Is this the start of some larger riff in an age old alliance between Apple and Adobe?

Premiere was a crappy program. So apple hired ex-Premier engineers to write Final Cut Pro. Since Final Cut Pro is better, there's no point in Adobe supporting Premier on the Mac too much.

It's just business. ;o)

Well, since Apple bought precursor of FCP from Macromedia and turned into the best video editing software in the market, Adobe did not have much of an incentive in pursuing Mac market.

Furthermore, Adobe's focus is increasingly being cast on the business document market where they will try to leverage adoption of Acrobt to sell a number of hybrid server-service solutions, which, they hope at the very least, will lead to increased growth and profits down the road.

That being said, it is doubtful that this plan will work in its current incarnation. For one, Adobe server software is pretty lousy for a seriosu enterprise use and too expensive for smaller organizations. What's more, their licensing model is too out of touch to appeal to most companies so it may take some rethinking on their part before their business document strategy begins to make sense.

Apple is slowly, slyly and quietly creating their own applications to create Apple computers running Apple applications only. Think of all the iApplications (Tunes, Photo, DVD, Movie) plus now Keynote. They price them cheaper than the competition (I think, haven't checked prices lately) and in a few years voila! a monopoly is born. I'm sure they won't try to create a Photoshop or Illustrator killer.

On the other hand they are doing something great for the beggining or "switching" Mac user, where they create this slew of native applications that make peoples' lives easier and also they make it more appealing to buy a Mac in the first place.

Oh, did anybody see the new G5 TV ads? Terrible, just terrible.

Yeah, I don't understand the new G5 ad at all.

I thought the riff between the two started some time ago when Apple made a deal with Microsoft to develop a competing font system to Adobe's ATM - back in '89. Apple had invested something around 2m in Adobe back when it started, in return Adobe gave Apple Postscript and launched the LaserWriter. Then Apple went and sold it's share in '88 for just under 90m to be able to shake hands with Microsoft . Apple back then (when Sculley was in charge) was not happy about relying on so many outside software technologies but I guess had less means to do something about it.

Today - I think Apple are doing more to create a complete set up with all the software you'd need. As it was mentioned, to make it more of a compelling switch. It is fast changing from the Apple I knew when I played with a Lisa.

Adobe is definitely focusing on its Acrobat platform - and for all of its bad executions (their recent "refresh" of the site, the above-mentioned bad licensing deals, and even the way they initially launched Acrobat) they have given us two or three fundamental applications that changed the way we all work today.

Yea...the new ads are pretty weak. Very un-jobs-ish.

As for what Apple is doing, it's a tough balance. Apple needs good native apps, but at the same time, it can't piss off all of its 3rd party software vendors.

Yes, I freaking hate the new G5 commercial! Totally cliché and uninteresting. The streak has ended.

Maybe the ad can be cobranded with HomeDepot ;)

(Slyly gets back on subject)

Has anybody actually done a side to side comparison of Adobe Premiere vs. Final Cut Pro? The latest iterations of each program speak for themselves. Sorry but Apple wins this one, particularly with Final Cut Pro 4. Not only is the video editor leaps and bounds ahead, but the new LiveType and SoundTrack applications expand the packages abilities to an even greater level of professionalism. Adobe After Effects, however, is a great partner with FCP4.

This is just kindof strange to me, but does anyone think it is somewhat funny that the new version of Adobe Premiere is called Adobe Premiere Pro? That "Pro" sounds a little familiar :D

Has anybody actually done a side to side comparison of Adobe Premiere vs. Final Cut Pro?

comparison

I think that this is indicative of another trend in the software industry. The example with Adobe adding Pro to Premiere is just an attempt to profit for the fact that Apple's interest is in keeping FCP Mac only thus allowing Adobe to possibly pick Windows users looking for a "Pro" video editing software without having to switch platforms. I have a feeling that Adobe may eventually abandon video editing business alltogether but it will be a while before clear signs of that begin appearing.

