Final Cut Studio 2 Installer

This is not a particularly glamorous topic, I realize. But some SysAdmins might be happy to see that the Final Cut Studio 2 installer contains some additional screens, as well as some additional smarts and freedoms not seen in previous versions. So far, I'm pretty pleased, and I haven't even launched any of the apps yet.

First off, if you're installing on slower-than-recommended hardware, you get this alert:

Final Cut Studio 2 Installer: Alert
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This is excellent for two reasons: for one, it's extremely detailed and tells you exactly what you have versus what Apple recommends; and for two, you are not prevented from going ahead and installing the software against Apple's recommendation if you so desire (which I do). Contrast this with previous versions, which simply would disallow you installation of the software, citing a reason like, "Hardware does not meet the necessary requirements for installation of this software." I'm glad Apple is letting me, the SysAdmin, make that call, and glad for the extra info as well. Nice job.

Next, the Installer lets you decide whether or not to install and activate distributed processing on your system. Another nice touch:

Final Cut Studio 2 Installer: Distributed Processing
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Then Apple has included another screen which is just text, but it's text that's actually useful. It's text that tells you what's about to happen, and gives you some information about your upcoming options:

Final Cut Studio 2 Installer: Information
(click image for larger view)

This actually answers a lot of questions about the install process that I had when using the previous version's Installer. It's nice to see Apple being very clear about what's going on with the install process rather than making us intuit it every step of the way.

Finally, we get this:

Final Cut Studio 2 Installer: Choices
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This screen was available in pretty much the exact same way in the previous version. But what I'm most happy to see this time around is the option to install or not install NTSC or PAL versions of the DVD Studio Pro templates. Those templates, as you can see, take up a lot of space, and I always ended up having to go in and clean out the PAL versions by hand, which was a drag. Nice to see that I can opt out during the install process, which has the extra added benefit of making the install process that much speedier now that I'm not installing 4 gigs of stuff I don't need.

I'm always happy to see attention paid to little things like installers. It shows someone's thinking about the SysAdmins, which doesn't happen too often in the world of software installers. Whoever's responsible for these little changes, thanks! I appreciate it.

Addendum:
One thing I forgot to mention. Previously, Final Cut Studio applications were all on separate discs, but now all the application files reside on a single DVD, while all the content is on the other DVDs. This greatly simplifies installation if all I ever want to do is install the suite of apps on my 30 machines (which is usually what I want). I now only have to cart around one DVD, not five. And in theory this could all be done over the network via Apple Remote Desktop (though I haven't tested this, and it would probably be tremendously, painfully slow). Nice!

Early Adoption

Here's the thing: two months ago, people like myself — early adopters — put our faith in an amazing company and plunked down $600 clams for a completely new, completely revolutionary and completely untested product. That company is Apple Inc. and that product is the iPhone.

Yesterday — a mere two months later — Apple dropped the price by $200. Some of us were outraged. Some of just said, "Hey, them's the breaks." And some of us — and this is where I find myself — some of us felt not outrage, nothing so dramatic, but we did feel slightly cheated. We felt like we'd paid a premium for a product because we just couldn't wait to get our hands on the damn thing, and now it turned out that that product wasn't really particularly rare and precious after all. Rather, we got burned to the tune of $200 for our love of technology, and if we'd had it all to do over, we'd have waited. Two months of early access did not feel long enough to justify the extra $200. We felt vaguely exploited. Like lab rats. We felt we'd lost out on the deal, and that people were laughing at us.

Steven Riggins says we're just pissed because we're no longer special. And I think that's true, though I don't see that as a bad thing. When folks like me bought the iPhone we did feel special. Hell, let's face it, in some circles we were special. And we worked it. We showed that phone off like it was nobody's business. All of which was great for Apple. Now they go and drop the price, and yup, we look like schmucks. And I'm suddenly far less proud of my iPhone. (Okay, I'm not — I can't stay mad at you baby! But you get the idea. I no longer feel like bragging.)

Apple needs it's early adopters. We are its best marketers, and without us there is no product launch. And for a company whose reputation rests so heavily on its end-user experience — that is, on how its customers feel about their products — it behooves Apple to treat us like we're special, at least a little bit. I don't see that as childish. It's the game Apple is playing themselves. They appeal to our emotions and we respond. Emotionally. I don't want to feel like Apple made a fool of me. I want to be able to brag.

Steven Riggins might not get that, but fortunately Apple does. They're giving us $100 store credit (which, I can tell you, is going straight towards a set of iPhone A/V cables). Perfect. That's exactly what makes Apple an amazing company. They understand the emotional side of technology. They don't poo-poo it. They don't belittle it. They embrace it.

Someone just came to my office, and the first thing they said was, "So, are you mad about the iPhone price-drop?" I just turned my laptop around, showed them Steve Jobs' open letter, and said, "Nope. I'm fine with it."

