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Trying to figure out if it is worth it to continue with Apple?
I’m wondering if anyone else is wondering if it makes sense to keep using Apple going into the future.
We’re already an all apple institution. We don’t have a single pc other than a 10 year old laptop we use to run a utility program. We have about 20 iMacs between 4 and 1 year old. 14 of them are set up as editing computers in our edit lab. Four of the newest ones came with Lion installed. We’ve gone through the whole FCP debacle, (after installing FCPX, we ultimately didn’t use it for our main program) and are now primarily using adobe, though we do have a couple of classes that cover FCP7.
The problem is, I’m trying to figure out if we should standardize the lab with LIon, or make everything be on snow leopard, with the idea that as we go forward, we’ll likely drop Apple altogether in our lab.
The reason is, Lion and the new App Store applications are a major pain to keep updated. Partly this is our fault for not understanding what was going on when we installed FCPX and the newest machines. So we’ve ended up with multiple accounts, sometimes on the same machines, so that the system software and the apps have different IDs and passwords.Talking to Apple support, it seems that the only way to resolve this is complicated, and actually requires losing access to some of the OS’s and apps for several days. It doesn’t seem like in the new world of Lion, managing multiple computers in a non personal environment is really allowed for.
So now I’m thinking of maintaining all the imacs as Snow Leopard computers, and leaving the versions of FCPX Motion, and compressor parked where they are, and not upgrading them again. Then there won’t be any conflicts with FCP7, and CS6 will continue to work fine. And then going forward we will buy Windows computers, which will run Adobe fine.
This seems odd to me, since I’ve been using Macs personally and for work since late 84, but I feel like it’s just not the right system for our type of site anymore. It’s odd to me that for professional applications all the upgrading, from the system OS to the productivity apps, has to be done through a music and games interface.
Of course, maybe there are similar problems now with windows? I don’t know, but managing a mac lab has just become way too difficult.
Thoughts? Different Approaches?
Steven Bradford
Seattle Film Institute -
5 Replies
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I believe if you set one system up as a server, it could maintain and install updates on all the other macs at the same time. Were it me, I’d go with Mountain Lion and work your app store situation out. There’s no sense in staying with FCP legacy. FCPX isn’t as bad as people say it is, it just requires you learn a new method of workflow.
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We do have lion for our server that we use. Just using it for file sharing right now.
We’ve already moved past FCPX.
I guess my question now is, If we’re not using FCPX, going forward, is there a reason to stick with iMacs and OSX?
Steven Bradford
https://www.3dstereomedia.com 3D company I’ve worked with since 1990
https://www.seanet.com/~bradford/ my personal home page, find my greenscreen page there.
https://www.seattlefilminstitute.com the school I teach at. -
Adobe doesn’t care what OS / Platform you’re using, so I guess the bigger questions would be:
1. What OS are the majority of your students most comfortable with?
2. How dedicated are you to getting all your macs up to speed with the latest OS’s?
3. Have you tried Windows 8?
4. The aesthetics of a lab of macs vs a lab of pc’s, screen resolutions of the big imacs, etc, should be factored in. Recreating that same experience with PC’s is not as cost effective as you’d think.We’re very happy with our macs. We don’t have 20 (more like 10) but regardless of which platform you choose, your systems will continuously need to be monitored, updated, and maintained. It doesn’t sound like the bells and whistles of OSX are really being utilized (that’s not a criticism) so I’d say all the pros and cons of your decision should be discussed with everyone involved.
If you’re in Seattle, maybe Microsoft can use you guys as a big case study and get you some discounts!
John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.
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But I agree that the new model of the cloud and the app store in managing multiple systems in a professional environment is murky water indeed. I have just 6 systems and it is not exactly clear what the future holds for maintaining these systems….seamlessly.
I am pondering the same questions. Apple hardware (MacPro) is one thing, and the new OS model is quite another.
Room for a third (linux) OS with competent software?
Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production, Post, Studio Sound Stage
Founder/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com -
had the same problem, downgraded everything back to snow leopard because of incompatibilities with mountain lion and lion.
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