Nikon and Fuji Redux

...Thom Hogan has weighed in on the Sentaku rumor. 'Tis as we thought.

Thom begins, "When did I become the voice of moderation? ;~)" which made me laugh.

Another interesting article from Thom—a rundown on the coming migration away from 32-bit apps in the new MacOS. He tells you how to check your computer to identify the 32-bit apps. ACR is 32-bit, so we'll be keeping an eye on that. (I do my image processing in a combination of ACR and Photoshop CS6, with most tasks done in ACR.)

Becoming a better photographer
Also, check out Mike Plews' Featured Comment under the "iPhone Magazine Cover" post. It's a thumbnail review of the iPhone camera, and I agree with what he says.

Mike
(Thanks to Peter and Mike)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Thom Hogan: "I've updated both articles in question with some additional clarifications. The big news with MacOS really concerns things like the Nik Collection. It's 32-bit. Under Apple's current plans, Nik will not run come fall of 2019. As it is, Nik already has some issues with the latest version of Photoshop CC 2017. As with the transition to Intel processors, we're going to find out what developers are really still in the game and updating their products. If you're concerned about this, now is the time to use something like Parallels to create a virtual partition with your current OS/apps."

Comments

[DavidB]

Re: 32 vs. 64 bit apps on macOS.

This could be a bigger challenge for users than the switch from Motorola chips to PowerPC...or PowerPC to Intel. This will certainly cause a lot of trouble for folks using perfectly good apps that are 32 bit...but with no future for a 64-bit upgrade.

[Peter Gilbert]

My Nik Plug-in tools show up individually as 64-bit. But my MS Office for Mac (Word, ExCel, Powerpoint) are 32-bit. Also the disc backup software for my LaCie external HDD. Bummer.

[Kevin Purcell]

This deprecation of 32 bit apps in macOS was in Platform State of the Union keynote at the WWDC but hasn't been too well reported

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/102/
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/06/apple-to-phase-out-32-bit-mac-apps/

During its Platform State of the Union keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple told developers that macOS High Sierra will be the "last macOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromises."

"without compromises": that's an interesting qualifier.

Starting in January of 2018, all new apps submitted to the Mac App Store must be 64-bit, and all apps and app updates submitted must be 64-bit by June 2018. With the next version of macOS after High Sierra, Apple will begin "aggressively" warning users about 32-bit apps before eventually phasing them out all together.

The timeline (AFAICT) is:

Fall 2017 - The next version of macOS 10.13, High Sierra, will run 32 bit apps and not warn you about them.

Jan 2018 - 32 bit apps are deprecated in the MacOS app store (no new 32 bit apps)

June 2018 - all apps (and updates) in the macOS app store will be 64 bit. No more 32 bit apps for purchase or 32 bit app updates.

Fall 2018 - macOS 10.14 will warn you that 32 bits app support will go away in the next OS version (just like iOS 10)

Fall 2019 - macOS 10.15 will not run 32 bits apps (just like iOS 11)

I think Thom makes it sound more urgent than it is (you have more than 2 years before support disappears if you are an end user).

[John Camp]

Thom's article says, in part, "...the man said to have instigated the whole restructuring is a relatively new Nikon director that comes from, you guessed it, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi."

Not to be overly modest, but I personally wouldn't have guessed that, because I personally never heard of that bank. 8-)

[Mathew Hargreaves]

I found very interesting the Thom Hogan article about how the software plug-in makers are now becoming stand-alone platforms. Hopefully their goal to compete against Photoshop succeeds. Adobe needs competitors. though I would not be surprised if someday in the future, that they try to develop into cloud services too.

[Richard Parkin]

Thom Hogan suggests using Parallels to run 32 bit apps after Apple stops supporting them. This is fine for many apps but does it work for graphics apps? I run Mac OS X Lion and Mavericks in Parallels for a discontinued version of FileMaker Pro but it will not work for the older iWork Pages etc - files open but display empty windows. It's a well known problem and I believe due to Parallels using its own virtual graphics card rather than the real one and so cannot use the OS X display system (Open GL ??).

[Steven Healey]

Hmmm. I've been around a few corporate acquisitions/mergers and I guess I'm reminded of the quote from Hemingway:

"How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly."

— “The Sun Also Rises” - Ernest Hemingway

[Steve Jacob]

I totally agree with Thom that Nikon's camera business would be a terrible fit for Fuji, and that Fuji would have no interest in bankrupting itself to buy it. A very implausible rumour indeed.

The insider anxiety and rumour mill surrounding the potential sale of the stepper business is an entirely separate issue, and of more concern/interest to Nikon shareholders, though probably not camera buyers.

[Geoffrey Heard]

Why the angst re Apple? Nobody said you had to buy your apps from the apps store. Nobody said you had to update (i.e. downgrade) your Mac OS or face some sort of dreadful, unknowable future! Nobody said you must have a new Mac (in fact, Apple has been discouraging that, in part in the pro area at last).

I'm writing on a 2011 15" MBP with OS X.6.8. I recently upgraded from a 2010 15" MBP because I spilt half a cup of tea (black, no sugar) on the keyboard and it wouldn't work properly after that.

I do use a 64 bit image (and more) editor -- the vastly capable PhotoLine, which costs <$100 and takes all the PS compatible plug-ins. I also use 32 bit Canvas X -- one of the major reasons why I stick with X.6.8 -- unsupported for 10 years but still producing paid work (almost) daily (although I am slowing down).

The other really major reason I don't get a new Mac and OS is every time I look at a Mac OS "upgrade", I see a load of rubbish that doesn't interest me in the slightest and would, in fact, impede my work.

By the way, I do writing, photography, and building websites.

Cheers, Geoff

[Chris C]

Checked mine out, Nik collection is 64 bit, as is Aperture and DxO9. Perhaps Thom just needs to update some of his software.