Addendum:
Saturday, September 08, 2007
There seem to be two camps forming on this issue. There are those who completely understand the backlash and feelings of misgivings held by iPhone early adopters (among them, Steve Jobs), and there are those who think we're assholes, bitches or crybabies for ever having had the gall to show off our $600 iPhones. You know what? From where I sit that's total bullshit.

We showed them off — or at least I did — in large because people asked us to. But also because we were excited about being a part of this cell phone revolution. This was not done cynically. We never said, "Nyah, nyah! I have an iPhone and you don't!" If anything, we said, "I have an iPhone, I love it, here's how it works. You should go buy one as soon as humanly possible." We evangelized. For Apple. And now we feel a little screwed by them. Emphasis on feel. This is completely unscientific, and completely subjective. But we feel taken advantage of. I think it would have been different if it had been even three months. Three months is a quarter of a year. It's some kind of milestone. But two months? What's that? It's nothing. It's a joke. This is not about money. It's about how early adopters were made to feel. And the fact is that many of them were made to feel shitty for being early adopters. And I say again, for a company whose reputation lies so squarely on making it's customers feel good, the timing and size of the iPhone price cut was a tacky, insensitive move. The $100 rebate, however, will go a long way, I think, towards helping folks like me — folks who weren't outraged, but who did feel a bit burned — feel good again about adopting early. I think that's important for both Apple and its customers.

I Was Right

Well, I can't say too much because I'm under non-disclosure and I'm not sure what's fair game to discuss, but the Leopard client I've been playing with has some geekably great features — stuff I've been waiting for Apple to make easy for a long time. One of those features is something I alluded to a long time ago, when Boot Camp first hit the scene. I'd said:

...I remain hopeful that this utility is indicative of possible future utilities that would allow for more flexible, less destructive partitioning.

While I can't really say anything definitive, I will say this: looks like I was right.

Neat-O!

Recommended Reading

As a Systems Administrator in an art department, one of the key facets of my job, I realize more and more, is creating the best possible experience for our users. This is a goal I share with many people and companies, among them Apple Inc. So I find myself thinking about things like interface design, and how to continue refining and simplifying our systems and our facility, and I look to the industry for insight into that process. Apple's products have always been an inspiration to me in this regard. There is also the occasional pundit-supplied brilliant insight into this concept. This week there were two, and I wanted to point to them specifically.

The first article is from John Gruber/Daring Fireball and talks about why the iPhone lacks copy/paste functionality. It's great writing: clear, concise, the kind of analysis I wish I could write. It's spot-on too, and it highlights a great example of Apple leaving out functions at least partly for simplicity's sake. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in interface analysis:
Clipboard and Text Selection : iPhone :: Arrow Keys : Original Macintosh

The second article is by John Siracusa, over at Ars Technica, and is perhaps more related to the things I deal with on this blog. It's about why Apple largely ignores the enterprise market:
Stuck on the Enterpsise

Anyone interested in creating great end-user experience in software development, hardware development, systems administration, web design, lab administration, or, hell, anywhere else for that matter, should look at what Apple does. And anyone who wants to read really well written, thoughtful analysis of that endeavor should check out these writers. They're both really good.

Buy the Fucking CD!

Universal recently announced that they — like a handful of other major record companies — would begin offering DRM-free music for download at a number of online stores. But not on iTunes. It's a strange and controversial decision, and probably represents Universal's best efforts to gain some control over the online music market, which, from everything I've ever read, is currently dominated by iTunes. The tech world is, of course, up in arms over Universal's decision. But I find all this hullabaloo strange.

Ken Fisher, at Ars Technica, writes:

I know I've run across a few Universal albums I would have bought but then reconsidered, thinking, "This will be DRM-free soon." Foolish? Maybe, but DRM-free products are clearly superior, and it looks like music fans in general believe that to be the case.

Yes, Ken. Without a doubt that was indeed unbelievably foolish. You see, Ken, and anyone else out there who cares about this sort of thing and happens to be listening, which, come to think of it, is probably about six people at this point, there's a perfectly reasonable alternative to DRMed downloads that's been available for over 25 years: Buy the fucking CD! Yes, you can still buy CDs. You can even buy them online. And guess what? They're completely, 100% DRM-free. Not only that, they're better quality, they often include song lyrics and nifty graphics, and you don't ever have to worry about making a backup.

I find it strange that people are fighting so hard for DRM-free music online when the option to buy a CD has existed for years. Do DRM-free online music purchases offer certain conveniences? Sure. Immediate gratification, for one. But that's about it. In fact, the major advantage of DRM-free music will probably go to the music companies, they're just too stupid to realize it: increases in online sales over physical sales, which, since online music requires zero manufacturing costs, will be a huge gain for them.

So what are you fighting for? Essentially, you're fighting for the record companies to make more money so that your digital musical lifestyle can be slightly more convenient and instantly gratifying. Stop it. Please. It's stupid and I'm tired of reading about it. The solution is really quite simple. If you've forgotten, I'll say it one more time: Buy the fucking CD!

Ah, yes. I do feel better.