Well, it's done. Dropping all Apple desktop apps.

[Razeus]

Since Apple has billions upon billions of cash in the bank, yet can't seem to update any of their desktop software on my iMac with new features & benefits since 2009, I've decided to stop using all of my Apple software. I've concluded Apple has abandoned desktop development of software and any "features" that come up will be iOS related (ie. Mountain Lion).

Therefore:

1) Aperture 3 has been dropped for Lightroom 4.
2) iWork has been replaced by Google Docs for "light" documents and Office for the heavier stuff, especially Excel.
3) iCloud will continue to be used to backup my iDevices. Dropbox is where it's MUCH easier to get data/documents/photos to and from people. Photostream is a joke.
4) I've replaced many iOS apps with apps that are more cross platform with Windows and Android (ie. Evernote)
5) Now that Dropbox can make Photo albums and make them shareable, iPhoto is in the process of being let go. And guess what, the albums I create on the phone, are auto created on the desktop. Something Apple just can't seem to do.
6) Mail and iCal and Contacts have been replaced and moved to Google.

 

[LV426]

In the days when I was in a pram, I remember throwing out my toys, too...

 

[dukebound85]

I do similar things. Interplatform compatibility is big. Last thing I desire is having my entire workflow OS/platform dependent

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Since Apple has billions upon billions of cash in the bank, yet can't seem to update any of their desktop software on my iMac with new features & benefits since 2009, I've decided to stop using all of my Apple software. I've concluded Apple has abandoned desktop development of software and any "features" that come up will be iOS related (ie. Mountain Lion).

Therefore:

1) Aperture 3 has been dropped for Lightroom 4.
2) iWork has been replaced by Google Docs for "light" documents and Office for the heavier stuff, especially Excel.
3) iCloud will continue to be used to backup my iDevices. Dropbox is where it's MUCH easier to get data/documents/photos to and from people. Photostream is a joke.
4) I've replaced many iOS apps with apps that are more cross platform with Windows and Android (ie. Evernote)
5) Now that Dropbox can make Photo albums and make them shareable, iPhoto is in the process of being let go. And guess what, the albums I create on the phone, are auto created on the desktop. Something Apple just can't seem to do.
6) Mail and iCal and Contacts have been replaced and moved to Google.

Can you elaborate on this more? Are you talking about creating folders in Drobox and adding photos there on the mobile app?

 

[Razeus]

Can you elaborate on this more? Are you talking about creating folders in Drobox and adding photos there on the mobile app?

The feature isn't on the iOS app yet, but it is for Android. iOS should be implemented soon.

You can read more here: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39...share-photo-albums-using-dropbox-for-android/

I can create albums on the website with my photos (all photos are already sorted by date in Dropbox's photos feature), but the iOS app should enable me to do it on the phone and allow those creations to be automatically made on the website and vise versa. If you don't have the Dropbox "albums" feature, you can sign up for it (becauase it's being slowly rolled out).

It's neat beacuse the folders you have in Dropbox stay how you have them, but the albums are "virtual". They simply reference your photos and don't move them around. It's nice because I can basically drop all my photos in one folder and just use the Albums feature to create specific sets of photos, instead of having all of these Events that iPhoto likes to do.

https://blog.dropbox.com/2013/01/coming-soon-to-your-dropbox-document-previews-and-easier-sharing/

 

[ugahairydawgs]

The feature isn't on the iOS app yet, but it is for Android. iOS should be implemented soon.

You can read more here: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39...share-photo-albums-using-dropbox-for-android/

I can create albums on the website with my photos (all photos are already sorted by date in Dropbox's photos feature), but the iOS app should enable me to do it on the phone and allow those creations to be automatically made on the website and vise versa. If you don't have the Dropbox "albums" feature, you can sign up for it (becauase it's being slowly rolled out).

It's neat beacuse the folders you have in Dropbox stay how you have them, but the albums are "virtual". They simply reference your photos and don't move them around. It's nice because I can basically drop all my photos in one folder and just use the Albums feature to create specific sets of photos, instead of having all of these Events that iPhoto likes to do.

https://blog.dropbox.com/2013/01/coming-soon-to-your-dropbox-document-previews-and-easier-sharing/

Gotcha.

Can I ask what prompted all of this? Was there something specific lagging in Aperture, iPhoto, or iWork that led to the move?

 

[Razeus]

Gotcha.

Can I ask what prompted all of this? Was there something specific lagging in Aperture, iPhoto, or iWork that led to the move?

Lack of updating the software.

Better support and community and presets for LR than Aperture. I know it will be continued to be supported by Adobe as it's not an "after thought" the way Apple seems Aperture to be.

iWork doesn't seem to retain formatting when someone else opens in MS Office. I seem to be more efficient using Office than iWork simply because I know where every thing is. Exporting to an Office format seems convoluted. Why can't there be a simple "save as" feature or why can't I just make Office formats the default save? It's like Apple is deliberately trying to hamper the Office compatibility of iWork. Too many work arounds with iWork.

iPhoto is just lacking in this day and age. Especially using online tools like Snapjoy (now owned by Dropbox) and Everpix. Why can't albums I create on my iPhone automatically be sync back to the desktop of iPhoto? Why won't videos get saved to the Photostream? Why isn't iPhoto part of iCloud?

I'm at the point I just want stuff to work. Not having to do work arounds for rather simple and mundane stuff.

 

[printz]

6) Mail

Hmm, I merely use Mail.app as a client for my Yahoo! and Gmail addresses — nothing Apple platform-specific. It does act stupid with Yahoo! sometimes (bugging me to write the password again), but otherwise it's quite convenient, especially when I'm not connected to Internet. Are you using another desktop client for e-mail that won't do this, or are you simply going online to see your mail?

 

[jwt]

I honestly think that Apple has grown its product line faster than it has acquired talent. They've been spread way too thin in recent years. While Jobs cracked the whip and kept things on schedule, Cook is unable to do so. And with recent departures of key talent, the remaining talent has had to absorb too many responsibilities. I think this has a lot to do with drop in AAPL.

 

[talmy]

Aperture had some nice processing features added in a "point" release, and all the apps have had revisions for Lion and Mountain Lion features, so it's not like they have been abandoned. And they all work fine for my uses. The databases maintained by iTunes, iPhoto/Aperture (which now share formats), Mail, Calendar, and Contacts are used so pervasively in Mac OS, Apple Apps and most of the major 3rd party apps I use that I can't imaging just tossing these out. It sure beats my decades of MS Windows experience where I was lucky if any two programs (outside of the Microsoft Office suite) world operate well together.