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Apple: The Next Microsoft?
But unlike others who believe that it will happen on a large scale, what I foresee instead is OS X on a very select number of Apple approved PCs. And as great as this could potentially be, here comes the rub: If we do in fact see OS X on the PC platform, Steve Jobs would only allow it just for the press - nothing more. |
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Comments (33)
13 earlier comments in the full thread.
> Now you guys are just being whacky.
Thanks for the personal slam dino :).
> Yes, the Mac is a great tool for multimedia.
Again, so 'they' keep saying.
> That's why so many musicians, video production and graphics shops use them.
No... People in those industries use them because early on they got a virtual monopoly on proprietary formats and the graphics market in particular, not because Linux or even Windows won't get the job done just as well.
> As to jailers, sal, you have really got to change tobacco. Don't want to buy a proprietary solution? Fine. Don't do it. But Apple is not Microsoft. Apple could be twice as nasty (well, if that were possible) as Microsoft and they would not be Microsoft because APPLE DOESN'T HAVE A FREAKIN' MONOPOLY. They don't have market power. If anything, they have less of the desktop market than Linux.
As I said above, Apple does indeed have a virtual monopoly in certain business sectors, although that may be weakening. Also, Apple may be a more exemplary business than MS, but that's only by degree and shouldn't be any kind of recommendation at all.
> It is not Apple's fault that the free software market has not provided an equally good platform for multimedia production.
I agree with that one, but, Linux has pretty much caught up, at least with the graphics.
> My Mac-using friends love their computers (something I can't say for my Windows-using friends). They are well-served. If they are prisoners, then jail ain't lookin' bad.
Kind of 'how much prison can ya stand' huh.
As to Wal-Mart, -- but that's true of retail in general.
sal is right on that one. If comparing Wal-Mart and MS, I think that you'd find MS to be a far more ethical business model. But again, that's a matter of degree, so why do we want to support either.
Thanks for the personal slam dino :).
> Yes, the Mac is a great tool for multimedia.
Again, so 'they' keep saying.
> That's why so many musicians, video production and graphics shops use them.
No... People in those industries use them because early on they got a virtual monopoly on proprietary formats and the graphics market in particular, not because Linux or even Windows won't get the job done just as well.
> As to jailers, sal, you have really got to change tobacco. Don't want to buy a proprietary solution? Fine. Don't do it. But Apple is not Microsoft. Apple could be twice as nasty (well, if that were possible) as Microsoft and they would not be Microsoft because APPLE DOESN'T HAVE A FREAKIN' MONOPOLY. They don't have market power. If anything, they have less of the desktop market than Linux.
As I said above, Apple does indeed have a virtual monopoly in certain business sectors, although that may be weakening. Also, Apple may be a more exemplary business than MS, but that's only by degree and shouldn't be any kind of recommendation at all.
> It is not Apple's fault that the free software market has not provided an equally good platform for multimedia production.
I agree with that one, but, Linux has pretty much caught up, at least with the graphics.
> My Mac-using friends love their computers (something I can't say for my Windows-using friends). They are well-served. If they are prisoners, then jail ain't lookin' bad.
Kind of 'how much prison can ya stand' huh.
As to Wal-Mart, -- but that's true of retail in general.
sal is right on that one. If comparing Wal-Mart and MS, I think that you'd find MS to be a far more ethical business model. But again, that's a matter of degree, so why do we want to support either.
I've deleted jimf's extra posts here. He just picked a bad week to quit snorting bits.
Ba da, ba da, ba da... Thanks Don :D
> > My Mac-using friends love their computers (something I can't say for my Windows-using friends). They are well-served. If they are prisoners, then jail ain't lookin' bad.
Actually, you'd be surprised just how many people actually think that way. Three meals a day and a place to stay is, to some, better than bustin' their backside at Micky D's for just over minimum wage. By the time you take out taxes on a week's pay, you can almost afford to pay the power bill. I've known couples who actually live like that. But some would rather go to jail.
Actually, you'd be surprised just how many people actually think that way. Three meals a day and a place to stay is, to some, better than bustin' their backside at Micky D's for just over minimum wage. By the time you take out taxes on a week's pay, you can almost afford to pay the power bill. I've known couples who actually live like that. But some would rather go to jail.
Lol Don, maybe I should have said 'what kind of prision can you stand?'.
Rev -
There's one big difference in the case of Mac users - they got to make a choice.
There's one big difference in the case of Mac users - they got to make a choice.
> There's one big difference in the case of Mac users - they got to make a choice.
They may not have a choice about which jail they go to, but ultimately, criminals choose to put themselves in the position of going to jail. In fact, it's kind of a matter of demographics. The suits spend time in a specialized "executive" joint that is more like a house than a jail. The masses go to the slab joints. And the analogy might even be quite good.
