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Apple Launches $0.99 Mac FaceTime App on Mac App Store

This is the kind of thing that saddens me as an iOS app developer. People, software doesn't just write itself. With my own app, I put out a new version every year (it's tied to a summer TV show) then spend the next 3 months keeping it's content up to date, available and write a significant article for it every single day of the week. Its a huge undertaking for which i only ask $1.99 a year. And still I get scorn from previous customers who think everything should be free.

Not everything is free to develop, nor is it free to manage and run. You don't know what Apple's investment in development costs, nor what it's ongoing costs are to continue to manage all those connections, phones and computers for a service they design to be as simple and trouble free as possible. All they ask is 99 cents. Yet people act as if they're asking for your first born child too.
 
What a dumb move on Apple's part. How do they compete with the dozens of free video chat programs? By releasing one that costs money? They just handed the video chat market right back to Skype. It doesn't matter if it's 99¢ or 5¢, you don't compete with FREE by releasing a paid product.
 
Jeez, the whining goes on. And today you kids can't even whine about the real issue. $.99 is fine, who cares? "The principle"....um, yeah. Ok, sure. :rolleyes: Get over yourselves. I have the opposite view. If this is based on principles, they should have been charging $10 for iChat all along. Pay for what you want to do. Grow up, also. (maybe if anyone could spell "principle" it would be more believable)

The real problem is Apple making this a second app, which breaks their own UI/ease of use/compatibility requirements. So, now video chat with a phone is Facetime, but video chat with a computer is iChat, but video chat with someone else will be Skype, etc.

That does not sound like Apple UI at all. They should update iChat (or Facetime, publicly dropping iChat) to cover all of these. Yes, including interfacing with non-Apple chat on the other side, like Skype.

Then charge $.99 for the new version, whatever.
 
Wow, all this for $.99. You guys kill me. :)

However, it is included free with the new MBP (Per press release). Plus, it will most likely be included with Lion. They will probably even use that in the keynote speech announcing the release of Lion (...blah blah blah....And now Lion includes, for free, our most innovative and magical video chat software ever, Facetime). A dollar is nothing people. Think of all the money you spend on Apple. Hell my wife and I were talking about it the other day and in our bedroom alone we had 9 apple devices. A 27" iMac, a 13" MBP, 2 15" mbp's, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and an :apple:tv. I am pretty sure that was a lot of dollars. Also, you are not being forced to buy it. It is optional.

Anyway, thanks for the entertainment....or is it entitlement. Either way its fun.
 
If you want all your software to be free, switch to Linux. Otherwise pony up and pay the price of a soda for possibly handy software (hell, I wouldn't mind a soda for some of the development I've done). If you don't want to use the non-free software that's available, then don't worry about it being non-free.

I see that you didn't complain when Aperture less than half price.
 
just found out... it's free on new macs, but not on existing macs.. i guess it's not so bad then, but i'm still pissed. I'm sure it'll be included in Lion, so i'll just wait till then, since I'll have to pay for that anyways. :rolleyes:
 
samcraig said:
Chupa - the problem with that - is that right now OS upgrades aren't really that expensive. I think I paid - what - $29 or $39? And that included all the bells and whistles.
Click to expand...

Yes, but that is what I said -- that 10.6 was a dirt cheap upgrade. But it also lacked few new features over 10.5. I know a lot of people were upset by that but personally I'd rather pay $30 for the OS upgrade and add features when needed. 10.5, by contrast, was like $89 discounted, and $119 MAP. It came with lots of features and mini apps, like Grab, most of which I never use b/c there are better alternatives.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
No. It's nothing like what MS does. What MS does is gives users the option of 3 versions. You are still stuck with bloat of the Premium version even if you just want ONE feature in it.

On the contrary, what I'm suggesting is that there is ONE Mac OS version like there now is, and then you can go to the App Store, when needed, and buy whatever other feature you need for whatever the market price is.
Click to expand...

The thing is, what one user consider "bloat" could be "essential" to another user. For example, my MBP has been as steady as a rock, but recently came to a grinding halt and I had to launch "Activity Monitor" to see what was causing the issue... this is probably the first time in months I've had to do this.

Now, what if Activity Monitor is a .99 purchase? I know that's an extreme example but since I don't use it very often, would that be considered "bloat"?

I just think having to pay for features in an OS you have already purchased is bad direction. It's like the DLC nonsense we have in console gaming these days.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned! :)
 
tjmrpm04 said:
Wow, all this for $.99. You guys kill me. :)

However, it is included free with the new MBP (Per press release). Plus, it will most likely be included with Lion. They will probably even use that in the keynote speech announcing the release of Lion (...blah blah blah....And now Lion includes, for free, our most innovative and magical video chat software ever, Facetime). A dollar is nothing people. Think of all the money you spend on Apple. Hell my wife and I were talking about it the other day and in our bedroom alone we had 9 apple devices. A 27" iMac, a 13" MBP, 2 15" mbp's, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and an :apple:tv. I am pretty sure that was a lot of dollars. Also, you are not being forced to buy it. It is optional.

Anyway, thanks for the entertainment....or is it entitlement. Either way its fun.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better. I wonder...if all the complainers here had a company that could sell a "widget" for 99 cents and knew thousands (if not more) would buy it, I'm sure they'd all just give it away for free.
 
