[Frank Gothmann]

[Steve Connor] “They handled one launch and an EOL badly and now they’re an evil empire.”

One launch and EOL?
Let’s see. Shake gone, FCP 7 gone, Color gone, DVDstudio Pro gone, XServe gone, FC Server gone.
As someone already pointed out, it all started years ago.
I don’t care if they made it cheaper. Anyone who runs a business and complains about the cost of CS5 should reconsider his business model as he should be able to recoup in two month at the very latest.

I am not a one-man shop. The whole thing will cost me a good chunk of money. Yes, I made money with their products. I would have made the same without them… and it would have cost me less in the long run.

The “evil empire” thing has nothing to do with FCPX, that’s just lack of interest on their end. Opressive app store and itunes store policy plus other things is more like it but that’s a different story.

[Frank Gothmann]

[TImothy Auld] “Do I think they are evil? No. Do I think they are doing what is in the best interest of their shareholders? Yes.”

I find that argument morally questionable. There is always more money to be made in consumer markets. That doesn’t mean a company coding software for CT scan devices buggers off tomorrow to build Angry Birds for the iPad because it is in the better interest of their shareholders while patients are grilled thanks to buggy software. Yes, bad analogy. Lovin it and not apologetic about it.
Apple bought into the market, lured people to their platform because of subsidised software that competitors couldn’t offer at such cheap prices (and killed or almost killed a few smaller companies along the way) and then have lost interest. Were they ever really interested in it. Don’t think so. It was a means to an end at the time. The Moor has done his work – the Moor may go.
Is that evil? No, just “big corporate”. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, be apologetic about it or throw more money at them in the future.

[Frank Gothmann]

Just to add my two cents: count me in on the desire to see an Adobe developed DI codec. I have also supplied my general “wish list” to Adobe in the past.
UI looks great, btw. Very pleased with the bits I have seen. Hope it works smooth with IO hardware and there is the ability to export audio stems.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Jeremy Garchow] “OK, did you actually sort these out or did you have Tim Wilson do this research for you?
So did you actively look for these before you purchased windows boxes?
The HP link is from 2002.”

I looked those up especially for you. No, I didn’t look for these before purchasing because I knew about MS OS policy. I also think it is no secret that Windows is a much more open and flexible OS compared to X.

[Jeremy Garchow] “Can you clone a Dell hard drive to an HP?
I ask because I don’t know. “

You can. If we’re talking about entirely different architectures (Intel-AMD) you would want something like Acronis products (30 dollars) which will accomplish just that. Success may vary depending on your hardware setup, same is true for the Mac. If you have AJA drivers and shove the drive in a machine with a Matrox card it won’t work obviously. If you haven’t deactivated CS5 on the old machine it won’t run or allow you to activate on the new on etc. But you will boot to be able to sort out your drivers.

[Jeremy Garchow] “And if the released FCP8, would you still say this? It seemed to be going fine until the FCP7 EOL bomb.”

I would. I have been unhappy with Apple for quite a while, basically since the whole iPhone craze started. I have issues with quite a few things that they do and especially how they do it. It makes a huge difference if you are the small underdog that they were 15 years ago or a big, global player. You cannot act and behave in the same way.
I have been working with certain apps under windows for quite a while but it was FCPX that essentially gave me the final push to really evaluate in-depth how to migrate everything, which steps to take and when as to not cause too much financial havoc and chaos in my every day work. Ie. to not just have a smooth transition but to actually benefit from the transition with more options, easier workflows and saved money.
If you think this through to the end, what is the endgame scenario if Apple has its way. We get our music through Apple, our movies, our television, our books, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, software, hardware, peripherals as they see fit. Of course, it won’t happen that way, but this is essentially how they have set themselves up. All through one vendor who controls content, distribution, pricing, when and how it’s consumed.

[Jeremy Garchow] “If and when Apple has EOL’d hardware before, they have announced it. The MacPro is still for sale, and they haven’t EOL’d it. Could they say that they are making another one? Sure. Can they announce it a few months in advance? Absolutely. Will they, and have they ever? No. It doesn’t bother me as much for some reason as they haven’t said anything. It’s at that point when they say “it’s over” that I start looking around.”

