open letter about iMovie - shame on you 

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Last year, I and surely thousands of other people were "robbed" by Apple with the iMovie '08 app. I wrongly thought it was a big step of evolution from the iMovie HD which I was using. Surprise: iMovie '08 turned out to be a useless application for someone other than the people who never edited video before. Conclusion: money to the trash since I have never used it for any project. Maybe Apple did not have the final version ready, like the one being released now, iMovie '09. If that was the case, then why not wait another year to release?! I really can't understand how a brand like Apple can fool it's customers like this! Oh, I know... I forgot that Apple knows that 95% of it's customers will love their stuff that as long as the  is visible somewhere on the product; they will think it's the greatest thing in the world even if it's just a pile of crap. Congratulations on such a successful marketing. But, are you not also worried about the clients who like Apple because they really thing it has great and useful stuff? I think the least Apple could do was to make available a free downloadable upgrade to iMovie '08 that would turn it into '09 for those people who bought iLife '08 last year. I'm not asking for the entire iLife suit as the other '08 apps are fine. Just a downloadable upgrade to iMovie '08. I also have iWork '08 and i'm not asking for the '09 for free. I know things evolve and I got the '08 package, surely the '09 is better - that's what's expected, so if I want it I buy it like I did with iLife '08. I'm asking for iMovie '09 for free because I believe I already paid for it when I bought iLife '08 with an unfinished, or barely started iMovie. Thanks.
 
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You should email Apple man. Im not sure if you will get what you want, but your voice will be heard.
 
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Erm, I'm going to have to disagree.

Apple very clearly stated that iMovie '08 was a completely different app than iMovie '06 and the iMovie website and demos shown made it very clear what capabilities it had. Now they have built upon that foundation and added new features, as well as some that were available in previous versions, end of story.

iMovie '08 wasn't "unfinished" and you weren't "tricked". The application did exactly what Apple claimed. I'm not saying it was a great app, but I do wonder at people's expectations sometimes...
 
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Erm, I'm going to have to disagree.

Apple very clearly stated that iMovie '08 was a completely different app than iMovie '08 and the iMovie website and demos shown made it very clear what capabilities it had. Now they have built upon that foundation and added new features, as well as some that were available in previous versions, end of story.

iMovie '08 wasn't "unfinished" and you weren't "tricked". The application did exactly what Apple claimed. I'm not saying it was a great app, but I do wonder at people's expectations sometimes...

You have a good point here. Apple promised nothing more than a simple video editing app, but a lot of people were expecting a newer application to be a step forward, when it really was a step backward in the opinion of most people.
 
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Last year, I and surely thousands of other people were "robbed" by Apple with the iMovie '08 app.

Did you actually buy iLife 08 or did it come with your new Mac?
 
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For most people that use an Apple iMoive more than meets their needs to develop a home movie, it is simple because they don't expect people to go out and have a college class in the subject matter such as final cut studio. So they developed it to meet the needs of those who purchase a Mac product. If you feel the product is childish than maybe it might for you to step up to the big league hitters?
 
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"Did you actually buy iLife 08 or did it come with your new Mac?"

I bought it.

"If you feel the product is childish than maybe it might for you to step up to the big league hitters?"

This and other comments. Look to the history of iMovie releases. '08 was the only one not to have certain tools. If they intended '08 to be just that, why just a year later make '09 with all the tools that were missing? They didn't promise a pro app, of course, but they did not specifically told they were removing certain tools. Had they done that, surely much less suites would have been sold.
 
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This and other comments. Look to the history of iMovie releases. '08 was the only one not to have certain tools. If they intended '08 to be just that, why just a year later make '09 with all the tools that were missing? They didn't promise a pro app, of course, but they did not specifically told they were removing certain tools. Had they done that, surely much less suites would have been sold.

They tried to reach a new audience for iMovie by making it easier to use. If you develop an application from scratch, you're not going to be able to include all possible features on day 1. Why didn't the iPhone have an AppStore on day 1? Because these things take time to develop and test.

At the end of the day, iMovie '08 was targeted at a certain audience which is clearly not you. You could have moved up to Final Cut express, or stuck with iMovie '06, so it's not as though Apple didn't have alternatives available.

If it's the price you're upset about, then I'd recommend you read reviews first, the next time you purchase a piece of software. There were plenty of iMovie '08 reviews out there highlighting the new approach and limits for advanced users.
 

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