rumored tablet computer device as he was speaking to his paper’s digital media group last week. Keller was discussing his hopes of delivering the news via an assortment of online media when he said, “I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple Slate…” Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab posted a video and transcript of Keller’s talk. Online pundits and rumormongers pounced on the errant statement as a case of “Nerdian slip” (with apologies to Freud). The Times has allegedly met with Apple executives about the future of digital media and many have guessed that such discussions touched on the possibility of delivering content to an e-reader-like device from Apple. With sales of its desktops and laptops making records every quarter, some still question whether Apple would cannibalize its own business with a netbook or tablet, even one that “thinks different.” Interested in renting a PC or Mac? Request Rental Quote today. CRE Declares “Peace” in Mac-PC WarOctober 20th, 2009When Apple announced its new Macintosh in the legendary “1984” commercial during the 1984 Super Bowl, it positioned the diminutive computer as the “anti-PC.” It boasted point-and-click simplicity with its novel “mouse,” a graphical user interface with “folders” and “windows,” and the desktop “look and feel” that redefined the relationship between humans and computers. Now, 25 years later, that little breadbox with the 9-inch grayscale screen has evolved into the potent Mac product line of laptops. iMacs, servers—and the creative pro’s number one favorite, the Mac Pro. Add Apple’s Final Cut software and an AJA Io HD rental from CRE Rentals and you have an editing and post-production solution that puts you in the big leagues. There are certainly some cutting-edge PCs out there, and some very good Windows software, too, but somehow the Mac made a splash with creative types, from art directors to filmmakers. Chips and dips
And today? Today, all new Macs have Intel CPUs, and powerful ones, at that. On Intel Macs, like the iMac rental available from CRE, you can run Windows both natively and under virtualization (with such products as VMware and Parallels Desktop). If you have a business and you’re upgrading workstations, you only need a couple of iMacs to replace whatever office PCs you’re running. Covering all the bases If your demands are a little greater, upgrade to the Mac Pro rental to keep all your work going forward in both OS environments. The quad- or 8-core Mac Pro will fill the bill no matter how much horsepower you require—for animation, video and audio work, Web and publishing layouts, 3D, texture mapping and the whole range of high-intensity creative jobs. In fact, no matter what the job—on a Mac or PC, for office applications, interactive presentations or video editing—CRE has got you covered when you need a potent computer workstation rental. Truce time There is little left of the bitter Mac-PC war. Apple’s devices, from its computers to its non-Mac products like the iPhone, iPod and iTunes money makers, prove their productivity every day. In addition, all tech professionals respect the power, affordability and utility of the best PCs, like the powerhouse HP XW 8400 that CRE rents. Macs are shining so brightly these days that they may steal a little bit of the late-October limelight that Microsoft was hoping to keep focused on its Windows 7 release (learn more about Windows 7 features). Apple sales are big, for Macs, iPhones and iPods, and ongoing improvements to the MacBook line (like MacBook Pro rentals) have lifted Apple’s laptop sales figures to double that of its desktops. Our expert Account Executives can show you how two former foes, the Mac and the PC, can work together to bring you solutions for events, trade shows, rush jobs and creative “crunch time.” Contact one of our Account Executives by e-mail or phone, or use our online Quick Rental Quote form, today. Who do you think won the battle? We would love to hear from you. Apple Grabs the Tech Headlines… AgainSeptember 10th, 2009
When it comes to computers and personal electronics, Apple is the company that the pundits (and Wall Street) keep an eye on. Yesterday, the firm was in the headlines again with a range of announcements concerning its iconic iPod line, but there was just as much interest in what wasn’t said, such as the all-but-confirmed rumor of a Macintosh tablet computer. Steve Jobs may have looked a bit frail after his liver transplant, but the company itself is as robust as ever, perhaps more so. Last week, Apple shipped the latest version (10.6) of its operating system, dubbed Snow Leopard, which powers its line of computers. Upgrades have slowed a bit on their iMac models, which CRE proudly provides to many firms, as sales tumbled some 25% over last year, as well as on the