Apple Searching for Retail Employees to Test Upcoming Photos App for OS X

[Chupa Chupa]

Why not search for a few photography professionals to test the app and provide feedback as well. No offense to the enthusiasts that may work at Apple retail stores.

Why do you assume Apple is not? You are going a bridge too far doing so. This story only speaks to Apple asking retail employees. That doesn't exclude other beta programs for Photos. Like with FCPX, it's likely photographers are beta testing. Apple doesn't advertise all if it's beta test programs, most of which are by invitation only, not public cattle call.

 

[Razeus]

It's highly unethical for Apple to continue selling Aperture in the App Store.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I agree, while it may be fun for an enthusiast to test the new software, and while it is cost-effective for Apple to not have to pay them, a professional photographer would be a much more seasoned beta-tester, and would know what to look for in recommending new features and spotting bugs.

Apple never pays beta testers. Pros have beta tested Apple's pro s/w in the past -- something we learned after the confidentiality agreement expired. Generally, Apple has beta testers of a variety of proficiency levels.

 

[AppleInLVX]

Why not search for a few photography professionals to test the app and provide feedback as well. No offense to the enthusiasts that may work at Apple retail stores.

Because any photo professional would tell them they made a mistake axing their pro photography tool, and that's clearly not what they want to hear.

Yeah, I'm still bitter about it, so shoot me.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

It's highly unethical for Apple to continue selling Aperture in the App Store.

Why?

Apple has announced it's EOL. Do people buy software of that price w/o researching it first to see if its for them? If so they are fools. But it's their money.

Apple has stated it will be fully compatible with 10.10

There is a direct conversion path from Aperture to Photos. It's not abandonware.

Photos will be free so it's not like a consumer would have to rebuy again like say when they buy a version of Lightroom a month before Adobe announces an upgrade, but with no free upgrade path, only a paid one.

----------

Because any photo professional would tell them they made a mistake axing their pro photography tool, and that's clearly not what they want to hear.

Yeah, I'm still bitter about it, so shoot me.

Apple would then laugh at them because Apple has a bigger, more lucrative, picture in mind, clearly.

 

[TallManNY]

This is not in the place of bug tests and such. Pros are on staff making the software. Guys who nothing they do but make photo software are working on this. The aperture programers have likely been assigned to this. Those folks know the pro level market and its needs.

This is an easy way to get a few hundred smart and passionate beta testers. Yes it should include people who have a terabyte of photos.

 

[Winni]

Why?

Apple has announced it's EOL. Do people buy software of that price w/o researching it first to see if its for them? If so they are fools. But it's their money.

When last I looked, Aperture was sold for EUR 63,- on the AppStore - which is roughly EUR 236,- LESS than the boxed version of Aperture 1.0. 63 bucks hardly qualifies as "software of that price" hence there is not much to research and nobody is a fool for buying such a software for that price.

Is it unethical to still be selling Aperture since it's been officially EOLed? Not if they put a big label on it in the AppStore that clearly says: "END OF LIFE". At least then people know that they are buying a dead product. After all, software is NOT like a car and sooner or later it will cease to function properly when you keep on updating your operating system. (Backwards compatibility has NEVER been Apple's strong suit.)

Does Apple warn customers that Aperture has been EOLed? No. So this is a problem and people will feel screwed once they learn that they bought a dead horse. Unless, of course, there will be a clearly defined and properly communicated upgrade path from Aperture to its successor -- where the successor needs to be at least as powerful and feature rich as Aperture, otherwise this would be just a downgrade and then it would again be unethical to promote that product as a successor.

For a long time I thought of Aperture as --THE-- killer application for OS X; it's features and work flow perfectly suited my way of doing things. Seeing it gone just hurts and I doubt that Apple even have the slightest clue of what they are doing here.

 

[irishv]

The screenshot shows most of the sliders we have in Aperture now, what it doesn't show is the library management, book and slideshows, but then it is just one screenshot.

This is my biggest worry. Apple hasn't mentioned or shown any evidence that metadata can be viewed or edited with Photos. Smart albums based on ratings, keywords, labels, etc are critical for me. I'm very excited to maintain my library through Photos on iOS, but it will be worthless for me if my whole library is just dumped into the huge mess that Moments is currently. The Dev forums for iOS 8 aren't very encouraging either. It would seem backwards now that they are pushing keywords/tags in Finder. But you'd also think they would have added that to the iPad with the release of the CCK...

 

[zedsdead]

This is my biggest worry. Apple hasn't mentioned or shown any evidence that metadata can be viewed or edited with Photos. Smart albums based on ratings, keywords, labels, etc are critical for me. I'm very excited to maintain my library through Photos on iOS, but it will be worthless for me if my whole library is just dumped into the huge mess that Moments is currently. The Dev forums for iOS 8 aren't very encouraging either. It would seem backwards now that they are pushing keywords/tags in Finder. But you'd also think they would have added that to the iPad with the release of the CCK...

Couldn't agree more. Lobrary management has not been discussed yet, and it is a major concern.