JAT said:
Jeez, the whining goes on. ...:rolleyes: Get over yourselves. ...
The real problem is Apple making this a second app, which breaks their own UI/ease of use/compatibility requirements. So, now video chat with a phone is Facetime, but video chat with a computer is iChat, but video chat with someone else will be Skype, etc.

That does not sound like Apple UI at all. They should update iChat (or Facetime, publicly dropping iChat) to cover all of these. Yes, including interfacing with non-Apple chat on the other side, like Skype.

Then charge $.99 for the new version, whatever.
Click to expand...

Oh the hypocrisy. You're whining as well. Just a different whine. And all of these comment are valid. Get off that mighty high horse you're on. "The real problem is..." As if your opinion is greater than someone else's. Newsflash. It isn't. Here's another newsflash. Not everyone posting is a "kid" as you put it either.

And to others thinking this is about entitlement - you're missing what most people are either saying outright or perhaps are not saying the best way they can. It's not about being entitled to the app for free. At least for most. It's about the precedent. It's also about change. And people don't like change. And they will voice their opinions when it happens - regardless of whether or not it's valid. If you think people aren't entitled to voice their opinions either way - then get off the message board - because you've missed the point of a forum.


My .02
 
I'm one of those (seemingly) rare people who uses FaceTime on an almost daily basis and love it. What it offers is easily worth the money being asked for it, but I agree this is a bit petty from Apple and probably more about app store promotion.

Hopefully the beta won't expire, since that has performed flawlessly for me.
 
JS77 said:
The thing is, what one user consider "bloat" could be "essential" to another user. For example, my MBP has been as steady as a rock, but recently came to a grinding halt and I had to launch "Activity Monitor" to see what was causing the issue... this is probably the first time in months I've had to do this.

Now, what if Activity Monitor is a .99 purchase? I know that's an extreme example but since I don't use it very often, would that be considered "bloat"?

I just think having to pay for features in an OS you have already purchased is bad direction. It's like the DLC nonsense we have in console gaming these days.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned! :)
Click to expand...
Activity Monitor is an OS feature. Video chat is not. I would definitely not call you old fashioned, unless you mean old like 2008.
 
RLY? Not free? thats not right!

Hey :apple:, I thought you were trying to catch up to skype and beat them.
Bye bye paid Facetime,
Hello free Skype!

:apple: you really should give customers who bought expensive computers from you free access to Facetime.
 
Stella said:
Still don't understand why Apple don't integrate FaceTime into iChat... would make far more sense than a separate application.
Click to expand...

Apple should have bought Skype instead - that's what everybody out there uses. Well, at least everybody my company is doing business with. I've only met one person in the last ten years who used iChat, and I don't know anybody who even bothered to try FaceTime. But many of our customers use Skype.
 
samcraig said:
Oh the hypocrisy. You're whining as well. Just a different whine. And all of these comment are valid. Get off that mighty high horse you're on. "The real problem is..." As if your opinion is greater than someone else's. Newsflash. It isn't. Here's another newsflash. Not everyone posting is a "kid" as you put it either.

And to others thinking this is about entitlement - you're missing what most people are either saying outright or perhaps are not saying the best way they can. It's not about being entitled to the app for free. At least for most. It's about the precedent. It's also about change. And people don't like change. And they will voice their opinions when it happens - regardless of whether or not it's valid. If you think people aren't entitled to voice their opinions either way - then get off the message board - because you've missed the point of a forum.


My .02
Click to expand...
My opinion is they are wrong. And, they will get over it in about 2 more hours. Proving such opinions pointless, and childish. (I hadn't said this part, before) I didn't tell anyone to stop posting, just said they are wrong. And can't spell. Pretty sure I 'get' a forum. You can look at the date to the left to see that.

I think Apple's stupidity over 2 apps is far more of a crap precedent than charging $.99 for one. And will hurt them in their target audience. Whiny internet geeks are not their target audience.
 
Of course, this is an open standard, so people will be able to build competing apps that will probably be better and free.

Oh! Wait! That's right, they won't be able to do that, because Steve was lying when he stood up and said it was.

Phazer
 
Winni said:
Apple should have bought Skype instead - that's what everybody out there uses. Well, at least everybody my company is doing business with. I've only met one person in the last ten years who used iChat, and I don't know anybody who even bothered to try FaceTime. But many of our customers use Skype.
Click to expand...

Could you just imagine the comments if they did, and then charged $.99 for it? :D
 
facetime opens up automatically

I like facetime cause you can receive a call without having the app open. The mac senses your getting a call and opens app. i hate when apps have to stay open in background to be used.

i believe skype and ichat have to be open and you have to be logged on to get the call.
 
FaceTime is really dumb. Just adds to the video chat fracturing. Until there's a single standard protocol, video conferencing will never really take off outside the corporate scene. We already had iChat av. Why did they
F it up?
 
come with

iRance said:
Yay! I just got my new $1,200 MacBook Pro! I can't wait to try FaceTime HD on it.....wait WTF it costs $1????? FU Apple this is sooo expensive!!:mad:
Click to expand...

I got the impression it comes with the new mac. Only people who will need to buy is ones who have older mac. from this day forward looks like it will be installed

upodate: no i guess i'm wrong. probably a gimmick to get you to use app store
 
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