Stupid Move on Apple's part

[malexgreen]

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979129.html?tag=fd_top

I thought that the price for the iApps was already included in the system price!

[d8n_two]

If this comes to pass, Apple is continuing to eliminate many of the selling points that I use when recommending the Mac platform to my friends and colleagues. While I'm glad to see that these apps will still come free on new computers, there's no doubt updates that add "must have" features will cause riots (well, not quite) like those when Jaguar pricing was announced. It's a shame. Apple must really be hurting.

[voice-]

Tsk, tsk...they are only adding to the number of nails in their coffin...I have a feeling that for every switcher the ads bring in another Mac user switches back due to these stupid moves of Apple...

[kendall]

Microsoft thrives on stuff like this. They will just offer comparable products on Windows for free and watch Apple slowly bleed to death as users flee to the darkside.

[Inline_guy]

Do you think it is really that bad? While yes, everyone gets biter when something was free and now is not; I just don't see this kiling Apple. Or adding to Apple's "death in any way. If they are $50 for lets say.... 3 iApps, I can live with that. That is cheap. And software is expensive to make. I had no problem paying for Jag and I will have no problem paying for iApps.

Matthew

[marz]

First iTools, now this? Very sad to see this happen if it's indeed true. I switched about a year and a half ago, and have had new mac envy for a few months now. But another move like this is going to keep Apple a bit player in the market. When will Apple realize that the only way to turn the tide is to bite the bullet and become a software company. Put the i386 version of OS X on the store shelves and watch the switchers flock into the Apple stores in droves to UPGRADE their Windows machines. Then when they're good and happy with the OS and Apps, they'll want to upgrade their machines to the new AMD powered Apple machines because they'll still be the damned sexiest machines out there.

[bubbajim]

I am so tired of this bait 'n switch method that Apple is adopting. I this come out to be true, that every iApp will be deleted from my machine. I still will not subscribe to their .Mac and I sure in [That Hot Place] don't plan to buy freeware gone shareware overnight.

If you intend to keep a happy consumer base, you should have offered that apps at a price from the beggining. That way the people that really like to pay for this kind of software can do so. Offer a demo and let the people who don't pay for determine if they would like to pay for this software.

I don't need iPhoto. There are many other ways to organized and tweak my photos.
I don't need iTunes. There are way many more options/solutions for that.
I don't need iCal, there is one right there on my wall.
I don't need iSync, I got Hotsync Manager.
Other iApps don't relate to what I do so I can't say why I wouldn't need them. I like their programs, but I don't like being dupped into liking them so much that I have no choice but to pay an additional fee to keep them up to date. Sound like a drug dealer system to me. Get me hooked on the crack by offering it for free (a sample) then when I get hooked on it, then charge me an arm and a leg for it. This is the path Apple is taking and it leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.

I love Apple and it's hardware/software, I just don't like the game they are playing.

[RacerX]

by Joe Wilcox:
Apple also did not give Jaguar--the first significant upgrade to Mac OS X--to Mac OS X users for free. Instead, the majority of these customers had to pay $129 to receive the upgrade, which was released less than a year after OS X.

Okay, the last time I checked there were 12 months in a year. So how did 17 months become less than a year? Also why would this be considered any different from Mac OS 8, 8.5, and 9 which were all non-free upgrades spaced apart about the same amount of time that 10.0 and 10.2 were? And was 7.1 free? Or 7.5? Or 7.6 for that matter?

As for the issue of paying for iApps, this person who can't even get dates correct doesn't strike me as much of an authority on Apple. This sounds more like a solution to a slow news day.

Lets wait until Apple does something before complaining, or at least complain about something they have already done. We really don't need to worry about things that haven't happened yet (and we have no proof that it is going to happen).

And marz, if that plan didn't work for Be why would it work for Apple? Be had a great OS that they couldn't get Windows users to use for free on PCs. Moving to x86 and becoming a software company couldn't be a worse idea for Apple. The history of the industry is littered with companies that died (or were wounded) switching to x86.

If I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Apple to move to AMD.