 

[Sharewaredemon]

For a long time I thought of Aperture as --THE-- killer application for OS X; it's features and work flow perfectly suited my way of doing things. Seeing it gone just hurts and I doubt that Apple even have the slightest clue of what they are doing here.

I agree, and though I'm really upset they are EOL'ing it, I feel okay knowing that I can continue to use it as long as I don't update my software past 10.10. Right now I run 10.8 and my next hardware upgrade will allow me to run 10.10. Most likely I'll keep running that operating environment until 2018, as the only software that will be superior to it will be whatever Apple releases.

10.8 is better than windows everything, and sure I don't get all the bells and whistles of 10.9 but it's a stable productive operating environment.


I'm going to keep using Aperture as long as I can because of how well it catalogs and filters, but I know I need to look for other robust software that is on par with the user interface in Aperture.

Hopefully, Photos will mature to have the features I use and value most in Aperture by 2018 and beyond.

 

[Steve121178]

Looks nice. The more testing the better final product we should have!

If they are seeking people to begin internal testing now, how the hell are they going to have the public version ready in time for the release of 10.10? That's only 2-3 months from now.

I have a feeling that v1.0 of the Photos app will be messy and missing a boat load of features that didn't make the cut in time.

 

[metfuel]

If this pile of do do is image destructive apple can go jump for all i care.

iPhoto as it stands is nondestructive

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2531

 

[BJMRamage]

Enthusiasts will be hyped to do this and more willing to accept any bugs.

Pros doing a public beta might not be as happy to have their "living" tested in Beta format and be more critical.

Not saying Apple isn't testing with some Pros out there but on a Quiet Beta Test.


*I too think it isn't so great that Apple is selling Aperture. well, without a disclaimer. On Apple's website, Aperture is still out there as an "upgrade" to iPhoto. I don't recall seeing anything saying Aperture and iPhoto will be replaced by Photos next year.
Apple could simply say this software will not see any major overhauls and only small upgrades.

 

[Websnapx2]

Why not search for a few photography professionals to test the app and provide feedback as well. No offense to the enthusiasts that may work at Apple retail stores.

Because it's not a Pro App. It will have some "Pro Features", depending on how Apple opens it up, but I think even apple knows that by now, all pro use either Photoshop and Bridge or Lightroom. I work with about three or four Professional Commercial Photographers (including one in-house corporate photographer) and non of them use Aperture, much less iPhoto.

 

[jmh600cbr]

I was truly expecting this to be in dp3 as an integrate part of the system.

 

[JeffLass]

Some photo processing features are worth their weight in gold

I'm in the process of scanning in and digitally cleaning hundreds of old family photos from albums that haven't been opened in many years. I tried using iPhoto to digitally clean and improve pics for viewing by family and friends on iPads but iPhoto's editing tools proved insufficient for my needs. So I purchased Aperture and quickly became enthralled by its capabilities and ease of use. I also purchased and installed into Aperture third-party photo manipulation tools that enable improving the overall looks of the old and newer photos.

After completing about a hundred old photos I exported them onto an iPad and shared them at a family gathering. Folks were amazed by how beautiful and luminous the old black and white photos appeared when enlarged on the iPad. Some of the original photos were quite small and almost impossible to make out any details in them. Amazingly, many of those old silver-based photos have super fine grain structures (comparable to megabits) that can be scanned with higher dpi's to reveal awesome details at the size of the iPad's screen.

More self-centered folks wanted to see only the pics that they were in and the Faces feature enabled them to instantly get their wish. The Faces identification feature is one of the niftiest developments in photo editing that I've ever come across and greatly enhances the value of both the iPhoto and Aperture apps. Identifying the people in the old photos by name is one of the more pleasurable aspects of working on them.

The Locations feature is not as useful for old photos because the old cameras did not include built-in GPS identifiers. However, it is possible to manually specify the locations if one so choses, but that is kind of a chore.

Old 2" x 3" prints (and smaller) reveal a tremendous amount of grit when enlarged and therefore require hours of digital cleaning to appear half-way descent when enlarged to the iPad size. All sorts of specs and dust must have been on the projection lenses at the photo processors that they didn't worry about because the eventual prints were so small. Without digital cleaning all of the flaws detract from the viewing experience because they are so prominent when enlarged. But after digital cleaning the subjects in the photos appear almost 3-dimensional as if one could reach into the iPad to touch them.

Later color prints -- not the most recent -- have become color-skewed or faded and this is where Aperture really shines to make them look fresh and new again. Some third-party tools are very clever in this regard.

I am using an Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner that can handle prints, slides and negatives while offering a broad range of dpi scanning choices. It's plugged into my MacBook Pro with retina display that enables Aperture to "sing". The rMBP is so fast that it makes this seemingly tedious project much more fun than work -- though still mindbogglingly time-consuming.

 

[Websnapx2]

It's highly unethical for Apple to continue selling Aperture in the App Store.

Why will the app explode? Will it stop working after install? How is it unethical? because it is no longer the future? Like Final Cut Pro, will it not still work on existing systems until you remove it?

