I am using an iMac Intel Core Duo, with Xpress Pro 5.7.5.

I was planning on upgrading my OS to the new Mac OS X - Leopard. Are there any plans on making AVID Xpress Pro compatible with this new OS in the near future? If so, any idea when?

Hoo boy...here we go.

Of course there are plans to qualify Leopard. When? When it's ready. You've been around here long enough anomaly to know that Avid doesn't announce release dates for updates. Asking is just speculation and we all know what that gets us.

Sit tight. It will be ready when it's ready. 'Till then, set up a dual boot on your CPU for Leopard.

I'm going to pin this at the top of the forum Please don't ask about Leopard. It's just another OS and, currently, it does nothing to make your Avid software run any better than it does.

BLKDOG:

it does nothing to make your Avid software run any better than it does.

Disagree, there is Resolution Independence, a major step forward for the eyes of us editors!
But BLKDOG is right, until it's ready, DualBoot is the solution - so useful it should be done on every Avid system anyway.

This feature sounds interesting. I assume Avid would have to incorporate higher resolution graphics into its interface before this feature would work properly.

My biggest gripe with avid has always been the hard to read button designs and text. High res monitors are a bit of a catch 22!

So I know this is a popular topic, but...

I will be migrating towards a Mac (finally!) in the next month or two, meaning that the computer will ship with Leopard pre-installed.  Will I still be able to partition a dual boot on the system?  And how can get a 10.4.X in this situation?  I would rather wait for the Avid update than having to setup a dual system etc, but I will be beginning a project right away.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
yb

You can create a dual boot on ANY Mac CPU. Tiger will still be available for purchase from Apple so buy it with your new CPU and (I would) install it and wait to install leopard until Avid's software is compatible.

Thanks!

I've been asking this question for at least 15 years since I started working with Avids way back in the day.  In those ensuing years Avid has NEVER been proactive with releasing compatible updates as the Macintosh OS has evolved and I'm talking about going back in time to Mac OS System 7!  We Mac customers have always had to wait for several months after an Apple OS update while Avid prepares a stable and compatible version of their own software.  Why is it that Avid is not more timely in releasing these updates?  I cannot believe that Avid is not participating with Apple as part of the Mac OS development community in working to make a stable version of their software in conjunction with the latest Mac OS release. 

Mac OSX 10.5 was announced nearly 18 months ago and numerous developer builds of Leopard 10.5 have been issued during that time.  I would think that Avid in order to better serve their customers would be working feverishly to develop and release a compatible update in a timely (or bestill my beating heart, concurrent manner).  Frankly, the argument that Avid frequently makes, that Apple changes their software too frequently doesn't wash.  It seems to me that Avid is not working harder to invest the time neccessary to ensure that their software "simply works".

I fail to understand why nearly every other developer from Adobe to Zaxcom releases compatible software with every iteration of the Mac OS while Avid typically waits months after the release to get their act together and release a compatible version.

I just don't get it.  It's been far too many years of this type of nonsense and I find it very frustrating and difficult to understand.  

Thanks for allowing me to vent....

I agree. It makes me mad that I have Leopard installed and can't use Avid on it. Every other major program I use such as CS3 apps run with a few minor issues. I hope Avid releases an update real soon...

I have to disagree with you guys... What's new in Leopard which will improve your Avid experience? Not much I'm afraid - even the resolution independence I mentioned earlier is not there for the end user. Also, the GM was rushed, so be prepared to get a 10.5.1 very soon - actually there is already an update for Keychain whatever, less than 24 hours after release of the beast. And if you read the Apple forum, you'll see that Leopard seems to cause serious trouble to some Motion users - and just remind me, who makes Motion?
So frankly, I'm more than happy to stick to 10.4.10 for a few more weeks / months as the current versions of the Avid are much more stable than they've been in years!
Also, I'm a big fan of partitionning boot drives. So I will install Leopard in a few weeks, but I'll keep the Avid on its own 10.4.10 partition.

Torv:

We Mac customers have always had to wait for several months after an Apple OS update while Avid prepares a stable and compatible version of their own software.

And in all that time you have had stable, reliable, working Avid software earning you money. To me, having earned my living out of Avid software for 15 years, reliability is far more important than some instant Avid gratification on the lastest bloated intrusive OS (Mac or PC.) In fact both cost me money and earn me nothing.
In the mean time use your NLE for creating money and or pleasure and you wont notice the time taken to change your stripes for spots.

Torv:

I cannot believe that Avid is not participating with Apple as part of the Mac OS development community in working to make a stable version of their software in conjunction with the latest Mac OS release. 

Hi,

Yeah, it's a puzzle, alright.  I just can't seem to think of a reason that Apple and Avid wouldn't be working closely together.  It's almost as though Apple has a product that competes with Avid....  Hmmmmmmmmmm.

good luck,
Carl

Guys, those of you who are so perplexed by the timeline for a compatible version have never been inside either Apple or Avid.

Avid has been working with all of the developer versions all along but rolling a new OS into an existing editor development timeline is not a snap of the fingers. There is a development schedule that needs to be maintained in addition to development for the new OS. Leopard will be rolled into that schedule but it doesn't turn on a dime and it is not dependent on when Apple does or does not release an OS update. How screwed would we all be this summer when Apple pushed leopard back to the fall for its iPhone if it were?

Leopard is in Avid's plans and it is working into the editor's development schedule, not the other way around. So, what you will be getting is not a quick patch to make existing code work on leopard but a well thought out and tested Editor that happens to use Apple's latest OS.

Of course Avid has been developing for Leopard. But give Avid a break, apple makes changes along the entire development process. This isn't your father's Word Processing program. There's a lot of I/O involved here.

I understand that Avid is a complex program, but there are a lot of complex programs that still work fine under leopard. I also think that Avid isn't doing a good job of communicating about this problem. Look at what Adobe did, they made a pdf that listed all the compatibility issues with Leopard. All their programs still run with a few issues. They also told us that an update would be available in December. At least Avid could do is officially tell us when we can expect Leopard compatibility, instead we get a post on the forums telling us not to even bring it up and that its coming eventually.

I know this is gonna affect a lot of my friends who are students and were looking at getting a Mac and Avid for school.