Aperture academic?

Don't know specifically about Apple, but it is pretty general policy across the software industry that your discounted educational software is not eligable for reduced cost upgrades to newer commercial versions.

 

If you are not happy with this policy return your software and buy the full fat, upgradable and probably vastly more expensive version!

 

I think that people were buying Academic software and using it to manipulate / take unfair advantage of Apple's upgrade programs.

 

I agree that it's a crappy policy. With some apps they make that pretty clear before you buy it, but doesn't seem to be consistent.

As far as I'm concerned it makes the academic versions pretty worthless. I'd probably stick with the "real" versions.

 

How can you say its worthless? In most cases buying a new academic version is cheaper than the retail upgrade. So nomatter how many times you upgrade you always get away paying less then retail. This is also true with retail versions of software suites such as adobe creative suite and macromedia stuio. The retail suite doesn't have an upgrade, you have to buy seperate upgrades which adds up to more than buying the suite again.

 

Aperture 3 Academic: the worse deal

If you intend to upgrade to Aperture 3 when it's released, and if Apple offers another $99 upgrade for full-version users, then it's actually a worse deal to purchase the academic version of Aperture 2. While full-version users will be able to upgrade, it seems that academic users will have to purchase an entirely new program.

Assuming the same pricing for A3:

EDU: Aperture 2 + Aperture 3 = $179 + $179 = $358
Regular: Aperture 2 + Aperture 3 upgrade = $199 + $99 = $298.

I teach math and use photography in my class, and would very likely upgrade to A3. Apple's pricing seems rather strange, then, as it ironically makes it MORE expensive for educators (and students) to continue to use the newest technology.