Four year old (or more) bug. C’mon Apple

[Tom Wolsky]

I remember it doing this in v3. I think it’s called a feature.

All the best,

Tom

Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Author: “Final Cut Pro 5 Editing Essentials” and “Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop”

[David Roth weiss]

Bret, that’s a classic example of a “new feature” that you’re going to need to adapt to, because I can assure you, somebody at Apple got a big gold star for “fixing” that one.

As you may have noticed, our good friends on the Apple Pro Apps development team, like the rest of Apple, are secretive, non-communicative, and operate in a black hole called Cupertino. They are constantly fixing things that don’t bother anyone, that no one really cares about, and that really don’t need fixing. Meanwhile, they leave untold numbers of truly important things untouched for years and years that have been a constant source of irritation to all, despite the fact those improvements might really make huge difference in the day to day editing experience for all FCP users.

In case it’s not obvious, I’m not exactly a big fan of companies that operate in secret and develop their wares like they’re part of some sort of black ops. And, that’s especially true when those same companies and their users suddenly get a wake up call and find themselves significantly behind the development curve.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

EPK Colorist – UP IN THE AIR – nominated for six academy awards

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[Dan Brockett]

So tell us how you really feel about it David! 😉

FWIW, I totally agree. The Apple “KGB/CIA” operation mode is beginning to feel a bit dated as well as ridiculous in this era of Jan Crittenden and others practically living on the boards and truly communicating with their customers. I really feel that my day to day camera that I make a living with, the AG-HPX170 has features on it that came directly from user feedback that I was involved in.

At least we know that it is not limited to Pro Apps, all of Apple operates this way but it is getting old. There are ways to communicate with your customers that don’t involve giving away the farm about upcoming products. And it makes customers more loyal. I think about 50% of FCS users are considering jumping ship to MC5 or CS5 as it is, the silent treatment and the “ignore users” treatment is wearing thin.

Dan Brockett

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[David Roth weiss]

I agree with everything you said Dan.

The whole Apple black ops secrecy thing would be great if FCP had managed to keep it’s preeminence in the market, but as they say, “you’re only as good as your last performance,” and FCP’s last was a bit underwhelming and far too long ago at this point. The fact that Apple’s software can’t even make use of their own hardware is a clear indicator of the problem.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

EPK Colorist – UP IN THE AIR – nominated for six academy awards

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[Dan Brockett]

I am starting to have flashbacks when the PPCs first went live and then the whole IBM PPC thing just started to stagnate. Remember when PCs were SOOOO much faster than those G4s? It is beginning to feel as if Apple is once again slipping into complacency. Where is the old rush that we used to get every time Apple premiered a new version of FCP? While I am still an Apple user and have been an FCP user since V 1.0 on my ancient old Blue and White G3, if they don’t do something by the end of this year, I will undoubtedly move to MC5. AVID seems to have some of the old fire back lately.

I just interviewed a lot of top people at AVID for an article on global and remote workflow and I have to say Interplay and Unity ISIS blew me away. Makes Apple’s attempts with FCP Server, etc. seem pretty weak in comparison.

Competition is good for all of us but Apple doesn’t seem to care to stay competitive any more.

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs