Pixelmator banks on Mac App Store for exclusive distribution

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  • Reply 61 of 78
    penchantedpenchanted Posts: 1,070member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Right on. PS is complicated for sure, but once you own it and learn the interface and features, there is no reason to waste time fussing around with a program that can't do many of the things you are going to need like CMYK and clipping paths, both of which I use on a daily basis.



    There are plenty of reasons why PS is the preferred solution for pros but many of these will never affect casual users. For instance, I suspect that the vast majority of images are created in RGB and never see the printed page so CMYK would be unnecessary for these casual users.
  • Reply 62 of 78
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Claude427 View Post


    Pixelmator is a good tool for a lot of tasks; in some instances better than PhotoShop. You don't need a jackhammer to smash ants.



    It's apparent that you haven't seen the ants I have to contend with!



    Back, back I say! Damned ants...



    Vincent Price would be humbled! "Help me! Help!!, Help me!"
  • Reply 63 of 78
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    That's because Russell Crowe really isn't Australian.



    He has an Australian passport, that is good enough to make him Australian
  • Reply 64 of 78
    gustavgustav Posts: 827member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    My main concern with Pixelmator was committing to a tiny company which could disappear at any time.



    Committing? It's $30, for goodness sake! It'll pay for itself in less than a month. Even if they did disappear (based on their popularity, I doubt it), who cares? The app will continue to work, and if you have to switch, it's only $30 that you spent. That's not a lot of money.
  • Reply 65 of 78
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gustav View Post


    Committing? It's $30, for goodness sake! It'll pay for itself in less than a month. Even if they did disappear (based on their popularity, I doubt it), who cares? The app will continue to work, and if you have to switch, it's only $30 that you spent. That's not a lot of money.



    First of all, until a few days ago, it was $60. Second, the app's popularity was hardly known until a few days ago. Third, I don't like spending time learning an app and incorporating it into my work only to have it become abandonware. Fourth, if it is abandoned, that means it could very well not continue to work with future OSX revisions. Don't tell me you've never had that problem.



    So yes, committing. I almost bought Elements a couple of times because it was (until a few days ago) nearly the same price, and didn't have the other risks. But as I said, I think I will go for Pixelmator now, since my previous concerns have been addressed.
  • Reply 66 of 78
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s.metcalf View Post


    It does sound like current owners have been well and truly shafted (forced to pay $30 to receive any more updates, even to 1.x). They've forced to pay the same as a non owner to receive exactly the same product and updates.



    But do we know for a fact that, under the old game, 2.0 would have been free. It is possible that it would have been the same $60 dollars as version 1.



    So in fact it isn't a shaft but an advance notice of their intent to go all MAS and allowed heg current users to make the switch now, at the cheaper price, than wait until they have no choice an are thinking "well if I had none I would have bought it back when it was on sale"
  • Reply 67 of 78
    jensonbjensonb Posts: 532member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    It is snappier as it isn't doing any of the complex artificial intelligence work behind the scenes. Do some selections and modify the selected area (blur, color whatever) and check the difference. The selection edges are awful in Pixelmator. In PS5 they are automatically blended in. It's all these kind of tiny differences that separate a pro app from a fun, cheap app for home users. BTW I have both apps.



    Well sure, but it depends what you're doing with it. Plus, you're assuming that everyone has the same value equation. There are, undoubtedly, many people who prefer the snappiness and the more friendly user interface of Pixelmator (Me included), just as you and many others much prefer the smarter results of Photoshop. It's difficult to argue that Pixelmator is being pushed as an absolute alternative to Photoshop, but Photoshop is dramatically overpriced and bloated from the perspective of a lot of users, and for those users Pixelmator is a fine alternative. The article says it compares to Photoshop, it doesn't say it replaces it.
  • Reply 68 of 78
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,730member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jensonb View Post


    Well sure, but it depends what you're doing with it. Plus, you're assuming that everyone has the same value equation. There are, undoubtedly, many people who prefer the snappiness and the more friendly user interface of Pixelmator (Me included), just as you and many others much prefer the smarter results of Photoshop. It's difficult to argue that Pixelmator is being pushed as an absolute alternative to Photoshop, but Photoshop is dramatically overpriced and bloated from the perspective of a lot of users, and for those users Pixelmator is a fine alternative. The article says it compares to Photoshop, it doesn't say it replaces it.



