Life is change…sometimes we seek it, but sometimes it thrusts itself upon us.

What’s up?

In recent months I’ve made a difficult decision – to shift from thirty years working with Apple computers to PCs. The point of no return was Wednesday when my new Dell laptop arrived. With the help of friends (both nearby and online) the computer has been updated and I’ve learned my way around the desktop and innards.

Now PCs are not totally foreign to me. I can use them and find the necessary programs and even dive into the system a bit. But this is not the everyday “breath in breath out” type of familiarity I have with my Mac. So I’m in for a bit of a ride here.

That ride will get even more intense next week once I’ve downloaded the free trials of PC based nonlinear editing programs. MovieMaker yesterday. Pinnacle today. Over the weekend will be AVID, Edius, Premiere Pro, and Vegas.

All of this part of the final big decision – which program to make my primary editing choice. I lean towards Premiere personally because it seems to have what I want – the ability to do basic edits, motion, create movie files, and burn DVDs. I lean towards AVID and Edius because they are news industry standards.

But the bottom line, as with many of you, is the bottom line. What can my budget handle.

And the bottom-bottom line is that how stories are told varies. It’s not about the camera, editing program, or even the storyteller. So while I want to keep to professional editing software, I will use what works for each situation. (When I first tried digital editing, my station was unknowingly airing stories edited in iMovie.)

If you have suggestions or ideas, go ahead and comment below.