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." (Reminder to Apple users: visit Slashdot's Apple section for more Apple-related news.)

Comments

Where is Your Mind?

[krmt]

MS has a monopoly on X86 PC hardware Apple a monopoly on PPC PC's.

I think you completely misunderstand the actual issue at hand.

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.