Mac users: Typically higher-end customers. Feel MS doesn't handle multimedia well enough, and GNU/Linux systems require too much effort. Macs are easy and have the multimedia capabilities, even if you are restricted to some extent in what you can do.
Criminals: Feel minimum wage is insufficient, and furthering education requires too much effort. Jail is livable (mostly) and the meals are included, even if you are restricted as to what you can do. The Enron execs go to the Mac jails, while the local mob boss spends time the Windows jails.
They may not have a choice about which jail they go to, but ultimately, criminals choose to put themselves in the position of going to jail. In fact, it's kind of a matter of demographics. The suits spend time in a specialized "executive" joint that is more like a house than a jail. The masses go to the slab joints. And the analogy might even be quite good.
Mac users: Typically higher-end customers. Feel MS doesn't handle multimedia well enough, and GNU/Linux systems require too much effort. Macs are easy and have the multimedia capabilities, even if you are restricted to some extent in what you can do.
Criminals: Feel minimum wage is insufficient, and furthering education requires too much effort. Jail is livable (mostly) and the meals are included, even if you are restricted as to what you can do. The Enron execs go to the Mac jails, while the local mob boss spends time the Windows jails.
Hey Rev, seriously --
Have you tried video editing and compositing on a Mac?
They really are good. I use Cinelerra on Linux for my video stuff, but, if I were a professional, I'd seriously consider a Mac. It would make me more efficient, and that would make me money.
Have you tried video editing and compositing on a Mac?
They really are good. I use Cinelerra on Linux for my video stuff, but, if I were a professional, I'd seriously consider a Mac. It would make me more efficient, and that would make me money.
dinotrac:
I really don't care how nice the cots are; I still wouldn't trade one cage for another. It's just too easy to stay out of both.
I really don't care how nice the cots are; I still wouldn't trade one cage for another. It's just too easy to stay out of both.
> Have you tried video editing and compositing on a Mac?
No, I haven't. I started with Windows, and Mac is non-libre. Non-free loses its value in my eyes, because it lacks the freedom I need/want/demand/expect. However great the software may be, it really isn't all that great if it isn't libre. In the end, it costs more than mere money. Yet, mere money can help me improve the libre software I use. I'll be publishing an article on this in the near future.
No, I haven't. I started with Windows, and Mac is non-libre. Non-free loses its value in my eyes, because it lacks the freedom I need/want/demand/expect. However great the software may be, it really isn't all that great if it isn't libre. In the end, it costs more than mere money. Yet, mere money can help me improve the libre software I use. I'll be publishing an article on this in the near future.
Rev -
I admire your principles, but if I had to make my living doing video work, I'd probably throw a Mac in the mix. I don't see anything wrong with using a Mac, but I do see something wrong with not taking care of my kids.
I admire your principles, but if I had to make my living doing video work, I'd probably throw a Mac in the mix. I don't see anything wrong with using a Mac, but I do see something wrong with not taking care of my kids.
dinotrac: >"I don't see anything wrong with using a Mac, but I do see something wrong with not taking care of my kids."
Talk about a straw-man argument! You gloss over the recent news which illustrates what is wrong with Mac, that is, the same thing that is wrong with all vendor-controlled systems: They put you at the mercy of the vendor's marketing goals. You also imply that a Mac somehow makes the difference between taking care of your kids and not, just to support your argument for it.
If you base your business on a closed, single-vendor system, your business is dependent upon that vendor's desire to satisfy your needs. It doesn't matter if the vendor's name is Apple or Microsoft. Your business is better off depending upon itself. Therefore, where ever possible, your business should use software that can be adapted and maintained without appealing to a single vendor.
In the field of video creation and editing, you could follow the examples of Pixar and Sony, which use GNU/Linux.
Talk about a straw-man argument! You gloss over the recent news which illustrates what is wrong with Mac, that is, the same thing that is wrong with all vendor-controlled systems: They put you at the mercy of the vendor's marketing goals. You also imply that a Mac somehow makes the difference between taking care of your kids and not, just to support your argument for it.
If you base your business on a closed, single-vendor system, your business is dependent upon that vendor's desire to satisfy your needs. It doesn't matter if the vendor's name is Apple or Microsoft. Your business is better off depending upon itself. Therefore, where ever possible, your business should use software that can be adapted and maintained without appealing to a single vendor.
In the field of video creation and editing, you could follow the examples of Pixar and Sony, which use GNU/Linux.
Well put grouch.
grouch:
>Therefore, where ever possible, your business should use software that can be adapted and maintained without appealing to a single vendor.
