Q: Don't give up on Aperture

léonie wrote:

 

I wish you a speedy recovery, Allan. I hope, all will be well!

.... x 2

^ ^ ^ That's 'times two' or 'ditto' and not sending you kisses, Allan! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Oh, and thanks yet again for your help, Leonie (the access to the Advanced Editor).

Thank you. The doctor says that we must wait for the eye to stabilize so that they can give me a new prescription for glasses.

Thanks Red Robin.

What is sad to me is that Apple has stopped focusing on software worthy of professionals and using that software to attract high-end users to their their high-end machines while also attracting the next level of consumer who know they have an upgrade path. Instead they are focusing on selling more iPhones by developing average software for average people taking average snapshots...

It's not a bad thing that Apple is focusing on regular users. They are empowering millions of people to accomplish things that were previously only accessible to a smaller group of professionals and enthusiasts. But it's frustrating that while doing so they are abandoning those professional and enthusiast users who helped them build the company and the brand they have today. Aperture probably wasn't getting enough traction to justify a massive redesign for the cloud, but I blame that on Apple for failing to market it properly and failing to significantly update it for years.

With all the talk of Capture One I thought I would try it. Yes images look better (some much better) but the DAM functions are still terrible. You cannot even rename a folder. Wow that is weak! Makes me wonder. Aperture is still it for me. (No new computers in the future).

(No new computers in the future).

Aperture 3.6 is working on the current MacOS X 10.11.1 and even the Beta version MacOS X 10.11.2.

So get your new computer now.

They can certainly concentrate on products like the iPhone that earn them the most and still keep an upward path open for those who are maturing in their creative work, photography in this case, that an iPhone and Photos cannot satisfy. They already had the product! It's not like Kennedy saying we are going to the moon in ten years and having to invent the whole enterprise. They only needed to keep it connected to the changes in OSX.

Much as I hate to say so, I do understand Apple's reasoning for abandoning Aperture. From a business perspective it was neither a big source of revenue nor significant anymore to their strategy for attracting and retaining customers. It would NOT have been a trivial effort to update it, since the future is cloud-centric and Aperture was never designed to operate in that context. It would have required a comprehensive re-architecting of the application, even if they decided to leave the UI 90% the same. And the decision is also consistent with their central philosophy of saying 'no' to a lot of great ideas in order to focus on the few that matter most.

From a business perspective it was neither a big source of revenue nor significant anymore to their strategy for attracting and retaining customers.

True.  But Aperture and the other pro applications were a challenge for research and innovation. And the spin-off from this research inspired the development of iPhoto and other products for a larger market. And the pro-applications provided the benchmark for the hardware development.

And, as I've said before, I cannot believe that 16 months after the announcement of this change people are still going on about it. 16 months.

How long would you complain if Apple abandoned OS X and stopped making iMacs and MacBooks all of a sudden, and instructed power users to buy a Windows PC?

CDC3 wrote:

 

With all the talk of Capture One I thought I would try it. Yes images look better (some much better) but the DAM functions are still terrible. You cannot even rename a folder. Wow that is weak! Makes me wonder. Aperture is still it for me. (No new computers in the future).

....Having read "You cannot even rename a folder" I was very surprised and so I renamed a Session folder (I work in Sessions rather than Catalogs so far). I was able to rename the folder but then none of the contained images were visible.... Panic! Shock Horror! So I forced a database rebuild by quitting and relaunching Capture One and that did the trick and also preserved my new folder title. I probably could have done the same by selecting 'File' > 'Regenerate Previews'.

My next port of call would have been the Capture One forum which is very good and so is contacting their Tech Support direct. But this forum here is about Aperture and I respect that you have decided to stick with Aperture for as long as you can, CDC3.

Personally I miss some of Aperture's features and its typically Apple user interface but each have their pros and cons and I now feel more future-proof and (said in a whisper) I do really like the superior RAW engine for my purposes.

hqnmlvpn wrote:

 

They can certainly concentrate on products like the iPhone that earn them the most and still keep an upward path open for those who are maturing in their creative work, photography in this case, that an iPhone and Photos cannot satisfy. They already had the product! It's not like Kennedy saying we are going to the moon in ten years and having to invent the whole enterprise. They only needed to keep it connected to the changes in OSX. A company that doesn't satisfy it's users will soon find it cannot satisfy it's shareholders. Volkswagen comes to mind. Surely with, last I heard, $124 Billion USD in the bank, Apple could throw a bone to it's pro users. Many are graduating, at great expense, from art and design schools that need these tools. Apple has always been an aspirational company. It needs to allow for some headroom. Does no one remember "Think Different"? That was not about snapshots.

....I wholeheartedly agree - Apple could surely quite easily continue to cater for its 'professional' users as well.

Their announcement which has suddenly appeared at the top of this page about Android only serves to confirm their main focus, albeit totally influenced by the shareholders. That's the major downside of selling out to Jo Public who only care about how much profit they can make.

The shareholders are Jo Public, and it is their wishes that Apple are fulfilling.

Buy some shares and go vote at shareholder meetings, just like the others who bought part of Apple do.

CDC3 wrote:

 

With all the talk of Capture One I thought I would try it. Yes images look better (some much better) but the DAM functions are still terrible. You cannot even rename a folder. Wow that is weak! Makes me wonder. Aperture is still it for me. (No new computers in the future).

For me there is no point in having an Apple computer if Aperture is not functioning properly. All the alternatives run on PC's.

When I first started using PC's a PC was cheap and it's software was expensive. Apples were expensive but their software was cheap (or free).

Now........PC's are still cheap (a Dell Latitude is about half the price of an equivalent MBP) but the software for the two is the same price.

So for me if Aperture goes belly up there will be an MBP15 and an MPA11 on ebay and probably an iP5S too.

There was a time when Mr Jobs was able to justifiably say "It just works" but not any more.

Aperture is over, no further development and removed from sale. Although it works on the current OS there are no guarantees that will continue. The next upgrade may end it entirely. Time to start making your plans.

Red Robin wrote:

 

hqnmlvpn wrote:

 

They can certainly concentrate on products like the iPhone that earn them the most and still keep an upward path open for those who are maturing in their creative work, photography in this case, that an iPhone and Photos cannot satisfy. They already had the product! It's not like Kennedy saying we are going to the moon in ten years and having to invent the whole enterprise. They only needed to keep it connected to the changes in OSX. A company that doesn't satisfy it's users will soon find it cannot satisfy it's shareholders. Volkswagen comes to mind. Surely with, last I heard, $124 Billion USD in the bank, Apple could throw a bone to it's pro users. Many are graduating, at great expense, from art and design schools that need these tools. Apple has always been an aspirational company. It needs to allow for some headroom. Does no one remember "Think Different"? That was not about snapshots.

 

....I wholeheartedly agree - Apple could surely quite easily continue to cater for its 'professional' users as well.

 

Their announcement which has suddenly appeared at the top of this page about Android only serves to confirm their main focus, albeit totally influenced by the shareholders. That's the major downside of selling out to Jo Public who only care about how much profit they can make.

I agree with both of you and had exactly the same reaction when I saw the Android bit.