Looks like the end of the iFree line...
 

See this article on news.com.

It's a tad surprising, given the troubles attracting people to the platform anyway ... now their one edge (free really cool apps) only lasts until the next major upgrade of your bundled iApps.

If it's just iDVD, that's not such a big deal, because it's never been available as a free download, and I paid for the iDVD2 upgrade. But if it includes iPhoto and iMovie, there's gonna be a lot of pissed off users!

I'd pay for iMovie, and I'm pretty sure I'd pay for iPhoto, but I know I'd just keep using iTunes3 barring some amazingly compelling feature that I can't even imagine yet. I just use it to listen to music...

-rob.

I *think* their source is thinksecret...
Take it for what you will, but I will believe it on the 7th.
Wasn't the last iMovie update $20? I think the same for iDVD?
I would assume that all new computers would ship with the iApps included, so this will only matter to all of us long time users. ;)

I have iDVD2, but I know I didn't pay for it. I had to have downloaded it for free or maybe it came bundled with my Mac or something. I don't even own a DVD player so there's no way I would have bought it. I have no use for it.

I'd do the same with iTunes. Use what I have and forget about the upgrades unless they came up with something too cool to pass up.

I'd gladly pay for iMovie. That is one nice little app. My daughter was doing a project for school in which they had to make an anti-drinking commercial. The kids taped everything, and then I offered them my Mac and iMovie for editing. I sat the kids down and gave them a whopping 2-3 minute introduction. These are 12-13 year old kids who barely touch computers, and have never worked on a Mac. They didn't even know video editing existed! Next thing I knew, those kids came up with one heck of a great movie with all kinds of cool features! They even figured out how to do things I didn't know about! Of course, the kids at school loved their project and they got a full 100 on it. You just can't beat an app that is so easy to use a group of kids like that can produce something without any prior experience whatsoever, and yet, it has enough features to produce something you can really use. I think iMovie is an excellent app.

Yea, iDVD came with new machines. They've always charged for iDVD and iMovie upgrades; the question appears to be will that now include iTunes and iPhoto?

Cool iMovie story about the kids! It is truly an easy-to-use program. My wife and I put together a 10-minute video for her bosses, who are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary -- they loved it! We had still photos, live action, music, voiceovers, titles, etc. The whole thing took maybe 10 hours from start to finish, including the video shooting time.

-rob.

The kids really surprised me with what they came up with. Excellent splicing. Great transitions. Music in the background playing softly while the talking continued (just like in the movies!). They learned how to split the voice up in order to remove extra noises they didn't want in the movie while still keeping in what they did want. They moved all kinds of things around like you wouldn't believe. MTV has competition. ;)

Then at the end of their movie just before the rolling credits, they decided to create a "bloopers" trailer. I'm telling you, they had me rolling in the isle! The figured out how to do slow motion. How to make something repeat 3 times. And how to make stuff go backwards. They added laughter and sound effects. These kids were really going at it. And they did it all in just a few hours!!

No experience. No clue. No idea. Just a few imaginative kids, a Mac and iMovie. That's how computers should be. :)

When they were done, I couldn't help but think that it would have made for an excellent Macintosh commercial. :cool:

The kids' parents all came in, and, of course, the kids insisted the parents watch their movie on my Mac (full screen, natch). The parents were rightfully impressed. I have a feeling I sold a few families on getting their first Macs that night. Apple would have been proud. :D

Well, it could be worse; they could spin them off and call them Claris. Then most of these apps could be dead after a few years of neglect. :rolleyes:

(Something I posted about this in another forum.)

I've often thought that Apple should make its iApps available for Windows, for a nominal fee, of course, leaving them free for Mac users. That would be a stronger incentive to purchase a Mac.

I'll wait to see what's actually in the wings, but I already know that the iApps I have do everything I need and much more, so I doubt I'd pay anything for upgrades unless they offer very significantly cool features. Then, I'd likely view my existing versions as "lite" and the upgrades as Pro alternatives to the ridiculously expensive Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro.

Another interesting question would be to see if the upgraded iApps are included on new Macs. That would be clever marketing.

Why would it be a stronger incentive to buy a Mac if they could get the same apps for "a nominal fee" without having to lay down the money for a new machine?

Let's see...do I want to spend $20 or $2000? hmmm.

If the only way you can get the coolest apps is to get a Mac...that is incentive.

Well, it's a lot better than having to buy the Mac *and* the iApps, if the rumor is even true. And if the price is sufficently more than $20.00, then the incentive is even stronger.

BTW, there are just a few Macs and Powerbooks available for less than $2,000.

This comes as no surprise. I remember reading somewhere, long ago, when Apple started giving out the first iFree Applications, that they would ultimately charge for them.

As much noise as the users make it won't make any difference. It will take Apple a little PR campaign, a small effort at 'manufacturing consent' as Naom Chomsky would say, and the matter will soon be forgotten.

I also read somewhere that 'the first heroin shot is always free...'

Soon, we will be in a position of iMustChoose:

"if you like them, pay for them....and if you don't want to pay, don't buy them"


Cheers...

You know checking Apple's web site they have iMovie listed at about $50 and iDVD has a shipping and handling charge of about $20. If iPhoto gets big enough (size wise) that it would be better as a shipped product, then it too would be about $20.

$20 for iPhoto, $20 for iDVD and $50 for iMovie... that sure looks like about $90 to me. If Apple wants to bundle them together for $50 to save people $40 wouldn't that be a good thing?

:confused:

So Apple cuts us a deal and we complain... what a wonderful bunch of users we are.

RacerX,

Maybe I'm confused, I thought iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iCal, iSync were given for free by Apple, together with the upgrades. Certainly, I never paid for any of them before.