So, let's say I'm in the video business (I'm not). Let's also assume that I want to stay in business, take care of my children -- and even see them once in a while.
What do I use?
>Therefore, where ever possible, your business should use software that can be adapted and maintained without appealing to a single vendor.
So, let's say I'm in the video business (I'm not). Let's also assume that I want to stay in business, take care of my children -- and even see them once in a while.
What do I use?
dinotrac:
Software for which part of the business? I'll assume just the image-specific stuff, since contacts and accounting are pretty old hat in FOSS.
For high-end videos, you'd probably want CinePaint (formerly called Film-Gimp):
"CinePaint is an open source painting program used by motion picture studios to retouch images in 35mm films. It was formerly called Film Gimp. It has been used in a dozen feature films including Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo, and the Fast & the Furious."
You could also set up a render farm and run Cinelerra.
If you're just making composites for weddings, graduations, etc., rather than full production at film quality, you might want something like dvdstyler and dvd-slideshow. (You could use gopchop, but it doesn't have as fine a control on editing, being limited to I-frame boundaries). Kino is ok, too.
You could use dvgrab to pull in the customer's home video directly from their Firewire-equipped camera. Use dvdauthor and dvd+rw-tools to produce standard DVDs (+-R/RW) after production. For an extra little touch, you could use emovix to make bootable CDs and DVDs for such customers to hand out to their PC owning friends and relatives.
If you want to produce fancy titles and graphics, you'd probably want mindseye, blender, imagemagick and gimp on hand. You can incorporate the images into the final production using any of the video editors mentioned above.
I used mostly CLI tools to turn out DVDs of the local high school football team's season for their "boosters", but I'm no graphics artist. All I needed to do was just produce a short opening sequence, a menu system with a team shot as background and buttons any DVD player could deal with, simple editing of their game films, a roster sequence and stats sequence, with auto-repeat for inactivity.
A real artist would want the pointy-clicky tools above as well as the CLI ones (don't starve an artist for tools if you're paying her or him to work). The best thing about FOSS tools is that they can be adapted to the artist, rather than forcing the artist to adapt to the tool.
Software for which part of the business? I'll assume just the image-specific stuff, since contacts and accounting are pretty old hat in FOSS.
For high-end videos, you'd probably want CinePaint (formerly called Film-Gimp):
"CinePaint is an open source painting program used by motion picture studios to retouch images in 35mm films. It was formerly called Film Gimp. It has been used in a dozen feature films including Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo, and the Fast & the Furious."
You could also set up a render farm and run Cinelerra.
If you're just making composites for weddings, graduations, etc., rather than full production at film quality, you might want something like dvdstyler and dvd-slideshow. (You could use gopchop, but it doesn't have as fine a control on editing, being limited to I-frame boundaries). Kino is ok, too.
You could use dvgrab to pull in the customer's home video directly from their Firewire-equipped camera. Use dvdauthor and dvd+rw-tools to produce standard DVDs (+-R/RW) after production. For an extra little touch, you could use emovix to make bootable CDs and DVDs for such customers to hand out to their PC owning friends and relatives.
If you want to produce fancy titles and graphics, you'd probably want mindseye, blender, imagemagick and gimp on hand. You can incorporate the images into the final production using any of the video editors mentioned above.
I used mostly CLI tools to turn out DVDs of the local high school football team's season for their "boosters", but I'm no graphics artist. All I needed to do was just produce a short opening sequence, a menu system with a team shot as background and buttons any DVD player could deal with, simple editing of their game films, a roster sequence and stats sequence, with auto-repeat for inactivity.
A real artist would want the pointy-clicky tools above as well as the CLI ones (don't starve an artist for tools if you're paying her or him to work). The best thing about FOSS tools is that they can be adapted to the artist, rather than forcing the artist to adapt to the tool.
So, grough...how many of these things have you used?
I have used Cinelerra for years, as well as Kino. Cinelerra is one of my favorite pieces of software, but it's not nearly so smooth as some Mac solutions. Cinelerra lets me do things that I shouldn't be able to afford, but I still can't figure out the video de-noising and haven't found any documentation that sheds any light on it. Apart from file format limitations and a few stability problems, Cinelerra's biggest problem is the lack of sufficient documentation. For all I've learned to do with it, I'm sure it's keeping a few secrets from me still.
I've had far less luck with CinePaint, but I suspect that's because I haven't needed the 24-bit (or does it only do 16?) capability enough to mess with it that much.
I'm a great admirer of blender, but it is not a video production tool. The Gimp is a fine tool - and works for some of what I do. If I were professional, the Gimp would be useless because it lacks the necessary color-depth. That is where CInePaint comes in...and maybe I would have spent a little more time trying to get it to play nice.
