5 ms·

I fully agree with the author, and I am also worried about how Apple treats its users. And I am also an abandoned Aperture user, with huge libraries full of org

by jwr 7y ago

I fully agree with the author, and I am also worried about how Apple treats its users. And I am also an abandoned Aperture user, with huge libraries full of organized albums with non-destructive edits. I still do not know what to do about that. Having read most of the comments, I got the impression that you could correlate them with age. Younger people are all "Catalina works for me! Progress! Change is necessary! What are you whining about?!". Perhaps I can relate because I've been using computers for >25 years now, and I'd like to see a division between rapidly changing things (like my applications) and foundation-type stuff that I need to get work done (like computers and operating systems).

rimliu 7y ago
I doubt you could count me someone from the younger generation. My experience with computers started with DOS. I Have been Mac user since 2006. Catalina works fine for me. I was also Aperture user. And then Lightroom user. And now I am Capture One user.
- deepGem 7y ago
  Ditto. Catalina is working fine for me too. Mac user since 2006, I think the first intel chips. It's definitely not a noticable change. The only such change was the upgrade to Snow Leopard. That was a 'wow' change. This is more like a 'meh' change. I haven't tried the iPad sharing thing yet, not too excited by that either. What I have noticed is that Apple hardware is highly inconsistent these days. I think it's a function of the Retina displays. The non retina Macbook air with such an underpowered processor sesms to work better than the current Macbook air. OTOH the Macbook pro is seemingly working great. The 1.4GHz entry model outclasses the older generations by leaps and bounds. I have also started appreciating the touch bar, despite being a heavy vim user. The one touch shortcuts for da y to day stuff like zoom sharing desktops etc are very welcome.
  - close04 7y ago
    I have used Macs for quite some time now, mostly as secondary machine. PowerMac G4, Quad G5, first Intel aluminum iMac, 2013 iMac (and a few others occasionally in between), and basically all the OS versions up to and including Mojave. That's where I stopped and moved away from Macs (at least for the time being). Not because they're bad but because I can't find a compelling reason to keep using it, it just steered away from what I considered a good match with my preferences and use cases. Still very much enjoy the iPhone and iPad. Just no room for the Mac. I guess my point is something doesn't have to be "good OR bad" for some people to like it and others to dislike it. Pretty sure it can be both at the same time, depending on where you're looking from.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- ajscanlan 7y ago
  Yeah I'm a younger generation and I believe macOS and Apple's software in general has gotten worse and worse. I've wasted hours this week wrestling with issues in Xcode 11 and the command line tools because of bugs in Apple's code. The bluetooth on my MBP2015 constantly drops, requiring a full restart in order to work again. Apps run slow whenever I have multiple monitors attached. And don't get me started on the MBP2018 hardware, that damn keyboard keeps sticking. I am not impressed with Apple's recent offerings.
- arvinsim 7y ago
  Just an aside, I also quit Lightroom because I don't want to be tied to a subscription. Since I have a Sony Camera, I am currently testing Capture One Express. How does the Capture One Pro version work for you?
mihaaly 7y ago
In my young ages I was hungry for new technology, learning and adapting the progress, experimenting. Nowadays I am for something that works and can be used for what I need. Apple is good in the first, and gives no f* about the second. Their products - including hardware - is for the young. I think I am going to accept that and 'adapt mindset' to this premise as an ultimate step of not 'resisting change'. (I already gave up on the hardware btw)
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  Their products - including hardware - is for the young. I don’t think that’s it. Once upon a time a Rolex was a serious tool for professional pilots and divers but now it’s a status symbol. It still basically tells the time but no one buys it for that. Once upon a time a Mac...
  - SiVal 7y ago
    I think there is something to this idea that Apple's products are for the young. Older folks like me learned to use computers as toolboxes of specialized tools that we could use in combination to create customized solutions to whatever we had to do. But Apple would rather sell you solutions (higher value-added) than sell you tools to make your own. By "courageously" taking things away from users, they frustrate older users who know how to do what they want for themselves, but Apple seems to be counting on a new generation of users who never learned to do things for themselves to be just fine with letting Apple do them. I always appreciated Apple's dedication to "quality", but the quality involved in computers as "bicycles for the mind" is not the Apple of today, where "quality" is about looking young, hip, fashionable, and somewhat wealthy.
    - goatinaboat 7y ago
      Yes I see what you mean, but that is a bigger trend than just Apple e.g. Google keeps trying to hide URLs in Chrome so you can only get around the web by clicking links and running Google searches. But Apple is definitely trying to hide the concepts of files, filesystems etc from users, that is something I find particularly annoying
skohan 7y ago
I'm in the same situation with Aperture. It's not only a problem because of the issue you describe with losing the product of my prior work, but it's not clear what the migration target would be. The most obvious alternative is Lightroom, but this would mean trading a tool I have been using happily for free for 7 years for a 20EUR/month subscription service I would have to maintain the rest of my digital life. My current solution is just to keep a bootable Mojave volume around, but long term I don't know.
- mamp 7y ago
  Try Capture One. I’m happy after Aperture-> Lightroom -> Capture 1
- sneak 7y ago
  You can always just pirate Lightroom (LR Classic, that is—the non-cloud-dependent one). It’s not particularly difficult, and sidesteps the subscription lock-in nicely.
  - c256 7y ago
    The article mentions that the author tried Lightroom, twice, in case the newer version was a better fit.
- benjymo 7y ago
  I don't use it often but on Linux I found https://www.darktable.org/ https://www.darktable.org/ great. They also have a Mac Version. Maybe something worth looking into.
- jwr 7y ago
  Incidentally, I am thinking about writing an Aperture export/migration tool. I want to at least preserve the album structures, ordering within albums, version grouping/selection and image metadata. I thought about doing this as a commercial project, but it's likely I'm the only one who cares (I have a large archive of historical photos organized using Aperture). One thing I've learned: from now on, I will organize my image archives using my own software. I am done with trusting any large company.
steeleduncan 7y ago
I don't fully agree, but the following really resonated > Apple has more or less always said "Jump!" and users and developers have always been expected to reply, "How high?" That attitude, We know what’s best for you, was tolerable — at times even welcome — when it was crystal clear that Apple really knew what was best. Aside from the bugs, which I'm sure will get resolved in updates, Catalina takes a lot more than it gives.

