A tale of two (or rather four) cities/perspectives.

Question

The amount of conversation that has happened on these boards the last week has been nothing short of amazing. The passion, persistence and sheer love of what people do made it fun to read and watch, even when things would get slightly out of hand. It is why most professionals love what they do -- passion. When people love something, they take ownership of it, even if they had little hand in creating it. A company like Apple engenders a lot of this, because for the most part, it is the way they do business that makes the the perfect choice to use as tools to run our businesses and causes.
I have watched as diverse opinions, which in many cases came at odds centered around a product that most likely had never seen an ounce of the code, nor know any of the developers that made it come to fruition. Four distinctly different sides (in no particular order): the consumer, prosumer, professional and the apple fan. Each had almost an entirely different point of view, yet each one had their reasons and rights to weigh in on a brand new product.
Here is the coolest thing about all of this... Most companies would KILL for what has happened here this last week. How many companies truly have products that inspire so much territorial-like protection and social marketing? If this were a product from most other companies, little would be said. But, these are people that live to push their own limits, daring to dream and then pulling out the stops to make it a reality. I have to believe that this is exactly why no matter which side of the FInal Cut Studio argument they are on, each holds a reverence for both the former and the new product. They have let it become part of their lives, either professionally or personally, because it made a difference where other programs have not. This is a testament to just how good Apple can and does building solutions (when it wants to). When Apple does not live up to the level it has gotten us accustomed to, people feel like they lost out on what could have been.
That all said, here is what I have taken from the last week.
I was very, very much looking forward to a new pro-offering in the video market. Having seen them slowly let other pro-level programs and solutions fade over the years, I had hoped that this was so that things that Apple has historically been brilliant at come back to their full brilliance. Secretly, I had hopes that Apple was taking everything they had in Final Cut Studio, Shake, Logic and every other Apple talent and wrap it up into something mind-blowingly brilliant.
As a backup in my mind, I knew that we already had FCS and had hoped that if it did not deliver, at least we would get an upgraded FCS that actually for once took advantage of the hardware Steve and Phil have been telling us we needed as professionals for years. Can you imagine that something like FCS was still unable to utilize the resources of machines released in 2006? So, the idea of at least getting to see workstations utilized was a dream come true. Even if no new features came to the table, we would have a suite we could rely on and really start to flex the muscle of the resources we had invested so much in over the years. Most people think that to be a professional, it just takes buying FCS. In reality, it is thousands of dollars beyond that to get a complete solution, and in most cases, years to integrate and finesse everything to work to the level that when you see a feature film, television show, documentary or commercial, they look the very best they can.
What may seem like a bunch of whiners is only because we want to deliver our very best and when the toolset that is used is thrown away and the roadmap is blurry, at best, it lease us wondering what to tell our clientele, or how we are going to replace what we have to continue to be competitive in an ever changing environment. Now, imagine you have an entire facility built around that solution, with hundreds of thousands of dollars that was centered around a solution that just was "end-of-lifed." Imagine knowing that you will have to either add to or replace systems and now, you cannot even get the current version of the suite you were sold on as a long-term solution from Apple. Now, try to factor in how you are going to have to slowly find a more long-term solution and know that it cuts money out of the budget for raises, benefits or even outright salaries, just to keep a solution that the business needs for stability.
I think if you ask the professional on this list, it is not as much about Final Cut Pro X, as much as it is about the way Apple handled it. The complete disregard for selling on an enterprise-level solution, all while knowing that they were going to get out of the professional market altogether. It is a respect and trust issue at stake and not a software, nor even solution-based issue. If this is a move Apple needs to make, be open and honest, so that we have a chance to make smart business decisions that can be long term.
On the other side of the argument, I think that the prosumer market just got a heck of a nice tool for doing much of what we have built entire solutions to accomplish. They are slowly getting tools to make even the most mundane video project extraordinary. They really are the beneficiaries of the new software, and I look forward to how it inspires our next generations of videographers, motion graphic artists, editors, directors, producers. This definitely will be a tool that will help them.
Having said that, the way Apple handled the professional market was extremely unprofessional, at best. As a company with such an immense talent pool, resource and technical capabilities, and a marketing arm that rivals almost any company on the planet, I expected them to handle this much, much more appropriately. As professionals, we could not survive if we treated our clientele in this manner, so I am no about to continue to reward them with continued sales for solutions they clearly have little interest in producing. I am also going to remain a little more apprehensive when they come to me showing new large-scale solutions. While companies like Avid and Adobe have their faults, they generally do listen to professionals, and as a reward engender great customers. We also are not afraid to pay for solutions. They respect this (for the most part), whereas Apple thinks that only its opinion need matter. Final Cut was an amazing suite, in many ways because Apple collaborated with some of the best in the industry to make it do what was not just needed, but wanted and dreams about. That is where magic begins.
Steve, Phil, Randy... You let a lot of us down. You could have had FCS, FCPX and looked brilliant. You did not have to burn the bridges down. Or, if you wanted us to go elsewhere, at least had the respect to give us a head's up and some solutions to ease the transition. Instead, you simply didn't care, and still don't seem to care. Is this how you would like us to look at future Apple solutions? If you are going to abandon those that spend a good portion of income on end-to-end Apple solutions and watch you throw them away, what next is on the chopping block? If you want the respect of businesses, then you need to show businesses respect.

Answer 1

I haven't tried to find out the cause of this stir, only days after I purchased my home-use FCS/hardware package. If companies are trying to restrict the access to the technology it could only be to give interests like yours time to adjust. I suggest you do so quickly, since people like me now know the capabilities and pricing requirements of the technology, and we don't stand for bogus monopoly in the land of individual liberty.
However, I suspect Apple feels and acts with the same premises, and I know that's true for all the best companies, so I am looking forward only to the continuation of more and better solutions in the future.