This article was first published in the August, 2009, issue of
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I first wrote about this on my blog - read my latest postings here.

First, Apple releases hardware. For instance, until the iPhone was released, the best App in the world had no where to go.

Next, Apple releases the operating system to support the hardware. Sometimes, in the case of the iPhone, the operating system and the hardware are released at the same time. In other cases, such as Snow Leopard, the operating system is released separately.

Finally, with hardware and OS released and available, developers - both inside and outside of Apple - can begin the process of testing, updating, or creating great new software. But only AFTER the release. The definition of beta software is software that continues to change. By analogy, you can’t build a house on a foundation that keeps shifting. The same holds true with software.

Apple needs to release Snow Leopard. Its under-the-hood enhancements promise a wealth of opportunities for developers to build on for years to come. And that’s the key market, initially, for an OS - developers. The rest of us should wait a bit.

As editors, we rely on our gear and software to work reliably to enable us to meet our deadlines. At this moment in time, we don’t know what software works and what doesn’t work with the new operating system. Every third-party developer is scrambling to test their products for compatibility, make necessary updates, and release, if needed, a new version.

It won’t hurt anyone to hold off upgrading for a while. Apple will survive as a company. Developers will have time to update their products. And we will continue to meet our deadlines using our existing software without worry.

Snow Leopard will be great. I’m looking forward to running it on my key editing systems. But not now. Not until a few months have passed and all the kinks are worked out of the system and third-party developers have all their plug-ins, drivers, interfaces, and hardware tested, updated, and working.

So take a deep breath. Force yourself not to install the update in the middle of a project. Wait. Because I’m really not looking forward to answering the email on Saturday that starts “I just updated to Snow Leopard and now I can’t open my project. What should I do?”

TIME PASSES

I'm currently waiting on the delivery of a new MacPro because it is finally time to move on from my very trusty G-5. The MacPro will become my new main editing system.

However, when it arrives, I'm hoping it still has Leopard on it. Because it is WAY too early to move to Snow Leopard for any system that needs to be reliable.

I've written an article covering my thoughts on upgrading, but here's the executive summary: wait.

Wait to give time for developers to catch up to Apple.

Wait for Apple to find and fix any critical bugs in the software.

Wait until you are between projects and have the time to update your operating system, then all the OTHER software you own that also needs to be updated to run properly on the new operating system.

In spite of all the scrambling on blogs and Vikki's to provide a "complete list of all software that works with Snow Leopard," it is way too early to know what REALLY works and what doesn't.

Fight the urge. Wait a bit, until all the developers you count on can catch up.

UPDATE - Aug. 30

It took a day longer than I expected. I published this blog the day before Snow Leopard was released (8/27). I'm finishing this newsletter two days after the release (8/30). This afternoon I got an email from a reader, complaining that they upgraded to Snow Leopard and now, one of the plug-ins upon which they depend, won't work.

They demanded to know why they weren't told in advance, because they can't get their project finished.

My question to them, instead, is why did they decide to update NOW?

THOUGHTS ON SNOW LEOPARD

The day before Snow Leopard shipped, I sent Apple an email asking if they would provide a statement regarding Final Cut and Snow Leopard. They declined. So, here's my take.

The reason Apple released Final Cut Studio (3) BEFORE Snow Leopard, I believe, was that it did not support any of the new features in Snow Leopard. FCS is not 64-bit. It is not Grand-Central Dispatch aware. It does not support GPU-based rendering.

In other words, upgrading to Snow Leopard will not significantly improve or change the operation of Final Cut Studio. For that, we will need to wait for a future release.

So, as you are weighing whether and when to update to Snow Leopard, be sure to make the decision for the correct reason: there is something in it that you just can't live without. Because Final Cut 7 will still be essentially the same.

Ben Balser adds:

I've been running FCS (3) on Snow Leopard for a few days now doing some serious work with it. Very interesting. Installed both as "upgrades' to see what happened. No problems at all, except for the weird lacking of features in QuickTime X. If anyone installs Snow Leopard, be sure to check off the option to keep QT7, as QTX will not give you any of the Pro features we all very seriously depend on. I find QT X a huge let down, the only negative with these FSC/OSX updates.

UPDATE - Aug. 30, 2009

Grant Harrington adds:

If you have a copy of QuickTime Pro already installed, Snow Leopard installs a copy of QuickTime 7 in the Utilities folder as well. There may be a setting (I didn't notice at the time of install if there was) too, but found it there and it works as it did in Leopard.

• QuickTime X (Applications)
• QuickTime 7 Pro (Utilities)

Larry replies: Thanks, Grant.

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

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