RIP Final Cut Server & Final Cut Express

Apparently Apple has killed off Final Cut Server and Final Cut Express according to Appleinsider.

Final Cut Server is teh dead?

Maybe. There are lots of rumors flying about but thinking about it wouldn't surprise me that much. It's complex, data hungry (meaning it works best when you have vast archives of stuff) and a little hard to get your head around. I know of only 4 places that actually use Final Cut Server (...not own it, or just installed it to test it out...but actually use it and rely on it daily).

My experience could be lacking though. It's hard to get reliable numbers on units sold et al.. but it's all just rumors anyway. I think Final Cut Server is pretty cool but its usefulness is limited to larger clients in my experience.

Final Cut Server vs Snow Leopard Server

Final Cut Server versions 1.1.1 and 1.5 (the only two versions that work as of this posting with Snow Leopard) need a little nudge to play nice after a 10.6 upgrade:

On your Final Cut Server, after upgrading Mac OS X Server to Mac OS X Server v10.6 Snow Leopard, perform the following steps to configure your FInal Cut Server system for use. If these steps are not taken you may encounter an ''Object not found" page when attempting to connect to your Final Cut Server client download webpage.

Final Cut Server Ships

After much hullaballoo Apple has finally shipped Final Cut Server. Press Release here.

$999 (US) for one server and 10 concurrent client licenses and $1,999 (US) for one server and unlimited client licenses. The requirements can be found here.