potent Mac Pro towers, which CRE’s customers rely on daily. The overall PC market dipped some six percent between 2007 and 2008, making production plans for 2009 a bit dicey. However, Apple’s laptop sales (MacBook and MacBook Pro) skyrocketed, growing some 70 percent in the first quarter of this year as compared to 2008. CRE customers are well aware of the power and utility of the Mac line, which has been the computer of choice (with the OS of choice) for creatives since its debut over 25 years ago. The venerable, still-muscular PowerMacintosh G5, which CRE outfits with the Kona card, is a mainstay of the animation and video/film production sector. For the powerful AJA Io HD system, the Mac is an elegant, stable and efficient front end, bringing incredible power and precision to post-production in tandem with Apple’s own Final Cut Studio 2 software. Video, in fact, made the news in Apple’s Wednesday extravaganza, as the capability to record in the state-of-the-art h.264 format was added to Apple’s iPod Nano model, along with FM radio (with a Live Pause function). Along with incredible price reductions and flash memory upgrades to the entire iPod line, this capability can do nothing but further establish the iPod as the personal music and video appliance king. The line as a whole has an incredible 70% market share. What was left unsaid was the future of the Mac tablet, rumors about which Apple is no longer deploying its famed (and feared) legal department to combat. Analysts now think that a touchscreen unit resembling a larger iPod touch (oddly, Apple doesn’t capitalize the name of this capital-earning model) will be a “connected device” offering movies, music, games, Web browsing and microcomputer capabilities at a sub-$1000 price point. Many industry observers expect it to be Apple’s next “growth catalyst.” Finally, the iPhone, now available starting at just $99, was given short shrift at the Apple event, since the big announcements about it came from AT&T and Verizon. Both companies are promising “warp speed” for the iPhone with their revamped 3G networks. Apple’s App Store is doing a incredible volume of business, as is iTunes, which was just upgraded to version 9, on the music side. Apple is healthier than ever, its stock having doubled in the last year, and the only reason the price took a slight dive late yesterday was because the profit-takers cashed in on the company’s 2008-2009 growth and its sterling prospects for the future. CRE customers know that they can expect all the best in Apple and other technology products, from WiFi tablets to office equipment, when they need to get that big job out the door or ramp up for a new project. As Apple pushes into the future (with a recovering Steve Jobs, one hopes), CRE is right there with them. Wherever Apple goes, it’s bound to be a happy journey for the millions of Mac, iPhone and iPod users, a large and talented contingent of folks that CRE proudly serves. Fill out an online quote request form, give us a call or e-mail our Account Executives today for all your technology needs, from Apple and other first-rank tech companies. Making Hit Movies With MacsSeptember 1st, 2009What we now know as Apple Final Cut Pro, now in version 7 while the Studio package is in version 2, was actually created by Macromedia. That’s the company that took over the venerable FreeHand vector drawing program way back when, and also brought Dreamweaver (née GoLive), Flash and a few other goodies along when Adobe absorbed them in 2005. Long story short, Macromedia brought a beta version of a program called KeyGrip to the National Association of Broadcasters convention in 1998 (NAB1998) but found no takers. In somewhat of a strategic move, Apple bought up the KeyGrip code and the team that birthed it, added Firewire and DV support, continued developing the product and released it at NAB1999 as Final Cut Pro (FCP). Meanwhile, its old code and low optimization took Adobe Premiere’s Mac market share steadily downward, to the point that Premiere Pro became a Windows-only product at about the turn of the millennium. Starting then, however, FCP began making serious inroads into the Hollywood movie scene, and by 2007 it had just about half (49%) of the domestic professional editing market, compared to 22% for Avid. It began with a teen flick Demonstrating the power and potential of a consumer (more like “prosumer”) product, the teen movie Rules of Attraction was edited on a beta release of FCP3 in 2001. This made the film’s director, Roger Avary, something of an unofficial spokesman for Apple’s editing software, which caused a few industry pros—editors, directors of photography, directors, producers—to take notice. The entertainment world as a whole then noticed, and FCP won an Emmy in 2002 for its “impact on the television industry.”
