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Apple Issuing Refunds for Final Cut Pro X Upon Request

itsokay said:
i dont know why, but I feel sad for those guys who gave up on the product early. playing around with fcpx, its so simple yet extensive, just like the mac and the objects connected to its operating system. you just have much time being attentive to what is before you, like pointing your attention to your woman as you look for her ticklish parts. but, oh well, whatever makes you happy guys. :)
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I agree -- it's amazing how many people relish the past and avoid every paradigm shift they face. As an old guy I remember the uproar by the "professionals" when the GUI based operating systems (Windows & Mac) were threatening DOS, when Windows Word was about to replace the DOS based Wordperfect, when FrontPage simplified web page development, when Apple chose to dump the inefficient Flash, etc. No one is forced to buy Final Cut Pro X - the current Final Cut will continue to be be viable for a decade in its current form. Change is a bitch but inevitable -- get over it.
 
linuxcooldude said:
I find it all very strange. What professional goes out and buys a totally new rewrite of software on the first day of release? Then expects a refund? Stupid.
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I don't think i have read any posts where a professional has intimated that they bought FCPX and immediately dumped FCP7...

This fact doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow that the new version simply doesnt cut the mustard.
 
when did Apple become a halfass company? it always seems as though they have waited to role out new products until they were sure they were ... quality, not to mentioned, FINISHED.
 
There may be issues with Final Cut, but i wouldnt hold at value at all the stupid "1 star" reviews.
 
Steve is not going to be happy about this....

... But long-term I see updates and big improvements coming to FCP X

FCP X is a bit like version 1.0 of iPhone OS... anyone remember that... it was great but lacked several critical features.
 
Jelite said:
Are people too lazy to do a bit of research before they drop $300 on something?
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Or for a lot of people, buying 1 seat was their research. Apple could've probably prevented a lot of backlash by offering trials to bigger customers through their representatives.
 
Final Cut Pro X has an amazingly powerful foundation for video editing.
Is it a true replacement for Final Cut Pro 7? No, and this was Apple's major blunder.

Had they released this software as simply Final Cut X, and left sales/support for the older Final Cut Studio in place, there wouldn't be the massive uproar about this.

I like the promise of what Final Cut Pro X offers, but I work in TV, and we deal with tape. A lot of tape. Someone said elsewhere "As long as the history channel exists, there will be a need for tape support". I don't like using tape, but when you need to archive hours and hours of footage on a stable long (years) term format, tape is great.

I'm sure over the next 2 years FCPX will mature into a better program for true professionals, but right now, the niche pro's aren't happy.. And the niche pro's are the ones who create witty clips that will lampoon this release, that consumers will laugh at, even if they don't know why.

The bottom line is this could have been partially avoided through better marketing and planning. Killing the FCS3 outright was a very poor choice. They literally dropped 30,000 pro users in hopes of getting 3,000,000 prosumers on board.

Yesterday I filed for a refund.


Finally to the people screaming "It's a 1.0 release! What did you expect?!"..... Yes, it's a 1.0 release, but it's a 1.0 release with 11 years of research behind it. It should have been very close to feature parity of the existing FCS7 at release, not super stripped out like it is. Screw the color correcting other new features and release a stable product that mimics it's predecessor closely. Then later add these new features in. I don't need stupid title creation cloud bubbles, I need multicam. Later on add the silly comic title tools, but multicam should be a part of the 1.0 release. Christ, FCPX 1.0 could have been exactly the same as final cut 7 with zero new features, but based on the new ultra fast core and people would have been ecstatic, then roll out new features in the future releases.
 
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mopppish said:
It's not like Apple was hiding the fact that a lot of professional functionality had not yet been implemented.
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Where exactly in Apple's product information is that information available? Where on their website does it make mention that features in the previous version aren't there?

reel2reel said:
For gawd sake, what were people expecting?? So someone has got to have something on the first day just cause it's new and then they whine to Apple about it???
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People were expecting at least the same functionality and features as the previous version? I don't see why that's an unreasonable expectation. And I don't see why being a X.0 version should magically make any release immune from any and all criticism. Of course later versions will be better, but if it's not worth $299 yet, they shouldn't be selling it yet.


