Honey, they shrunk the boxes: FCS now in convenient nano size
There's more on the inside, where it counts, but the boxes are definitely downsized: over at ilove.nu, Peter Esse has posted his comparative unboxing pictures from Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio 2 to the newly announced and shipping versions (note that Apple is just calling the product "Final Cut Studio" now, even though many are referring to it as version 3). As you can see, the new pro apps are missing one of the pro features: printed manuals.
Considering the $300 price drop and the sheer tonnage of idle & obsolete Final Cut manuals clogging shelves in edit suites around the world, this seems like a reasonable tradeoff. Will you miss the full-scale paper documentation? Let us know below. If you want a PDF overview of the new FCS features, Apple has posted the Final Cut Studio In Depth 66-page rundown (17 MB).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JoeB said 11:45AM on 7-24-2009
I like the new packaging.
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ofir said 12:26PM on 7-24-2009
Does anyone know the weight of the new packaging for Logic Studio?
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Danny Stewart said 1:36PM on 7-24-2009
According to FedEx, who are shipping mine to me right now, it's 2 lbs. (compared with the 14 lbs. of the previous box).
Gus Jenkins said 12:49PM on 7-24-2009
I guess it's good that the documentation will now be included in a pdf on the torrent, if you're into that kind of thing.
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Josh Holloway said 12:41PM on 7-24-2009
Thank goodness, I really did not need 20 copies of those manuals floating around and I just felt bad throwing them away. I'm sure it saves them a lot on shipping, too.
The sad thing is I don't get my cool black boxes with silver Apple logos anymore... those were great for storage.
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David Hildreth said 12:42PM on 7-24-2009
My decision on if I use a PDF manual or a paper manual usually involves what I can reach from my chair at that moment. It's not big loss, all though I used the paper versions from time to time.
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Cycomachead said 1:49PM on 7-24-2009
Yeah, I agree. Apple has moved this way with virtually everything. I'll bet the only reason Apple includes manuals in the computer boxes is because well, you need something if you can't start up your Mac!
And that's why there's no more manuals in FCE, iLife, Aperture, FCP, Logic, Logic Express, and I think a small one for Leopard. If you're really new to a product a paper manual (though the pro app ones are really novels!) can be very handy to get up to speed. But as you get more experienced with an app then they become a great reference, in which case full text search and linkable indexes save so much time!!
Even for new users training books are much better (though can cost a lot, but $50 compared to $999...) and I really do like Apple's more towards training videos for Apps. It's a better experience, and while they do require and internet connection, now days, I can't see you using these apps w/o one (I mean, not while traveling but in the sense of have an internet connection some of the time.)
Oh, and it's REALLY great for the environment! Not only the huge paper savings, but the shipping stuff too!
Noah said 12:50PM on 7-24-2009
I love printed manuals, and I've hated the fact that I didn't get one with my iPhone 3GS. I had to print off that damned PDF file instead.
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Cycomachead said 1:53PM on 7-24-2009
The iPhone is the weird one. The case of using the manual here is essentially the same as some of these apps. (Depending upon someone's standpoint it may be more or less necessary.) However, unlike the Pro apps, and eletronic version is not included in the box, and there's no easy like from w/in iTunes.
So, while I don't think Apple will ever put a real manual in the iPhone box, I think that they should make it easier to access, which I don't think you found to be a problem, though I'm sure some might.
kanebake said 12:51PM on 7-24-2009
it be nice if they offered paper copies for purchase from the online store.
Personally I'm happy with the option as Ii don't need the manuals anymore and pdf will do just fine, since i used them as reference rather than doing a read through.
I recently gave away the books from 4 previous editions to Studio 2
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huth.sebastian said 12:53PM on 7-24-2009
Since it's impossible to throw an Apple box away, it's good they made them smaller, so they're not taking up as much space now.
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Kev orng said 1:10PM on 7-24-2009
Yeah, I just finally recycled the boxes for Appleworks 6 and Panther, and it was surprisingly hard to do.
Cycomachead said 1:55PM on 7-24-2009
HAHAHA! You have no idea what my room is like! My dad keeps telling me to get rid of stuff, but I just can't! (Some of the lot isn't entirely mine, like the family's Airport...)
Kev orng said 1:09PM on 7-24-2009
I can open up a fully searchable PDF manual from the help menu in a fraction of the time it takes me to move all of the old tapes that have accumulated on top of the Final Cut Studio box, slide off the lid, figure out which manual I need, and open up to the index. Since it's only an occasional reference for me, the book seems like overkill.
The box is on hand; it has never moved since we installed the current edit suite. The only time I've ever pulled a manual out is when I couldn't think of anything else to keep a co-op student busy. "here, read through this"
Other than that, though, I say good riddance to manuals.
My wife and I are packing for a move. We filled a whole recycle bin with manuals for Windows 98, ancient versions of MS Office (and the associated floppy disks),books like Photoshop 3 for Dummies, Macromedia Director and Lingo, the list goes on and on. The big fat paper manual is only useful when the software is current and you are still learning.
Once it becomes an occasional reference or you upgrade to a new version, then what you need is a PDF.
I kept the manual for my Amiga 1000, though, because every page is awesome.
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Cycomachead said 1:58PM on 7-24-2009
EXACTLY, though I didn't see your post when I posted above...
For new users the manual is important, and as much as I read on my Mac, it can't replace paper. That said, there's much better books (and for this level of software, the price is comparatively cheap) and Apple's move to online videos is quite nice!
Grant said 1:18PM on 7-24-2009
I'm actually not liking Apple's approach to downsizing their packaging. The bigger packaging may of costed them more to ship, but it made buying Apple software a "grander" experience. They started doing this around the Tiger era. I was looking at some old AppleCare and .Mac boxes and they were quite large. Oh well... (sigh).
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Dave Barnes said 1:40PM on 7-24-2009
Look for even smaller packaging when the software comes on a SD card instead of a DVD.
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Aerospeed said 4:20PM on 7-24-2009
I will bet you a whole pair of socks that Apple will never do that.
Peacekeeper said 2:47PM on 7-24-2009
@Grant:
Did it ever occur to you that the bigger packaging takes up way more ressources than the smaller ones? I really liked the cube the iPod 3G came in but I don't really see a disadvantage in my new iPod classic even though it came in a smaller box.
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Jamus said 4:16PM on 7-24-2009
Good lord the previous versions were so heavy you could slap a 4lb bar between them and do some curls.
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