I am not syncing my Desktop & Documents Folders on iCloud, nevertheless Apple thinks the Documents folder should live forever on my iCloud Drive. I could not rename it, I could not delete it.
Until some clever user pointed out the solution on Apple forum: If you are not able to delete the Documents folder on iCloud, try to drag it first to the desktop, and then delete it from there.
It works! Thank you!
Use Blender to import .FBX 3D files, and export them to .usdz to use in Apple Motion.
Many 3D models are available in the .FBX Autodesk's format. Unfortunately Apple Motion only accepts .usdz files.
It's easy to use Blender as a converter:
The resulting .usdz file imports fine into Motion with its Materials/Textures attached.
Thanks to this Lightcraft documentation for the tip.
Apple iCloud is a defacto candidate for Cloud service if you own a Mac or other Apple devices. After signing up on your Mac with your Apple ID you get 1GB of space. After 2 steps verification on a second device you get 5GB of space.
iCloud is shown as a destination in the Finder sidebar. If it's not showing up, go to Finder, Settings, and check the iCloud Drive and Shared options under iCloud items.
When iCloud shows up, it is available like another folder onto your Mac. You can create new subfolders, rename, re-organize, add items by dragging or copy/pasting just like you would in any other folder on your Mac.
If you go to iCloud on the web and log-in with the same AppleID, you will see whatever you do on your Mac iCloud folder being synced up and mirrored on the web, and vice versa.
All is nice and dandy. Now for the details.
SETTINGS:
We're in a very fucked up moment with hard disks data storage prices right now.
It's due to many factors, one being that manufacturers are way too concentrated: Seagate, Western Digital and to a lesser degree Toshiba control the entire market.
Being the only payers in town, S-WD-T can turn the faucet on and off, and set the prices as they wish.
Then in the US we have tariffs of 25% on imported goods from Asia if I understand that right. Even though Seagate and WD are both US companies... That's jacking up the prices big time.
The ssd market which is expected to grow three time faster than the hdd market in the next decade appears more segmented. Although Kingston, (another US company), has the lion share, followed by Samsung, and WD again. We're being ripped off with sdds prices as well in the US, but competition helps.
Look at this chart of 8TB Seagate IronWolf hdd from camelcamelcamel.com:
The drive was initially sold for around $230 in April of 2020.
A year later in April of 2021 the price was down to around $180.
Then the Covid crisis shot the prices up to $240. But in April of 2022, the price was back down to $170.
April 2023 it was "rock bottom" down to $130. And in 2024-2025 the price oscillated between $150 and $180.
Now after a fake Black Friday / Cyber Monday where the $180 Sale price was in fact the same as the high price during the entire year of 2025, it shoots up to $220!
What? Almost as expensive as when it was introduced almost 6 years ago! R&D and initial investments are all paid for at this point.
Notice that $180 (all of last year high price) x 1.25 (25% tariffs) = $225. Which is the new set price, give or take $5, comes December.
Everything is more expensive leading to Christmas so between now and I assume probably at least January next year, we're being ripped off.
DaVinci Resolve Version 20.3 Update!
The Aussies at Blackmagic Design are incredible! DVR 20.2.3 came out on November
4. TWENTY FOUR DAYS LATER comes 20.3!
From the guys at BMD:
This installer will add DaVinci Resolve software to your system as well as additional software for remote monitoring and utilities for setting up hardware control panels. It also installs Blackmagic RAW Player and Blackmagic Proxy Generator into the applications folder.
The free version of DaVinci Resolve 20 includes all of the same high quality processing as DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio and can handle unlimited resolution media files. However it does limit project mastering and output to Ultra HD resolutions or lower and only supports a single processing GPU on Windows and Linux.
If you need features such as support for multiple GPUs, 4K output, motion blur effects, temporal and spatial noise reduction, multiple AI-based tools, HDR tools, camera tracker, voice isolation, surround sound and immersive audio, multiple Resolve FX, 3D stereoscopic tools and remote rendering, please upgrade to DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio.
We hope you do decide to upgrade as your facility grows and you do more advanced work!
Double-click the DaVinci Resolve Installer icon and follow the onscreen instructions. To remove DaVinci Resolve from your system, double-click the Uninstall Resolve icon.
Double-click the DaVinci Resolve Installer icon and follow the onscreen instructions. To remove DaVinci Resolve from your system, go to the Programs and Features control panel, select DaVinci Resolve, click on Uninstall and follow the onscreen prompts.
Double-click the DaVinci Resolve installer and follow the onscreen instructions. To remove DaVinci Resolve from your system, select the uninstall option after running the installer.
For DaVinci Resolve 20.3, we have taken efforts to keep the project libraries compatible with DaVinci Resolve 19.1.4. While this allows you to access the project library with 19.1.4, individual projects created or opened in 20.3 will no longer be accessible in 19.1.4. We recommend a full project library backup as well as individual project backups before opening projects in 20.3.
The following features have been added or updated.
Note: Starting from DaVinci Resolve 20.3, OpenCL mode for GPU processing is no longer supported on macOS.
You will also need to download and install the latest Blackmagic Design Desktop Video software for monitoring with your Blackmagic Design video hardware. Desktop Video is available from www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.
© 2001-2025 Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. Blackmagic Design, Blackmagic, DeckLink, Multibridge, Intensity, H.264 Pro Recorder and "Leading the creative video revolution" are trademarks of Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd., registered in the U.S.A and other countries.
Updated November 28, 2025.
This year 2025, Black Friday is canceled! There are very few deals on good items, only loads of crappy stuff you do not want, who cares about the price of useless items.
Only 1 page of "deals" on external ssds, almost all being a single Crucial or Lexar product (good products at least.) The price is the same as a few months ago though, so where is the deal?
Internal SSds? FOUR products and that's it. Again Crucial leads the way. At least these can claim to be actual deals, meaning they cost less during Black Friday week than they did before.
Asus ProArt monitors? More expensive for most models on "Black Friday Deal" than they were a few months ago! Dell monitors? Barely discounted by a meager 10%. LG monitors? Same price as a few months ago.
Almost no Apple computers deals, MacBook Air same price as early November. Apple Watch 10% discount at best on an overpriced item.
Cameras? Lenses? You'll be lucky to find a 10% discount. Again Black Friday Deal is nothing more than the same price as a few months ago. Since then, the price was artificially jacked-up, and look, magic 10% off deal! Wow, really? Nope.
A few good deals on audio items. DJI Mic Mini combo wireless microphone 45% off at $66. Presonus Eris E7 XT Active studio monitor 16% off at $118. No deals on JBLs, no deals on Kali Audio. Universal Audio interfaces on "Black Friday Deal" are more expensive than they were for most of last year. No deals on MOTU, Mackie, Focusrite.
On the software front, at least Waves is having its usual Black Friday discount sale. A good time to grab the Gold Bundle for $99, or useful plug-ins, like Clarity Vx, or Vocal Rider, for $29.
PluginBoutique has some good deals by FabFilter, SSL, Celemony among others. Cyber week sale ongoing at Plugin alliance. As always with plugins, watch for EOL, or frozen in time not so useful items.
Anyway, we are broke! Our groceries are 25% more expensive than last summer. Which was already 25% more expansive than after Covid.
So this feels like an encouragement to not spend any money. Although we've been on economic blackout for a while, so it's not like we're gonna perform just for Black Friday week, Cyber whatever.
What's new in DVR 20.2 in 8min.
