April 28th, 2000

[2:00 PM] Desktop Video Junkies Rejoice! Apple's iMovie Now Free by Staff In a move sure to promote the area of desktop video editing and publishing, Apple has made iMovie available to all G4/FireWire PowerBook owners as a free download. Previously, iMovie was one of the major selling points for the iMac DV series. According to Apple: "In seven months, iMovie has become the most popular video editing software in the world," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Due to popular demand, we're bringing this amazing Apple software to a wider range of Mac users, at no charge." iMovie was introduced in October 1999 and has earned rave reviews as the easiest to use video editing software ever, allowing users to create their own pro-quality movies. iMovie comes preinstalled on all iMac™ DV and iMac DV Special Edition systems, and will now be available to all PowerBook and Power Mac G4 users as a free download at www.apple.com/imovie. With iMovie, users can import video from a digital video camcorder directly into their FireWire®-enabled iMac DV, iMac DV Special Edition, Power Mac G4 or PowerBook, rearrange clips and add special effects like cross-dissolves and scrolling titles. Completed iMovies can be stored on the computer, as well as: transferred back to a camcorder for viewing on a standard TV or VHS videotape; saved as a QuickTime™ file and e-mailed to family members or friends; streamed from a personal web site built using HomePage, one of Apple's four iTools available at www.apple.com; or shared over the Internet in a public folder via iDisk, another of Apple's iTools that provides 20 megabytes of personal Internet-based storage on Apple's Internet Servers. System requirements include: a Power Mac G4 or PowerBook with built-in FireWire; Mac® OS 9.0.4; QuickTime 4.1; 64 MB of RAM; and a 4- to 6-pin FireWire cable to connect a digital camcorder. iMovie is available for free at the Apple web site, or for US$19.95 on CD. You can find more information at the Apple Computer web site. The Mac Observer Spin: This is a truly surprising move on Apple's part. iMovie has been selling like hot cakes on eBay auctions, and The Mac Observer believes Apple could have easily sold this package all day long in a shrink wrapped package for US$79. That said, with competition heating up in the consumer digital video market, Apple has placed itself in an excellent position. More interesting, there are reports of iMovie working on configurations OTHER than the suggested G4/FireWire PowerBook. It seems that B&W G3 owners, and possibly others, are also able to take advantage of Apple's latest bout of generosity. All that is required to download the 20MB file is your name and e-mail address. Apple set out to make desktop video the "Next Big Thing" and have taken another step in that direction by putting the necessary tools on everybody's desktop. Apple