Aperture Available on Mac App Store for $80

[Narnian]

Hey, I'm the one who highlighted the deal, remember?

And I don't hate Apple - on the contrary over the years I have been a Mac and iPod owner. And have recommended and bought them. My daughter has a Mac. I have used Macs since 1985 (but not so much the last several years).

But I am very concerned about where Apple is going. And I have gotten the same concern from some Apple fans. If Apple controls the delivery of the software, who would be able to compete against them? Apple takes 30% off the top of any potential competitor through their app stores. Who can develop new software at a competitive cost if Apple decides to enter that market? Apple has been largely hands off in the iPod/iPad area for software development but the Mac is different. They have a strong software presence and the more I though about what just happened with the drop in price of Aperture in the new app store the more concerned I became. Will this kill 3rd party development of photo applications on the Mac? I can see that happening. If Lightroom sales drop Adobe may lower their prices, or pull out of the Mac altogether. This may be Apple's goal. From what I have seen Steve Jobs loathes Adobe.

My biggest concern is even not that Apple is doing it as much as it might set a trend for others such as Google, Microsoft et al to follow suit. Already nobody can compete in the office software space because Microsoft has a defacto monopoly. Just imagine if Microsoft could eventually follow suit with "walled gardens" to the same degree?

 

[Alanroseman]

Hey, I'm the one who highlighted the deal, remember?

And I don't hate Apple - on the contrary over the years I have been a Mac and iPod owner. And have recommended and bought them. My daughter has a Mac. I have used Macs since 1985 (but not so much the last several years).

But I am very concerned about where Apple is going. And I have gotten the same concern from some Apple fans. If Apple controls the delivery of the software, who would be able to compete against them? Apple takes 30% off the top of any potential competitor through their app stores. Who can develop new software at a competitive cost if Apple decides to enter that market? Apple has been largely hands off in the iPod/iPad area for software development but the Mac is different. They have a strong software presence and the more I though about what just happened with the drop in price of Aperture in the new app store the more concerned I became. Will this kill 3rd party development of photo applications on the Mac? I can see that happening. If Lightroom sales drop Adobe may lower their prices, or pull out of the Mac altogether. This may be Apple's goal. From what I have seen Steve Jobs loathes Adobe.

My biggest concern is even not that Apple is doing it as much as it might set a trend for others such as Google, Microsoft et al to follow suit. Already nobody can compete in the office software space because Microsoft has a defacto monopoly. Just imagine if Microsoft could eventually follow suit with "walled gardens" to the same degree?

Well, those are interesting thoughts.

But. There are several hundred small developers now making a very good living via the app store for iphone, iPod, IPad apps.

The big software houses who were able to afford mass production, distribution, advertising had absolutely locked out small bright programmers.

If one were were an independent developer there was no place to sell your wares. Oh sure there was shareware.com etc. But no pub...no dough. Result, not much in the way of innovative streamlined code. Just rehash of the old regulars.

The app store has been a success, not in spite of the walled garden, but because of it. Independents could apply for a SDK, create their app, submit for approval, and just like that... instant exposure and publicity, with a target audience of millions!

It's been a creative boon. Perhaps the biggest creative boon in software development ever... that's not too shabby.

And a by-product of having the app vetted through Apple is NO VIRUSES.. eliminating the single biggest problem facing home users today. Very few of which can afford to run a pro grade virus barrier. Ever been in a house and seen a Barracuda... or a Sonic Wall?? Maybe once..

I have plenty of respect for the R&D that went into Creative Suite, but not too many private owners can dish out the 800 - 1200 clams it costs to buy it.

If Apple selling Aperture as an online product, requiring no packaging, no delivery, no shelf space etc. can help drive down the price of competing products and make them more available... good on them.

I'm okay with small developers making money via volume sales, as opposed to a few large software houses making a killing on the work of a few employees grinding out code...

Volume sales is good business.. lowering delivery cost is good business.

Now being a software developer.. on your own..can be good business too.

 

[kevinparis]

with 350,000 apps and 10 billion downloads the App store for the iphone/ipad doesn't seem very restrictive and indeed seems to be very popular. I am sure the App store will follow the same model.

