Apple's new pricing and the future of iApps...

[Swinny]

Hi all, I'm speaking mainly an iMovie user here and my concerns about what Apple may be doing with it in the future...

Firstly...the rumours...it would seem that iMovie 3 will be G4 Optimised, possibly only running on Jaguar and with .Mac support as an integral new feature for web publishing etc...

My concerns about this? I have an iBook, I bought it mainly to run iMovie 2 that was supplied with it....of course I would love a G4 based machine but as an Apple Consumer rather than professional, it somewhat irks me that a machine I spent £1400 a year ago is quickly becoming redundant with Apple's new releases...things move on I know, but my PC is 4 years old and still does what I ask of it...all this despite Apple purists claims that an Apple will last longer.

Jaguar and.Mac support in iMovie 3 though are far scarier propositions...if my memory serves me correctly, Apple charged for iMovie 2 for those who didnt have it bundled wiht a machine...so, to use iMovie 3 fully I would need to spend £100ish on Jaguar (that won't run really it properly) , £100 a year on .Mac and maybe £30 for an iMovie update...

Apple have said that iMovie is the product that kick-started the digital hub strategy, and I'm sure its one of the most widely used of all iApps...my point...is Apple seriously going to charge people £230ish to use a consumer product?

Obviously, this is all based on rumour and the fact that Jaguar is a necessary update etc that the Mac world needs...I'm just worried that Apple's revenue enhancing strategies (i.e. must have Jaguar, large .Mac integration) may damage the whole idea of the iApp...I'm not against paying for things, but it would seem to me that whilst a year ago my iBooks came with everything I needed, if I was to buy a new Mac today I fear I would need to buy a .Mac licence and iApp upgrades etc just to get the digital hub...and I think it's ruining the strategy.

 

[sparkleytone]

does iMovie2 run well for you ?? good, then shut your pie hole.

no we dont want innovation and intergration with new technologies, we want all new software to run on the original Macintosh.

This is just stupidity. Do you run WindowsXP, Visual Studio, Movie Maker, the latest 3d games, etc on your 4 yr old PC?? Do you expect them to run??

Apple users, to use your term, irk me to no end whenever they complain endlessly about their unfair expectations.

Open your eyes and embrace the progress Apple is making. I'm not saying lay down and take what you can get, but I am saying people should learn to temper there expectations with the bitter truth of the real world.

 

[Swinny]

I don't have un-real expectations...I would just hope that a company such as Apple - whose continued existence is based as much as on customer loyalty as it is innovation - would recognise that some of their current tactics are cutting close to the bone with their users.

My problem is not that things move on - I accept that and live my life by the very principal - It is that Apple are POSSIBLY asking me to pay upwards of £200 to run a piece of CONSUMER software that might not even run very well on a computer that cost £1400 just a year ago...un-real expectation, no...wanting to be treated failry? yes! If I didn't want things to move forward and Apple to innovate, why would I give a **** about not being able to use iMovie3 in the first place?

You either enjoy being shafted and have no qualms with having your loyalty thrown back in your face, or you an incredibly rich man...I am neither.

My point was simply to share my concern that Apple's consumer software line-up could very well soon be out of reach of those who payed a lot of money for new machines just months ago...and that's bad business sense in anyones book.

 

[King Cobra]

>(Swinny) Firstly...the rumours...it would seem that iMovie 3 will be G4 Optimised, possibly only running on Jaguar and with .Mac support as an integral new feature for web publishing etc...

iMovie 2 should already be ready for the Velocity Engine, so iMovie to be "G4 Optimised" is an understatement.

As for web publishing, I would expect professional web video to be done with a later upgrade to Final Cut Pro (4), which may also only run on Jaguar. iMovie is basically FCP without all the unique features and w/o the extreme detail FCP gets into, so iMovie should be used for just basic video editing, IMO.

>My concerns about this? I have an iBook, I bought it mainly to run iMovie 2 that was supplied with it....of course I would love a G4 based machine but as an Apple Consumer rather than professional, it somewhat irks me that a machine I spent £1400 a year ago is quickly becoming redundant with Apple's new releases...

You lost me here. What do you mean "quickly becoming redundant with Apple's new releases"? The iBook is supposed to be the low end portable. If you need something for iMovie, get a PowerBook.

