A Pimosa For Mother’s Day
That is not a typo!
At the end of my last column, I mentioned that I’d next discuss what the heck is going on at Apple these days. I will still be doing that. I think it’s important to discuss the implications of the severe delays Apple recently announced regarding the marquis features of Apple Intelligence that were announced last year, and how Siri will work with them. However, I just had to tell you about a new app that recently caught my eye—and even my wallet! That app is called “Pimosa.”
And no, I have no idea why it is called that, although the name allowed me to create a cringe-inducing headline for which I am thankful.
One-Stop Shop
Pimosa’s web page describes the app as “Simple Video, Photo & Music Editing Tools in one app. A bundle of powerful tools for the price of one: edit, convert, and enhance your media files with our simple, lightning-fast tools.” Although this app has been around on Mac and Windows for years, I only found out about it thanks to a recent Screencasts Online video, which you can see here. By the way, I’ve been an SCO subscriber for many years and heartily recommend them.
Here’s the thing: I am no stranger to apps that convert audio, video, or graphics files from one format to another, edit and alter them, facilitate downsizing or upsizing, cropping, etc. Over the years, I have used dozens of them! You may have heard of some of them, such as Amadeus Pro, ff-Works, Handbrake, or GraphicConverter. Many have been around for a long time.
But I have never seen an app that does everything you could think of regarding media files with such a straightforward, easy, and intuitive interface. That’s what makes Pimosa special.
No Time For QuickTime
The timing of my discovering Pimosa couldn’t have been better, as I had just spent over two hours trying to do something I thought would be simple: using the Mac’s built-in QuickTime Player to edit a video.
While iMovie is capable and handy, it can sometimes be overkill for a small job like clipping sections out of a much longer video and then merging those clips together. I wanted to do that with the video of our one-hour and 45-minute Easter service at All Saints in Pasadena on April 20th. Our massed choirs and brass were glorious that day, and I wanted to pluck out our four featured musical pieces and put them together so people could enjoy them without having to wade through a much longer video.
In theory, the QuickTime Player can do this: hitting Command-T on any open video will display the Trim Bar, where you can drag the yellow handles to the desired start and end points, then click the TRIM button.
After that, you save the file with a new name, return to the original file, trim the following clip, etc. Finally, once your clips are assembled as separate files, you can open the first clip, hit Command-T again, drag a second clip onto the end of the first one, and then save again. Rinse and repeat.
This functionality has been included in the QuickTime Player for decades. And guess what? It has never worked well! Making precise trims is extremely difficult, and dropping a clip onto another one to merge them often results in the app quitting or producing a weird, unusable mashup.
A Better Way
Pimosa, on the other hand, made quick work of a previously daunting task. I created the finished result, which you can see here, in about 15 minutes.
While using the Trimmer tool, the most challenging part was figuring out each clip's start and end points. Why? The video was so long that the numbers on the timeline were slightly too small for my aging eyes. Once again, Apple’s Screen Zoom feature—which allows me to zoom into any part of the screen—came to my rescue!
Once I had created the clips numbered 1–4, I went to the Merge tool, dragged them in, and hit the START button… done! This is where my M3 Ultra Mac Studio really earned its keep: it took only a minute to create the finished product, which is almost 11 minutes long; older Macs could take anywhere from five to ten minutes or more. As is often the case when exporting or saving a video, it’s a good idea to do something else instead of watching a progress bar or wheel inch along.
But Wait, There’s More!
If that were all Pimosa did, it would still be worth only $19 a year for one device, $29 for “lifetime” access on one device, or $49 for two devices. But it does so much more than video trimming and merging! I don’t have the room for a comprehensive rundown of Pimosa’s tools, so click here to see the list and then return.
You can click on any of the listed tools for a more comprehensive description of what they do. Mini videos show you the tool in action.
For videos, I love that Resizer and Flip/Rotate tools are included, as I’ve needed to do this from time to time, and an easy, simple way has always eluded me.
Pimosa is constantly evolving, with even more features on the horizon. To see their roadmap, click here. If you’re inspired to do so, you can offer your own suggestions via their Discord page.
Lifetimes Aren’t What They Used To Be
A quick word about the term “lifetime” when used in the context of software pricing. While I don’t have any evidence that Pimosa is using the word the same as other software publishers do, my experience tells me that when they say “lifetime,” that means for the “life” of the current version — not your lifetime! In other words, a “lifetime” license typically covers the current version and all updates throughout that version’s life. When a major new release happens, that license will no longer apply. I know… It’s pretty smarmy, but life isn’t easy these days for independent developers doing good work. That’s why, even with the word “lifetime,” I thought the $29 price was fair.
That’s A Wrap
Pimosa uses a suite of longstanding freeware tools to work its magic. You can easily download any of the items listed in Pimosa’s Credits pane. I’m familiar with all of them, so I appreciate Pimosa even more. Its magic isn’t in what it can do, but in its easy-to-grasp interface… It’s “front-end,” so to speak. I’ve always admired any app I can figure out without consulting a ReadMe first, or spending an hour perusing a tutorial or walkthrough. That’s why I’m recommending Pimosa, which is also why the lads at Screencasts Online did the same. If you’ve ever needed an app like Pimosa, try it out and see for yourself!
Until then, I remain…
Your friendly neighborhood Tech Daddy
Many of you have asked if there is a GoFundMe campaign to help us recover from the devastating loss of our home and possessions. The answer is yes! Our dear friend Jenn Melyan has created a GoFundMe for us, which you can access here.
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