Ambling Aperture...

[Andy M]

After a couple of days of constant lock-up's when using Aperture, I came to the end of my tether and wrote the following rant to Apple:

I purchased Aperture 1.5 two-to-three weeks ago, and - as with most Apple software - have found it very intuitive, and to a great extent a real pleasure to use.

Yet, this is not my reason for contacting you. My Aperture experience has taken a massive downturn, leaving me questioning my future use of the application.

What has caused this? Aperture's speed (or lack of it!).

My personal library contains 50,000+ of images taken over a period of 5-6 years, using cameras in variety from a 0.3 megapixel camera phone, to my current camera – a 12.8 megapixel Canon 5D.

Upon importing my library to the computers hard drive, I noticed my computer (a high spec dual 2.5GHz G5) was badly labouring. Not the result I was expecting, but then again the computer was nearly 2 years old and so maybe it was a time to upgrade.

Soon I was the happy owner of a 2.66GHz Mac Pro, with XT1900 graphics card, and 2GB RAM. A computer which was “ushering in a new era of outstanding performance”, which contained a “state-of-the-art processor, [making] Mac Pro one of the fastest desktop computers on the planet.”

Again, I imported my library of images directly into Aperture. Result: much the same as with the G5. Frustrating, but maybe I’d expected too much.

I then purchased another 2GB of RAM in the hope that a total of 4GB would pep things up a bit, and what’s more, to help ease the situation I reduced the size of my library; again, and again, and again. Having slashed my library down to 15,000 images (approx 40GB), and with very little improvement, I stopped. With so little return, why reduce it further still?

“Shooting more than you’ve ever shot before? Everyone is. And that’s why Aperture was designed with powerful photo management tools. Not only can this innovative application accommodate hundreds of thousands of images…”

Hundreds of thousands?!! Don’t make me laugh.

Aperture must be one of the most in-efficient applications ever to have been invented, and is certainly one of the most frustrating.

To rule out a hardware problem, I tried iView Media Pro, and Adobe Lightroom beta. These two applications fly, and are infinitely faster than ambling Aperture.

Please tell me my ‘investment’ in Aperture has not be wasted. Please tell me we can expect a huge increase in speed with Aperture 1.5.2, as without it, this app is dead in the water.

Has anybody else shared this experience?

[francois]

After a couple of days of constant lock-up's when using Aperture, I came to the end of my tether and wrote the following rant to Apple:
Has anybody else shared this experience?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86763\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Andy,
Did you send it to Steve Jobs?

[Andy M]

Andy,
Did you send it to Steve Jobs?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86768\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I didn't, just the feedback link on Apple's Aperture site

Do you have his e-mail address? (PM please )

[francois]

Do you have his e-mail address? (PM please )
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86769\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

FWIW, I wrote a couple of times and much to my surprise he replied...

Edit: PM Sent. Let me know if you received my PM.

[Big Bird]

After a couple of days of constant lock-up's when using Aperture, I came to the end of my tether and wrote the following rant to Apple:
Has anybody else shared this experience?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86763\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

There must be something else going on here to cause this performance. What about preview generation? The default setting is preview generation on , and high resolution at that. With that many images imported it will take some time to generate all those previews which would significantly slow things down. I don't really need previews, so I unselected automatic generation and deleted all previews.

[francois]

There must be something else going on here to cause this performance. What about preview generation? The default setting is preview generation on , and high resolution at that. With that many images imported it will take some time to generate all those previews which would significantly slow things down. I don't really need previews, so I unselected automatic generation and deleted all previews.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86869\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Big Bird,
As Andy, I've also experienced slow-downs with Aperture and your remark about preview generation and quality is pertinent. I'll try it and report if I notice some change in reactivity of Aperture. I must say that my library is not that large (about 7000 files). Aperture is not my primary tool but I was interested to see if it could fit my workflow.
Thanks for your suggestion.

[Big Bird]

Big Bird,
As Andy, I've also experienced slow-downs with Aperture and your remark about preview generation and quality is pertinent. I'll try it and report if I notice some change in reactivity of Aperture. I must say that my library is not that large (about 7000 files). Aperture is not my primary tool but I was interested to see if it could fit my workflow.
Thanks for your suggestion.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86879\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I noticed a big improvement in the performance I get by getting rid of the previews. I found that with them on, I had to import and then do something else until it was finished. The problem is that unless you are in the "basic" page layout, you don't see the spinning disk that lets you know that the program is busy doing something. It was driving me nuts trying to figure out why the program ran poorly sometimes. I would get rid of them entirely, otherwise , even when you quit, it will update info for sharing the previews,etc.
Let me know if you need help finding all the checkboxes that you need to find to stop and get rid of the previews.

[Andy M]

I've had a reply  

Andy,

Please let me know where you're located as I'd like to send one of my techs to your location to identify the source of your performance problems with Aperture 1.5.



Kirk xxxxxxxx
Senior Director
Professional Applications Product Marketing
xxx-xxx-xxxx cell

Can't complain with that, will update to which way it goes

[Andy M]

Wow!

I've just picked myself up from the floor.

Apple have offered to send a member of their Aperture team over from the US to the UK to have a look at my computer.

I can't describe just how hugely impressed I am by such an offer, but I cannot accept.

In a time when poor customer service appears to be the norm, this offer has been a shining beacon of how it should be.

Excellent.

[francois]

Wow!