by jwr 7y ago

rimliu 7y ago

I doubt you could count me someone from the younger generation. My experience with computers started with DOS. I Have been Mac user since 2006. Catalina works fine for me. I was also Aperture user. And then Lightroom user. And now I am Capture One user.

deepGem 7y ago
Ditto. Catalina is working fine for me too. Mac user since 2006, I think the first intel chips. It's definitely not a noticable change. The only such change was the upgrade to Snow Leopard. That was a 'wow' change. This is more like a 'meh' change. I haven't tried the iPad sharing thing yet, not too excited by that either. What I have noticed is that Apple hardware is highly inconsistent these days. I think it's a function of the Retina displays. The non retina Macbook air with such an underpowered processor sesms to work better than the current Macbook air. OTOH the Macbook pro is seemingly working great. The 1.4GHz entry model outclasses the older generations by leaps and bounds. I have also started appreciating the touch bar, despite being a heavy vim user. The one touch shortcuts for da y to day stuff like zoom sharing desktops etc are very welcome.
- close04 7y ago
  I have used Macs for quite some time now, mostly as secondary machine. PowerMac G4, Quad G5, first Intel aluminum iMac, 2013 iMac (and a few others occasionally in between), and basically all the OS versions up to and including Mojave. That's where I stopped and moved away from Macs (at least for the time being). Not because they're bad but because I can't find a compelling reason to keep using it, it just steered away from what I considered a good match with my preferences and use cases. Still very much enjoy the iPhone and iPad. Just no room for the Mac. I guess my point is something doesn't have to be "good OR bad" for some people to like it and others to dislike it. Pretty sure it can be both at the same time, depending on where you're looking from.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
ajscanlan 7y ago
Yeah I'm a younger generation and I believe macOS and Apple's software in general has gotten worse and worse. I've wasted hours this week wrestling with issues in Xcode 11 and the command line tools because of bugs in Apple's code. The bluetooth on my MBP2015 constantly drops, requiring a full restart in order to work again. Apps run slow whenever I have multiple monitors attached. And don't get me started on the MBP2018 hardware, that damn keyboard keeps sticking. I am not impressed with Apple's recent offerings.
arvinsim 7y ago
Just an aside, I also quit Lightroom because I don't want to be tied to a subscription. Since I have a Sony Camera, I am currently testing Capture One Express. How does the Capture One Pro version work for you?