    I'm not assuming that at all, I am making the same point you are in fact. I have both applications and have already said it's a great product for most people but as others have said it doesn't and shouldn't be 'compared' with PS5 which is a pro app pure and simple. You may prefer the snappiness but you surely can't be making a living using it. The other factor to remember is on the highest end Macs, i.e. Mac Pros and MacBook Pro i7s with a boat load of RAM and fast drives Photoshop 64 bit is actually (and finally I might add) pretty snappy too.



    It is a different discussion altogether when you say PS5 is over priced and bloated. As a professional product for those making a living with it (like other pro apps such as Final Cut Studio 2) the cost is not high when you consider the money it allows professionals to earn using it. Bloated and over priced would certainly be the reaction for the average person I grant you and that is why they shouldn't even bother with it. That's why there is a light version after all. It is as you say a matter of what you are doing. Horses for courses as they say.
  • Reply 69 of 78
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,730member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gustav View Post


    Committing? It's $30, for goodness sake! It'll pay for itself in less than a month. Even if they did disappear (based on their popularity, I doubt it), who cares? The app will continue to work, and if you have to switch, it's only $30 that you spent. That's not a lot of money.



    I think the term 'Committing' as used by the Doc was more about intellectual commitment, i.e. learning time and familiarity etc. It's always sad when an app fits like a glove then disappears. I'm sure the $30 cost wasn't the point he was really making.



    On a related note, I get that sadness when an app I have used for years is drastically changed. I used to use iMovie and FCPro depending on need (pro or fun at home) and when Apple revamped iMovie I simply found it easier to use FCPro for everything than re learn iMovie. I'm sure it's a wonderful app now but I could not be bothered when I already knew FCPro inside out. My dad (my partner in the Mac business back in the late 80's) always used to joke that he missed the days when a skill learned only became better over time, be it Chemical Engineering or Carpentry. Now we live in an age when all you have learned, all the skills you have can be useless in the blink of an eye. A friend of mine had a son who did a four year degree in CA that was focussed tightly around one software system for the video and film business. That company has almost vanished and the software no longer used. I also know many older guys who were Quark experts making their living related to the print industry, none ever leaned anything web related. No need to explain their fate! ... sorry to drone on ... Don't get me wrong, personally I love the advances and have managed to keep up ... but for how long
  • Reply 70 of 78
    enjournienjourni Posts: 254member
    Within a year, apple is going to lock out all software that doesn't use the app store, mark my words. You will pay apple 30% of your revenue or you won't have your app on the Mac.
  • Reply 71 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I think the term 'Committing' as used by the Doc was more about intellectual commitment, i.e. learning time and familiarity etc. It's always sad when an app fits like a glove then disappears. I'm sure the $30 cost wasn't the point he was really making.



    Partly, yes, as explained above. But when Pixlemator and Elements were nearly the same price, the choice was tougher. Fortunately I never pulled the trigger on either one. (I confess to discovering that trashing the preference file for Pixelmator reset the trial period, and doing this a couple of times.)



    I will buy it now, but I am still interested in a fair side-by-side comparison with Elements.
  • Reply 72 of 78
    onhkaonhka Posts: 1,025member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enjourni View Post


    Within a year, apple is going to lock out all software that doesn't use the app store, mark my words. You will pay apple 30% of your revenue or you won't have your app on the Mac.



    We did.
  • Reply 73 of 78
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enjourni View Post


    Within a year, apple is going to lock out all software that doesn't use the app store, mark my words. You will pay apple 30% of your revenue or you won't have your app on the Mac.



