Re: One year later...

[Chris Kenny] "If this is true, it stands to reason that if Apple's focus managed to produce a tool that met the needs of high-end users last time around, there's no reason to believe it won't do so again."

When/if it does how many of the high-end users are going to be the market to switch NLEs... again? And why toss the baby out with the bathwater on the rebuild if that's a market you want to keep? If FCPX didn't ship with Import from iMovie or Share to CNN iReporter I don't think anyone would've raised a fuss over those missing features at launch.

For a long time I've wondered about Apple's commitment to the higher end of the market. They buy Shake, they kill Shake. They make an exclusive deal w/RED and they do nothing with it. Color, Final Cut Server... it's like Apple wants that feather in their cap but they don't want to do the demanding, end-user-centric work in order to get it. Ron Brinkman even said that when Apple purchased Shake all user input was basically severed.

I'll try and find the link, but I remember reading an interview w/one of the guys that worked on FCP during the early days (like v1.0 early days) and he was surprised when the project lead said the goal was to get Avid. Obviously they couldn't go from nothing to king of the hill over night but that was the long term goal. To go toe to toe with Avid.

Maybe that still is the goal but they are going to do it by building a more profitable business as opposed to building a better product. ;)

For better or for worse Avid and Adobe need higher-end users so, as long as there is competition, those companies will cater to those higher-end users. Apple, for better or for worse, doesn't need higher-end users so they'll keep doing whatever it is they want to keep doing. If higher-end users like it, I'm sure Apple will be glad to sell it to them. If higher-end users don't like it I'm sure Apple will be glad to sell to the wider market that does.

-Andrew

2.9 GHz 8-core (4,1), FCP 7.0.3, 10.6.6
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