And where will you look? You can either make due with what they are offering or consider windows then. Some things just take time. As I have mentioned elsewhere, Prores is a big factor for many people and I also have to deliver a lot of Prores stuff myself plus have lots of Prores material archived. But internally, everything new that comes in and is archived isn’t Prores anymore. When I can I get a dongle for apps so I can move from platform to platform without issues. Hardware has to be cross platform if possible. Even if you are determined to stay on the Mac, thinking about such precautions make sense purely from a business perspective. I rather transition slowly so when it’s done things are in place and running smooth.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Steve Connor] “Well “Antennagate” didn’t seem to make much of a dent on iPhone sales”

Right, because when Antennagate happened, they got scared and it forced them to actually open their mouths and comunicate with all bells and whistles.
So, it’s rather obvious. They can if they want to and if the heat is up. Feel free to draw your own conclusions from that.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Jeremy Garchow] “What recent roadmap led you to Windows/HP?”

For example this:
https://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/products/lifecycle
https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-us&x=8&y=12&p1=3198

When a new OS comes out, it doesn’t mean the old one is just gone. It’s not only still sold years later but also supported by the hardware.
So, wether I like Windows 8 or not once it hits the shelves… doesn’t matter. I can buy, install and run 7 just fine for years and it’s supported by hardware and software vendors alike, just like XP was.
Our Linux box runs Ubuntu server 10.04 LTS. Supported till April 2015, bot buts or ifs. Nobody’s going to wake up one morning and things have vaporized.
Once Apple realeases a new OS, that very day they stop selling the old one and new machines are preloaded with it. Wether your software or hardware is compatible or not – you find out after the fact.

HP:
https://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2002/020507b.html
That’s just an example, doesn’t apply to me because I don’t depend on one specific vendor. I looked at the options and choose what suited my needs best. I could have equally chosen Boxx or Lenovo, or simply built my own machine. With Apple I do depend on whatever they produce. I can’t go elsewhere, I can’t build my own machine, I can’t install an older OS on a new system – all that’s left is Ebay.
But, of course, you can simply look at the HP’s ex-chief considering the sell-off of their pc market. The whole thing was public, it was an official anouncement that they were considering it, not just a rumor, that gave customer also the chance the voice their opinion.
When i registered my z800 with HP and asked about certain RAM combinations, I got a call to enquire about my statisfaction, suggestions. That NEVER happened to me once with Apple.

With Apple, they know what’s best for me; soft- and hardware wise. And because they know that some of their children sometimes misbehave they force it down their throats because, unfortunately, they can and they always got away with it.

Just look at the current situation: this is the very first time I can recall that a group of long time, dedicated Apple users are seriously pissed off with them, some either considering or actively engaged in switching platforms. General unease about what’s to come – mainly because of arrogance on Apple’s side and silence. Are you saying there is nothing they could do to avoid this? I know, none of this really means much because we are too small a group to hurt but the same thing can happen rather quickly in the consumer space. All it takes is the next-big-ting going pear shaped on the market. And once that first scratch is in the shinny polish of impeccable Apple things can turn around rather quickly.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Darren Durbin] “I don’t disagree at all with your wider point that hp ( for example ) do a far better job of communicating with customers, with planned EOL cycles, superior support and transition arrangements, but we’ve been burned many a time with rugs being pulled from under us, and a roadmap doesn’t stop that happening.”

Of course not, roadmaps are not set in stone. Things can happen and roadmaps change and that’s ok. But at least it shows goodwill and the intention to communicate. And it shows some respect for the people dropping money on the table for your product and building their livelihood on it.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Chris Harlan] “The magic word, though, seems to be ProRes which keeps me retreating back.”

I think it’s interesting how often Prores is mentioned as a reason to not consider alternatives. And I understand, there is a lot of Prores stuff out there and it is often requested for file based deliveries. Apple has done a fine job there keeping it decode-only on Win.
Depending on the adoption of X though, I wonder if and when that situation will change, with a shift towards codecs that are not Apple bound. DnxHD, Cineform and, soon, Canopus HQX are darn good alternatives.

[Frank Gothmann]

Thanks but no thanks, I am done. My direction is clear. We replaced two old MacPros with HPs a few month ago and the next Mac on the chopping block will be another 4-core MacPro in May or June. A z820 will take its place. So it’s one machine at a time. New software or upgrades will either be cross platform or win only. Our shared storage is Linux based so no issues there as well.
Even if there was a new MacPro with decent specs, the whole story would repeat itself one or two years from now. I rather watch the carnage as a bystander next time when the s**t hits the fan again.

[Frank Gothmann]

[Lance Bachelder] “I’ll just say this about Lightworks – if Apple had released Lightworks as the new FCPX, 90% of the FCP 7 users would have sold every Apple product they owned and be working on Windows 7 machines right now. It’s garbage, I don’t care who is using it.”

Would you care to elaborate why you think so? I am not using Lightworks, haven’t tried it, but I am always interested in what’s out there. While I usually prefer to make up my own mind and try things out, if I read someone’s praise or slamming of an app it’s helps to know why.