iLife -- appears I'm screwed and must pay another $50?

Confirmed by CNet (They've been wrong before):

The iLife package, including GarageBand, iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto and iMovie, will cost $49 or will be free with new Macs, Jobs said. The company will no longer provide free downloads of iPhoto or iMovie, a strategy it seriously considered last year and that could anger some customers.

*shrug* I will conform.
 
Can everyone just stop panicking?

On the grand scheme of things, this isn't so important or bad that so much venom and spleen should vented across the forum.

Now everyone hold hands and chant after me .. hommmmm...
 
Perhaps i should mention to those who are eligable, that iLife '04 is available at the Apple Store Canada (Educational) for $39can! Dunno what the us amount would be.

I know that not everyone is eligable, but hey...let's share the deals, eh?

I just ordered my 20gb ipod, ipod showcase and iLife through them a few mins ago. :->
 
If you don't want to pay $50, then don't use it, use something else. It costs alot of money to develop applications, you can't expect them to be free always. People have been moaning and complaining about iPhoto and iMovie since the last update "it's too slow", "it doesn't sync audio right", etc. So, what does Apple do, they fix all the issues, and add in most all the features users have been begging for. And now what do people do? They complain that they have to actually _pay_ for the application now. The same people who are complaining about having to pay $49 are the same people who complained about the speed and needing feature Y in their previously free application. So, Apple gave you what you asked for, but they now want you to pay for it, oh no, a company actually wants to "sell" a product, they are really screwing their customers by actually selling something they paid their people to develop. No one is making you upgrade. Apple is not removing your ability to run the old version.

People really need to find something better to complain about then a commerical company actually charging someone for a piece of software that they spent their money to develop. What are you going to complain about next, Walmart not giving you a free DVD player?

Brian
 
Log in as a student and get it for $29. Apple doesn't require any verification.

Or wait a couple of weeks, and Apple will probably release it for free to teachers, like they did the last version. Find a teacher and have him/her get it for you.
 
I just bought a new PowerBook 15" at Xmas-time, and I knew full-well that some new things would be announced at MacWorld Expo. (I wasn't "in the know" enough to be sure it would be all new iLife updates - but it was a possibility.) I guess anything's possible, but I feel pretty confident Apple will push free updates out for iMovie and iPhoto, at the very least. (The new iLife boxed product isn't even supposed to be on store shelves for another couple weeks or so - so I don't see why there's any panic that we're not immediately seeing the updates available through "Software Update". Give them a little time....)

Even if they don't, my thinking was along these lines: GarageBand alone is *well* worth the $49 price of the suite. Yeah, I know some of you won't ever use it - but as Jobs said, 50% of American homes have at least someone in them who plays musical instruments. You've gotta at least know someone who would want GarageBand enough to buy your opened iLife off of you for a portion of your purchase price, if you resold it minus whatever CD you wanted the thing for (EG. iPhoto)?

The only other guitar amp simulator program I've seen that runs on a Mac is "Amplitube", which costs at least double the price of iLife - and doesn't offer any other music-making capabilities other than amp simulators.

Accusing Apple of not caring about customer support is rather ridiculous. How come Consumer Reports rates them #1 in customer satisfaction? How long do you usually wait on hold to talk to someone at Apple when you need assistance? Compare that to Dell, HP, or any of the other "big name" PC builders. (For that matter, compare your conversation with Apple reps to the others when it comes to native language spoken. I've had to hang up on Toshiba's reps before because their foreign accents were so thick, I couldn't understand them. Call Dell and you get people in India.) How many retail computer stores even offer anything resembling the "genius bar" for getting help with your hardware or software?

As for Apple advertising, if anything, I'm constantly amazed at how little time they spend telling people about the product features. Nonetheless, their commercials are much more "memorable" than most, because they make an effort to be creative and clever/humorous. (Everyone remembers the PowerBook 12" and 17" commercial - and they generates LOTS of interest based on it, despite never telling you a single thing about what speed they ran at, what software was bundled with them, or what was built into them!)
This doesn't really strike me as "pompous".


ynotsmile said:
"dont buy a new computer weeks before well known major product updates and bitch about not having them included?"

