For the past two weeks, I’ve been editing in the newest version of Final Cut Pro for the iPad. For many professionals, the original release of this app last year missed the mark. Its tools have just been too limited to use on a daily basis. The new version doesn’t necessarily change that — but despite my many frustrations, I’m finally discovering the joy of using it.
Technology
Make your bad photos look picture-perfect like a pro in seconds
Cropping photos in iOS 17 has become a breeze. Gone are the days of the multistep process that tested your patience.
Now, with the latest update, iOS 17 streamlines the process, allowing you to crop your photos quickly and efficiently.
Editing photos with iOS 17: A one-tap wonder
Editing photos on your iPhone is now simpler than ever. With iOS 17, all it takes is one tap to start editing your photos.
BEST ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR PHONE
Here’s how to crop, rotate or flip your photos
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
- Choose a photo that you want to crop.
- Zoom in on the photo if needed. To zoom in on the image, use a pinch-out gesture on the screen. Place two fingers close together on the photo itself and spread them apart. Keep spreading your fingers until you’ve zoomed in enough to focus on the desired area of the photo. This will allow you to examine finer details and make precise cropping adjustments.
- Press the crop button in the top right corner of your screen.
NORTH CAROLINA POLICE WARN FAKE MICROSOFT EMPLOYEES GOING INTO PEOPLE’S HOMES, STEALING FROM COMPUTERS
- Utilize the full crop menu to adjust the aspect ratio, Flip, Rotate or Straighten your photo.
- To flip, tap the triangle to flip the image horizontally.
- To rotate, tap the square with an arrow over it to rotate the photo 90 degrees.
- To straighten, use the slider to adjust the photo’s angle until you achieve the desired alignment.
GET SECURITY ALERTS, EXPERT TIPS – SIGN UP FOR KURT’S NEWSLETTER – THE CYBERGUY REPORT HERE
- Tap Done to save your edits, or if you don’t like your changes, tap Cancel, then tap Discard Changes.
ASK ANY TECH QUESTION AND GET KURT’S FREE CYBERGUY REPORT NEWSLETTER HERE
Undo and redo edits
As you edit a photo, tap undo and redo at the top of the screen to undo and redo multiple edit steps.
THE SECRET MEANING OF YOUR IPHONE CLOCKS 4 COLORS
Kurt’s key takeaways
The introduction of one-tap photo cropping in iOS 17 is a significant leap forward in user convenience. This feature not only saves time but also makes photo editing accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who loves capturing moments, the new iOS 17 ensures that your memories are just a tap away from perfection.
With the ease of use provided by iOS 17’s photo editing features, do you see yourself editing photos more often, why or why not? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.
Follow Kurt on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
How Apple is trying to make Final Cut Pro a “touch-first” video editing app
The new version of the app, confusingly named “Final Cut Pro for iPad 2” (it is for all current iPads, not the iPad 2), came out this week. And perhaps the biggest new feature in this year’s release isn’t entirely a Final Cut Pro feature: it’s a brand-new app that integrates with it.
The new Final Cut Camera is a standalone app for your iPhone that offers advanced camera controls. If you’ve seen the Blackmagic app or the recently released Kino app, you’ll know what to expect: peaking, manual focusing, and audio metering. You just won’t be able to add custom LUTs like you can in the other two.
The Final Cut Camera app can be used in unison with Final Cut Pro on the iPad to record Live Multicam sessions with footage streaming in from up to four iPhones or iPads. In Final Cut on the iPad, you assume the role of director. You can monitor footage coming from iPhones, zoom in, and change the white balance, focus mode, and more on the fly. I can see this new feature being particularly popular for video podcasts.
The previews you’re seeing are compressed, but they still look great. Once you stop the recording session, the full-quality files get transferred over to the iPad running Final Cut Pro and rendered. The whole process is a lot faster than I anticipated. My 10-minute session with three iPhones was available for editing minutes later. A new transfer indicator window on the top of the UI shows you the progress.
There’s one upgrade I’d love to see for this feature in the future: live editing. Currently, you’ll still need to end the recording first before syncing up all files and jumping into the edit.
Multicam support is a great new feature, but it contrasts with how little else Apple has done to improve the Final Cut Pro for iPad experience. The standout feature in this year’s update is external hard drive support. That’s important — this feature was oddly absent last year. But its addition instantly reminded me of how poorly Final Cut Pro for iPad (and iPadOS) handles file management.
All of your media files have to live within the FCP Library files, and that same library file has to be stored on either the internal or external drive. That means you can’t split your media across multiple drives or cloud storage. One side effect of this method is that it means you’re just constantly duplicating files from one place to another.
And there are other issues that haven’t changed from last year. For example, you still can’t import complete folders into Final Cut Pro, just individual files. And once they’re imported, you still can’t organize the files into separate folders or bins like “A-roll,” “B-roll,” “Music,” or “Graphics.”
