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Apple Announces the Fate of Shake
Rura Penthe writes "NothingReal, developer of Shake (a high-end video compositing application), was purchased by Apple in February. Until now the fate of Shake on Windows, Irix, and Linux was uncertain at best, but in an email sent out to Shake users, Apple has declared that Irix and Linux versions will be developed at least through 2003. However, the upcoming Windows version will be the last for that platform. Good news for Shake users with Linux render farms like Weta Digital, which used Shake for Lord of the Rings."
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This is the kind of move that will leave Eyeon and Discreet very, very happy.
Apple did the same with Spruce Tech. They had the best DVD authoring software for the PC, so Apple bought them and... killed their products. Result: did people with PCs start buying Macs to author their DVDs? No, they simply started buying Sonic's and Pinnacle's authoring programs instead.
Apple is trying to act like Microsoft (killing the competition) but they lack the intelligence (they 'think different'). Microsoft only kills competition that is still worse than their products. If they find something that's objectively better, they simply buy them, re-brand it as 'Microsoft', and sell it instead (at a higher price, possibly). And they don't just sell Windows versions. They sell to whoever is willing to buy. If it wasn't for the GPL, Microsoft would port all their software to Linux.
I really don't see how people who bash Microsoft can like Apple. They have the same kind of software monopoly that Microsoft does (so they don't bundle their browser, but they bundle video editing software, MP3 software, Quicktime, DVD authoring software, CD burning software, etc.), plus a hardware monopoly (even Mac's PCI 'thinks different' from PC PCI, so you can't use PC cards on a Mac and instead must pay three times as much for a card that's five times slower), plus a serious lack of braincells.
Judging from how often it shoots itself in the foot, Apple should change it's name to Limping Centipede.
RMN
~~~
First is the issue of the Office monopoly. Somehow, I don't think Apple has any sort of monopoly on Office suites. How about Web browsers? Sure, there are competitors, but they're still measley compared to the behemoth that is IE.
While the fact that these programs are successful doesn't make them or their creators "bad" in any way, the fact that they have been used as leverage to bully others out of the market is the problem.
What happened to Netscape? They couldn't deliver a whole alternate OS that supported Microsoft's Office monopoly. What happened to Corel's Word Perfect? They couldn't bundle an OS with their Office software either. What about Apple? Well, Apple can provide these things, which is why they are able to compete, and they can only do this because Office and IE ship for the Mac. If you think Apple would survive without Office, you're kidding yourself. It's by Microsoft's good graces that other companies live and die, including Apple.
So while Apple might have a monopoly on PPC PC's and Microsoft might have one on x86 PC's, their situation is very different. In addition, you have to remember that if you wanted to, you could manufacture your own PPC motherboard and generic box and throw Linux on it. There just isn't a market for these things so no one is doing it. On x86 on the other hand, we've got every single OEM being forced to put Windows on every single PC, or face being priced out of the business by Microsoft.
In short, monopolies aren't bad. Using yours to beat other companies to death is.
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
**I've had a few drinks, but I still think it's at worse rendundant. :)