Who has time to learn and know of such things? I'm in the same boat, but I don't care about having the latest apps. Apple has a long history of screwing people who just bought systems, so this latest one comes as no surprise. The one thing I have learned about Apple over the years is to not expect anything more than a fraction of customer appreciation or loyalty. To access that fraction one must threaten legal action. Apple is a marketing machine that creates great products. They clearly do not care about their customers because they know that for every dissatisfied whining customer, they can always pick up another through their pompous, cliche-ridden advertisements.
 
It's a shame that Apple are going to stop doing iMovie and iPhoto for free but as has been mentioned, we should be chuffed that we got them for free in the first place and that the upgrade (which includes iDVD and of course, GarageBand which looks like it is a bargain in itself) is only $50, or indeed $30 with edu discount. Be thankful that you're not paying the UK prices which are $68 and $52 respectively (exc. shipping).
 
I will probably buy the suite, only thing i am worried about is... The media it comes on. My G4 Cube only has a CDRW drive. I don't think the world had embraced DVD when G4 Cube's were in their Crib! :p Do you know if Apple does CD versions or anything?!
 
Look at it this way. Garabe Band includes most of the features of Soundtrack, which costs $300 retail; many of the features of applications like Cubase and Logic, which cost anywhere from $200 to $800; and almost all the functionality of Amplitude Live, which is $130. That means for Garage Band alone you're getting between $600 and $1200 worth of software for $50. That's a damn fine deal, and that's just for Garage Band.

Or watch the keynote (again, possibly), and look for the part where Steve Jobs compares iLife to comparable non-suite programs. For the money, you're getting software that should cost hundreds of dollars, if not thousands.
 
You thought iLife was worth the money when you bought it, and you were probably right. You'll still get the updates to the programs you purchased, all you miss out on is GarageBand.

Hey, when I bought my iBook nearly three years ago, I paid nearly double what the most expensive iBook costs now, for one quarter the storage capacity and one half of the processor speed (not to mention only an 8mb video card). Do I feel that Apple has ripped me off, that they "owe me one" now that they're offering a better product? Of course not. That was the best they could offer at that time, and I was happy to pay for it.
 
~~NeYo~~ said:
I will probably buy the suite, only thing i am worried about is... The media it comes on. My G4 Cube only has a CDRW drive. I don't think the world had embraced DVD when G4 Cube's were in their Crib! :p Do you know if Apple does CD versions or anything?!


The Cube came with DVD-ROM (like mine) or CD-RW (like yours). :)

You could always fit an MCE or OWC SuperDrive.
 
Just thought I'd add my two cents. :)

I have somewhat mixed feelings about iLife. To give you some idea of my background, I am about the only person I know in my area who always buys their software (rather than getting things pirated), would only use shareware that I'd pay for, and does not download MP3s illegally. I'm definitely not being self-righteous, I just want to illustrate that I do indeed live by my feeling that software is a product like anything else and should be paid for. Just because it is not tangible like a house or a car or a TV does not mean it should automatically be free, as a lot of development work goes into these products.

Whenever Apple has released totally new software and said we'd have to pay for it, I've always thought: "fair enough." I do not expect Apple's software to be free, as they invest time and money in creating their products. What does bother me though, whether rightly or wrongly, is when an existing "free" product is no longer free. I suppose I'm also bothered because there is a history of this, rather than it being a one-off event.

I remember QuickTime Player being able to edit movies many years ago, for instance. Then Apple shifted those features into QuickTime Pro, which you had to pay for. Though this bugged me, I did at one stage buy a licence for QT Pro, and then shortly afterwards the new version of QT came out, and of course the licence was not transferable, so I'd have to pay up again if I wanted those features (I didn't bother). Now with QT, you also have to pay extra on top for an MPEG-2 module. Then there was of course the whole iTools/.Mac issue. I think if Apple had continued with the iTools accounts for free but added a .Mac service which was greatly enhanced, but you had to pay for it, I would not have been concerned one bit. But as things stood, it felt, rightly or wrongly, like something was being taken away from me, rather than a new service being offered.

