FZ2878

Life is all about freedom, and one of the things that once made the United States a world power was the ability of its people to innovate in a free market society. Anyone with two nickels and some ingenuity could start an empire if they were willing to work like a dog to get their idea or product off the ground.

That same history of innovation and historic capacity to produce created the greatest consumers the world has ever known. Americans expect choice, quality and price and we are willing to camp out overnight in a cold Walmart parking lot, facing possible death, to get first crack at a sensational buy. It was with that American consumer spirit that I began searching for new video editing software.

A firm believer in doing my homework, I began reading the online reviews, and on my lunch hours, began skulking around software aisles in electronics and office supply stores. My first mistake was that I had decided that I wanted an actual CD as opposed to an internet downloaded version.

In today’s world holding the actual piece of plastic is worthless and even worse, if it sucks you are stuck with it because most software is only returnable if it is faulty, if it just sucks, you have no recourse and your money is lost. Buying software nowadays is like buying a new automobile or pair of shoes, you’re an idiot if you buy a car without a test-drive, you’re a fool if you buy a pair of shoes without trying them on, and you’re asking to get ripped off if you purchase software without a trial period.

Enter Magix Edit Pro 15. The packaging is well-done, they have a smiling little blond girl, a fuzzy white puppy and a beautiful sunset right on the cover, it’s hard to resist. Its descriptive copy reads like the video editing studio of Lucas Films, with all of the latest features needed to create dazzling videos from video clips and photographs, to Dolby surround sound, chroma key effects, and effortless burning.

From the moment I broke the seal on that box, and effectively flushed my money down the toilet, Magix Edit Pro 15 has delivered one disappointment after another. Each step of the way, I have been affronted by error messages, and the inability to accomplish even the simplest of goals, let alone a full video presentation with a mix of images, video clips, transitions, titles, and audio.

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At this year’s CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dell announced that its version of the low-end internet mini-surfer netbooks, would take the next step towards cell phones and cell phone marketing.

The Inspiron Mini 9 has the standard 9-inch screen, slightly smaller keyboard and the truly mobile weight of right around 2 lbs. This member of the Dell family has a miniscule 8-Gig solid-state hard drive and only 512 MB of DDR RAM, but this little fella has something that will soon become as common among laptops as built-in web cams. The Mini 9 takes built-in wifi to the next level, and boasts a built-in AT&T cellular mobile broadband internet card, but there's more.

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What better place than Las Vegas to showcase this years top electronic toys, for middle-aged boys and girls with discretionary spending money? Thursday, January 8th, marks the official opening of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and according to BusinessWeek.com's preview, the Netbook is stealing the show in Vegas, and it's no wonder.

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