The MM Interview is a feature where I talk to people I like about stuff they love. Today I’m chatting with Brian Heater a writer for PC Magazine by day, and a comic book authority at night (almost literally… He works for PC Mag during the day, and blogs about comic books at night). As a man about town in two different worlds, Brian needed a handy video camera to document all his outings and aboutings, which how he came across the Flip.
MM: Okay Brian, tell me a little about yourself.
BH: Hi, I’m Brian. I live in New York. Between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM, I help run the blogs over at PC Magazine, including Gearlog.com [gadgets], Appscout.com [software], GoodCleanTech.com [green technology], and Technoride.com [car tech]. It’s a pretty great gig—one day it’s big breaking a big eBay scandal, and the next it’s hitting a keyboard with a baseball bat. At night I do music writings for publications like The New York Press, Spin, and The Onion. I also run a comic book site called The Daily Cross Hatch and weep softly to myself. Not over anything in particular, really, I just think it’s healthy to have a good cry from time to time, just so long as you don’t wake the neighbors. 
MM: I said a LITTLE about yourself, Brian… ANYway, why did you end up looking for a video camera? Or were you not looking for one, and just stumbled across the Flip?
BH: The Flip found me, really. It showed up in the mail, hoping to find purchase in the pages of PC Magazine. The thing has rarely left my side since. In fact, it’s thanks almost entirely to the little camera that we began shooting videos for Gearlog. We have a video team here at PC Mag, but with the filming, editing, and various other post-production chores, things can be a bit sluggish, especially given the fact that the majority of that team is based out of San Francisco. With the Flip, production times are limited to the 3-5 minutes of shooting and the amount of time it takes to upload to YouTube (which, admittedly sometimes takes a bit longer than I’d care to mention). The Flip has a USB arm that flips out (hence the clever name), connecting directly to your PC. All files are saved in .AIV, so there’s no conversion needed before uploading. It’s all just drag-and-drop. [Check out a few sample videos, here.]
As you know, I was struggling a bit to come up with a good product to choose for this story. I wanted something bank-breakingly sexy. I mean, I’ve got an Apple notebook and an iPod, like everyone else in this city, but sometimes good things come in affordable packages. This sub $200 camcorder is firmly targeted at those us who couldn’t rush out and stand in line for the first iPhone iteration. It’s cheap, handy, and, according to David Pogue, has managed to snap up an astonishing 13-perecent camcorder market share in the US.
MM: Spoken like a true gadget writer. So, you like to break stuff, right? How sturdy is the Flip?
BH: I haven’t done any torture testing, per se (I’d be too sad to see my friend cut down in its prime), but The Flip lives in my messenger bag, most days, which is something that I would never consider doing to a more expensive camcorder. All said, it’s handled the daily dings fairly admirably.
MM: Any interesting or funny stories that have happened while using the Flip?
BH: Ha, a few, actually, most of which can be found on the above YouTube profile. The first video on the page was taken at this year’s CES. Someone in a fake “metal” wig was showing off a Guitar Hero-branded device involving a mini amp for playing “air guitar”—firmly targeted as people who can’t play real guitars, game guitars, or real air guitars all that well. We posted the video on YouTube, and in racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 k hits fairly quickly. Naturally, it seemed like a good idea to maintain the page. On that same trip, we shot a video which will never see the light of YouTube, involving a colleague demonstrating a piece of urinal technology called the “Splash Guardian.” No actual urinating occurred, mind you—the segment involved fermented hops. In the end, however, probably best for all involved that the footage stayed buried. Other highlights from the YouTube page include a coworker hula-hooping to Wii Fit (he received some letters from admiring fans), dancing Japanese robots, and USB humping dog dongles.
MM: Okay, here’s my perennial last question: let's imagine a horrible day when the Flip breaks, permanently... Do you think you'll buy another one, or is there something else you have your eyes on?
BH: On my salary? Think I’m sticking with the Flip.
[$110, Amazon]