[Schneb]

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I think one of the keys here is to separate iMovie '08 from Apple's decision to kill iMovie HD and replace it with a simple editing tool.

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I totally agree with this. They should have called it iVideo, and INCLUDE it with an updated version of iMovie HD. Also, read this list.
Now, why couldn't they have melded both the newbie usage and the original? This is EXACTLY what they did with GarageBand 08. They added features for the avid user, then added "Magic GarageBand" for the newbies. The avid users do not see any good use for it, but no matter, they can just ignore it.
What scares me is, what if Apple applied this same thinking to the next version of GarageBand? No more timeline. No more advanced editing capabilities. No more support for third-party plug-ins. All in order to please the newbies to get their audio onto some Web site. I shutter at the thought. And you will always have those few that say, "Hey, I like the new GarageBand. It is so much easier now to create a little diddy." While the rest of us are left having to shovel out more money for Logic, or stick with the abandoned GarageBand '08.
There is more at stake here than just a replaced, downgraded application. What if they applied the same thinking to Leopard? Aaaah!

[SimDude]

If I recall correctly, the original "i" came from iMac where the "i" stood for Internet. The new iMovie truly is designed for internet/online use so the name is probably more appropriate now than before. I just wish they had the old iMovie and called it something like Apple Movie or Apple HomeMovie as part of the iLife package. Or the ability to switch modes to a more advanced mode for longer, DVD type projects (and no Mr. Jobs, DVD isn't going away in the next year. They are the best format for distributing presentations, creating gifts, sharing with relatives that don't have updated computers/fast internet etc.)

[Dan Frakes]

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iMovie HD isn't really that hard to use

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As much as I like the feature set of iMovie HD, I have to disagree here. For anything other than "Magic Movie"-type stuff, iMovie HD has a learning curve that scares off a good number of people.
Despite being a Macworld editor, I've rarely used iMovie HD. I've got a stack of DV tapes that have been waiting to be processed because I never have time to deal with iMovie HD's workflow; it requires a lot of effort and time to produce something good. That's not a knock on iMovie HD in general -- editing video traditionally hasn't been a simple or quick process -- but it is a knock on iMovie HD as the "iLife" video app from Apple.
Even though iMovie '08 "loses" some features of iMovie HD, as well as compatibility with add-ons such as the excellent Slick Plug-Ins, iMovie '08 is something I'll actually use more often because it's so much easier (and faster) to produce something of decent quality.
I think Jason -- and Mike, the reviewer -- got it right: If you're one of the (smaller) group of people who actually used iMovie HD regularly, you'll hate this; but if you're one of the (larger) group who want an easy-to-use movie-making app, iMovie '08 is pretty slick, and much more in line with the spirit of iLife.

(That's not to say that there isn't a need for an iMovie-HD-like app. Final Cut Express hasn't been updated in almost a year, and iMovie HD now seems destined for "legacy" status. Hopefully Apple will maintain a "pro-sumer" app somewhere in that range.)

[Schneb]

Remember Simple Finder? Why couldn't they just provided a way to shut down the advanced features of iMovie, and just leave the newbie, quickie stuff? Why leave a great deal of us out in the "no upgrade" cold? In fact, the "events editing" feature could have been placed on a tab next to timeline and clip-style editing.
I'm sorry. This move by Apple was counter-productive and smells of some kind of hidden agenda that scares me.

[cseeman]

Jason,
I think Apple made a major MARKETING mistake, not to be confused with the product. It has a major and unfortunate impact on user perception.
The new product should have been given a different name. That would avoid comparison. If one looks at it as an "update" to iMovie then the loss of features really justify the negative reaction IMHO.
iMovie 06 users should have been given a reasonable direction to go. Maybe a full 50% on an Final Cut Express. That way instead of spending $79 for an iLife package that doesn't meet their needs they' be able to get FCE for $150. Even better might be simply allowing iMovie 06 users to get FCE for $79 for a limited time.
Maybe there are other marketing solutions Apple could have pursued but what has happened is that iMovie 06 users have suddenly had their tool of choice EOLd (when they were anticipating and update)along with any 3rd party effects they bought (and there's the impact those companies will now experience too!).
Giving iMovie 06 away free is at best a mixed stop gap. I remember Word Perfect was offered free when it was EOLd on the Mac too.
Far be it for me to make suggestions but it's quite clear that Apple has handled this poorly (as far as iMovie 6 users are concerned) and many will take that out on iMovie 08. Apple's/Job's comments on iDVD (actually the use of DVDs) haven't help such matters either.

