Apple Starts Pro Apps Universal Binary Crossgrade Program
Apple Starts Pro Apps Universal Binary Crossgrade Program
by , 12:20 PM EST, February 1st, 2006
Apple has started taking orders for Universal Binary versions of its Final Cut Studio, Logic Pro, Logic Express and Aperture applications. Logic Pro and Logic Express Universal Binaries are shipping this month for US$49 and $29, respectively, while Aperture's update will be available for free through the Software Update preference pane, an Apple representative told MacCentral's Jim Dalrymple.
Mr. Dalrymple also reported that the Final Cut Studio crossgrade will still ship in March for $49. Users need to download and complete a PDF form and send it to Apple along with their original discs. The company will verify the discs and then send out the Universal Binary versions.
Universal Binaries of Shake and Final Cut Express are not available yet. Apple will announce information about those upgrades at a later date, according to Mr. Dalrymple.
He also noted that Apple has done away with selling Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro and DVD Studio Pro separately, instead offering only the full Final Cut Studio. This applies not only to the Universal Binary crossgrade but also to users who have earlier versions of those applications and want to upgrade to the new ones -- they'll have to buy the full studio, but Apple is being aggressive about it, with pricing starting at $99.
"Apple said the decision to only offer the applications as part of a suite was based on years of research on what their customers were doing with the applications," Mr. Dalrymple wrote. "Professionals and independents, according to Apple's surveys, are wearing multiple hats in their jobs."
Observer Comments
Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:44 pm Subject: Good Time to Jump into Final Cut Pro
Here's your chance to get the $1,300 Final Cut Studio Suite for just $650!
Go and find DVD Studio Pro4 from Amazon.com or bhphotovideo.com. It costs $450.
Then get the $200 upgrade this article mentions.
There you go, a perfectly LEGAL method to get a Universal version of Final Cut Studio for $650!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0009319JY/sr=1-4/qid=1138902176/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-2501845-6056619?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance
$94.99 Motion 2 upgrade.
Qualifies for the Final Cut Studio Universal upgrade.
Enjoy.
Also, Motion2 qualifies and it is only $299MSRP.
QuoteSpider wrote:
Also, Motion2 qualifies and it is only $299MSRP.
I would have suggested that if I could have FOUND one anywhere.
I checked quite a few places before I suggested DVD Studio Pro:
Amazon doesn't have it.
B & H is out
Small Dog is out
Powermax only lists the upgrade
THEN, after reading your post I checked CompUSA. It LOOKS like they might have it! So that would mean $300 for Motion and $200 for the upgrade.
That being said, I have ordered items from CompUSA online before and only had them tell me the FOLLOWING day that they were actually out of that item...so good luck to anyone who wants to give it a shot!
EDIT: Ok, I read the fine print. I see what you're getting at. It looks like they will accept a Motion 2 UPDATE disc for the trade in WITHOUT anything else. (!?) So you can just buy the upgrade for $100 and then uprade for $200 more? That really doesn't seem right, but that's what it looks like it says to me!
Quotechek wrote:
But to install fcs you do need to have an original serial I suppose, I mean, it's an update kit, at least that's what Apple calls it. I'm pretty sure it'll ask for an original serial to run the install, the update's serial won't do it, what do you think?
From what Apple has told me, it is a full fledged install suite of media. To qualify you have to send in your original media to Apple.
As for the FCE2 to FCEHD, look at Apple's upgrade page on FCEHD for pricing and eligibility. That is a completely different monster than what is being discussed here.
I feel somewhat betrayed by apple for having to pay 50 bucks for an upgrade and to wait also. I guess I am going to have to go back to my iMac G4 to finish the project I am working on. I understand that they are nice to release a universal binary now instead of as the next major release but they should at least offer a free download to make Final Cut Express and other Apps run under Rosetta.
They are going to have a free software update for Aperture to be Universal.
As for the other software, the updates are too large in size to be economical as a free update.