I don't mind using these things for the video work I do now. If I were trying to make a living, though, I'd have to look real hard at a Mac.
I have used Cinelerra for years, as well as Kino. Cinelerra is one of my favorite pieces of software, but it's not nearly so smooth as some Mac solutions. Cinelerra lets me do things that I shouldn't be able to afford, but I still can't figure out the video de-noising and haven't found any documentation that sheds any light on it. Apart from file format limitations and a few stability problems, Cinelerra's biggest problem is the lack of sufficient documentation. For all I've learned to do with it, I'm sure it's keeping a few secrets from me still.
I've had far less luck with CinePaint, but I suspect that's because I haven't needed the 24-bit (or does it only do 16?) capability enough to mess with it that much.
I'm a great admirer of blender, but it is not a video production tool. The Gimp is a fine tool - and works for some of what I do. If I were professional, the Gimp would be useless because it lacks the necessary color-depth. That is where CInePaint comes in...and maybe I would have spent a little more time trying to get it to play nice.
I don't mind using these things for the video work I do now. If I were trying to make a living, though, I'd have to look real hard at a Mac.
dinotrac:
I didn't list any I haven't used, though I have never set up a proper render farm for Cinelerra and even the "workstation" I've used it on wasn't up to their recommendation.
dinotrac: >"I've had far less luck with CinePaint, but I suspect that's because I haven't needed the 24-bit (or does it only do 16?) capability enough to mess with it that much."
Um, CinePaint has a 32 bit per channel color engine. You don't do the arrows in "The Last Samurai" with MSPaint. You can't do pro photos and the Harry Potter movies with MacPaint.
You suit the tool to the job. That's why I listed tools ranging from those that Sony Pictures uses to those you could use for Joe's daughter's graduation from 3rd grade. If you're not going into the video or graphics business, check out http://www.tuxgraphics.org for some tutorials.
I didn't list any I haven't used, though I have never set up a proper render farm for Cinelerra and even the "workstation" I've used it on wasn't up to their recommendation.
dinotrac: >"I've had far less luck with CinePaint, but I suspect that's because I haven't needed the 24-bit (or does it only do 16?) capability enough to mess with it that much."
Um, CinePaint has a 32 bit per channel color engine. You don't do the arrows in "The Last Samurai" with MSPaint. You can't do pro photos and the Harry Potter movies with MacPaint.
You suit the tool to the job. That's why I listed tools ranging from those that Sony Pictures uses to those you could use for Joe's daughter's graduation from 3rd grade. If you're not going into the video or graphics business, check out http://www.tuxgraphics.org for some tutorials.
jimf --
Looks like lives has come a long way. I'll have to try it out for some light-duty work. Jashaka also looks promising.
Neither one, however is industrial strength. Cinelerra is.
For all my frustrations with it, Cinelerra remains my most important video tool. It has a heavy-duty compositing engine makes serious video work possible.
If only SOMEBODY would do a tutorial on its video-denoising plugin.
Irks me no end. You'd think the chroma-key stuff would be tough (and it took a while to get comfortable with it), but it really isn't. I can get it to work pretty well. Video denoise? Not a speck of luck so far. I'm sure there's a doh! moment in there somewhere, but I haven't hit it yet.
On the good side, now that I've upgraded my wife's workstation, it becomes a reasonable render node.
Cinelerra is powerful, but when you're laying on 4 video tracks, multiple effects and keyframed masks, it can be a little pokey!
Go figure.
Looks like lives has come a long way. I'll have to try it out for some light-duty work. Jashaka also looks promising.
Neither one, however is industrial strength. Cinelerra is.
For all my frustrations with it, Cinelerra remains my most important video tool. It has a heavy-duty compositing engine makes serious video work possible.
If only SOMEBODY would do a tutorial on its video-denoising plugin.
Irks me no end. You'd think the chroma-key stuff would be tough (and it took a while to get comfortable with it), but it really isn't. I can get it to work pretty well. Video denoise? Not a speck of luck so far. I'm sure there's a doh! moment in there somewhere, but I haven't hit it yet.
On the good side, now that I've upgraded my wife's workstation, it becomes a reasonable render node.
Cinelerra is powerful, but when you're laying on 4 video tracks, multiple effects and keyframed masks, it can be a little pokey!
Go figure.
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The Wal-Mart story, like most business stories, is a mixed-bag of good and bad. As to low pay, that's more a matter of the industry than the company.
You could easily do an expose on the pay of dishwashers at a large restaurant chain. That restaurant would look awful -- their dishwashers don't make a lot of money. But then, neither do anybody else's.