Category: Apple

David Pogue, at the end of a long piece addressing numerous complaints about Final Cut Pro X:

Apple has followed the typical Apple sequence: (1) throw out something that’s popular and comfortable but increasingly ancient, (2) replace it with something that’s slick and modern and forward-looking and incomplete, (3) spend another year finishing it up, restoring missing pieces.

Professional editors should (1) learn to tell what’s really missing from what’s just been moved around, (2) recognize that there’s no obligation to switch from the old program yet, (3) monitor the progress of FCP X and its ecosystem, and especially (4) be willing to consider that a radical new design may be unfamiliar, but may, in the long term, actually be better.

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KBase article HT4733:

Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 are available from the Mac App Store.

That’s the whole support article. Super helpful stuff.

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Steve Martin:

I also believe many editors will be willing to give FCP X a shot for the price point alone. If not for that reason, they will buy it for the curiosity and novelty factor. If the features I mentioned above are eventually addressed, then yes, they will be invested in future versions. However, my Spidey-sense tells me they will keep using FCP 7 on a “wait and see” basis while watching how the market reacts to it over time. On the other extreme, they might, based on their initial experiences with this product, decide to abandon it altogether because it’s just too foreign to them and it lacks the aforementioned “pro” features. Finally, only a company as big and successful as Apple would have resources and temerity to try to reinvent the wheel. From my perspective, FCP X is not so much revolutionary, but rather, evolutionary - because at the end of the day, your reasons for using Final Cut Pro have not changed - you’re still using it to make movies. A re-invented wheel is still a wheel.

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There are lots of great tools for backing up data, but none are as simple as the built-in Time Machine.

With a little work, Time Machine can be used with an alternative drive for offsite backups. It is pretty simple, but I’ve created a PDF to make it even simpler.

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GigaOM’s Darrell Etherington on Lion:

The new operating system is the first to leave some Intel-based Macs out of the party, and even with the minimum specs, you won’t be getting the full experience.

I think this is the case with most OS releases.

[RAM] is the easiest place you can make an improvement with almost any Mac.

True. And it’s a cheap upgrade. But Apple hasn’t posted what the RAM specs are for Lion, so it’s not a stretch to believe it will be 1GB — just like Snow Leopard. Since Snow Leopard is required to update to Lion, no one will have to add more RAM to meet Lion’s requirements.

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And yes, we rewind and talk about eWorld.

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For the last several years, my basic computing setup has been the same: an iMac at home and a work-provided MacBook Pro.¹

I’ve always had the luxury to use my work notebook as a personal machine, which makes life a lot more convenient.

However, over the last year or so, I’ve developed a growing hesitancy about taking my work notebook home. Bringing it home means I was bringing work home — something I don’t like doing, especially with two young kids.

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Over on technochocolate:

My first week with iOS 5 hasn’t been earth shattering, but it has been ground breaking. What Apple has accomplished is reducing friction in the user experience. They prove time and time again that they can repeat this action, which is more than competitors can claim.

I totally agree.

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I learned a good bit reading this article.

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Marco, on Apple checking things off the list people keep when comparing phones:

Very few major items are still on that list that I think Apple would actually change. But it’s usually unwise to say that Apple will “never” do something. And it looks like they’re willing to do quite a lot to get more iPhone customers, even if a change require temporarily suspending some of their usual priorities.

When speculating on what Apple will or won’t do, a change that gets them more iPhone customers is probably worth considering even if you think they’d “never” do it. iPhone customer acquisition is a higher priority than almost everything else.

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From the blog that publicized the photos that led to a Mac Genius being fired:

I have already been asked multiple times if I feel guilty that this young man had lost his job, which is a ridiculous question. Of course I do. Do I feel completely responsible, from the talks I have had with him, no not at all. It just seemed as if that picture was the final nail in the coffin and it seems as if he is even happier now.

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The Macalope, on Apple backtracking on its in-app purchase restrictions:

APPLE: Hey! We’d like 30 percent of all Kindle sales!

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Please?

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Come on.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Pleeeeeeeeeaze?

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Yes.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Do it.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: DO. IT.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: DOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIT!

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: ARRGH.

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