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I bought a discount copy of Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium, because (after much discussion with others) its feature-set seems to match my typical and forseeable production requirements more than those of other NLEs, including my current mainstay, Sony Vegas 9 (which I am still trying to wean myself off, but when any proper job comes along, I tend to fall back on the familiar and trusted, for low risk including avoidance of learning-delay).

Being (so far) a one-man-band who is traditional Windows user, I purchased the Windows version.  But, confirming what I had heard, it does seem that most media people I have met use Macs.  So should I have purchased the Mac version?  Are the versions exactly the same or have they different functionalities?  Is there an option for the license to cover installing the same product on both Windows and Mac OS provided only one of them is run at a time? (e.g. when on the same physical machine).  Ideally at zero or negligible cost of course.  For example Avid Media Composer does have this flexibility.  While the uncertainty remains, I will not open the box (in case it turns out that I need to exchange it).

Here is what I have learnt so far (mainly from web-searching, unverified information):

Differences between the OS-Specific variants:

• It appears that for CS5.5 Production Premium (at least), the Windows variant has slightly greater functionality.
• However it remains to be seen what will be the case for CS6, when it becomes available.

Some options are:

• Volume licensing.
  • Intended not only for businesses but also for individuals.  If the “volume”is for two licenses, they can be for each of the OS’s.
• Crossgrade.
  • But as far as I can tell it’s intended only for one-off (or infrequent) crossgrades, requiring “destruction of the software” on the old machine each time.  Shame it isn’t simply happy with repeatable deactivation/reactivation on each machine / OS.

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 As a first experiment (with how well or not FCS3 would run), I installed the upgrade to a new machine.

Groundless concerns:

• There is no hassle over installing it on a second machine.  The license allows it and there is no Deactivation etc required.  Only if both machines are on the same network will it complain.
• It was not necessary for the target machine to have the previous version of FCS installed.

The update physical form was a cardboard box measuring about (by eye) 5×5x1.5 inches.  Its main contents were 7 data-DVDs, a nice concise booklet and some formal documentation, one of which had the serial number printed (twice).   Installing the system took a few hours.

The main installation disk additionallycontained electronic documentation.  I copied it to :

• Boris Calligraphy User guide
  • Makes fancy text.
• Exploring Final Cut Pro 7
  • Same as the booklet that came in the box.

It also contained “Extras”, as follows:

• AppleQmasterNode.mpkg
  • Allows a computer to act as a node in a render-farm, in support of Compressor.  If you are unsure which role each computer will play in your network, just install the Apple Qmaster software on each computer in your network. You can sort out the details later. [http://documentation.apple.com/en/appleqmaster/distributedprocessingsetupguide/index.html#chapter=2%26section=2%26tasks=true]
  • I started its installer but it asked whether I wanted to let this computer be used as a rendering node.  I had already been asked that question when loading the main FCS3.  So maybe it was loaded already.  Decided that FCS was probably best left alone in this respect, so I aborted the install.
    • CORRECT: While following QMaster tutorial [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTrxEAPGY5Y] I checked existing System Preferences for QMaster and they were already there, it was already enabled for sharing.
      • In contrast, when I checked the same for my older machine running FCP6, its QMaster was not enabled for sharing.  Of course I fixed that immediately.
  • • BUT in both cases (both machines) the options were greyed-out.
    • For the newly-installed FCP7 machine,  Options for selected service (Compressor) said “Selected Service On (2 instances).  Sounds like it’s using both cores OK.
    • For the older FCP6 machine, it said “Selected service On (1 instance)”.  But its an 8-core machine.  So maybe something is not quite right…
    • Then again it might be a “feature”  of no significance, just run a render and check Activity Monitor to see if all cores are being used [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7315551].  The discussion (like some others) also suggests not using all the cores available.
• DVX-100 Audio Sync Tool
  • DVX-100 is a camcorder by Panasonic. Broadly EX3-like and film-ish e.g. 24P)
  • I don’t need this, so I won’t install it.
• Head Leaders for Cinema Tools
  • Countdown etc.
    • A number of prebuilt QuickTime clips have been included to use as head leader in your edited sequences. Using these head leader clips is preferable to selecting the “Start with 8 seconds of leader” checkbox in the Export Film Lists dialog because these clips also contain Picture Start, countdown, and an audio pop at the 2-second mark. [’Head Leaders Read Me’ file]
  • I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?).  I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]
• Spotlight Importer
  • Spotlight importers should be provided by all applications that support custom document formats. A Spotlight importer parses your document format for relevant information and assigning that information to the appropriate metadata keys. [http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/DOCUMENTATION/Carbon/Conceptual/MDImporters/Concepts/WritingAnImp.html]
  • In other words, it allows Spotlight to search withinapplication-specific files.
  • But when I tried installing it, it said “The domain/default pair of (com.apple.dock, loc) does not exist”.  Don’t know what it means but it sounds broken…   Either way, I can’t install it, so must abandon it.
• Template Intro Movies for DVD Studio Pro
  • Blocks, corporate, mosaic, stripes, smoke…
  • I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?).  I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]

I have Microsoft Office 2007 installed on one of my computers (”the old laptop”) and want to put it on another one (”the new laptop”).  But is there any restriction involving Activation etc.?

• At the link below, someone else with the same uncertainty verbalises my uncertainties clearly “Will “uninstalling” Office 2007 in that machine, send a signal via the internet that I’m uninstalling it? Or should I take note of any particular machine ID of the one I’m replacing it so I can “tell” the system which one to de-activate?”

There are great clear anwers to this at http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuineoffice/thread/413e0f83-774c-43f5-bc1e-b55af6a6b1ea.

• “Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 can be installed on 3 computer at a single point of time. Other office suite 2007 can be installed on 2 computer. Information can be found in the jewel case.”
• “There is no process of de-activating an office product. Uninstalling does not de-activate the product. Install the product on the computer and activate.”
• “REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE.  You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more than one time every 90 days.  If you reassign, that other device becomes the “licensed device.”  If you retire the licensed device due to hardware failure, you may reassign the license sooner.”
• “…there’s a lot of slack in the activation logic, so you’re unlikely to have a problem, but in case you do, you can do a phone activation, which Microsoft says is painless and will only take 5 minutes.”

So all I have to do is go ahead and install it on the new machine then!