Another new feature that’s unique to the iPad version of Final Cut Pro is Live Drawings. Using an Apple Pencil, you can draw animations directly onto your clips. Apple’s latest Pencil Pro tricks are supported here, but aside from that, there’s not much to do with the Pencil Pro itself. I wish there was a way to program the haptic squeeze to do something more on the editing front — maybe selecting multiple clips while hovering, or just make it a right-click. I feel like that would be useful and would speed up working with a pencil.
There are still a lot of serious video editing features that I’m waiting on Apple to add: compound clips, folders, adjustment layers, post stabilization, coloring tools like curves, project sharing between machines, the ability to add new LUTs, 360 video support, object tracking, linear keyframes — the list goes on and on. If you read my review from last year, you’ll find the exact same list there.
All of those missing things really catch you off guard when you are in the flow. Ultimately, I found myself making creative decisions based on bad software limitations.
Meanwhile, the market for mobile video editing apps is more competitive than ever. CapCut has been extremely popular among TikTokers. “Why I’m switching to DaVinci” videos are all over my YouTube feed. And folks still stan the OG iPad app Lumafusion. In fact, three of the features I desperately need are already on the DaVinci’s iPad app.
But even after trying all of the other apps I just listed and even with all my frustration with the missing features, I keep coming back to Final Cut on the iPad. Because there is one thing Apple is doing right here, and that’s the overall experience.
Apple calls this a “touch-first” app, and I finally understand what that means. Once you’re past the learning curve and once you get a hang of the controls and once you’re aware of its limitations, you start to actually enjoy it and have fun. Apple isn’t trying to replicate the Final Cut desktop experience — it’s building toward a new one. And you can see in the way you interact with the jog wheel and the way that the sidebar comes in so you can edit with your left hand.
I found that using the Final Cut Pro with my hands is by far the most immersive way to edit. It’s all right there at your fingertips, literally. There is something about this more tangible approach that I’m starting to find charming, even if it’s not as efficient as a mouse and keyboard.
If Apple can check off those easy wins, then its vision of a capable and touch-first Final Cut Pro could really thrive.
Photography by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Technology
Twitch banned Dr Disrespect after viewing messages sent to a minor, say former employees
Twitch abruptly banned one of its biggest stars — Herschel “Guy” Beahm, better known by his persona Dr Disrespect — in 2020 without a word of explanation. Now, four years after Beahm’s permanent ban, two former Twitch employees have come forward to describe events they say contributed to his removal from the platform.
One former Twitch employee, who asked to remain anonymous citing the potential risk to their career, told The Verge that Beahm had used Whispers, Twitch’s now-defunct messaging system, to exchange messages with a minor and initiate a conversation about meeting up at TwitchCon. The employee worked on Twitch’s trust and safety team at the time of the ban in 2020.
Their comments corroborate a post from Cody Conners, a former Twitch employee who worked on the company’s strategic partnerships team. Late Friday, Conners posted on X, “He got banned because got caught sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch whispers product. He was trying to meet up with her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read in plain text.”
Though Conners did not explicitly name Beahm, it was understood the streamer was the subject of the post. Beahm’s ban came shortly after Twitch updated its sexual harassment policy to punish offenders with permanent suspensions.
Beahm denied Connors’ allegations. “This has been settled, no wrongdoing was acknowledged, and they paid out the whole contract,” he posted on X. Beahm published an additional post reiterating that no wrongdoing was found. “I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid,” he wrote.
The news of Beahm’s ban, which came down four years ago this week, was shocking. Beahm was one of Twitch’s most popular stars at the time, with around 4 million followers, and he had just signed a seven-figure, two-year exclusivity contract with the platform. Neither Twitch nor Beahm would say why the streamer had been banned. In an interview with The Washington Post shortly after the ban, Beahm said that Twitch wouldn’t even tell him the reason why his account had been removed.
The former employee who spoke with The Verge also shared more insight into the order of events that led to the ban. They said there was a significant amount of time between when the messages between Beahm and the alleged victim were sent and when the moderation report about those messages was filed, but they weren’t able to recall how much time. When Twitch received the report in 2020, they said that Twitch investigated the claims and ultimately banned Beahm’s channel.
A year after being banned, Beahm said he was suing Twitch for monetary damages and disclosed that he finally knew why the platform issued the ban. However, Beahm declined to say what that was. A year later, the dispute was resolved with Beahm saying, “I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch. No party admits to any wrongdoing.”
Beahm and Twitch did not respond to The Verge’s requests for comment.
Technology
Your car is a target — don’t get hacked or duped
Ever heard of wrapping your key fob in aluminum foil? It sounds out there, but it’s a smart move.
