What About the Mac Version?
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In February 2002 I wrote in this column about Apple Computer's acquisition of Nothing Real, and mentioned to some extent that the acquisition, and others like it (Emagic, Silicon Grail), would cause some of the software developers that develop for the dwindling Mac platform to reassess the allocation of their engineering assets for the Mac platform. It appears that this is what occurred with the release of Adobe's latest video editing application without a Mac version. Adobe today announced that its Premiere Pro video editing application will be a Windows XP-only product. This could mark the first of what could be a gradual de-emphasis of the Mac platform by other core third party software vendors in the DCC space.
In an interview with DMN last week and pointed out so eloquently in David Nagel's news today on CreativeMac.com, Adobe's Dave Trescot called the move by Adobe as purely a business decision. Trescot intimated that the move to not develop Premiere Pro for the Macintosh was based on Apple already offering three video editing applications exclusively for the Mac platform. Trescot also pointed out that Premiere Pro is a new, from the ground up application, and to spend engineering dollars on a Mac version could conceivably be for naught if Apple were to ship its Final Cut Pro application for free. All good reasons to not develop a Mac version. [an error occurred while processing this directive]But where does this leave Apple and those who use and espouse the platform? The good of it all is that Apple Computer can provide their core users with the whole widget--the hardware and the software to create digital video, audio, effects, and author DVDs, and Apple isn't beholden to software developers abandoning the platform, as happened somewhat during the 1990s. The bad of it all is Apple is increasingly becoming a more closed "black box" type system, something that previously was relegated to the trash heap a long time ago, and Apple, without viable competition, would be free to charge whatever it deems appropriate for its tools. If Final Cut Pro were the only professional video editing application on the Mac platform, what would stop Apple from raising the price exponentially as it has done with its Shake application on non-Mac platforms?
So where do things stand with Adobe's other tools? In addition to Premiere Pro, Adobe's newest applications, Encore DVD, a DVD authoring tool, and Adobe Audition, an audio editing tool, are Windows only. Version 6 of After Effects was announced today, with a Mac version. But this app could conceivably go away on the Mac if Apple decides to ship a cheap version of its Shake tools. Or the company could ship its Chalice tools for the Mac at a competitive price to After Effects and Adobe could no longer have an incentive to build After Effects for the Mac. Illustrator is still shipping on the Mac, as are many other Adobe tools. Photoshop, considered by some as the cash cow for Adobe Systems, enjoys wild popularity on the Mac platform. But what if Apple were to develop a professional imaging application that competes with Photoshop? Would Adobe have the monetary incentive to continue developing Photoshop for the Mac? Photoshop is an essential tool in the DCC industry, and especially in the electronic publishing community. The Mac rules the desktop publishing market, and Photoshop is one of the core apps for those employed in the DTP realm, but everyone knows that a Windows PC can run Quark and Photoshop just as efficiently as the Mac does. Desktop publishing can and is being done on Windows.
Would Adobe stop developing Photoshop for the Mac platform?
Probably not. But it can be done given Apple's moves. A year ago it wasn't clear what Apple was doing, acquiring all those tools vendors. But it did start a trend of sorts, Adobe now has a complete video suite, Pinnacle Systems also has a suite as well. Both run on Windows. Apple has its own suite running on its own hardware. So, is Apple painting itself into a corner and forgoing third party developers to move ahead all by itself? Will others, such as Avid Technology abandon the platform as well? Will Apple raise its prices for Final Cut Pro? Is it the 1990s all over again for Apple? Any of you Windows users want to switch to Mac?
John B. Virata is an executive producer at Digital Media Net. He currently runs Adobe Premiere on both a Mac and a PC. His views are his own and do not reflect those of DMN. You can email him at jvirata@digitalmedianet.com
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