CNET News Article: All Eyes On Apple

[Asher]

Originally posted by Mr. Nice Guy
You can still download it for free, .

Yeah, I know your tricky debating tactics, Glonkie, so don't even go there.

I know you can still download it for free, so why is it an advertised feature of something you buy?

Is it to trick people into thinking it is no longer free in the store so they pick it up...?

[Asher]

http://news.com.com/2100-7354-5137408.html?tag=nefd_hed

Apple seeks dollars in former freebies
Last modified: January 8, 2004, 10:00 AM PST
By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com


SAN FRANCISCO--Apple's decision to stop offering free downloads of iMovie and iPhoto is part of a clear shift by the Mac maker to try to recoup more of the dollars it invests in creating software for the Mac.

Apple has been pouring resources into consumer software for years but initially the company gave away the fruits of its labor. The giveaways were justified as a means of differentiating the Mac from its Windows-based rivals. More recently, though, Apple has been making the case to its customers that it needs to bring in revenue from its software efforts in order to keep investing in new development.

"This is also a business for us. We want to develop these apps very actively," said Peter Lowe, Apple's director of marketing for applications and services.

The company started selling several of its titles last year as a $49 bundle called iLife. For a time Apple considered ending free downloads of iMovie and iPhoto, but the company eventually decided to continue free downloads of both programs. Now, though, that is changing. As earlier reported, iMovie and iPhoto will now be available only through the paid iLife suite, although the iTunes jukebox program will remain a free download for both Windows and Mac users.

The trend toward charging for once-free software began when Apple started charging for .Mac in 2002. A more basic set of services, dubbed iTools had been free.

"We recognized the need to move to a more rational business model," Lowe said in an interview at this week's Macworld Expo here. "Our customers seemed really happy in the end."

Indeed, despite an initial outcry, Apple managed to sign up more than 100,000 .Mac members. And this year, when the first of those subscriptions came up for renewal, more than 86 percent re-upped. (Apple's renewal rate does benefit from the fact that some customers have their accounts set to automatically re-subscribe each year.)

Apple is clearly not alone in shifting from free to paid services, a move that was precipitated for many companies by the collapse of the dot-com boom.

In an attempt to ease the shift, Apple is trying to offer more with the paid version of iLife than it did with the standalone iApps, in much the same way the company offered freebies and improvements when it started charging for .Mac, the company said. Over the past year Apple has better integrated the separate programs and it is now adding a fifth title, a music recording program called GarageBand, to the suite.

Along with adding GarageBand, Apple is upgrading iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. The photo editing program is now faster, better able to index photos and has new editing effects. New themes have been added to iDVD, while iMovie boasts improved editing abilities as well as new titling options.

Still, some Mac users complain that Apple is asking too much of its owners. Paid upgrades to Mac OS X cost $129 and have been coming, on average, about once a year. The .Mac service, required to take full advantage of many of Apple's efforts, costs $99 a year and now there is the $49 fee for iLife. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, however, pointed out in Tuesday's keynote address that Windows users would pay several hundred dollars for a comparable collection of music, photo and video editing software.

Plus, iLife comes free with a new Mac, allowing the company to continue to tout the software as a selling point over Windows-based systems and as a good reason for existing users to upgrade their machines.

Kory White, a software programmer for Santa Rosa-based Tritechdivas, a Mac and PC support firm, said she balked at paying for .Mac when Apple started charging last year. However, White said she probably would pay for the iLife suite, especially considering the addition of GarageBand.

"For 49 bucks, yeah, I'd do that," said White, a music fan, who said she has played in a number of bands, but not recently.

God bless Apple.

[Asher]

And http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=13484:

Brits get shafted by Apple over iPod

1.8 conversion means dollar doesn't equal pound

By INQUIRER staff: Wednesday 07 January 2004, 15:38

ONCE AGAIN the complaisant(sic) Brits are feeling their wallets creak, and this time its Apple that's making the moths fly.

Over at the online Apple store you can buy a 15GB iPod holding 3700 songs for $299.

But if you buy the same machine from the UK branch of the Apple store, it will set you back £248.99. That includes VAT of £37.08

According to the Financial Times currency converter today, using the exchange rate of $1.8 to £1, that means a British iPod user will be paying $453.63.

That's over 51 per cent more expensive here than there. Can there possibly be any justification for this disparity? Just in case Apple is confused, the £ is not the €uro... µ

* AND AS A reader in €uroland says: "Apple is well aware that the £ is not the €uro, and manage to conspire against those of us in Euroland as well. A 15GB on Apple's Irish site costs €349 (including €60, which is about $443. Very close to the US dollar equivalent of the UK iPod's price point, eh?"

[Gatekeeper]

YAH! DEATH TO APPLE! ALL POWER TO MS!

[Asher]

Nice diversion tactic.

I'm just trying to help you guys see just how much money Apple takes from you. Apparently being ripped off isn't a concern for Mac users?

[Gatekeeper]

**charges blindly into battle, frothing at mouth, spittle flying, Viking broadsword held high, ready to cleave some skulls**

[Gatekeeper]

Well, now I'm just having some fun, Asher.

[Agathon]

This is interesting. Is the online music game already over?

http://www.reuters.co.uk/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=4096278

[Asher]

What does HP rebadging the iPod have to do with the online music game?

And I hope for Apple's sake the online music game isn't over, as online music sales account for less than 0.1% of all music sales.

Apple prefers to mention it as they have 70% of the "online music market", but what he doesn't mention is how ridiculously small it is right now.

And with Apple's refusal to bring out a reasonably priced player, they're not going to win that game either.

They've got a grasp on the trendy fools and early-adopters who buy it for its purtyness, trendyness, and of course a high price plays into that. Most folk won't touch one until they're cheaper. And there are tons of cheaper players out there gaining popularity.

Hey, you know what this reminds me of? The original Mac versus PC. Apple, evidently, still hasn't learned its lesson.

[Agathon]

I couldn't give a stuff what you have to say Asshat.

I think I'll go off for a gloat now.

[Asher]

Apple users never change.

"Who cares what facts and logic say, Steve Jobs is making money off of fools like us, Imma go gloat!"

[Agathon]

[Asher]

I appreciate the bumps.

[Agathon]

For those interested:

More on HP's new ipod.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/01/08/hpipod/index.php?redirect=1073569933000

[Asher]