Join 509,000 people who give this free tech newsletter a 4.92/5 star rating.
Sign up now and don’t be left behind.
Your key fob’s signal is surprisingly easy for criminals to intercept. That lets them open your car without setting off any alarms. If you have a true keyless car model, they might be able to just drive away. Wrapping it in foil blocks the signals.
It’s no surprise your car is a target. It’s probably one of the most valuable things you own. Let’s look at a few scams right now targeting car owners and those shopping for a new ride.
X, FORMERLY TWITTER, IS TURNING ON PORN — BUT YOU CAN BLOCK IT
Cloned VIN scam
A Boston woman paid around $40,000 for an SUV on Facebook Marketplace. The Carfax report looked legit, and Maril Bauter received a clean title from the licensing agency. It was smooth sailing for almost three years … until the police seized the vehicle.
When she bought the 2019 Toyota 4Runner, it was stolen. Bauter was the victim of a VIN cloning scam.
It all starts with a stolen car or perhaps one totaled out by an insurance company. The scammer finds the same make, model and year and takes the VIN from that car. It’s as easy as snapping a picture through the windshield.
The scammer then changes the VIN plate on the stolen or totaled vehicle to match the one on the clean vehicle. Now, the scammer can create fake documents and complete the sale.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to spot these scams. If you’re in the market and buying from a private seller:
- Use a site like Carfax or AutoCheck to look for anything strange with the VIN.
- Compare the VIN on the car (near the windshield and in the door) with the title and all the other documents the seller provides.
- Look for signs the VIN plate has been switched out. Run your finger over that area.
- Consider paying a mechanic or car inspection service to look for major issues or red flags.
Bauter’s story had a happy ending: Her insurance company paid out her claim on the stolen vehicle. That said, not every victim is this lucky so be sure to do your due diligence if you’re in the market for a new vehicle.
HANDY HIDDEN FEATURES ON INSTAGRAM, X AND FACEBOOK
Check out a recent Kim Komando Podcast episode: Insurance companies use drones to look at your home
Not the only car scam on Facebook Marketplace
An 18-year-old was arrested in Fort Lauderdale for posting his neighbors’ cars for rent on FB Marketplace. The scammer collected deposits and then sent renters to the car owners’ real addresses.
One neighbor said eight people showed up at her house over three weeks. Another got his car smashed by an angry would-be renter.
- Never, ever pay ahead for a rental through a community sales platform. Really, it’s best to stick with a legitimate rental company.
A throwback attack
Cybercriminals can also employ old-school denial-of-service attacks to overwhelm your vehicle and potentially shut down critical functions like airbags, anti-lock brakes and door locks.
This attack is feasible since some connected cars have built-in Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities. As with regular home Wi-Fi networks, they can even steal your data if they infiltrate your car’s local network.
Also, it’s a matter of physical safety. Remember, multiple computers and Engine Control Modules run modern cars. If hackers can shut these systems down, they can put you in grave danger.
- Regularly changing your car’s onboard Wi-Fi network password is a must. Turning off your car’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is also a good idea when not in use, too.
The built-in monitoring is a security risk, too
Every newer car has an on-board diagnostics port. This interface allows mechanics to access your car’s data, read error codes and statistics and even program new keys.
Anyone can buy exploit kits that can utilize this port to replicate keys and program new ones to use them for stealing vehicles.
AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER
- Always go to a reputable mechanic. A physical steering wheel lock can also give you extra peace of mind.
Mobile malware
Another old-school internet hack reaches connected cars, specifically models with internet connectivity and built-in web browsers.
Crooks can send you emails and messages with malicious links and attachments that can install malware on your car’s system. Anything is possible once the malware is installed. Car systems don’t have built-in malware protections (yet), so this can be hard to spot.
- Practice good computer and internet safety even when connected to your car. Never open emails and messages nor follow links from unknown sources.
Get tech-smarter on your schedule
Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.
Copyright 2024, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
-
Politics1 week ago
Rule of law on ballot in NYC suburbs as cop, veteran trade barbs over border crisis, policing
-
News1 week ago
It's easy to believe young voters could back Trump at young conservative conference
-
World1 week ago
Swiss summit demands 'territorial integrity' of Ukraine
-
News1 week ago
Justice Department won't pursue contempt charges against Garland
-
World1 week ago
Switzerland's massive security effort at the Ukraine peace conference
-
News1 week ago
Joe Biden, Barack Obama And Jimmy Kimmel Warn Of Another Donald Trump Term; Star-Filled L.A. Fundraiser Expected To Raise At Least $30 Million — Update
-
Politics1 week ago
Biden looks to capitalize on star-studded Hollywood fundraiser after Trump's massive cash haul in blue state
-
Politics1 week ago
Judge rules Missouri abortion ban did not aim to impose lawmakers' religious views on others