I dont mean to offend any of the Apple fans by asking this, but what is a respectable amount of time between updates? Im happily entrenched in the Apple ecosystem and while most things work well, more and more often then an existing product is ignored and the excuse given for a problem is "wait until the update", but that update never seems to come. So it does feel like Apple neglects existing products in favor of "the next big announcement".
Some examples of Apple products that are way overdue for an update:
iOS 5.x - iOS5 is over 3 months old now and while Ive learned to adapt to the battery issue by always carrying a charger, disabling certain features or being mindful of my usage, these "solutions" are only crippling the device and an update is still way overdue.
Aperture: I made the switch from Lightroom to Aperture a few years ago. Ive always believed that integrating software and hardware pays off and A3 just seemed so far ahead in some features that it was worth the gamble to ditch LR. Well, this is a decision that has haunted me because there are so many things in Aperture that havent gotten addressed and it seems Apple cares less and less about their pro apps. And to make things worse for my business, theres no easy way to switch back so im stuck playing the waiting game.
Final Cut: Remember back when they did the change and all the defenders were yelling "just wait. its going to be updated!" Well how long has it been and where is the update? I know many people who were convinced by other Apple fans or their own personal loyalty that "Apple won't leave us hanging" but they apparently did and offer no explanation or timetable for such a pro-product.
AppleTV: I own two AppleTV's and a Roku. The ONLY reason I use the roku is because it has Hulu while the aTV doesnt. But based on this article then Hulu is ready and its Apple thats delaying it. Being put on hold for marketing reasons is tough to accept as a consumer.
iTunes: I think its safe to admit that for version 10 software then iTunes hasnt developed very well. Where's the intelligent folder scanning for files or added file support for managing. Where's the ability to automatically store videos on my 2TB drive and intelligently store music on my local HD? Or how about the beta feature they had where you can iPhone sync photos from one computer and everything else from another? And even if we're going to pretend those aren't important features, why the heck is software that is this essential to the iOS "experience" so darn slow? There are so many things that need to be done to iTunes but nothing much ever gets updated.
iTunes Match: The reason I'm whining about this is because its a pay service and one of the big requests is that it offers an OPTION to use the iTunes database to rename/rewrite/relyric matched songs. Im not trying to be harsh on the service because it was well worth $25 to get better copies of my ripped music but if I dont think its nice to save features for next year as an attempt to get us to resubscribe.
iWork: Its now 2012 and iWork 09 is the latest version? Ive tried to completely ditch MS products but that isnt easy if the Apple equivalent are never updated. Plus, how long are we supposed to wait for integration between iWork and the iOS and Cloud versions? The whole point of going for the 1st party options, especially with Apple, is for the seamless experience but they really aren't giving us anything.
iLife: Another apple marquis suite of apps that has no regular updates or feature-adds.
iOS Apps: Apple makes some fantastic iOS apps but they are probably the least updated ones in their store. Things like iMovie being restricted to only camera roll, more functionality in GB or whatever else seem to be missing and ignored. And since these are apps that are prominently featured in selling an iOS device then you'd think they'd want to keep updating to remain cutting edge.
Facetime: Remember when this was touted as the future and it would be opened for more products? Well, two years later it hasnt seen a single update and its not available anywhere but Apple.
iChat/iMessaging: Apple started off good in trying to consolidate chat apps but then it just quit. Sure, IM has died down so its not as much a priority but it still deserves an update. Especially iMessaging integration so that you can iMessage from your computer.
Thunderbolt: I know Apple did their part in creating the technology but unless they do something to motivate more TB products in the industry then this is a useless port and we'd be better off with USB3. USB3 may not be as versatile or fast but at least it exists. I've never shopped for a USB3 product but I own 3 of them simply because it doesnt cost much to implement it. But at CES theyre showing a Belkin TB hub that costs $299 so I'm not seeing if TB really is the future.
iTunes Server: Now this isn't an existing product but it definitely should be. I had to buy a Mac Mini primarily to hold all my iTunes data, but this is a lightweight feature that should probably have been integrated into the Time Capsule.
I could go on longer and Im sure many can add to the list but I'll quit here because many times people misinterpret questions to be "bashing" and I think this is a serious topic for those of us who are choosing to be so deeply tied into Apple's update cycle. We all love Apple products, but secrecy and a lack of updates does make it pretty difficult to get things done sometimes.