For most people having a trustable source for software, with instant gratification is a very appealing prospect. And as Alan points out it is a very good thing for software developers too

K

 

[Ray Sachs]

As an outsider, my impression of Apple has been that they've ALWAYS been more in control of their products and the software developed for them than the big bad world of MSDOS and then Windows. Which has its pluses and minuses and they've always been kind of the same. They develop relatively premium stuff with relatively premium price tags and really well integrated products that just frickin' WORK. And you pay for that. The downside being that there's always somewhat more stuff available for Windown and now Droid and whatnot and there's always SOMEthing you might want that you won't find compatible with your Apple device. But those systems tend to be buggier, more prone to viruses and mallware, etc.

I was way into Macs in the early days, was even the system guy in a small office (it was about 1/4 of my job before IT became a full time profession at the PC level). Then I abandoned Macs for about 15 years from the mid-90s until late 2009 when I worked in Windows offices and needed a lot of software that wasn't available on the Mac (and after I'd gotten out of the IT part of the job completely). And Windows was pretty workable until the whole virus/mallware thing just got to be too much to deal with and manage seemingly ALWAYS. Now I'm back with Macs and I love the turn it on and forget about way that they work. Haven't had a single problem in about a year and a quarter and used to have issues weekly if not daily with my Windows systems.

I don't trust anyone (well, my wife, mostly), but I buy products that work better than other products and for my needs these days, the Apple gear just works. Have an Iphone too and recently added an Apple TV and it all works together so easily...

-Ray

 

[deirdre]

I want one of the new Apple TVs. I only have one of the old ones.

 

[Alanroseman]

I want one of the new Apple TVs. I only have one of the old ones.

The new Apple TV is pretty nice. Remember HDMI only, if you're using a TV with composite / component in you'll need either a new TV or a converter.

It does work great with an iPad or iPhone as a remote, and I love using it for my Netflix account...

Also, hard to beat the price and size.

 

[Grant]

I was given an Apple TV for Christmas, along with a Netflick account. A generous gift from my son. The only problem is I don't watch TV so I had a very old set sitting in a cabinet collecting dust that wouldn't take those new fangled cables attachment thingies. Mother said a new TV had to fit in the cabinet, no ands ifs or buts. I finally found one and hundreds of dollars later I have it all set up. It was a pretty easy set up as well, almost fool proof and I am the fool to proof it. At first I was very skeptical but now we really do get lots of pleaser from our new toy. Not only do we do movies regularly, but there is a constant source of music both from the internet or streaming from our iTunes playing down in our house.

So from a person that watched no TV to a new movie addict it was money well spent, even if I had to buy a new TV.

 

[floppymoose]

At the moment tivo + amazon video on demand gets you a far greater selection (assuming you have content from a cable or satellite tv provider). And I say this as a huge Apple fan.

But if you just want net content plus the ocassional netflix movie, Apple tv sounds great.

I'm into live sports, and Apple tv doesn't do that very well.

 

[Narnian]

Apple has put together a very good package with the Apple TV. Google has really missed it with their own entry - they really need to hire people who know interfaces. Microsoft is in the middle with their Media Center, but it will need a major update to stay competitive.

Personally I prefer a full computer attached to my TV - currently I have an Acer Veriton and a friend has a similar setup using a Mac Mini.

I also have an HD HomeRun which is basically a tuner (dual in my case) you can attach to the network and stream over the air TV through my network. (I don't have cable). It can work with Macs and PCs.

HDHomeRun (US/CA) « Welcome to SiliconDust

 

[Kosta]

back to aperture....

I've installed a trial to give it a go and it seems quite reasonable, but in terms of performance vs LR3, on my machine lr3 is in comparison, super quick. leaves me wanting a little more from aperture.... mostly when applying effects. I might try it in 64bit mode if it is compatible but so far lr3 is a bunch nicer for me.

 

[Alanroseman]

Hello Kosta,

Take a look at this discussion from the Apple Support board. It'll offer you some good insight on 32 bit vs. 64 bit, and all that that entails.

Apple - Support - Discussions - Aperture 3 32 bit vs 64 bit ...

 

[Kosta]

Thanks Alan, interesting discussion. I tried running in both modes and for the editing tasks it made very little to no difference.
I find lightroom much snappier and contrastingly enough to what people are saying, I find it more intuitive and easier to use!

at $80 (in the U.S - in Australia it's listed as $99...why, given the strength of our dollar?) it's a bargain!

 

[Alanroseman]

Software is all about ones comfort level.

If you're comfortable, that's cool. LR / Aperture.. whichever.

No software is a substitute for a good eye...