>things move on I know, but my PC is 4 years old and still does what I ask of it...all this despite Apple purists claims that an Apple will last longer.

Apple's usually do last longer. My father used a Quadra for some 5+ years and still works perfectly. My brother's old PowerBook (pre-G3) I think is still in use. Plus, my current iMac is over 3 years old and still operates fine, slowly, but fine. A G4 is supposed to add more life, in case you need the Velocity Engine. As for your PC, I still recommend the G4 over it.

>Jaguar and.Mac support in iMovie 3 though are far scarier propositions...if my memory serves me correctly, Apple charged for iMovie 2 for those who didnt have it bundled wiht a machine...so, to use iMovie 3 fully I would need to spend £100ish on Jaguar (that won't run really it properly) , £100 a year on .Mac and maybe £30 for an iMovie update...

OS X comes with iMovie 2, so there was no need to worry about paying for iMovie separately. As for iMovie 3 and .Mac, this has been discussed. If you need the money, go out and earn it on the streets. It won't kill you to get a job. If you already have one, work harder to get a raise.

>Apple have said that iMovie is the product that kick-started the digital hub strategy, and I'm sure its one of the most widely used of all iApps...my point...is Apple seriously going to charge people £230ish to use a consumer product?

Jaguar is a whole new upgrade to OS X. It's not just a consumer product. It's one of the biggest upgrades Apple has ever done, and it is worthwhile. As for iMovie 3 and cost issues, get a job.

>Obviously, this is all based on rumour and the fact that Jaguar is a necessary update etc that the Mac world needs...if I was to buy a new Mac today I fear I would need to buy a .Mac licence and iApp upgrades etc just to get the digital hub...and I think it's ruining the strategy.

I don't think it's ruining anything. Apple is in a tight spot and needs support from Mac users to keep Apple alive and moving. .Mac is an option, so you do not have to pay for it. Besides, it is just $100 per year (I'm sure many people work and earn more than $100 in a month). Your iBook may not have come with all these iApps or Jaguar, but you got what was the latest at the time. If you can't/don't want to upgrade, you don't need to.

 

[P-Worm]

iMovie is still an editing application

You seem rather upset about the .mac integration. You shouldn't be. What do you use iMovie for now? If you're like me, you use it for basic video editing. NOT HAVING A .MAC ACCOUNT WILL NOT STOP YOU FORM EDITING. All it does is allow you to share your movies easily. You can always fax the video back to tape, burn a cd, or even a DVD if you have access to a superdrive somewhere.

From what I read, it seems to me like you are pretty big into editing. If this is true, I can't recommend more FCP. Check ebay, you can get some really great prices. If the price is still to cheap, don't worry about it, iMovie does WAY more that is asked of abasic editing application.

If anything, iMovie 3 will offer new must-have features without needing .mac. I say this because iMovie is the only iApp that NEEDS an upgrade (Remember how long it was before iMovie 2 came out?). Just remember, Apple will never make anything worse (although some people on this forum think the exact opposite).

 

[Swinny]

Ummm....I think my point has been missed (my fault!)...

I was simply saying that if people are to use all iApps, and all their features, it is could be a rather expensive outlay as an upgrade path...an IMHO the beauty of the digital hub idea was that straight-outta the box i could do so much on my iBook...I believe though that the iApps have become a little fragmented, with iMovie desperate for an update for 2 years whilst we get a new iTunes every other week it seems!

I am perfectly happy with my iBook, it runs iMovie2, FCP3 and After Effects5.5 under OSX to a bearable standard...yes, I am big into editting, and I realise I am stretching what I should want my little notebook to do...

...I think I've confused myself a little now!

 

[kishba]

Originally posted by Swinny
Ummm....I think my point has been missed (my fault!)...

...I think I've confused myself a little now!

if you are worried about the cost of using imovie just look at the trend of latest iapps... they're all free or bundled

i suspect that imovie 3 will be free primarily because imovie 2.1 (or whatever it was) for os x was free for EVERYONE (unlike the os 9 version, which i bought)

i'm nearly positive apple will provide all iapps for free... .mac will simply allow the iapps to do things in a more user friendly manner

hopefully that helps you figure out what you wanted to know