Geek Stuff
Final Cut, Convince Me Please
First, I am a PC guy and have been for at least 13 years. I went through the graphic design world and eventually slipped into the world of video editing with Adobe Premiere. As of late I have been having thoughts of perhaps taking a look at a Mac Pro and a version of Final Cut just to take a look at what the offerings were. The problem lies in the fact that I almost have to sell a kidney just get into a system I feel will do the job well.
I estimate that I need about $5,500 to buy the computer and the software to start editing all my video. This is frustrating because I really want to try it and obvious the PC I use to do this task right now cost a fraction of the cost.
So my question is do I spend the money and take a leap to Mac? Is it really worth leaving Adobe Premiere? This is a tough decision. So I have decided I am going to make the decision based on your recommendations. Hit me with some good stuff…
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Adam, don’t do it. I can take half that money, build you a monster PC and buy all your software with a student discount (or get it for free *wink, wink*). If you want to pay more for less, you can give me the remainder that you’d be giving to Steve Jobs or you could buy a few extra monitors to add to your current configuration.
It Just Works
This used to be a bragging point for Apple users, until Flash started crashing their OS…I didn’t say browser, I said OS. But, ask any Apple user and they’ll tell you it wasn’t the fault of their immaculate OS, it was the fault of that damned Adobe Flash. Even Apple users that use Windows 7 say it’s a great OS. I leave my computer on perpetually, and I’ve never had it crash, once, not once.
Hardware
Apple computers are made by one company. There aren’t multiple manufacturers to compete for your business, so there’s no true hardware innovation to entice new customers, just enough to maintain the current group of suckers. The only hardware innovation Apple creates is the ability to use other companies’ parts, well…the companies they decide, anyway.
Example: You can use an Intel processor now, after 15 years of them being used on PC. Why the change? Apple processors were too fucking slow.
Software
Apple software is heavily proprietary and there’s a small library. I hope you like Final Cut, because you don’t have many other options. You could run Windows within your OS X shell (sacrificing system resources by running 2 OSs at once), but then, you just paid double the price to be back where you started, which leads me to the next point.
Overpriced
Being the sole manufacturer gives them no reason to competitively price their products, so you end up getting screwed. They don’t really compete with PC computers, because Apple users tend to buy out of brand loyalty, hype and vanity, not functionality and price.
Example: Look at any Apple fanboy forum. Try to go through one thread without seeing a comment like this, “My MacBook Pro looks great on my desk.”
To add a (non-SSD compatible) SATA Raid card to a Mac Pro it will cost you $700. A (SSD compatible) SATA Raid Card will cost you $500 on Newegg. Don’t even get me started on RAM.
Security
Apple’s bragging right has been that they have very little insecurity, because their code was delivered from Mt. Sinai and is perfect. The truth of the matter is that hackers don’t waste their time writing code for a small minority of the computing market. Imagine me, scanning for open ports, ready to use my new Mac exploit, “Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. Nope, not a Mac, damn it. ”
Secunia (an independent security firm) tabulates the insecurities for all major software companies and releases the results every year. This year’s leader in insecuries is, drum roll please, Apple, mainly, due to widespread use of Safari, iTunes and iOS. There’s a reason to hack them, now. If their computing numbers start to increase, I can guarantee you’ll see the same trend with OS X.
Choice
If Bill Gates pisses me off enough, I can move to Umbuntu or some other polished Linux OS. Try that with an Apple computer. Once you’ve bought in, you’re locked in to perpetually shell out money to the same master.
If you’re interested, I’ll build the system on Newegg and post it here. As an extra enticement, if you’re buying it for looks, we can paint a racing stripe on your tower.
Damn, well said sir
I have to say that is a lot to digest and proves a lot of points. I was making a decision based on two things, security and Final Cut being a standard in the film industry. I can’t even go get a degree in film making without a Mac and Final cut which sucks ass.
I am going to put a racing stripe on my tower tonight though because that is an awesome idea!
I understand price difference though and availability since I have built most of my systems but even that I stopped because PC’s are so loaded and cheap these days with everything built in.
Always a hard choice but I am agreement with everything said, I would certainly love to hear something from an Apple person to balance this decision out a bit as well.
Chuck said that everything that Steve is saying is BS and that Apples still are the best thing on the market. Especially if you like to edit homemade naughty movies… so should be perfect for you
If Chuck’s definition of BS is being 100% correct, I’d have to agree with Chuck, that bright lad.