    Highly doubtful. If only because some company will refer back to Jobs declaration that Apple will never lock down MacOS and make a huge PR nightmare and possibly a lawsuit out of it. Hell it might even kick up some antitrust talk, which would only increase the negative articles cause the blogs love antitrust claims even more than iPhone rumors, gets them huge hits
  • Reply 74 of 78
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enjourni View Post


    Within a year, apple is going to lock out all software that doesn't use the app store, mark my words. You will pay apple 30% of your revenue or you won't have your app on the Mac.



    I could see a low end mac coming with an iOS type operating system in the future for those non tech savvy users who want a very easy to use, super safe computer. If all Macs were to require the App Store as their only source of programs, it would mean the end of Mac as a viable professional platform and probably the end of Macs altogether. So no, it will not happen. It would be suicide.
  • Reply 75 of 78
    aiaaia Posts: 181member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John.B View Post


    I went through this with 1Password Pro on my iPhone. The version on my iPhone works, but the sync'ed version on my Mac has gone missing (I get the dreaded gray exclamation point in iTunes) and there is no way to get it to sync from my iPhone back to iTunes on my Mac.



    If you don't have access to the original .ipa, you're basically screwed. Is that scenario any different with the Mac App Store?



    Did you try the "Transfer Purchases from "iPhone"" in iTunes? If this doesn't work on your Mac, find a different computer (PC or Mac will work), install iTunes, transfer the purchases from your iPhone to that computer, and then copy the missing .ipa back to your Mac (dragging it into iTunes on your Mac should do the trick).
  • Reply 76 of 78
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member
    Pixelmator is great at the price (and the developers are as responsive as they come), but it won't replace Elements for many users yet. Lack of any 16 bit support is a deal breaker for me. Elements has many filters greyed out for 16 bit images but at least you can do a lot and keep it 16 bit. I need an undo history. It's the way I work. Same for a Magnetic Lasso. I use it daily. There are several other reasons why I just can't use Pixelmator in my workflow.



    Here's another thing: It's a double edged sword that it solely relies on Apple's Core lib. It makes the program faster but it limits what the developers can improve on, not to mention there are other programs that also use the Core lib which makes it harder for Pixelmator to stand out from them, though I think that it's the best of those. It allows them to focus on improving the program in many ways because they don't have to keep writing code relating to the jobs that it is hooking onto the core for, but what it does go there for is not going to change radically until Apple changes it.





    Lastly, does anyone else find this irony about the App Store amusing? There are all these apps, like Pixlemator, who proudly proclaim you can run them on 10.5, but can only be downloaded from the App Store. Which requires 10.6.6!
  • Reply 77 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jlandd View Post


    Pixelmator is great at the price (and the developers are as responsive as they come), but it won't replace Elements for many users yet. Lack of any 16 bit support is a deal breaker for me. Elements has many filters greyed out for 16 bit images but at least you can do a lot and keep it 16 bit. I need an undo history. It's the way I work. Same for a Magnetic Lasso. I use it daily. There are several other reasons why I just can't use Pixelmator in my workflow.



    Here's another thing: It's a double edged sword that it solely relies on Apple's Core lib. It makes the program faster but it limits what the developers can improve on, not to mention there are other programs that also use the Core lib which makes it harder for Pixelmator to stand out from them, though I think that it's the best of those. It allows them to focus on improving the program in many ways because they don't have to keep writing code relating to the jobs that it is hooking onto the core for, but what it does go there for is not going to change radically until Apple changes it.



    Thanks for the comparison. Does anything stop Pixelmator from adding functions that don't rely on Apple's Core Lib?



    Quote:

    Lastly, does anyone else find this irony about the App Store amusing? There are all these apps, like Pixlemator, who proudly proclaim you can run them on 10.5, but can only be downloaded from the App Store. Which requires 10.6.6!



    Hadn't noticed this myself. Good catch!
  • Reply 78 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freshh20 View Post


    To bad you can only look at images, like a video game, instead of being able to experience being in it. TRON is not real.



    There's nothing more "real" or more "american" about living in the country than living in the city. I've lived in both, and I find that there's a lot more to like about the America in a city than the dull and dead lifestyle of the country. People who live in cities are just as American as those who live in the rural parts of the country.
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