I've just picked myself up from the floor.

Apple have offered to send a member of their Aperture team over from the US to the UK to have a look at my computer.

I can't describe just how hugely impressed I am by such an offer, but I cannot accept.

In a time when poor customer service appears to be the norm, this offer has been a shining beacon of how it should be.

Excellent.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87061\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Andy,
You must absolutely accept the offer. Some of the Apple members are touring Europe and having an expert to assist you is invaluable - only once in a lifetime. You will undoubtly learn a lot and eventually get a chance to fix all you issues with Aperture.

Get back to Kirk xxxx and try to arrange a rendez-vous. Buy some beer or wine in advance.
Kirk xxxx will certainly have to report to his boss!

[Andy M]

Hey Francois,

As much as I'd love to accept the offer, I am going to decline. Firstly, because I suspect it may simply be a hardware issue; and secondly, because I'm hardly a professional. If my wage were to rely on my use of Aperture, then I would definitely accept, but it doesn't - photography is a hobby to me, little more.

Thanks for your help

[francois]

Hey Francois,

As much as I'd love to accept the offer, I am going to decline. Firstly, because I suspect it may simply be a hardware issue; and secondly, because I'm hardly a professional. If my wage were to rely on my use of Aperture, then I would definitely accept, but it doesn't - photography is a hobby to me, little more.

Thanks for your help
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87182\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I understand.

[Big Bird]

Hey Francois,

As much as I'd love to accept the offer, I am going to decline. Firstly, because I suspect it may simply be a hardware issue; and secondly, because I'm hardly a professional. If my wage were to rely on my use of Aperture, then I would definitely accept, but it doesn't - photography is a hobby to me, little more.

Thanks for your help
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87182\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I am not sure why you would go to the trouble of posting your complaint(rant?) about aperture/apple and then decline their offer to fix the source of the problem???
You make a statement that the program is no good, and then refuse an offer to have it resolved simply because photography is a hobby? That makes no sense to me at all.

[Andy M]

I am not sure why you would go to the trouble of posting your complaint(rant?) about aperture/apple and then decline their offer to fix the source of the problem???
You make a statement that the program is no good, and then refuse an offer to have it resolved simply because photography is a hobby? That makes no sense to me at all.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87216\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hello Big Bird,

When I first posted the 'rant' I had not had the good fortune to have a friend (who has the exact same machine as I) to come use my computer.

It's been noted on many Mac forums that the standard 250GB Seagate HD is quite noisy, and so I had dismissed mine as being 'normal'. My friend, with exactly the same drive, now informs me that mine is excessively noisy compared to his, and that he thinks it may have a fault.

With this information in mind, should I then accept an offer - which I have gone at length to describe as a very very impressive - from Apple to fly somebody over from the US to the UK just to have a look at my machine?

I don't think so, maybe your thinking is different

If the person was travelling from within a couple of hundred miles, then maybe, but from America?!

[Big Bird]

Hello Big Bird,

When I first posted the 'rant' I had not had the good fortune to have a friend (who has the exact same machine as I) to come use my computer.

It's been noted on many Mac forums that the standard 250GB Seagate HD is quite noisy, and so I had dismissed mine as being 'normal'. My friend, with exactly the same drive, now informs me that mine is excessively noisy compared to his, and that he thinks it may have a fault.

With this information in mind, should I then accept an offer - which I have gone at length to describe as a very very impressive - from Apple to fly somebody over from the US to the UK just to have a look at my machine?

I don't think so, maybe your thinking is different

If the person was travelling from within a couple of hundred miles, then maybe, but from America?!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87233\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

When I read your comments , I took it as your primary reason to turn down the offer as being your hobbyist status. I visit quite a few forums, and I keep seeing posts/rants from people complaining about gear and software, and the lack of performance, etc. More often than not, they have simply not installed drivers, or some such thing that accounts for the "problems". Meanwhile the product gets a bad name. I have read posts about people complaining about focusing problems with their camera, only to read later, that they were doing the test with "all points" activated.
And so on, if you indeed believe you have a hardware problem, then it makes perfect sense to check that first. I think Apple is trying very hard to make this program work, hence their very genuine offer to get to the heart of your problem, whether you're a hobbyist or not.

[Andy M]

And so on, if you indeed believe you have a hardware problem, then it makes perfect sense to check that first. I think Apple is trying very hard to make this program work, hence their very genuine offer to get to the heart of your problem, whether you're a hobbyist or not.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87253\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I think you and I are going to have to agree to disagree here

I don't for one second disagree with any of the above, but the angle you're taking is IMO wrong.

[Big Bird]

I think you and I are going to have to agree to disagree here

I don't for one second disagree with any of the above, but the angle you're taking is IMO wrong.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=87258\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Not sure about the angle thing, but thats what makes forums all the more fun!  

[eSBee]

For a diffrent angle ...

probably the guys from Apple were already looking forward to the trip they were about to make
and also looking forward to the challenge of solving your problem...
it's what they love to do, you know ...

now you're spoiling their fun    



(and mine  

[ratz]

I wish you would take them up on it so we all can see what they look at as possible problems and what they finally find to be the problem.

It is completely up to you, but that is an offer that I would take them up on.
You paid your money for the product just like any one else, pro or not.

Just my viewpoint, again it is completely up to you.

[macgyver]

Either way, that kind of service is remarkable nowadays.  I am very impressed.