Easy with the nerd rage, yo. You are over-reacting. They are selling a product that works as advertised and have not said it will be incompatible with future hardware.

 

[Ray2]

Why not search for a few photography professionals to test the app and provide feedback as well. No offense to the enthusiasts that may work at Apple retail stores.

Perhaps because its not aimed at photography professionals. Don't know but the selected group does not translate as a good signal to me. Being passionate about photography can mean anything from a gear collector to an iPhone photographer to an enthusiast. But I doubt there are many protogs working in their retail stores. Those I know, who are heavily invested in Aperture, are getting nowhere as far as more info from Apple.

Not being critical of Apple but the demise of an Apple pro app is hardly the end of the world. For those who find iPhoto a challenge and tie up Genius Bar employees' time, there may be benefit. And that may very well be the reason why retail employees are being involved.

 

[swordio777]

If they are seeking people to begin internal testing now, how the hell are they going to have the public version ready in time for the release of 10.10? That's only 2-3 months from now.

I have a feeling that v1.0 of the Photos app will be messy and missing a boat load of features that didn't make the cut in time.

Apple said at the keynote that Photos won't launch until early next year.

It won't be part of 10.10 when that launches in a few months.

 

[Websnapx2]

This is my biggest worry. Apple hasn't mentioned or shown any evidence that metadata can be viewed or edited with Photos. Smart albums based on ratings, keywords, labels, etc are critical for me. I'm very excited to maintain my library through Photos on iOS, but it will be worthless for me if my whole library is just dumped into the huge mess that Moments is currently. The Dev forums for iOS 8 aren't very encouraging either. It would seem backwards now that they are pushing keywords/tags in Finder. But you'd also think they would have added that to the iPad with the release of the CCK...

Because it's not coming out until spring. You haven't heard because it's not done. They are working on it to present in September, maybe even in the new year. Why would they go around telling everyone what they can and can't do when it's not done yet? Also, I'd like to give you more credit but you looking for be-all-end-all answers for Photos by looking at iOS 8 dev info is just silly. Was iPhoto for iPhone as "feature rich" as it was for OS X? No. Was iMovie for iOS as powerful as iMovie for OS X? NO! SO why on earth would you think that Photos for OS X would just be a straight port from iOS, including it's limitations? There is literally no precedence for it. Is the Music app as feature rich as iTunes? No, so lets not assume apple is looking at the Photos app like they are looking at the messages app. The two apps (iOS and OS X versions) will share API's and that will be pretty much it. How about they officially reveal the app before we claim the sky is falling.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

When last I looked, Aperture was sold for EUR 63,- on the AppStore - which is roughly EUR 236,- LESS than the boxed version of Aperture 1.0. 63 bucks hardly qualifies as "software of that price" hence there is not much to research and nobody is a fool for buying such a software for that price..

Hey, look, you might be King Midas who looks down from your F12 Berlinetta on "common folk" who only have an 328i,...

but for the average consumer anything more that a few bucks is worth researching before purchasing. Me personally, I'm not cheap but I'm not a spendthrift either. I value the work it took me to accumulate my money and spending money indiscriminately betrays that effort. It's an idiot move and partly to blame for the whole economy crash of '08 with people taking out negative amortizing loans.

So no, I don't drop $80 for nothing. For me that is a decent shirt, a tank and a half of gas, two tickets to a baseball game, etc., etc. I need to know what I'm spending my money on and whether it addresses my problem or need. If not why waste that money when it could go to a better purpose?

Anyone who does gets exactly what they deserve and can only blame themselves, not Apple here. Of course for those like you who regard $80 as chicken waste, they won't care either way, you are correct.

 

[Websnapx2]

Perhaps because its not aimed at photography professionals. Don't know but the selected group does not translate as a good signal to me. Being passionate about photography can mean anything from a gear collector to an iPhone photographer to an enthusiast. But I doubt there are many protogs working in their retail stores. Those I know, who are heavily invested in Aperture, are getting nowhere as far as more info from Apple.

As a former apple retail employee, I can say I worked with two semi-pro photographers (I say Semi-pro because their main job was still training and genius bars stuff but were paid photographers with tons of shooting gigs after hours) so insinuation they are not up to snuff for pro level testing is disingenuous. They both could easily make a living off of it if they dropped the apple gig but they like it.

Also, maybe the Pros who WERE asked to beta test it (because they always are) are just better at keeping their mouth shut and not tell everyone what's going on. NDA's being what they are. They obviously won't be asking retail employees to test as pros and they are not going to ask retail employees to ask pros, Apple would just do that bit themselves.

There is a lot of freaking out on this thread (not necessarily you) for no reason.

 

[Steve121178]

Apple said at the keynote that Photos won't launch until early next year.

It won't be part of 10.10 when that launches in a few months.

I'll still wager v1.0 will be useless and bereft of features & content like most Apple apps at launch.

 

[MentalFloss]

Why not search for a few photography professionals to test the app and provide feedback as well.

Who says they are not doing that?

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

I do wish Apple would use a different image--or else adjust this one, with perhaps ---an image editing app--- because the tree in the road is just too irritating to look at more than one painful time...