With the OS X updates, I have mixed feelings. The OS has been greatly improved over time and a lot of new features have been added, a minor updates along the way have been included for free. So in one sense it seems fair enough to pay for major updates to the system, but in another way it becomes quite expensive. I know people will say "don't upgrade then," but manufacturers will also of course apply pressure to consumers to upgrade (for instance by making new applications only run under the most recent OS, or whatever). The computing world moves quickly, so I think no one can realistically expect to get away with not updating for long periods (years) and I guess that is just life. But perhaps the issue here is the frequency of perceived "required" updates. If major expenditure on updates occurred every, I don't know, five years or so, people would not complain as much. If major updates occur incredibly frequently, say every few months or each year, people will start to grumble about the expense and question whether or not these more frequent updates should be free... depending on how major the update is!

Then we have the iApps. When iTunes, iPhoto, and so on were released for free, I was very pleased. It seemed to be one of the benefits of being a Mac user. When iLife first came out, I was a little disappointed, as it felt (again, rightly or wrongly) like a ruse to get us to pay for something that used to be free, saying iDVD was too big to download. I partly agreed, as iDVD is huge, but then again I have downloaded huge files in the past too (OK, though a bit smaller). So, I did not buy iLife. Fair enough, it was my decision. Now, if iLife '04 really will not be available as separate, free downloads, I will be a bit more concerned. Again, this would feel like something has been "taken away," whether or not it really has. This is the funny thing... $49 for GarageBand alone? Sounds a decent deal! Looking at the whole iLife collection: it really does seem like a bargain! But then... it is the fact of now being told the next update for something that used to be free will cost me something (and I'm not likely to use GarageBand ever, so it's really a case of whether I want to pay for the other updates to my existing software). I think this is what has the psychological effect to it.

I assure you there is no anger in this post, I'm more "just thinking out loud" about why these matters get people so hot under the collar. Myself? I feel torn with regards to these issues. It seems fair enough to pay for major updates and for totally new software, but when (in general, not just with respect to one particular product) the updates become frequent, there is sometimes pressure to upgrade (sometimes, but not always), and/or when a free product is no longer freely available, I think it understandably causes murmurings, as people begin to feel (once again: rightly or wrongly) that something has been "taken away" and that the consumer loyalty begins to be taken for granted in the pursuit of greater profits. I don't have strong feelings on the issue and I'm not attacking either point of view, but I guess I do feel a bit "niggled away at" by the slowly increasing costs. Another issue is that these updates are more expensive in the UK than in the USA, so the costs are higher for me each time, and that will obviously affect my views on the topic of paid updates. Anyway, I'm not having a rant in the slightest and I'm not wanting to fan any flames. I just wondered whether this explains the strong feelings involed in people each time something like this occurs. :)

Erm, sorry this turned out to be so long... ! ;)
 
Two things.

(1.) Before reading this thread I had never heard that the size of the program was what kept iDVD from being offered as a download. If that were the case then Apple would stick it on a CD and sell it for $10. The reason I had always heard was the licenses that Apple had to buy to include certain functions in the program. I remember reading where Steve (or someone else at the company) said that the reason iDVD came free with Macs that shipped with a SuperDrive was because the cost of the licenses was built into the cost of the hardware option, so to distribute the program away from the hardware they had to charge for those licenses.

(2.) I've been using iPhoto since it came out, and for the first year or so was pretty happy with it. Then it became so slow and difficult to work with (because of the size of my Library) that it stopped being fun, though I continued to use it. A serious upgrade to iPhoto is one of the things that I have been looking for most from Apple for the last year. Now that it is here I am delighted. Of course I would hope that the upgrade would be available for free, but if it isn't I'm not going to complain. I would probably pay the $49 for it alone, though I wouldn't like it much. What I see as a big bonus is getting GarageBand for the same $49. I have no use for iMovie or iDVD and I'm positive that iTunes will continue to be free so I'm really only buying the two programs I use. And that's fine with me. Apple has provided some great, free software for a number of years and now they're saying [probably] that they can't do so any longer and still provide the same quality. I can totally understand that.
 
bbloke said:
Just thought I'd add my two cents.

Two cents indeed! If you're from the UK, it's your two penneth..

