Operating System for Professionals

[Tristan Pemberton]

I think Microsoft did open source a few defunct OS's a decade or more ago too.

Yeah? I don't think so. Microsoft is the very opposite of open source.

Apple is not open source either (except for the underlying new code of Swift Playground). But at least with Apple running on UNIX means people can become familiar with it through its close open source cousin Linux. Though not the same, it has many similarities to Linux in the way a user can add/remove some apps & processes.

 

[Mark Phelan]

Steve,

I hear ya! When I set up my first RED computer system back in 2008, I wanted it to be stand-alone so nothing would interfere with it. And for the past many years, it has done an excellent job of doing just that, rendering and working on RED projects. My newer laptop can run circles around the older system and FCPX is definitely an evolution from FCP7. I'm still caught using both machines, differently.

I too would prefer a clean, no bells and extra baggage system, purpose-built for working on RED projects. The first time I used a RED Rocket card was an epiphany of sorts. And to add, I'm at the same point with my iPhone. I'm tired of the physical size of the phone, can I have my RAZR back, please? (Yes, I've seen they're coming back out, don't tempt me.)

To add, one of the best I've listened to about technology is Michael Cioni. I am always fascinated by how fast his mind works and is in sync with expanding technology. Part of it is I'm in complete agreement with what he has to say, but it also is his unabashed enthusiasm for how technology should work for us to expand our ability to create.

Don't have any answers, but definitely agree that it would be wonderful to have a system that is free of the clutter and overhead.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

Look up the meaning of the open source before making uninformed suggestions. If you release anything as an open source you can't decide which part you release and which you do not- it'l all or nothing. Anything you release as part of open source ceases to be an IP. Letter P in IP stands for property and once you release it, it's no longer your property. And last time I checked, IP is still the bedrock of business. If we don't protect IP, then we would turn into China...

Do you care to provide an example?

If there are people uniformed here it is not myself. You might be a bit young to remember, might have been windows 3.1 and dos, but am unsure. Now I'm not some young niave immature teenager to go around making up such misrepresenting twisted interpretations, negatively raining on everything positive somebody like me has to say for a bloated sense of self pride, which seems popular among the blind. Now, eben under such a ridiculous misinterpretation if open source, windows consists of.many individual components that can be individually opened up. The penny has dropped.

Open source is a licensing contract that can be made to say anything the rights developer wants. As long as it opens up some source, it is open source, though not "completely open source" by functional definition.

There is enough of this anti progress radical open source ranting agenda out there already. It is a shame to see people come here with it.

Now, my neck has been starving my Braun off and on today, and I havebbern feeling like dropping off. So I don't particularly want to deal with pwolke pulling this sort of uncibstructive stuff at the moment. You are way to seriouse, nit picking on something that doesn't really exist. Why not try to access things and be flexible. Maybe you.will reach a real conclusion to stand on and argue with people. That I could respect. (PS, pretty much like Bill Gates, as for proving the point to me (convince us, and not by contradicting functional language definitions, which by defintion can never ever be right)).

I'm too dizzy to lean over and type , I'm out of here for tonight.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

Look up the meaning of the open source before making uninformed suggestions. If you release anything as an open source you can't decide which part you release and which you do not- it'l all or nothing. Anything you release as part of open source ceases to be an IP. Letter P in IP stands for property and once you release it, it's no longer your property. And last time I checked, IP is still the bedrock of business. If we don't protect IP, then we would turn into China...

Do you care to provide an example?

Yeah? I don't think so. Microsoft is the very opposite of open source.

Apple is not open source either (except for the underlying new code of Swift Playground). But at least with Apple running on UNIX means people can become familiar with it through its close open source cousin Linux. Though not the same, it has many similarities to Linux in the way a user can add/remove some apps & processes.

Wasn't it based on BSD open source Unix? But maybe that wasn't, unfamiliar with their license.

 

[Antony Newman]

I believe that Linux has many things going for it:
+) It can scale to greater performance highs (vs Windows or macOS)
+) There are fewer restrictions that hamper development (vs macOS)
+) Bugs in the CORE OS are crowd-fixed, fixed more rapidly - leading to a very stable CORE (no OS crashes vs Windows or macOS).

