Check and mate, Apple. it's embarrassing that Aperture hasn't had a decent update while competitors are running circles around it.
So use the competitors software. Apple's margins are on the hardware, which you appear to already own.
Embarrassing would be the guy moaning about software on the internet, rather than just getting on with it and using what works for them.
We get it, iOS, iPads, iPhones, "Angry Birds", games, Facebook and Twitter are your bread and butter focus.
Apple focussses on the masses and have done for years.
Apple doesn't make Angry Birds.
Apple designs the platforms and hardware. The best software for their platforms and hardware has nearly always come from 3rd parties. They've had some hits over the years no doubt, but it's not been a focus for the company. Judging by the importance placed on their own software in their marketing - it's not very important to Apple.
Having said that iLife and iWork are what I use at home - it's great for that use case (I could never use iWork at the office though!).
Yet you once made great displays, powerful and current tech, and a great, stable OS.
The Thunderbolt display is pretty damn amazing in my opinion. Looks great. Great colours and viewing angles. And the 'hub' for MacBooks is useful too if you own a compatible laptop. The iPhone 5 and current 9.7" iPad screens are fantastic too - industry leading upon release, if the display experts are to be believed.
Lion for some reason was unpolished. It just didn't feel 100% stable to me. Tiger, Leopord, Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion have all been excellent in my use. Fingers crossed for better multi-monitor support in 10.9!
Please do define current tech though. I am unsure what you mean by that term.
- Revolutionising the smartphone market?
- Introducing the modern Appstore model with easy payments.
- Pushing (doubling) the PPI of displays on their mobile devices phone, tablet and laptop - dragging the industry with them?
- Creating the modern tablet market?
- Co-developed Thunderbolt, which pros (like the ones you say Apple rejects) absolutely love. Don't believe the fools on forums who moan about price. For pros; time = money. And tech like Thunderbolt can easily pay for itself regardless of how expensive it may seem to the average consumer.
- iCloud which trounces anything from their smartphone/tablet competitors?
All that was in the last 6 years. Maybe not current enough for you? What 'current tech' has the competition developed? Bigger phones and smaller tablets? Realised their error with Flash on mobile devices? "Smart" Glasses (which are still not available to the public)? Poor integration of NFC? A 'throw it at the wall and see what sticks' attitude to software development?
Do tell, I'm interested to hear how Apple are not 'current' enough for you.
Sounds like Apple are doing just fine in comparison to the competition.
I'm not buying this post-PC era ****,
The public sure are.
try real work on a tablet.
Erm no, that would be stupid. The modern tablet has been in existence for about 3 years. It isn't mature enough to do a lot of 'real' work yet. Although there are tales that some people have successfully transisitoned depending on their work.
If you want to do 'real' work then you should buy a truck that runs OS X. There is a lot of software that is mature on that platform. You should find you can do almost anything you want.
There is also Microsoft's Windows with an even bigger ecosystem. And depending on your needs Linux may be a fit too.
At most, they're entertainment devices and extensions for desktop systems.
Most certainly not a mere extension of the desktop for me. I probably have a 90/10 split towards the iPad over my iMac. My gf literally never uses her MacBook Pro anymore (except to back up the pics on her phone). My parents and flatmate only own an iPad - no desktop. Small sample sizes and anecdotal, but I'm seeing that the iPad is fine for the mass market as their main computing device.
Your use cases and therefore usage may vary.
Market over-saturation and breaking into the Chinese market aren't doing well for that stock,
Silly metric for judging the success of a major tech company.
If I had the money I could buy Apple today and if they continue making money at exactly the same rate as today (no growth at all) my purchase would have paid for itself in about 5 years.
Apple is perfectly healthy.
and you lost the business/pro sect that supported you through your tough years.
You don't run the biggest tech company in America on sentiment.
With Adobe releasing subscription apps, now's the time to get some of that market back, it adds up when businesses invest tens or hundreds of thousands at a time in upgrades.
I've actually seen a few of my education friends in support of the subscription model. Allows them to have all things Adobe for about $20 a month. Not saying it's right or wrong, but for some it works.
I also have to ask from a business perspective what advantage it has to Apple selling more copies of Apperture? Financially next to nothing I imagine. The market for such an app is no doubt tiny compared to the whole photo editing market - most Mac users probably make do with iPhoto - I know it does everything I need.
As a shareholder I'm perfectly happy with the way the company is being run.
- The mature Mac is getting steady improvements. There is no innovation happening in this sector. Windows 8 is not a step forward for the pros that use desktops.
- The still nascent iOS is ready for a big overhaul, which looks forthcoming tonight.
- Apps are mostly being left to third parties (Apple may come out swinging and refresh everything, but I think they realise providing a stellar platform is more important). Having said that Final Cut Pro X seems to have reached a point now where people say it's very good.
It's not all doom and gloom, and if you really feel Apple are falling behind you should ditch and switch to whatever you feel will work better for you.