Goodbye macpro towers…

[Gary Huff]

[Bill Davis] But day to day – you need a simple sign, you pull out a magic marker and make your own or perhaps have a buddy who has some modest artistic talent make one for you (nearly everyone knows someone like that in the modern world). Cuz once the world is awash with magic markers – it’s not exclusively a specialists task anymore.

So if you were in need of a new car and you saw a cardboard sign on the side of the road written in magic marker that said “Car For Sale! Call (XXX) XXX-XXXX” you’d actually spend the time to check out that car?

[Bret Williams]

I wasn’t suggesting that iPad editing was a great professional endeavor. My comment about Adobe needing to get a really good app on the iPad relates more to the comments being made about Apple starting over. Yes, ditching us, only to get us back again. Perhaps half a generation later. More about the recreating the Final Cut Express first and then Final Cut Pro later. It was the other way around the first time. FCP, the FCP express. However with iMovie already here, FCP X is caught in the middle. Watch for FCP X tech to trickle down to iMovie, as FCP X grows into more of a contender.

If Adobe just keeps only chasing the Pro Market, they’ll be a sort of 3rd party spoiler. For arguments sake, say Avid has half the TV and Film industry, and FCP has the other half. FCP leaves and the FCP half have to decide Avid or Premiere. Half will probably go Avid leaving Avid with 75% of that market. Premiere is left as the underdog again, with Apple completely dominating the other market that is arguably just as big… the consumer / prosumer market. And that market on iPads isn’t tied to Mac or PC. But in the end, if they like their little FCP X iPad app or iMovie iPad app, they’ll probably buy an iMac to run the bigger version. AND STILL, that is what Apple is about. Hardware.

That’s why Adobe should be aiming for some sort of Premiere iPad app. FCPX is going to come to the iPad I think in some fashion better than iMovie. Hook ’em young and early. Then they can go to Premiere on EITHER Mac or PC. When they see the cost of a Mac they’ll choose the PC.

BTW iPads aren’t always worse for some things. Just different. For example I could care less about Garage band on the Mac, but on my iPhone or an iPad I can’t put it down. Playing and writing drums and guitar and keyboard is a blast. Not so much with a mouse on a regular computer. I wouldn’t have envisioned this. I think there may be similar ways video and animation can benefit from touch and gestures. Heck, I made a mothers day video with the kids on my iPhone. In minutes I had edited a couple shots of the kids wishing a happy mothers day. Added a graphics package and picked some music. The graphics weren’t custom. The music was royalty free cheese. But it did a job and was fun.

[Dennis Radeke]

We are investing in tablet applications and with the announcement of the Creative Cloud, there are a number of apps that are available for iPad and Android including a very functional Photoshop Touch app.

My personal pov is that you need to have the right task for the device. IOW, building an NLE on a tablet will probably be an exercise in frustration right now. However, if you build something that enhances a device and edit experience, then you’ve got something. I’ve got two ideas in mind that would fit that bill.

In time, I think that you’ll see more functionality and tasks go to tablets as they become more powerful and UI experiences resolve.

My 2 cents,
Dennis – Adobe guy

[Bret Williams]

I figure ya’ll are of course. But dig in fast! I’m starting to feel like Apple went “Hey Premiere, quick, look over there, we’re leaving the Pro market!” And Premiere runs over to grab it’s share while Apple happily gobbles up the majority of the low end market and Avid still retains it’s share plus a chunk of the Pro market that Apple left. Apple still retains a good chunk of loyal following and slowly builds itself back up with a completely new product paradigm (which all the school kids will be using) and then eats away at Adobe / Avid since those edit models won’t make much sense to them.

[Dennis Radeke]

It certainly is an interesting time. I think that Adobe definitely wants to be aware of not relinquishing it’s historical user base in the middle type user (prosumer). We think competition is good and stand by it. It makes the products better more quickly for users.

I will say though that even if Mac does take a good portion of the consumer/prosumer space, it will be on the Mac platform only. Then, in many ways it is competing against itself with iMovie vs. FCPX. The PC platform will still be vibrant for many years to come.

Thanks for the input.

[Jamie Franklin]

That’s why I agreed that an “App” designed for “controller” purposes is just fine, and I completely welcome that. I almost grabbed a pad for the Color virtual controller but couldn’t justify the cost on something DOA. A tablet just isn’t something I “need” at the moment…

If Davinci gets one, I’ll start re-evaluating that. Even still: In terms of the NLE experience, it’s just not practical now, nor in the future unless tablets are significantly larger, but I would still much rather have a laptop/tablet touchscreen combo…but even that is a serious indulgence.

Simple interfacing like garage band are perfect. I won’t disagree. Audio is a whole other animal that in my opinion screams out “touch” screen *now*…there are some amazingly creative and intuitive apps coming or arrived. Bjorks new album, custom interface, mix her music thing is incredible and I want a pad just to go play with it…but I’d never put it down. And that’s how they getcha

[Jamie Franklin]

I’d love to see an Audition window option for a pad. Integrate it in a scroll down in view mode, >Extend to tablet. Instead of a whole new application…

That would be awesomeauce! © Jamie Franklin