In terms of what is suitable for 'Professionals', it may require us to split this into:
+) Professional Hardware : The ability to scale up and use a big enough box for the job in hand.
+) Professional Software : To leverage software technologies to maximise the platforms efficacy.

Hardware

At this point in time, Apple do not have sufficient 'grunt' in their top end system to do what we need - and this is frustrating.
If Apple have an upper limit on the electrical power that a single machine can use - the performance will be limited to what the CPUs, the GPUs, the Accelerators can do in a wattage budget, and constrained by system bottlenecks (like memory and bandwidth)

Even if Intel could click their fingers and jump from 14nm to 7nm silicon for their CPUs, they would only reduce the power consumed down to 50%, which would mean twice the performance per watt (ie twice the performance for a power budget).

This is why Intel bought Altera - to incorporate ASIC 'accelerators' to improve the power efficiency of the Hardware.
This is why IBM and NVidia are paving ahead with NVLink - to remove the bandwidth bottleneck when CPU talks to GPU.
This is why 'every other' hardware manufacturer are working together to get CCIX.

In the near term - professional hardware means lots of Intel and Nvidia (as they have the necessary technology)
In the long term - when there is at most only one nm process advantage between the Best, and the Rest, professional hardware will mean who supports what we need within a required power budget.

In my view, CCIX is the 'Linux' of the Hardware world.

Software

It is up to each software company to decide what OS features they wish to include - and therefore how streamlined the software is.

The ole Microsoft helper that used to appear in Office applications, animated all over the shop was for me an example of how not to do it.
It was border line annoying.

We are however moving towards software that has expert systems carefully designed to better pick up on user intention.

The complexity from a software perspective - is that to add this sort of logic requires a (relatively) huge amount of time, investment and testing.

Something mundane like trying to find a specific still image from 40,000 files might be faster if you could somehow type into a search field "find me all the images with a red kettle", the program then asks the OS to perform this 'natural language' request, and the OS returns a list back the program.

This is the area that I believe will add useful functionality to developers. I would also expect this sort of capability to come to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla first ... but to Linux last.

Professional software years from now may be a description on the effectiveness of its ability to respond to our intentions.

AJ

 

[Wayne Morellini]

OK, just finished looking it up, very difficult. Looks like the open source dos/windows did not go ahead, and they are only talking about maybe one day these days. They have recently opened the source code of some dos's up, for non modified distribution, but for research. So.looks like I was wrong on that one.

 

[jake blackstone]

OK, just finished looking it up, very difficult. Looks like the open source dos/windows did not go ahead, and they are only talking about maybe one day these days. They have recently opened the source code of some dos's up, for non modified distribution, but for research. So.looks like I was wrong on that one.

So I guess this doesn't apply then?:yikes:
"If there are people uniformed here it is not myself. You might be a bit young to remember, might have been windows 3.1 and dos, but am unsure. Now I'm not some young niave immature teenager to go around making up such misrepresenting twisted interpretations, negatively raining on everything positive somebody like me has to say for a bloated sense of self pride, which seems popular among the blind. "

 

[Steve Sherrick]

I'm open to Linux. The problem as I see it is the lack of support for the tools I use.

Software with Linux version
- Resolve

Software with no Linux version
- Avid Media Composer
- Final Cut Pro X
- Adobe CC (Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere)
- Pro Tools
- Assimilate Scratch
- Affinity Photo/Designer
- Pomfort LiveGrade
- Pomfort Silverstack

3rd Party hardware also a big factor here. I can understand if one is primarily using Resolve that this makes a lot of sense as of today. But for a lot of other tools, it's a Mac or Windows world still.

 

[jake blackstone]

I'm open to Linux. The problem as I see it is the lack of support for the tools I use.

Software with Linux version
- Resolve

Software with no Linux version
- Avid Media Composer
- Final Cut Pro X
- Adobe CC (Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere)
- Pro Tools
- Assimilate Scratch
- Affinity Photo/Designer
- Pomfort LiveGrade
- Pomfort Silverstack

3rd Party hardware also a big factor here. I can understand if one is primarily using Resolve that this makes a lot of sense as of today. But for a lot of other tools, it's a Mac or Windows world still.

