A Final Cutter Tries Out Premiere Pro

Creative Cow by Helmut Kobler

I've been a Final Cut user since 2000. I've written three "Final Cut Pro for Dummies" books (plus one about Final Cut Express). I've written fairly glowing reviews of multiple versions of Final Cut for multiple Mac magazines. But since 2010, I've been contemplating my escape from Planet Final Cut...

Yes, this was before the Apple Final Cut Pro X debacle/disaster/catastrophe/suicide attempt. This was before Apple, in the wake of FCPX, arrogantly pulled Final Cut Studio 3 off the market, preventing long-time customers from buying additional seats. It was before Apple abruptly killed off Final Cut Server (without any public comment), wiping out massive amounts of money and time that trusting customers had thrown into it.

Yes, well before all of Apple's recent shenanigans, I started to sense that Final Cut, along with all of Apple's professional apps and gear, was slowly being strangled to death. Here are a few of the harbingers of doom that caught my eye over recent years:

• Apple took nearly 2.5 years to upgrade Final Cut Studio from version 2 to 3 (and v.3 was only a moderate upgrade at that). Until then, updates had come at a much more aggressive pace.


• Apple cancelled the popular Shake, promising to replace it with a new tool that never came. read more...