Gaining momentum still There is no doubt that FCP’s involvement in the production of the 2008 Brad Pitt hit, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, sent a powerful “get on board” message to filmmakers still undecided about the software. The movie led the year’s Oscar nominations with a baker’s dozen (13, remember?) and was noteworthy for the excellent look and seamless special effects. Renting CRE’s Mac Pro with FCP gets you the same power that brought a bucket of Oscar noms to this well-regarded film. Even before Benjamin Button, however, a long list of first-rate films attested to the growing power and popularity of Apple’s editing package (see Mac Movies List, below), including multiple Oscar-winner Cold Mountain, Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima and the Best Movie of 2008, No Country for Old Men. Big help for small films It’s not only big studios and bankable stars that benefit from the Mac’s creative muscle. Able Edwards, made in 2004 by director Graham Robertson and producer Steve Soderbergh, was shot on a small Hollywood green-screen stage in 15 days on a $30,000 budget. It was edited on a single PowerMac G4 with a mere 2GB of RAM, using FCP alongside Maya, QuickTime and Adobe Photoshop. Five years later, the iMacs that CRE rents have many times the power of that G4, so a low-cost rental can put you in the race for Oscar gold—assuming you have a great script, a talented cast and a distribution deal (YouTube may do in a pinch). As far as a “movie on a shoestring” story, there’s an even better one. Johnatan Caouette made his a 2003 documentary film, Tarnation, on an iMac for a final budget of $281. If you think that’s impressive, he didn’t even use FCP, he did it all with iMovie. Incredibly, the distributor spent over 1,400 times more (nearly $400,000) promoting the flick and bringing it to theaters. Caouette didn’t even have an external hard drive for storage, much less a RAID array like CRE rents, and dealt with iMovie’s limitations by producing 15 minutes of the film at a time. He would then dump each segment onto his Hi-8 tape master, delete it from the iMac and start up on the next piece. Where there’s a will, there’s a way—but where there’s a Mac, it’ll save the day. If you are thinking of giving Universal and Paramount some competition, and need a little extra post-production prowess, CRE is here with the right solutions. One of our specialties is supporting animators, editors and special effect pros in the entertainment industry, so contact us by filling out the CRE Quick Quote Rental Form , calling us toll-free at (877) 266-7725 or sending an e-mail for a quick, courteous and knowledgeable response. - – - – - – - – - - Major films edited with FCP: Black Snake Moan Hollywood Early Adopters Push the Digital EnvelopeAugust 25th, 2009Just about everyone except government bureaucrats has learned that decentralizing operations, facing stiff competition and staying up to speed with new technology makes you more efficient. Being more efficient in business, of course, leads to profitability, which translates to “staying in business.” CRE stays in business, of course, by helping other people get their own business done faster and better. Whether it’s setting you up with a Mackie 16 Channel mixer for your annual meeting, or producing that entire corporate event for you, we’re here with solutions. Hollywood, being a pretty cutthroat business environment, is always seeking the better, faster, more efficient and effective solutions. In fact, the town is a veritable living laboratory of experimentation and progress. From the biggest board rooms to the lowest-rent lofts, the entertainment industry is full of technology early adopters, “idea people” and non-stop dreamers leveraging the newest tech to make the latest Shrek. Plenty of production pros rent Kona-card video-editing workstations from CRE when they need some extra muscle for a big project, while marketing mavens use our Audience Response Systems for focus groups and film feedback. Below you will meet three people who are in the Movie Biz Tech Vanguard, which we would consider abbreviating MBTV except that Monsignor Bonner TV, a club at Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, PA, already has that acronym. Anyway, let’s meet a few members of the Hollywood tech elite. Steven Soderbergh, Director Since dropping out of college and making sex, lies and videotape, Steven Soderbergh Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group No one used to think of the big, old-line film studios as being early adopters, but one studio has been out front in recognizing the huge upside of DVDs and other digital delights. It’s Warner Bros. Robert Rodriguez, Director Hollywood has really taken to Robert Rodriguez’s “new movie math.” For his first film in 1993, El Mariachi, he took $7,000, added a digital camera and came up with a total of over two million bucks in box office. Since then, he has made Desperado, the Spy Kids trilogy and Sin City, as well as the two-part Grindhouse with his pal, Quentin Tarantino. His cumulative box office over about 16 years totals $600 million or so. A real digital dynamo, Besides these high-profile professionals, there are thousands of artists, writers, designers, animators and even accountants using digital technology to keep the movie biz humming. If you’re an entertainment industry pro, and you need some extra processing power for your latest gig, complete the quick one-click rental quote form from CRE, call us toll-free at (877) 266-7725 or send an e-mail for a quick, comprehensive response. |
It will also have a 16GB Solid State Drive (SSD), both 3G and WiFi connectivity, a 10.1-inch touchscreen and (of course) the whole pile of cute 
During the development and debugging period, you can 
If you have the Xserve set up 
The 1980s and 1990s brought one pitched battle after another, which grew into a war between the Mac and everything associated with the PC. Apple’s CPU maker, Motorola, today a major cellphone maker, was the good guy, and even made 
has won awards while establishing himself as one of film’s frontline innovators. In 2005—eons ago in “tech time”—he shot 
Now that the DVD cash cow is drying up, Warner has chosen Kevin Tsujihara to lead it into the next Land of Milk and Money. Tsujihara was promoted in 2007 to head video on demand, wireless, online operations, games, antipiracy initiatives and other leading-edge matters. Now president of all home entertainment operations, Tsujihara is mixing it up big-time by using state-of-the-art in-house digital departments as well as small specialty firms like 
Rodriguez lives in Austin, TX, relies on broadband to stay in touch with creative folks around the country (including “the suits” in Tinseltown) and has helped convince Tarantino, once a “celluloid purist,” of the wonders of digital technology. Rodriguez is a known 
