Petition to reinstate FCP 7 found on Apple Discussion Board

I'm posting link below - but including petition as it appears reasonable in the hope that Apple considers the damage it's doing to thousands of editors who depend on this for a living while the world beta tests Final Cut x (to be clear I didn't write what is below - it came from Apple discussion group - see link below)


Petition Link


To: Apple, Inc.



We, both the editors and affected filmmakers who rely on Final Cut Pro as a crucial business tool, do so in the same way Photoshop, Maya, Pro Tools, and other industry-standard applications are relied on by industry-leading post-production environments. Many have invested hundreds of thousands (some even millions) of dollars in creating Final Cut Pro based companies. These are now threatened by a "prosumer-grade" product upgrade of Final Cut Pro 7 titled "Final Cut Pro X," and will likely put several of these companies out of business. The costly process of migrating studio hardware and software is a major burden, especially on studios that have made recent upgrades to support Final Cut Pro. If many had known of the Final Cut Pro X release prior to investing in expensive hardware and software licenses, most, if not all, would have sought alternative solutions.



A large corporation such as Apple, Inc. should not make "revolutionary" paradigm-shifting changes to software which can be referred to as "industry-standard". This is unfair to workers who rely on Final Cut Pro as a business tool and will devastate the Final Cut Pro community. Many editors have relied on the software since its first release and supported Apple through both the hard and easy times. Apple Inc. has over $75 billion in assets and does not need to risk the livlihood of an entire industry by silently discontinuing "Final Cut Pro" instead of selling it to a company willing to support working professionals.


We, the undersigned, hereby request that:


Final Cut Pro is restored under a new name with the functionality and user interface of Final Cut Pro 7.
Final Cut Pro X is to be considered part of the iMovie family or labeled a "prosumer" product.

OR

The source code to Final Cut Pro 7 is auctioned to a third-party, such as Adobe.

That link now reads : "It appears you're not allowed to view what you requested. You might contact your administrator if you think this is a mistake."

Here's the actual petition:
[www.petitiononline.com]

59 petition signers so far . . . sure to blow the wind up Apple's boardroom cavern . . . considering they scrapped the FCP development team last year (?) perhaps this travesty is not alas, reversible.

As for the LAFCUG forum, surely it's days are now numbered as the program has been obliterated? what a shake-up .

Regards
Bluey,

Hang on the software has only been released for a few days give it just half a chance... 12months down the line half of the issues that we have at the moment may well be gone, and just because apple isn't still selling fcp7 doesn't mean it suddenly won't boot up on your mac (assuming your not always going to be blindly downloading every update that pops up) nor that apple won't provide updates to fcp for a while (there is a difference between continuing support and continuing to sell a product)

The forum will remain because most of us will continue to keep using fcp7 - and it will grow and more people join using fcpx - and both.

Last time i looked up im pretty sure the sky hasn't just fallen... ok so there is one hell of a thunderstorm but it ain't the end of the world just yet.

my only point is that downgrading FCP to imovie standard is not 'the way forward' - that is all, and many people seem to agree (at least 60 from the last count

as for 'the sky falling' it sure has in london although calling this 'update' the end of the world is going a tad too far IMO.

Regards
Bluey,

link broken or Apple censored it

Quote
fredtr3
fredtr3 Wrote:
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> link broken or Apple censored it

i signed it and it works for me . . .

. . . also it's not about this new imovie product being a "foundation" - the point is that FCP was already far more than just 'a foundation' hence the 10+ years of development that had gone into the program only for it now to be infantilised and dumbed down beyond recognition.

what apple have in effect done is delete an industry standard tool.

Bluey,

Wow, 134 people. You guys really showed Apple.

Wait until tomorrows numbers. It should double!

I don't think it will ever reach a significant number of signatories (proportional to the total FCP7 userbase) and even if it did, has Apple ever responded to petitions? I can't recall an instance where they have.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Has anyone in the history of the world ever taken an internet petition seriously?

It just makes those complaining about FCP X (most of whom have spent more time making plans to switch to Premiere or move to Canada than actually using FCP X) look more foolish.

Mike Watson Wrote:
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> Has anyone in the history of the world ever taken
> an internet petition seriously?

[en.wikipedia.org]

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Just put the 64 bit code into FCP7's GUI for starters.
I just want to get on with editing not go through the frustration of learning another (inadequate) application.

Please spread the word:


Please join me on next Saturday July 2nd at 10am in front of your locals Apple Store (world wide) for a protest to bring back Final Cut Studio.

This will bring media coverage and put Apple under more pressure to do something about this miserable situation.

We can't do our work with iMovie Pro!

come in masses!!!

It will probably be 112º outside the Apple store where I live. Can I do my protesting inside the store instead?

Quote
Please join me on next Saturday July 2nd at 10am in front of your locals Apple Store (world wide) for a protest to bring back Final Cut Studio.

If you want to be taken seriously and I doubt that you do, then use your real name.

Michael Horton
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Up over 1000 signatures and sure to rise after the story was picked up by a gadget blog at The Washington Post.

The Petition is now past 2000 signatures - more than a thousand more in the last 6 hours.

For those who say internet petitions are meaningless well ,perhaps they are -

But if you believe Apple should continue to at least sell FCP7 and offer support until FCP X is ready for prime time - it may be helpful to add your digital signature -


if you agree - go here:

Petition

It's clear the new program has great potential and I'd hoped to dive in and convert my old projects to the new program as soon it launched. But as of now, it's not useful for the what I and most full time professional editors need to do.

Reinstating FCP 7 as an option until it's improved will go a long way toward putting nervous production houses at ease .

I agree totally, Andy. I've already signed the petition.

I did so not because I hate FCPX. In fact I think FCPX is tremendously exciting. I've been reading Craig Seeman's comments and I have to say that I think he's right that the foundational concepts could well become the editing software paradigm for the 21st century. It may never become a tool that best suits me personally, but that's OK because it's not aimed at me. I have no problem with that.

The reason I signed the petition is because I believe this whole saga has exposed a very fundamental problem with the way digital society functions. I accept that Apple designed and wrote the code for the old FCP and that therefore they hold the copyright and can do whatever they like with it.

On the other hand, when a piece of software becomes as successful as FCP has over the last 10 years, it starts to become something more than just a whole lot of code. When 100's of thousands of people are depending on it for their livelihoods, a whole new responsibility begins to emerge.

My issue is with the EOL status of FCP7. I actually mentioned this in a post a month ago:
[www.lafcpug.org]

There comes a point where (some) software packages becomes so successful that they take on a social function which goes way beyond the profitability of the copyright holder. Imagine if Microsoft were to unilaterally withdraw the Office suite. Quite simply, the result would be worldwide chaos within months.

Compare this with the auto industry. I might have a 20 year old car. But if I do, I know there'll be no problem buying spare parts for it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that software which has become vital to the lives of multitudes of people should never be allowed to be rendered redundant overnight. There's evidence of market failure here.

I sincerely hope this won't be seen as a rant.

Mike