mihaaly 7y ago

In my young ages I was hungry for new technology, learning and adapting the progress, experimenting. Nowadays I am for something that works and can be used for what I need. Apple is good in the first, and gives no f* about the second. Their products - including hardware - is for the young. I think I am going to accept that and 'adapt mindset' to this premise as an ultimate step of not 'resisting change'. (I already gave up on the hardware btw)

goatinaboat 7y ago
Their products - including hardware - is for the young. I don’t think that’s it. Once upon a time a Rolex was a serious tool for professional pilots and divers but now it’s a status symbol. It still basically tells the time but no one buys it for that. Once upon a time a Mac...
- SiVal 7y ago
  I think there is something to this idea that Apple's products are for the young. Older folks like me learned to use computers as toolboxes of specialized tools that we could use in combination to create customized solutions to whatever we had to do. But Apple would rather sell you solutions (higher value-added) than sell you tools to make your own. By "courageously" taking things away from users, they frustrate older users who know how to do what they want for themselves, but Apple seems to be counting on a new generation of users who never learned to do things for themselves to be just fine with letting Apple do them. I always appreciated Apple's dedication to "quality", but the quality involved in computers as "bicycles for the mind" is not the Apple of today, where "quality" is about looking young, hip, fashionable, and somewhat wealthy.
  - goatinaboat 7y ago
    Yes I see what you mean, but that is a bigger trend than just Apple e.g. Google keeps trying to hide URLs in Chrome so you can only get around the web by clicking links and running Google searches. But Apple is definitely trying to hide the concepts of files, filesystems etc from users, that is something I find particularly annoying

skohan 7y ago

I'm in the same situation with Aperture. It's not only a problem because of the issue you describe with losing the product of my prior work, but it's not clear what the migration target would be. The most obvious alternative is Lightroom, but this would mean trading a tool I have been using happily for free for 7 years for a 20EUR/month subscription service I would have to maintain the rest of my digital life. My current solution is just to keep a bootable Mojave volume around, but long term I don't know.

mamp 7y ago
Try Capture One. I’m happy after Aperture-> Lightroom -> Capture 1
sneak 7y ago
You can always just pirate Lightroom (LR Classic, that is—the non-cloud-dependent one). It’s not particularly difficult, and sidesteps the subscription lock-in nicely.
- c256 7y ago
  The article mentions that the author tried Lightroom, twice, in case the newer version was a better fit.
benjymo 7y ago
I don't use it often but on Linux I found https://www.darktable.org/ https://www.darktable.org/ great. They also have a Mac Version. Maybe something worth looking into.
jwr 7y ago
Incidentally, I am thinking about writing an Aperture export/migration tool. I want to at least preserve the album structures, ordering within albums, version grouping/selection and image metadata. I thought about doing this as a commercial project, but it's likely I'm the only one who cares (I have a large archive of historical photos organized using Aperture). One thing I've learned: from now on, I will organize my image archives using my own software. I am done with trusting any large company.

steeleduncan 7y ago

I don't fully agree, but the following really resonated > Apple has more or less always said "Jump!" and users and developers have always been expected to reply, "How high?" That attitude, We know what’s best for you, was tolerable — at times even welcome — when it was crystal clear that Apple really knew what was best. Aside from the bugs, which I'm sure will get resolved in updates, Catalina takes a lot more than it gives.