Randy Ubillos (FCP Creator) leaves Apple

Does anyone think that Randy U (Creator of FCP) leaving Apple will have a negative effect on the future of FCP ?

Not at all. Randy came up with some original design concepts, but the whole team contributed to the development and implementation. As I was told by more than one member of the FCPX dev team, to decide how a feature will look, work, etc, they sit around a table, sometimes for up to two weeks, discussing "as a team" how that will work. So the current developments where not his alone. I doubt you'll see much change at all. Randy was playing less and less a role there. He's been posting on his FB page family vacation photos MONTHLY from around the world. So he's been traveling a lot, not sitting at Apple.

Steve Jobs passed away and Apple is still strong.

Randy will be missed, but FCPX will continue to move forward as it has been.

What Ben said. It will have no effect at all.

- Ronny

I'll defer to those with more familiarity of the team per se ... although as a longtime loyal Aperture user ... I will never again assume an application will not suddenly fall from grace and the developer unwilling to replace it with something of equal capabilities. I'm sure the Aperture team had roundtable discussions as well.

I'm not saying the sky is falling nor do I lose sleep at night over whether FCP X will follow the path of Aperture ... but I also don't have blind faith that it could't happen.

Butch, I almost went to Aperture, having thought about replacing Photoshop. All with the thought and direction of streamlining my workflow with Apple; FCP, MOTION, LOGIC, APERATURE, COMPRESSOR.

Im a Film Video Editor and (Musician), having worked on a variety of NLE's; Autodesk Smoke, Avid Media Composer, All versions of FCP, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and then some .

Despite my work and experience in the industry/portfolio, and is not uncommon, moreso the norm, I honestly run into clients often that are set on your experience on a certain application.

On another note, Adobe might be buying, THE FOUNDRY ... Nuke, etc

Thanks for response

Consider that Apple has publicly said FCPX will be around for many years. When first released they promised a ten year development cycle in place. No one ever said anything like that about Aperture. Plus, Aperture really didn't sell all that well. But I went from Aperture to Photos, and I'm very happy now that I learned it properly.

BenB wrote: Plus, Aperture really didn't sell all that well. But I went from Aperture to Photos, and I'm very happy now that I learned it properly.

Well ... considering we are discussing a company that has more actual cash in the bank than the U.S. Treasury and gives away almost all the software they develop for free ... I hardly think it was poor sales that caused the abandonment of Aperture ... considering there wasn't a significant version update since 2010 ... before the the first iPad was released ...

Aperture rarely ever fell from the top spot in the Photography category for paid apps in the Mac App Store. Even when it Adobe was testing the waters with Lr v4 in the MAS at twice the price of Aperture. In fact, it rarely fell from the top 5 or so overall on MAS. I would wager the user base was not insignificant ... this was very evident with all the outrage that was expressed when Apple announced they were ceasing development. The number of voices raised was more than even I anticipated.

While I had/have high hopes for Photos ... it is a far cry from Aperture ... which no amount of learning the new app can heal. In many ways, Photos is less capable than iPhoto, let alone Aperture.

All I know is over the past two years, the two top software developers I have entrusted to look out for my best interests for my professional workflow requirements have made major, sweeping changes without warning. I can't share your confidence that such a possibility could never occur for FCP X and will keep one eye on the horizon just in case.

Avid dropped tons of products. No company can ensure you're future. Never has been that way, never will be, Apple is no different than any other software and/or hardware company in any way. That's just life, deal with it.

"Photos is less capable than iPhoto,"
Really, in what way specifically?

BenB wrote: That's just life, deal with it.

Wow ... Really?

I am dealing with it ... I'm not under any illusions. I'm also more than tolerant of opposing points of view. I simply pointed out evidence that your assessment on the sales history of Aperture may not have been as lack luster as you attempted to portray it to be ... With the advent of Adobe's Creative Cloud, Apple had an excellent opportunity to gain back significant market share by taking the next step with Aperture ... or something totally new ... that could have drawn even more users to Apple hardware, OS X and other pro apps like FCP X. The Photos app is not that vehicle.

Deal with that.

"Photos is less capable than iPhoto,"
Really, in what way specifically?

How about applying color labels, star ratings or other custom management style metadata in Photos for just one major capability that is absent.

There are more ... go back and look at the Apple discussion forum during the beta process and initial release, it wasn't just unfamiliarity with the new offering users were concerned about.

I repeat ... I had/have high hopes for Photos app for OS X. I really look forward to the day when it is all it could be. That day isn't today nor will it arrive anytime soon. While Photos does bring a more modern paradigm, it still falls short compared to some aspects of iPhoto and many aspects of Aperture. To believe otherwise is just a fool's errand.

Stand by my comments.

You can always switch to another platform.

I remember the day when Steve Jobs passed away the internet was full of Apple will go under rants...
Apple almost did disappear before Jobs was re-invited back to Apple.

BenB wrote: Stand by my comments.

Contradictions and all? It’s too bad you couldn’t keep those comments on point without the patronizing attitude.

You can always switch to another platform.

Sure I could. But that was not the discussion, was it?

You certainly are well aware that unsolicited advice is almost always worth less than the price incurred.

After 43 years of self employment and over 23 years of owning Apple hardware and software, I have no problem formulating my own thoughts on such matters. While you may be the leading authority on which sliders/keystrokes perform which tasks in FCP X, when you start signing the checks for MY gear ... I may take your patronizing tone on such matters under consideration.

Until such time, I think I can handle my choice of platform as well as my own opinion of Apple’s business decisions, without the aid your advice.