Now, you are telling me that I should pay $50 dollars for a bundle and be grateful? Is this the case?

Please bear with me, and sorry I don't get it, I know...I'm a bit dumb.

I do recall, same as Griffman posted above, that I did paid for the iDVD2 upgrade.

Thanks for your helpful advice.


Cheers...

Most of these have been bundled with either systems or other software. I personally didn't have iPhoto on my system when it came out because the download was to large for a 56k connection, so the first time I saw it was after upgrading to Mac OS X v10.2.

To help with keeping this clear, the versions you have are free. You have iMovie (so do I) and it most likely came with either a system or an OS that you got (ie, a friend of mine and I got systems at the same time, mine was an iMac and his an iMac DV, he got iMovie and I didn't, and I would have had to pay for getting it). Apple charges if you want an upgraded version of iMovie. Apple charges if you want any large app or update that is to big to download (Mac OS X's 10.2.3 update is also $20 for shipping and handling like iDVD) shipped to you.

As far as upgrades, Apple has not changed any of there policies on any of the iApps that I have seen. If they charged before (other than as a bundled product), they are continuing to charge. If it was free before, then it seems to still be free (other than shipping and handling charges to get it sent to you). Apple never said that all apps bundle with either systems or OS releases would be updated or upgraded for free. And apps to large for download (like 10.1 was) are going to have shipping and handling charges applied. Like you, I got some free apps including AppleWorks 6.0.4 with my system. I have been happy that I could update it to the newest version (6.2.4) for free so far. But I in no way expect Apple to just give me AppleWorks 7.0 for free because they gave me 6.0 with my system.

The only thing that is new here would be Apple saying "look, we have all three of these apps being upgraded at the same time, if you want them shipped to you we'll give them to you for the same price as iMovie by itself." Like I said, that is a savings of $40 on getting this bundle over having all the parts shipped to you individually, sounds nice to me.

You could just wait for the next major OS upgrade (10.4 or 10.5 maybe) and get the newer versions bundled again. And they are still going to include them with new systems (some of them at least).

I hope that clears it up a little.

RacerX,

Thanks for your advice. So, let me see if I understand:
Does this mean before you got "free really cool apps" (all upgrades were downloadable for free), and now it might change till your "next major upgrade' when you will have to pay to download them?

Well, if I follow your explanation, what does Griffman mean when he says:
Why they should be pissed?

What I understand in your case, is that you couldn't download the upgrades due to your slow modem connection, so it's understandable, that you were happy to pay some money for otherwise free software upgrades (to have them shipped to you)

But that's not the case with people who have faster connections.

I'm still rather confused, and need more clarification.


Cheers...

Honestly, if it was free to download before, there is nothing that I've seen that says it won't be free to download in the future. This just seems to be a bundling of some iApps that together would normally be over 100 MB. One cost $50 on it's own, so charging $50 for them bundled is still really just paying for one.

I've seen nothing that says you can't get iDVD or iPhoto without iMovie (the $50 app), and if you could download them before then they may still be downloadable in their new form (I'm sure Apple has an upper limit on what they would consider something to big for download... like 10.1 was).

Again, Apple is only offering a bundle of these three apps because they are coming out at the same time for people who would want to upgrade all of them at the same time (which is actually not me as I never use them to begin with). And like before iMovie is still $50.

• If you have a fast connection and you don't use iMovie, this has no effect on you.
• If you have a slow connection and don't use iMovie, iPhoto and iDVD are most likely going to be $20 each.
• If you want the new iMovie, it is $50 (as a download).
• If you want all three, you can get the media for all three at the same price as iMovie (a savings of $40).

I'm not sure how I can put this in any other way. From what was linked (a poor source of information to begin with) and from how Apple has been working with these apps in the past, people are getting upset with something that has either no effect on them or saves them $40.

If you don't use iMovie, you should just pretend that you never heard about this. If you use and want to upgrade iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD and want the media for all of them, then this is your lucky day.

All this because someone was having a slow news day :(

That someone being Joe Wilcox at CNet, I presume. As someone mentioned earlier, I believe the basics of this story came out on ThinkSecret, and then were morphed a little more each time someone new printed it.

For me the far more interesting question is what do the new versions of the iApps do, and would any of them be worth buying upgrades for or just waiting to get them loaded on a new system. It beats sitting and stewing anyway.

RacerX,

Thank you for clarifying the issue, I appreciate your effort. And it seems, that the source of the news morphed with time...

Anyhow, if Apple would come out with a 'substantially improved' version of iMovie at a reasonable price, I will probably be the first one to upgrade, same goes for iPhoto.


Cheers...

Joe Wilcox told me that the story he filed and the one that was posted were not the same, and I'll take him at his word for that... though I haven't seen what he did originally file.

:rolleyes:

If 10.3 is due out in 10 months, why does Apple think everyone's going to jump on board for something that will surely be included then? I really think an update to iMovie is long overdue, and was upset there wasn't anything mentioned with Jag. It seems more and more "switching" points are disappearing...

First, I don't remember getting iMovie with 10.1 so I don't think it is going to be included with 10.3 if it is the same type of free upgrade (and I would guess less than three months for the release of 10.3 or when new hardware that is designed for Mac OS X only starts shipping).

Second, what do you think is so overdue that iMovie needs an update? I don't use it so I have no idea what would be missing or broken with it. Apple isn't going to make iMovie so great that it cuts into the sales of Final Cut Pro, so don't expect a ton of new features.

And lastly, what does all this have to do with "switching" points? As I've taken the time to point out (a lot of time at that), this actually can only be considered either no change or a plus (depending on who you are). What is disappearing in your view?