Some examples of Apple products that are way overdue for an update:
iOS 5.x - iOS5 is over 3 months old now and while Ive learned to adapt to the battery issue by always carrying a charger, disabling certain features or being mindful of my usage, these "solutions" are only crippling the device and an update is still way overdue.
Aperture: I made the switch from Lightroom to Aperture a few years ago. Ive always believed that integrating software and hardware pays off and A3 just seemed so far ahead in some features that it was worth the gamble to ditch LR. Well, this is a decision that has haunted me because there are so many things in Aperture that havent gotten addressed and it seems Apple cares less and less about their pro apps. And to make things worse for my business, theres no easy way to switch back so im stuck playing the waiting game.
Final Cut: Remember back when they did the change and all the defenders were yelling "just wait. its going to be updated!" Well how long has it been and where is the update? I know many people who were convinced by other Apple fans or their own personal loyalty that "Apple won't leave us hanging" but they apparently did and offer no explanation or timetable for such a pro-product.
AppleTV: I own two AppleTV's and a Roku. The ONLY reason I use the roku is because it has Hulu while the aTV doesnt. But based on this article then Hulu is ready and its Apple thats delaying it. Being put on hold for marketing reasons is tough to accept as a consumer.
iTunes: I think its safe to admit that for version 10 software then iTunes hasnt developed very well. Where's the intelligent folder scanning for files or added file support for managing. Where's the ability to automatically store videos on my 2TB drive and intelligently store music on my local HD? Or how about the beta feature they had where you can iPhone sync photos from one computer and everything else from another? And even if we're going to pretend those aren't important features, why the heck is software that is this essential to the iOS "experience" so darn slow? There are so many things that need to be done to iTunes but nothing much ever gets updated.
iTunes Match: The reason I'm whining about this is because its a pay service and one of the big requests is that it offers an OPTION to use the iTunes database to rename/rewrite/relyric matched songs. Im not trying to be harsh on the service because it was well worth $25 to get better copies of my ripped music but if I dont think its nice to save features for next year as an attempt to get us to resubscribe.
iWork: Its now 2012 and iWork 09 is the latest version? Ive tried to completely ditch MS products but that isnt easy if the Apple equivalent are never updated. Plus, how long are we supposed to wait for integration between iWork and the iOS and Cloud versions? The whole point of going for the 1st party options, especially with Apple, is for the seamless experience but they really aren't giving us anything.
iLife: Another apple marquis suite of apps that has no regular updates or feature-adds.
iOS Apps: Apple makes some fantastic iOS apps but they are probably the least updated ones in their store. Things like iMovie being restricted to only camera roll, more functionality in GB or whatever else seem to be missing and ignored. And since these are apps that are prominently featured in selling an iOS device then you'd think they'd want to keep updating to remain cutting edge.
Facetime: Remember when this was touted as the future and it would be opened for more products? Well, two years later it hasnt seen a single update and its not available anywhere but Apple.
iChat/iMessaging: Apple started off good in trying to consolidate chat apps but then it just quit. Sure, IM has died down so its not as much a priority but it still deserves an update. Especially iMessaging integration so that you can iMessage from your computer.
Thunderbolt: I know Apple did their part in creating the technology but unless they do something to motivate more TB products in the industry then this is a useless port and we'd be better off with USB3. USB3 may not be as versatile or fast but at least it exists. I've never shopped for a USB3 product but I own 3 of them simply because it doesnt cost much to implement it. But at CES theyre showing a Belkin TB hub that costs $299 so I'm not seeing if TB really is the future.
iTunes Server: Now this isn't an existing product but it definitely should be. I had to buy a Mac Mini primarily to hold all my iTunes data, but this is a lightweight feature that should probably have been integrated into the Time Capsule.
I could go on longer and Im sure many can add to the list but I'll quit here because many times people misinterpret questions to be "bashing" and I think this is a serious topic for those of us who are choosing to be so deeply tied into Apple's update cycle. We all love Apple products, but secrecy and a lack of updates does make it pretty difficult to get things done sometimes.
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other os and that's just facetime rite? I don't know how you read that but to me it will stay in da apple ecosystem! Look at ichat its been out for years and apple never got it out for windows or any other os.