I have somewhat mixed feelings about iLife. To give you some idea of my background, I am about the only person I know in my area who always buys their software (rather than getting things pirated), would only use shareware that I'd pay for, and does not download MP3s illegally.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree with you, mate. I run my own business, I simply cannot afford to download dodgy software or music. My business relies on me being legit.

Also, from the music standpoint, the artists deserve their fee if you like their music, it's a simple as that. And the same applies to the legions of developers who bring the software to your desktop.

I'm also feeling a little frustrated with the; one-minute-it's-free-the-next-it's-gonna-cost-ye tactic that Apple keep pulling on us...
 
~~NeYo~~ said:
I will probably buy the suite, only thing i am worried about is... The media it comes on. My G4 Cube only has a CDRW drive. I don't think the world had embraced DVD when G4 Cube's were in their Crib! :p Do you know if Apple does CD versions or anything?!

Only iDVD and Garage Band ship on DVD's, iPhoto 3, iMovie 4, and iTunes 4 will be on CD's in iLife '04. You could always mount the DVD on another machine and access the files over the network if you want to install Garage Band on a non-DVD drive machine, or just connect an external firewire/usb dvd drive.

Brian
 
I unfortunately don't have a DVD drive on my Mac so I'll have to copy GarageBand onto an external drive ... my biggest regret after purchasing my eMac was not getting a DVD-RW iMac (it would have been an extra $300) ... but I digress ...

It is a bummer that iMovie and iPhoto are no longer available for free. But you know what? Oh well. I personally don't mind Apple nickel-and-diming me to death if I'm still getting GREAT software and if it helps them keep their quality up and above anything Windows folks have access to.

I just wish I could have used my $20 .Mac renewal coupon for this....
 
Actually, if you think about it, everyone can benefit from the inclusion of Garage Band, not just musicians. All the other iLife applications require some sort of input on the user's part to be really usable. Sure, you can get that input in iTunes built-in via the iTMS or the Internet radio stations, but iTunes has been around for years and is still free. But the rest require input: iPhoto needs photos, iMovie needs a camcorder, and iDVD needs your finished movie (presumably from iMovie).

Garage Band is the only app that doesn't require input at all. You could fire it up and start making output with only the built-in loops. I've used Soundtrack, and if Garage Band's looping methodology is anything like Soundtrack's, then even young children can easily create music that sounds at least halfway decent. Sure, you can also plug in your guitar or microphone and start recording, but the beauty is that you don't have to do that. That means that anybody can fire up Garage Band and start fiddling, just for fun. That way, Garage Band is probably the most accessible iApp right out of the box, unless you count the iTMS and radio stations.
 
octane said:
I'm also feeling a little frustrated with the; one-minute-it's-free-the-next-it's-gonna-cost-ye tactic that Apple keep pulling on us...

They've done it so often now, it should be expected. Giving something away, getting users hooked on it, then charging for it is a great marketing system, it works, and it's used by 1,000's of companies. When I turned 18, I got a free Gillette razon in the mail, with 2 extra blades, in the store, the razor cost around $10, but I got it free in my mailbox, what a deal! Ofcourse, then I had to keep buying new blades, ofcourse I expected that, thats the whole reason they gave me the razor for free. I used to smoke, and the cigarette companies would always be giving out packs (back when they could before all the damn new advertising laws). They did it to get me hooked, then start charging me. Candy companies love to put free coupons in the paper when they come out with a new candy bar. They don't keep putting those coupons in tho.

As Apple always kept iMovie/iDVD/iPhoto as seperate packages, and not part of the OS itself, distributed seperately, people should have seen it coming. Now, if they took an application that is part of the standard OS install, say "Address Book", and started charging, then I could see people getting upset. Apple was originally going to stop downloads of iPhoto/iMovie when iLife first came out, but he changed his mind right before it was unveiled. The writing has been on the wall.

Brian
 
Normally I have people pay for my 2 cents, but today I won't charge:

- I accept the software should be paid for, I wish it was a la cart ($20 per module, $49 for the whole thing...or whatever).
My point is this:
- I have 4 macs in my house, we share photos, songs, etc. I feel I should load ilife on each machine, not pay $200 for the house. I know this is a different issue, but still....
 
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