Windows to Mac... and now back?

Many years ago I switched from the Windows platform to Mac.  Primarily the move was for professional reasons, as I was more and more required to work on Final Cut projects.  It didn't take long for me to fall in love with OSX and FCP.  When the time came to update my home set-up, FCP on a Mac was an easy choice.  Fast forward 10 years and I can't believe it... I am actually considering switching back to a Windows based platform.  The latest version of Final Cut was anything but Pro on the day of its release.  While most of us were waiting for FCP 8, what we got was FCP X.  iMovie Pro and ex-fcp are names thrown around quite often to describe the lacking software.  A totally new redesign from the ground up, with no backwards compatibility, no external monitoring, nor any way to work collaboratively with other softwares, such as an audio suite or colour grading suite, something the pro user needs for many projects.

Apple decided to re-invent the wheel and as such has displaced it's pro user base.  Some have stuck it out with the new version of FCP.  Apple eventually updated the software to bring back some of the features that arguably should have been there on release day.  I have used it on a few projects and do enjoy some of its new features.  But can I base my business on it?  I don't think I can.  Apple have shown overwhelmingly that over the passed many years its primary focus has shifted far from the pro user group that championed the platform during a time when few where using Macs to the consumer/prosumer.  Great for iPads, iPhones, and laptops...  not so great for those of us who need the horsepower of a tower.  They have become a company that will tell us what we need, rather than give a balance of that innovation with what we actually want.  The termination of Color and Shake, the handling of the FCP re-invent, Mobile Me and .mac, the many years delay in an actual update to the MacPro line...  All indications that it would be unwise for me to invest too heavily into any of their pro products or hardware.

I am not ready to jump ship just yet - as my current MacPro tower still has some life left in it.  I am leaning toward the Adobe suite of products to replace Final Cut Studio, which will also run on Windows.  So sometime in 2013 I will need to make that decision.  With no viable power tower in the Mac lineup I am leaning back toward the platform I so gladly left many years ago.