I agree, that there is some important software, that is missing on Linux. Also, not everyone needs to take the ultimate step in moving to Linux. Windows is just fine for many of those users. As far as Linux goes, I think you're looking at it from wrong perspective. Popular software designers, like Adobe, Avid, Comfort and many others must be a bit more proactive and start the migration to Linux in order to serve those, that need performance, flexibility and hardware choices. In the meanwhile, here what's available, if you decided to give Linux a shot. Is this list perfect? Of coarse not, but anyone looking to migrate needs to take the first step, even if it's not exactly perfect.

- Avid Media Composer- Resolve/Lightworks
- Final Cut Pro X- Resolve/Lightworks
- Adobe CC (Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere)- Resolve/Lightworks/Fusion/Nuke/Flame/Flare/dual boot for PS
- Pro Tools-dual boot
- Assimilate Scratch- Resolve/Baselight/Lustre/Mistika
- Affinity Photo/Designer- dual boot
- Pomfort LiveGrade - dual boot
- Pomfort Silverstack- dual boot

As far as third party hardware support, at least for me, in almost every instance, I've found support for those being superior in comparison to Mac or Windows. On Windows and especially on a Mac, I find hardware support being discontinued all the time. I have yet to find any hardware, that is stopped being supported on Linux.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

I agree, that there is some important software, that is missing on Linux. Also, not everyone needs to take the ultimate step in moving to Linux. Windows is just fine for many of those users. As far as Linux goes, I think you're looking at it from wrong perspective. Progressive software designers must be a bit more forward looking and start the migration to Linux in order to serve those, that need performance, flexibility and hardware choices. In the meanwhile, here what's available, if you decided to give Linux a shot. Is this list perfect? Of coarse not, but anyone looking to migrate need to take the first step, even if it's not exactly perfect.

- Avid Media Composer- Resolve/Lightworks
- Final Cut Pro X- Resolve/Lightworks
- Adobe CC (Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere)- Resolve/Lightworks/Fusion/Nuke/Flame/Flare/dual boot for PS
- Pro Tools-dual boot
- Assimilate Scratch- Resolve/Baselight/Lustre
- Affinity Photo/Designer- dual boot
- Comfort LiveGrade - dual boot
- Comfort Silverstack- dual boot

Resolve is not there yet for me as an editor. I think they have made great strides but there are some things that are still missing. Also, some of it is comfort level and muscle memory. I've been on Avid since 1995.

Resolve can't do some things that are needed in certain dailies situations. That just got proven on a feature that I was brought in to consult on after dailies had already commenced. For some workflows, it's just fine. For other workflows, Scratch, nextLAB, Colorfront are, etc. are better tools for the job.

I suppose dual boot is fine, but it's still a compromised situation.

What's interesting about Linux is that the conversations about it being the next big OS have been around for a while, and for some reason a lot of software companies have decided it's not worth pursuing. Seems like either they simply don't have an interest or they have determined they don't have the resources to implement and support it.

 

[jake blackstone]

Just saying Linux is really not saying much. Most of professional software runs on RedHat and it's very close brethren CentOS. But when people are talking about the friendly consumer type of Linux, that usually mean Ubuntu. You can download and install it very easily. If you never had a chance to play with it, Ubuntu is surprisingly user friendly. It is much more civilized, than you expect from Linux OS. Jumping to Linux doesn't have to be done overnight. You can dip your toes and see how it feels before taking the plunge.

 

[Tristan Pemberton]

What's interesting about Linux is that the conversations about it being the next big OS have been around for a while, and for some reason a lot of software companies have decided it's not worth pursuing. Seems like either they simply don't have an interest or they have determined they don't have the resources to implement and support it.

If you are talking about the desktop user, then yes, I agree. People are reluctant to change what is familiar.

But if you're talking about servers, Linux IS the next big OS and has been for quite some time.

Personally, I prefer SuSE. It's one of the most complete distributions around, and super easy to install.

 

[L. Langer]

I'm open to Linux. The problem as I see it is the lack of support for the tools I use.

Software with Linux version
- Resolve

Software with no Linux version
- Avid Media Composer
- Final Cut Pro X
- Adobe CC (Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere)
- Pro Tools
- Assimilate Scratch
- Affinity Photo/Designer
- Pomfort LiveGrade
- Pomfort Silverstack

3rd Party hardware also a big factor here. I can understand if one is primarily using Resolve that this makes a lot of sense as of today. But for a lot of other tools, it's a Mac or Windows world still.

