ars technica by Dave Girard

So, Michael Jackson is dead and Final Cut Pro X is out, and most people prefer the older versions of each. Most can also agree on Michael Jackson's fate—making a lot more albums from beyond the grave—but people aren't so sure about Final Cut Pro's future.

The FCP X launch, and the discontent surrounding the new product, fed into a larger anxiety about Apple's intentions for the pro Mac market. Was FCP X just a single, poorly handled event or was it an indication of Apple's direction from now on, media pros be damned? With all this talk of bringing iOS features "back to the Mac," is OS X about to lose its luster for content creation? Is the Mac Pro going the way of the XServe?

Apple doesn't answer such questions about future plans, but it's not hard to read Apple's palms if you look hard enough. The company won't ditch creative pros—but that doesn't mean there won't be serious rough spots ahead.

Where I'm coming from

I'm not just an armchair Mac analyst looking to make a dime off the FCP X love/hate parade. I've been a professional Mac user for 17 years and have experience with a broad field of high-end content creation, as my career has included photo retouching and compositing, magazine art direction, and 3D rendering and illustration. The Mac I'm typing this on, with all the trimmings, is worth over $10,000; the software it runs is worth more than that. I frequently see my requested features rolled into the high-end 2D and 3D software that I beta test, I exploit OS X's scripting features to work faster, and my inkjet printer takes four people to move. It doesn't get much more "pro using a Mac" than me, if you'll forgive the utter lack of modesty. read more...