Another example, unrelated to video editing, is Macromedia ColdFusion. Basically, CF is a decent application server but not something one would want to build an enterprise class applications on. So, rather than ceasing its development, they decide to make it, essentially, a layer on top of either J2EE or .NET and throw in goodies like superb Flash integration to keep the developers from going away. Eventually, and this is my opinion, ColdFusion may be replaced by an advanced version of JRun, which would be "renamed" ColdFusion and would provide full support for the entire CF tag library for a period of time to enable CF developers to make transition as painless as possible.

Don't most of the "pros" use Avid or some other hardware-based realtime editing systems anyhow?

The usage of Avid depends. Apple has actually been pulling Avid market share because their software is so much cheaper. Now $999 isn't exactly cheap (not to mention $3000 computer) but that is still a long ways away from the $10,000 pricetag of Avid.

Just Slightly off topic.

I have yet to make the OSX switch from 9.

There's about 5 of us here with a whole heap of applications that we'd need to upgrade.

It's gonna be an expensive leap...

Ok. Off to Bangkok for the weekend.

Out....

Apple and Adobe have been on rocky ground for a while, but in recent years adobe has all but abandoned apple in its effort to court pc users (maybe this was always the intent, and adobe just needed to wait 14 years for a WinOS that could run a graphics suite). Either way, Premiere has always sucked, so with FCP apple gave the home computer an entirely new function...

Before FCP and iMovie - editing home movies was limited to the blinking "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" that was built into the camera. Now all you need is a miniDV cam and a computer (maybe with a DVD burner - which, coincidentally would be virtually useless without apple's quantum leap in video) and you can produce pro quality movies. I would bet that premiere sold less licenses in more than a decade than FCP did by the time it reached v2.o. Oh, and adobe's newer 99% WinOS, MS office inspired "unisex" gui SUCKS!

Oh, and a postscript...
by the by, acrobat is the No. 1 d/l for PCs on the web... and now with Preview and Safari pdf integration, all but useless for the non-pro Mac... anyway...

Avid also sucks. The real big-boy avid editing stations are clumsy and tedious, but with little alternative it became THE name in low budget FILM editing. It has tried to jump on Apple's coat-tails along with everyone else with Avid DV Xpress, but the software is just too "old money," and is suited to someone who's been cranking away at a film station for 20 yrs, rather than fresh blood out of cinema/design school or jack somebody who just wants to make a nice homemade porn DVD without needing a degree in rocket science.
But, in that next tier where Avid has made a pretty sand castle, Apple has some pretty nasty WMDs in Cinema Tools and Shake.

Back to the orginal topic: Adobe offically supports PC based platforms for their software, since the rendering time is more efficient and quicker on the PC, according to Adobe.

There should be a link here somewhere, but after searching the Adobe site, I can't find anythting.. but the link came from Newstoday

I also heard somewhere, that not just the whole Premier vs. Final Cut Pro issue, but also that Microsoft will no longer be making IE for the new MAC OS's. If I can locate that article, I will definately post - very depressing though. Yes, it has always been Windows/Microsoft vs. Apple/Mac....but I thought pettiness like this was done with and over!!

Microsoft indeed announced that it would stop developing IE on Mac as well as on Windows. Apparently, IE will be incorporated into Longhorn (next version of Windows) and (sort of) standalone version will be available as part of MSN Explorer.

Support for IE on Mac will continue although it has not been specified for how long. Besides, Mac users are better served by Safari, Camino, etc.

I wouldn't call MS dropping IE 'pettiness'. It's a rather obvious business decision. They can either continue to put money into a free web browser for a platform that comes with a native browser...or not.

Actually, MS will continue to update the browser, but you will have to subscibe to MSN to use it.

I really DO like Safari - I guess my complaining comes when there are so many browsers out there.. and as a web designer (for work) - I have to test everything I do on any type, version of browser I can get my hands on - so, it is just seems there is going to be a lot more accessibility/usability testing to do...again, complaining!! :)