[Nobody]

iMovie HD was not hard to use is correct. For those people and you are calling them the (smaller) group, that actually used iMovie over the years, we know a little more about iMovie than you Frank, who is the casual video guy who wants a simple magic movie program. Yea you have DV tapes laying around, guess what, the new iMovie 08 will not solve the problem that you (larger) group has, and that is, you just don't have the interest or motivation to make videos. I said it, iMovie was for people that like to make videos, and yes, this happens to be a smaller group of people than your larger group. The larger group does not use garageband. Are you going to ask apple to dumb down that program and delete the timeline and everything else that makes the program useful for the small group?
I know the type, that has a video camera, hardly uses it, and does for family events, then has lots of tapes laying around, saying one day I will do something with the content. Guess what Frank, those people including you, will not find the time or motivation to actually spend the time to make movies. It's just not going to happen. Imovie is not for grandma or anyone in that category. Grandma has a hard enough time using iPhoto. iMovie for grandma is going to be like iweb, you people will make one or two videos, say, wow this new imovie is for the larger group and everyone is going to make videos. It's just not going to happen.
The smaller group will make videos and the larger group will be using iPhoto.
Please stop [saying] this new iMovie Grandma version as what is was always meant to be, because it's not.

[cseeman]

Dan, Apple may be absolutely justified in coming up with a new, easier to use video editing application but abandoning iMovie 06 without providing an upgrade path has resulted in serious resentment which may play out in the "market."
New Apple CPU purchasers may be able to get into handling their video much more quickly but iMovie 06 users have less reason to purchase iLife 08 (pending their need to update iPhoto, iWeb, Garage Band).
Users who were expecting to update for $79 are now faced with spending $299 for Final Cut Express plus paying for new plugin sets as needed.
Apple can certainly think of things to ease the pain of the EOL of iMovie 06 but that move is now up to them. The forum posts here certainly bare out that iMovie 06 users don't consider iMovie 08 an update. At the very least Apple should have renamed the product IMHO.

[Jon Seff]

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iMovie HD was not hard to use is correct. For those people and you are calling them the (smaller) group, that actually used iMovie over the years, we know a little more about iMovie than you Frank, who is the casual video guy who wants a simple magic movie program. Yea you have DV tapes laying around, guess what, the new iMovie 08 will not solve the problem that you (larger) group has, and that is, you just don't have the interest or motivation to make videos. I said it, iMovie was for people that like to make videos, and yes, this happens to be a smaller group of people than your larger group. The larger group does not use garageband. Are you going to ask apple to dumb down that program and delete the timeline and everything else that makes the program useful for the small group?
I know the type, that has a video camera, hardly uses it, and does for family events, then has lots of tapes laying around, saying one day I will do something with the content. Guess what Frank, those people including you, will not find the time or motivation to actually spend the time to make movies. It's just not going to happen. Imovie is not for grandma or anyone in that category. Grandma has a hard enough time using iPhoto. iMovie for grandma is going to be like iweb, you people will make one or two videos, say, wow this new imovie is for the larger group and everyone is going to make videos. It's just not going to happen.
The smaller group will make videos and the larger group will be using iPhoto.
Please stop shilling this new iMovie Grandma version as what is was always meant to be, because it's not.

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By "Frank" I'll assume you're talking about Dan Frakes -- if you're going to be snide, at least have the decency to get a person's name right.
I agree with Dan...I stopped using iMovie long ago because it was tedious and I turned to Final Cut Pro.

