Apple Pro Application Support 1.1

[MacRumors]

In your Software Update, Apple has released Pro Application Support 1.1 as well as .0.1 updates to a number of their Final Cut Pro-related applications.

Details of the updates are provided here (http://www.macnn.com/news/20591) and include Cinema Tools 2.0.1 for FCP 4, Compressor 1.01, Final Cut Pro 4.01, LiveType 1.01 and SoundTrack 1.01.

The updates detailed are bug-fixes and performance improvements.

[nutty]

and you get update to all the apps mentioned (except for DVDSP)

woohoo!:)

[Powerbook G5]

Performance improvements are always fine by me :)

[Mudbug]

I'm making an educated guess that if you don't own any of these products, the update doesn't show in your software update panel. A question for those of you that use these: are they noticably faster or improved on the immediate surface to your eyes, or is this more of an "under the hood" type of improvement?

[SumDumGuy]

So far I see no performance gains. Maybe I will on a bigger project, but so far nada.

[bennyek]

I have seen instant and significant improvements. I was in the middle of a project when I updated and I instantly saw huge improvements in the beachball episodes I was having. Everytime I applied a speed change or a filter I was getting a beachball for 15 seconds. Now I am speeding right through my project i was lagging on 5 minutes before this update. Bravo Apple!!!!

[Chris Grande]

I have these...and they didn't show up in my software update. Why you ask? Because I tried to be organized and put them in a folder called Final Cut. I had to move all of them out of that folder and into Applications for it to work. I hate this problem.

[sachmo]

If you want to orginize apps in custom folders use alias and leave the actual app in its default place. This way the auto update works and you have the folder structure you want.

[iJon]

does anybody know if this is the update apple promised that would bring FCP 4 soundtrack to the same as the retail version.

iJon

[mvc]

Originally posted by Chris Grande
I had to move all of them out of that folder and into Applications for it to work. I hate this problem.

That is profoundly annoying - seems stupid that OSX isn't refering to some master location file of some sort rather than checking default locations -how hard would it be? And so much more robust! :mad:

[Chris Grande]

Originally posted by mvc
That is profoundly annoying - seems stupid that OSX isn't refering to some master location file of some sort rather than checking default locations -how hard would it be? And so much more robust! :mad:

Thats the funny thing! OS X does have this with Launch Services. This is what allows programs to still work after you move them. Making them location independent.

[Mudbug]

The tip about having the aliases in the applications folder is a good one - that way you can do your passive switch over for the app titles once, instead of having to move the whole application file to the application folder each time.

[mvc]

Originally posted by Mudbug
The tip about having the aliases in the applications folder is a good one - that way you can do your passive switch over for the app titles once, instead of having to move the whole application file to the application folder each time.

Yeah, its good workaround, but a fix would be better. Anyone know if this is amended in Panther?

[Daner]

Originally posted by Mudbug
The tip about having the aliases in the applications folder is a good one - that way you can do your passive switch over for the app titles once, instead of having to move the whole application file to the application folder each time.

Why is it so hard for some people just to leave the apps where OS X expects them to be? It is kind of like having all of your music files stored in your iTunes library, but having the ability to create unlimited playlists. Not so hard to live with now, is it?

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by Daner
Why is it so hard for some people just to leave the apps where OS X expects them to be? It is kind of like having all of your music files stored in your iTunes library, but having the ability to create unlimited playlists. Not so hard to live with now, is it?

It's still sloppy programming on Apple's part. People organise their programs and files the way they like, not the way Apple says they should. Apple should allow this flexability, this shouldn't be too difficult to fix!

Mike.

[cubist]

Originally posted by whooleytoo
... People organise their programs and files the way they like, not the way Apple says they should. ...

Exactly, that is one of the fundamentals that defines what a Mac is.

[Mudbug]

Originally posted by whooleytoo
It's still sloppy programming on Apple's part. People organise their programs and files the way they like, not the way Apple says they should. Apple should allow this flexability, this shouldn't be too difficult to fix!

I disagree - it's not sloppy, it's the organized way they've come up with to try and provide the "average user" with a simple and elegant solution for keeping software current. You may not be the average user, and neither am I. I agree that there should be an alternative, a fix, or a patch provided for "advanced" users like most of the folks that browse these forums, but I feel in now way is it "sloppy" - in fact I think it's quite the opposite.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by Mudbug
I disagree - it's not sloppy, it's the organized way they've come up with to try and provide the "average user" with a simple and elegant solution for keeping software current. You may not be the average user, and neither am I. I agree that there should be an alternative, a fix, or a patch provided for "advanced" users like most of the folks that browse these forums, but I feel in now way is it "sloppy" - in fact I think it's quite the opposite.

It would be very easy to keep track of Apple apps when they're moved, and upgrade them at whatever location the user puts them in. As it currently stands, these upgrades will just fail, quietly and with no indication of cause.

That is just lazy, sloppy programming - speaking as a Mac (and ex-Apple) programmer. Instead of the OS adapting to the user ("I'll find and update the apps wherever you put them"), this is a case of the user having to adapt to what the OS expects ("If you move the applications, I couldn't be bothered looking for them. And won't say why I failed..."). Microsoft would be proud..

