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Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

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Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#121

Post by jacobmassey »

fortran77 wrote: post #111
jon-wood wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd revise that to the far more irritating segment of users who think they're more technical than they really are. Actual non technical users are fine, because they generally know when they don't understand a thing. The thinks-their-technical users will bravely throw in whatever phrases they've heard mentioned in relation to a completely unrelated problem.

I don't understand this. > The thinks-their-technical users English was not my first language and sometimes I get tripped up. What does this mean?

Should have been “thinks-they’re-technical”

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#122

Post by ppseafield »

fortran77 wrote: post #111
jon-wood wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd revise that to the far more irritating segment of users who think they're more technical than they really are. Actual non technical users are fine, because they generally know when they don't understand a thing. The thinks-their-technical users will bravely throw in whatever phrases they've heard mentioned in relation to a completely unrelated problem.

I don't understand this. > The thinks-their-technical users English was not my first language and sometimes I get tripped up. What does this mean?

They think they're technical users, but really they aren't. Generally these folks are people who have skills in other areas and have a partial or basic ability to use some complicated software. However, they don't have well-developed computer skills but are convinced that they do.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#123

Post by fortran77 »

RealDinosaur wrote: post #16
dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> their copy protection management tool/device driver - iLok. They're still using that? These things were successfully cracked in the nineties, I was convinced nobody uses hardware dongles anymore.

Oh, it's not just Avid. Some audio production software such as ReFX Nexus still uses a USB dongle. There is no way to use the software without it plugged in. It also has a policy where if you damage the dongle, you have to buy again and get a 10% discount off the FULL price of the VST. In the age of people gigging on laptops, I'm not entirely sure how they think they are gonna sell any more of them. I fancy it myself…

The problem is, there are some industries where the piracy rate would be 100% if it weren't for dongles. Music production software, for one. And another surprising one is church software! (They feel they shouldn't have to pay because they're a "church" and serve a higher purpose.)

I go to the NAMM (musical instrument manufacturers) trade show every year and work with music, sound, and church software vendors.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#124

Post by kiddico »

fortran77 wrote: post #111
jon-wood wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd revise that to the far more irritating segment of users who think they're more technical than they really are. Actual non technical users are fine, because they generally know when they don't understand a thing. The thinks-their-technical users will bravely throw in whatever phrases they've heard mentioned in relation to a completely unrelated problem.

I don't understand this. > The thinks-their-technical users English was not my first language and sometimes I get tripped up. What does this mean?

They meant "thinks-they're-technical", which might clear things up.

Putting dashes between a bunch of words isn't really a correct way to do this, but it's a way to smash a bunch of words together and pretend it's one word. In this case an adjective describing the users.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#125

Post by baxter001 »

nkozyra wrote: post #51
KaiserPro wrote: post #31

rule 1 of hollywood tech support: Always take what the editor says with a massive pinch of salt. I spent ten years in the movie industry, and the people that were the most forthright, and almost universally wrong about technical things were editors. "The monitor is out of grade" No, you've set the background lights to red. "The sound is out of sync" No, you've turned off the amp and somehow managed to get the crappy…

What you're describing sounds like industry-specific anecdotes from a very common, cross-industry reality about non technical users.

On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" In one case a member of the Upper, and in the other a member of the Lower, House put this question. I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.

- Charles Babbage - Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), ch. 5 "Difference Engine No. 1"

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#126

Post by api »

org3432 wrote: post #12
flukus wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but their copy protection management tool/device driver - iLok. Maybe Hollywood will learn that DRM hurts legitimate users. But they probably won't, I won't be shedding any tears either way.

Ironically film tools have some of the most stringent copy protection systems, and big studios break the licenses agreements without hesitation when they need to get something done.

I wonder if Hollywood is so obsessed with DRM because they themselves are such f'ing pirates. The entire culture of Hollywood is around stealing (e.g. the endless so-and-so stole my script idea lawsuits) and defending oneself from having one's stuff stolen. Maybe they're projecting and imagining that everyone is constantly trying to steal everything.

As a normal movie and TV viewer I will always look for an option to rent, buy, or stream stuff because I like to support the production of stuff I like and because the time it takes to jank around with pirated crap is generally worth more than the cost of just paying. The only time I've turned to piracy in recent (post-broke-college-kid) memory is when something is literally unavailable by any other means. I suspect I'm typical.

DRM has zero effect on my behavior. If anything DRM encourages me to consider pirating because it adds pain and hassle. In the case of actual purchases (vs streaming and virtual renting) I really despise DRM since I purchased a copy and should be able to play it on any device I have and store it for posterity. I generally will not outright purchase DRMed content.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#127

Post by ascagnel_ »

NightlyDev wrote: post #60
Havoc wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That must really be annoying someone over at apple. Spend all that time design something beautiful. And... Everyone calls it garbage

Beautiful? There's a reason why it got the name, it looks like a trashcan. And the old mac pro is filled with garbage(how fitting, right?). If it was any good then apple would have stuck to it, but it was garbage, so they didn't. Now we have the new mac pro, and it's a big step up from the trashcan.

Eh, it was designed for a different system configuration. Apple was betting on multi-GPU architectures when they designed that thing in 2012/2013, but then tech didn't really follow that path.

The CPUs and multiple GPUs put out (relatively) equal heat, so they could make the single, big cooler work. But when the world went back to a single, big, hot GPU, it pushed things _just_ out of whack enough that it wasn't worthwhile to continue down that path.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#128

Post by beat »

baxter001 wrote: post #125
nkozyra wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're describing sounds like industry-specific anecdotes from a very common, cross-industry reality about non technical users.

On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" In one case a member of the Upper, and in the other a member of the Lower, House put this question. I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage - Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), ch. 5 "Differen…

If you want to use incorrect data to get correct answers, you need a human. That's one of the fundamental differences between humans and computers.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#129

Post by Someone1234 »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #127
NightlyDev wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beautiful? There's a reason why it got the name, it looks like a trashcan. And the old mac pro is filled with garbage(how fitting, right?). If it was any good then apple would have stuck to it, but it was garbage, so they didn't. Now we have the new mac pro, and it's a big step up from the trashcan.

Eh, it was designed for a different system configuration. Apple was betting on multi-GPU architectures when they designed that thing in 2012/2013, but then tech didn't really follow that path. The CPUs and multiple GPUs put out (relatively) equal heat, so they could make the single, big cooler work. But when the world went back to a single, big, hot GPU, it pushed things _just_ out of whack enough that it wasn't wort…

I think that is a little too generous.

It was a poor design because it didn't take into account the thermals of the hardware it was sold containing. It throttled its graphics cards from the start but also got worse as dust/age set in. It couldn't be upgraded or fixed because they chose appearance over practicality.

It was, is, and will always be the "garbage can." It has nothing to do with the industry's direction, it was poor as-sold.

Re: Mysterious Avid Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood

#130

Post by PhasmaFelis »

baxter001 wrote: post #125
nkozyra wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're describing sounds like industry-specific anecdotes from a very common, cross-industry reality about non technical users.

On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" In one case a member of the Upper, and in the other a member of the Lower, House put this question. I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage - Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), ch. 5 "Differen…

"I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question" is my all-time favorite way to say "What is wrong with this clueless dipshit."
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