[Jason Snell]

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Remember Simple Finder? Why couldn't they just provided a way to shut down the advanced features of iMovie, and just leave the newbie, quickie stuff?

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I suspect it's because the code base of the old iMovie was a mess. Or am I the only one who was plagued by crashes, faulty audio on transitions, and the like? The old iMovie was a Cocoa rush-job because someone at Apple (foolishly decided to shoot iMovie 2 in the head because it was written in Carbon. I don't think the product ever recovered, and it seemed to get worse as it went along, if my frustration level is any indication.
It does make you wonder if perhaps their "big picture" goal with the new iMovie is to build it up to the old feature set over time, so that eventually you'll have more of the old features available in Advanced Mode. It's possible. It's also possible that they're just going to point people to Final Cut Express. It's a shame, because I do believe there's a need for a tool that's more advanced than iMovie '08 and less complex than Final Cut Express. The question is, does Apple think there's enough of a need for them to make a product to serve that audience?
Apple thinks that there are lots of people who don't use iMovie right now because it's just not easy enough to use, and I think they're right about that. I think iMovie '08 is brilliant in its ease of use. BUT... it doesn't address the other point, which is, what about the non-video pros who used iMovie to make near-professional-quality videos? I don't know the answer to that one. I'd like Apple to address it, somehow, somewhere.

[dixeyk]

If you don't like the new iMovie then you don't like it. Just because someone says that they think it is slick and prefers it over the old version doesn't make them a shill or a moron. While I think Apple probably underestimated the reaction people would have to the new iMovie being so different, I admit that I am a bit surprised that people are getting so worked up over it. I know it my particular situation iMovie 08 is a better tool to accomplish the kinds of things that the students on our campus currently use iMovie for. FWIW, having taught more than my share of iMovie 06 classes I can tell you that for the average student that has zero experience with any kind of video editing software iMovie 08 will be much simpler for them to grasp than iMovie 06.

[dixeyk]

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If you don't like the new iMovie then you don't like it. Just because someone says that they think it is slick and prefers it over the old version doesn't make them a shill or a moron. While I think Apple probably underestimated the reaction people would have to the new iMovie being so different, I admit that I am a bit surprised that people are getting so worked up over it. I know it my particular situation iMovie 08 is a better tool to accomplish the kinds of things that the students on our campus currently use iMovie for. FWIW, having taught more than my share of iMovie 06 classes I can tell you that for the average student that has zero experience with any kind of video editing software iMovie 08 will be much simpler for them to grasp than iMovie 06.

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I'd like to see a app with the power of FCE but with the nice iLife ease of use.

[Axl]

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I agree with Dan...I stopped using iMovie long ago because it was tedious and I turned to Final Cut Pro.

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Me too. I used to use Avid professionally and I found iMovie to be a pain. I either wanted proper functionality, or something really simple. Maybe it was just me (I am ready to stand corrcted on this) but I could never find a quick way to mark in and out points. Dragging the markers with the mouse gave me a wrist ache. Very un-intuitive. iMovie 08 looks good. I hope to reduce my heap of MiniDV tapes over the next year or so.
I do understand the fury of the dedicated, dare I say it, few. But I suspect we will see some rapid development on the editing front for Apple, such as a scaled down version of FC, to reach the hobby-ist editor.

[sirmarcos]

The bottom line is that iMovie '06 is deprecated because Apple's not going to update it, or bring AVCHD to it, etc. So, a program that a lot of people loved is basically gone and replaced with something which lacks the ability to do what we could do in iMovie. Is the new iMovie good at what it does and easier than iMovie '08? Sure looks like it - but how often does a "new" version of a program come out that can't do what the old one did.
I didn't use iMovie HD much. The main thing I did was to take still photographs from iPhoto and set them - timed - to music. Being able to see the audio waveform and having a timeline was key. The new Imovie makes that impossible.
I agree with David Pogue. They should have called this FlyMovie or something and kept and updated iMovie HD as well. There's no need to ditch one program to create the other.

[Schneb]

As one who works in marketing for a global company--I heartily agree with everything you mentioned in your post.