Mike.

[Postal]

The main problem is just that some people need/want to have apps on separate hard drives. FCP4 the app doesn't take up all that much space on its own (1 GB, I think) but you'd better believe that the videos themselves will want as much space as possible. It's not always ideal to have to split the documents away from the app just to make sure that you can get updates properly.

[Daner]

Sloppy programming or not, can somebody please clarify why it is important to be able to store apps someplace other than in the Applications folder? There are so many ways to customize and personalize the user interface, I just can't figure out what incredible advantage we are missing out on by not being able to move and store apps wherever the heck we want to.

Or is it just that some of us got used to working that way pre-OS X and have found it difficult to adapt?


PS - I'm late to the party. Just started using the Mac in June.



June of 1984
:D

[Daner]

Originally posted by Postal
The main problem is just that some people need/want to have apps on separate hard drives. FCP4 the app doesn't take up all that much space on its own (1 GB, I think) but you'd better believe that the videos themselves will want as much space as possible. It's not always ideal to have to split the documents away from the app just to make sure that you can get updates properly.

I nearly always keep my video projects on a seperate partition or hard drive. Makes it easier to wipe it clean between jobs.

[nutty]

The Apps dont take up anywhere near a Gig of space. Soundtrack is only 30 megs

Anyway, Apple looks in the apps folder for a reason, they expect it to be there. The installer shouldnt have to search through 1000's of files when it knows where the item should be.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by nutty
Anyway, Apple looks in the apps folder for a reason, they expect it to be there. The installer shouldnt have to search through 1000's of files when it knows where the item should be.

Apple has always advised against hard-coding the application location; most apps can and should be used from any location (bundles help this enormously). If apps can be launched from anywhere, they should also be updatable anywhere.

The upgrade process should search for preference files/plist to determine which Apple apps you have installed, download the updates, and then either provide a means of automatically searching for the executable, or at least dislpay a dialog to allow the user to search for it.

The current upgrade implementation is just laziness.

Mike.

[nutty]

lazyness?

no how about you'd have to test every freaking way a user could have their apps placed on their hard drive!

Hard coding the app to be in a directory for updating is very different from hard coding an app to be required to be in a folder for launch.

Think of the combinations of places a user could put the app, then times that by the number of OS's shipping/supported and times that by the number of hardware configs available for that app.

thats the test they would have to do for each update, so you'd be lucky to see an update every year for an app if at all.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by nutty
thats the test they would have to do for each update, so you'd be lucky to see an update every year for an app if at all.

It's really not that difficult to implement.

When the installer runs, it checks for preferences/plists to build a list of installed Apple apps, downloads these updates, then updates them (if they're in the Applications folder) or puts up a "Find Application" dialog if they're not. I could code it in a day. Does Mr. Jobs read these forums? ;P

So you wouldn't have users confused why updates mysteriously aren't appearing in Software Update.

Mike.

[Laslo Panaflex]

There is no reason to cmplain about this, if you guys are troubled by the conveinece of software update, besides its "faults", just go back to manualy updating programs via downloading them from apple's website. Software update is great, just check the apps and hit go. So before you call apple programers lazy, think of how many other things in the OS can be optimized, I'd rather have them spend time on those. Laziness is not a factor, it's priority.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by Laslo Panaflex
There is no reason to cmplain about this,

Don't get me wrong, I think SU is great! (I just wish it was open to third party software!!! Heheh. Now THAT would be killer feature for users and developers alike!)

I just find it a tad annoying that with just a little bit of effort, it could be a whole lot better. But, everyone has their own gripes about OSX, this is just (one of) mine...

Mike.

[MarksEvilTwin]

Removed

[Daner]

MarksEvilTwin:

I understand the urge to arrange apps as you describe, but revisit my iTunes playlist analogy (or why not iPhoto album analogy?) - the Applications folder is like the Music/Photo library and you are completely free to create and place multiple new groups of application aliases however you please. Replace the Application folder in your dock with the app alias group folders of your choice. You can even customize hierarchical menus (just like the good old Apple menu) using third-party software. That would seem to me to be more flexible and powerful than the system that you are describing.

[MarksEvilTwin]

Removed

[bretm]

Aliases, aliases aliases.

Apple, please don't put any more resources into bloating the software update.

Keep working on the updates to the programs instead.

Folks, use your aliases! Let software update do it's job.

But, I'll add one thing. While Windows doesn't appreciate you moving your programs either - at least it yells at you when you try to move an app from the programs folder. Maybe this would be the easy mac solution. When installing or moving an app to a folder other than the app folder, a warning could simply show... "Software update may not fuction properly if you do this..."

Simple.

[Mblazened]

aren't any of you guys suspicious as to whether this update is actually a program that monitors serialization and reports back to apple? They could easily use this strategy to reduce piracy, i think.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by bretm
But, I'll add one thing. While Windows doesn't appreciate you moving your programs either - at least it yells at you when you try to move an app from the programs folder. Maybe this would be the easy mac solution. When installing or moving an app to a folder other than the app folder, a warning could simply show... "Software update may not fuction properly if you do this..."

Simple.

It would be just as quick and simple to fix the Software Update inflexibility in the first place! ;-)

Mike.