Linux has alternatives for most Windows/Mac software. It takes a bit of learning, but the results are powerful once you learn your way around things.

https://mango.blender.org/ - visit that site and you can see what Linux was capable of doing for creative professionals several years ago. Things have improved quite a bit since then and are only getting better.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

So I guess this doesn't apply then?:yikes:
"If there are people uniformed here it is not myself. You might be a bit young to remember, might have been windows 3.1 and dos, but am unsure. Now I'm not some young niave immature teenager to go around making up such misrepresenting twisted interpretations, negatively raining on everything positive somebody like me has to say for a bloated sense of self pride, which seems popular among the blind. "

Oh it applies, I said "might" as general discussion. So I was informed on something that turned out wrong. You are still twisting things around by totally illegitimately and immorally cross applying my comments on the correct interpretation of open source to this non interpretative virtually unrelated subject.
:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
Now admit it Jake, you are wrong to go around picking on positive people.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

Resolve is not there yet for me as an editor. I think they have made great strides but there are some things that are still missing. Also, some of it is comfort level and muscle memory. I've been on Avid since 1995.

Resolve can't do some things that are needed in certain dailies situations. That just got proven on a feature that I was brought in to consult on after dailies had already commenced. For some workflows, it's just fine. For other workflows, Scratch, nextLAB, Colorfront are, etc. are better tools for the job.

I suppose dual boot is fine, but it's still a compromised situation.

What's interesting about Linux is that the conversations about it being the next big OS have been around for a while, and for some reason a lot of software companies have decided it's not worth pursuing. Seems like either they simply don't have an interest or they have determined they don't have the resources to implement and support it.

Now, the last linux I used was around 20 years ago. But are people saying that there is software .cross compatibility issues between distributions. That would be a big reason for developers to turn off, as well as small target audiences. So if the industry collaborated on a common cross compatibility target it would allow one binary distributions, wouldn' t that help?

 

[jake blackstone]

Oh it applies, I said "might" as general discussion. So I was informed on something that turned out wrong. You are still twisting things around by totally illegitimately and immorally cross applying my comments on the correct interpretation of open source to this non interpretative virtually unrelated subject.
:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
Now admit it Jake, you are wrong to go around picking on positive people.

You are one massively misinformed individual.
You're right. I need my head examined for trying to respond to your rants...

 

[Jaime Vallés]

If Adobe made CC for Linux/Ubuntu, I would switch from my Windows box immediately.

 

[Craig W. Bickerstaff]

It's interesting to read that because it's not only a seemingly old hat attitude towards an OS you also seem to be pinning for what ultimately is Mac OS. Siri isn't there to get in the way, much like an actual personal assistant Siri is there to be on call when needed. The reality is multitasking has gotten to the point where it probably wouldn't make a difference to the performance of the operating system if you switched her off or not. It kind of reminds me of a tutor I had back in the day who didn't like exposé because he insisted it was closing programs or whatever but it wasn't it was just shifting windows out of the way temporarily. Not to mention Mac OS is also UNIX and you have terminal access though I'm not entirely sure if that's what you mean by getting under the hood. I haven't properly used windows since 7 though I didn't really use that properly either so maybe XP was the last time I properly used Windows but based on what I've seen Mac OS is still more dependable then Windows.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

But from what I can see in the preview, this seems to expand the OS to do more things for you, to be more involved. It wants to be your personal assistant.

Perhaps...and perhaps the "involvement" Apple seeks here, as many other corporative entities do, is yet another tool for direct access to mass behaviour and more private data mining, disguised and promoted by its one functionality potentially useful to masses, justifying itself in public's and software developer's eye.

And with this continuous "listening" now expands beyond smartphone and "smart TV" usage. Smartwatches and similar bracelets already cover the biometrics and literally measure "the pulse of a nation".

Fingerprint and face biometrics are already in data base, now regular blood and stool sample for free minutes/apps/toys and hook, line & sinker.

 

[Frank Glencairn]

I'm actually pretty os agnostic, since the only time I see my os, is when I copy files (and that is pretty much the same an any os)
I don`t do any work in my os, but in programs - so the only thing I want from an os is getting out of my way.

Having said that, I'm tempted to build a Linux box just for Resolve, since that is where I do 80% of my work (editing/color/finishing) thees days.