The backlash against FCP X seems to be telling of how Apple is attempting to run its business: a policy of determination over innovation (certainly nothing enticingly “rampant” about this new software). As with the grand idea to not support Flash on the iPad, Jobs and Co. have attempted to circumvent the “difficulties” of FCP and released something that’s graphically beautiful but sacrifices latitude in video editing.

Sure, the software is 64-bit for the first time, utilizes dual processors for the first time, and is technically up to par with a 2011 software release. But the technical advancements come at the price of creative value; many of the aspects that endeared the professional editors to the software seem to have been lost (most importantly, THE ABILITY TO BACKWARDS IMPORT FCP 7 PROJECTS!).

Here’s what they’re thinking:

What used to be thousands of dollars of software (that your hapless author could never afford) is now 300 bucks. Apple is betting that they can sell five FCPX to every one of FCP7 and make a profit on it; the quantity over quality argument.

Here’s where they’re wrong:

FCP7, while perhaps not the most stimulating of interfaces, is extremely powerful and at its most basic level, very easy to use. You are not forced through a rigmarole of technical questions in order to get up and running. What I’ve found is that as I progress in my skills as an editor, I become more curious as to how other functions work, and I start to experiment with this tool — and my work gets better. I get more creative, I discover more functionality, and I’m ultimately more endeared to the product.

As more creators enter the market (cost of prod. equipment keeps going down, quality keeps going up) there will be more and more competition between the creators. By this I mean, more videos, more content, and more fragmented audiences who are going to determine the value of the content based on its quality. FCPX seems like it has some built-in walls that are stifling to creation — when those users have hit the limit, and are attempting to garner a wider audience where are they going to go? (A: To Apple’s competitors: Avid, Sony Vegas and many others).

As we’ve found in the 21st century, the power of choice is a democratic one: there is no single determinate: company, person or otherwise. Apple is a leader, but as they try to exert control on the market, they might be getting closer to losing it.