As I have stated many times before, Apple is a business. A business is about making money. Be grateful that you are not paying the full retail price for the upgrade.
Be thankfull I am not paying full price? I paid full price for a 20" intel iMac. Now I did this knowing I would have to pay to get universal binaries but somebody else might not make that desicion. Apple is a business, now tell me that the lost profits from a lost hardware sale are going to be less than the lost profits from a $50 crossgrade or even a piece of software. And right now there really isnt a good choice for buying mac and I am mad at apple for it. The software isnt ready for the intels so people are afraid to buy them, and the powerpc is on the way out so people are afraid to buy them. Not letting people update their software for free complicates things and makes the transition harder. Apple is a business and wants to make money, it is in their best interest to smooth the transition so their hardware sales will do better, if that means offering free universal binaries or even free updates that allow their apps to run under rosetta than that is worth it to them. They arent getting my $50 crossgrade if I buy a powermac, they are getting a choppier transition and I am getting a worse end user experience, which could be bad for business later.
Dear Spider,
I don't know if you'reading this, but can you kindly tell me whether this $94 Motion 2 upgrade you're talking about, allows a person to install the Final Cut Studio crossgrade?
That is, do you only need the Motion 2 upgrade serial number? Or, do you need to enter an additional serial number from a previous version (Motion 1.0) during the installation process on the interface screen as well? In other words, if you're using the Motion 2 upgrade as a serial number, do you also have to provide a second serial number from the previous version to make the Final Cut Studio crossgrade installer to work?
Like to hear from you. THX.
QuoteSpider wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0009319JY/sr=1-4/qid=1138902176/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-2501845-6056619?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance
$94.99 Motion 2 upgrade.
Qualifies for the Final Cut Studio Universal upgrade.
Enjoy.
Also, Motion2 qualifies and it is only $299MSRP.
Dear poster,
You just confirmed my worst suspicions about the new Intel macs--that the transition wasn't going to be as smooth as the ads siad they were. Actually, I was one of the last to buy one of the last G5's.
Having once sold Apple computers and having met the top brass of their Sales/marketing department in Cupertino, I was fully aware that the first Intel models probably wouldn't perform all that well. Perhaps the new dual Xeons are powerful enough on par with the G5's to run the same apps, but the other single and most of the dual core laptops likely are not. Clock speed on an Intel and G5 are completely different. As many techies have said before, it's like comparing Apples and Oranges. A 1.25 G4 is probably more like a 2.5 Ghz P4.
I suspect that these Intel Macs will have to undergo several 'incarnations' before they are the spiffy machines that Apple's promising the customers. It'll take a while to re-write and debug the old software to make it work seamlessly on a new Intel Mac. What's also compounding the problem is that Microsoft is coming out with a new Vista operating system, so for those who want to run Windows on their MacIntel, that's also another reason to wait a bit---so that the kinks can all be ironed out.For this reason, I'm really glad that I bought a G5.
Thanks for the honest feedback about the new MacIntels
QuoteGuest wrote:
Be thankfull I am not paying full price? I paid full price for a 20" intel iMac. Now I did this knowing I would have to pay to get universal binaries but somebody else might not make that desicion. Apple is a business, now tell me that the lost profits from a lost hardware sale are going to be less than the lost profits from a $50 crossgrade or even a piece of software. And right now there really isnt a good choice for buying mac and I am mad at apple for it. The software isnt ready for the intels so people are afraid to buy them, and the powerpc is on the way out so people are afraid to buy them. Not letting people update their software for free complicates things and makes the transition harder. Apple is a business and wants to make money, it is in their best interest to smooth the transition so their hardware sales will do better, if that means offering free universal binaries or even free updates that allow their apps to run under rosetta than that is worth it to them. They arent getting my $50 crossgrade if I buy a powermac, they are getting a choppier transition and I am getting a worse end user experience, which could be bad for business later.
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