[Chris Harlan] "Windows had a freedom to it that exposed its lower end to all sorts of crap. And, early "plug-and-play" was a nightmare."
This is a big deal. Looking back at poor Vista, a big part of the problem is that Microsoft wanted it installed on every system, and you actually could. MSFT did a decent job of pointing out which features were and weren't going to show up on which machines, but that was a lot to expect most people to care about. To put it charitably, not every expectation was met on the majority of machines that weren't very new.
As frustrating as it to be to sometimes have to buy a new Mac if you want a new OS, it's one aspect of a smoother Mac OS experience: incompatible combinations simply aren't allowed.
See? I said something nice about Apple. :-) Something to be said for "we know best" when they actually do.
But as others have pointed out, the 64-bit version of W7 on a properly configured machine is easy for most openers of adult beverage cans to master fast, even if tolerating the experience might require the drinking of said adult beverages.
[Chris Harlan] "This reminds me of the talks I used to have with Avid-only editors about how "unresponsive" FCP was. It took a while, but it finally dawned on me that most--if not all--of these guys had only tried FCP with a firewire i/o, and that they had no idea that an AJA or Decklink hookup would make editing just as responsive."
Speaking as somebody who spent a lot of time around Avid editors, some of them could be pretty inflexible, and so focused on editing that they didn't need to be especially tech-savvy.
Once Media Composer became cross-platform just before the turn of the century, it wasn't uncommon to take a tech support call, ask someone which computer they were working on and be told "Mitsubishi." That was the name on the two monitors that were part of the standard configuration, editors saw the nameplate all day every day, and it was the only name that popped into their mind besides Avid.
In a little fairness, it also speaks to the extent to which, once you're in a comfortable editing environment, the OS stuff doesn't matter much.
Seriously, if you can learn, say, After Effects, nothing in your entire life seems hard. Changing a tire, CPR, adding a new circuit to your home electrical system: after AE, it's all just "stuff." Even FCP is challenging enough to make most home theater set-ups feel simple in comparison.
New OS? Please. Piece of cake. EASIER than cake because Windows 7 is gluten free. They should probably put that on the box.
Tim Wilson
Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW Magazine
Twitter: timdoubleyou