BuzzMega said:
There is no way to buy shoes on the internet.
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Off topic, but yeah there is. And they're doing extremely well.
 
So I wonder if when they issue a refund, they are able to remove the (probably 1 star) review? If that's the case, could they be trying to buy their way out of a bad rating?
 
justinfreid said:
"Everything just changed in post.*"

*Not necessarily for the better. All Sales Final.

I wonder if people would be as upset if the name Final Cut, and thus expectations based on older versions, was not used for this software.
Apple's break with the functionality of the past versions, and not deficiencies in FCP X, seem to be the source of a lot of complaints.
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No need to go "post"al.

It will all be fine in the end. Everybody's current stuff is working
with all the features, right?

So, why switch?

Don't buy for now, so they have to accelerate development !
 
How necessary is this product to Apple these days anyhow? Apple decided it was time to make this software more user friendly for the average prosumer and although that upsets the professionals Apple is just following the money. I bet there are a lot more prosumers to sell to then true professionals.

The consumer iDevice market is where the money is and spending a lot of time and money on the professional markets is better left to the PC hardware and software makers in this "post PC" industry.
 
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gkpm said:
Wow, I'd like to see someone use that in court for most commercial software.
Eg. Word doesn't do professional typography like LaTeX, is it unfit for purpose then?

Seems a good way to get laughed out of court.
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Well, I don't know about laws in other countries, but in the Netherlands you have the right to a refunds if a product does not do what can reasonably be expected from it. Provided that the seller does not fix it in another way. This is also the case for software.

So yes, complaining about Word not doing LaTeX style typography will not get you very far.

But an "update" that lacks important features of its predecessor? I suspect that you have a good chance.

And, if that means that Apple's "contract" does not adhere to Dutch law, they might even get their entire contract declared invalid, not just the particular passage that deals with refunding and such.
 
MR should open up a thread just so everyone can get their feelings out.

i get the impression that most of the commenters hear feel like they haven't been heard on this topic.

lol.
 
DakotaGuy said:
How necessary is this product to Apple these days anyhow? Apple decided it was time to make this software more user friendly for the average consumer and although that upsets the professionals Apple is just following the money.

The consumer iDevice market is where the money is and spending a lot of time and money on the professional markets is better left to the PC hardware and software makers in this "post PC" industry.
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That's kinda it. Apple isn't hurting these days. They could have released FCPX as something else and made a lot of people happy.. With $70+ billion in the bank they could still have made boat loads of cash off the consumers/prosumers with iMovie pro and all the idevices, but still poured money into R&D geared towards true film/broadcast professionals who still buy MacPro's. I can imagine that FCPX, on the rumored new 32 virtual core MacPro's coming in the next few months would be a mindblowing combination. To bad my planned purchase to replace my somewhat aging MacPro has been re thought since I won't be running FCPX for at least another 18months until it reaches somewhat close to feature parity of 7. Without tape support, I might never upgrade.. Then what are my long term options?

Apple is profitable enough to have made both pro's and prosumers happy. Pouring $200 million over the course of a year into developing a true pro version of Final Cut would have made next to no dent in the cash machine that Apple is these days.
 
K42 said:
But an "update" that lacks important features of its predecessor? I suspect that you have a good chance.
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So all software sold in the Netherlands needs to support all the features of its predecessors? The courts must have their hands full deciding these cases!

I can think of dozens of examples. Think Windows Mobile 7 vs 6.5 for instance...
 
Apples arrogance has finally backfired. They are always so eager to tell people what they want and not listen to what people want. Perhaps this experience will humble them and they'll go back to the company they once were. The refund is a start.
 
iSee said:
Personally, I would never buy $300 software that I wasn't sure I could return if I needed to. $1, $5, $10, sure, but nothing as expensive as $300.
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Go buy an Adobe suite and see how far you get in returning it.

Of course, they do offer demos. Which the App Store should have.
 
ericmooreart said:
Apples arrogance has finally backfired. They are always so eager to tell people what they want and not listen to what people want. Perhaps this experience will humble them and they'll go back to the company they once were. The refund is a start.
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Agree, but I doubt they will change a bit as long as Jobs still in control.
 
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