View this article at: http://dev.macnn.com/articles/06/01/17/apple.axes.pro.apps
Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 5:05pm
Apple to only sell FCP via ...
Apple this week notified its resellers that it will no longer offer Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, or Motion as standalone products. The company will instead only sell the applications as part of the previously announced Final Cut Studio production suite for $1,300--a Universal Binary version of which is expected to ship in March to enable full compatibility with Intel-based Macs. Apple has stopped taking new orders for current versions of the applications to be bundled within the suite. "The individual applications in Final Cut Studio will only be available as part of the suite," Apple wrote in a memo.

Apple in February will begin taking orders for a universal version of Final Cut Studio dubbed "Final Cut Studio Universal," which will ship in March for $1,300. The company will also continue to market a PowerPC-only version of the suite entitled "Final Cut Studio 1.1," according to a report from AppleInsider. The company's move to an all-inclusive bundle means that new customers will be forced to pay the hefty price tag for the complete audio and video production suite, or make due without any of the applications. Users who own current versions of DVD Studio Pro, Motion, or Soundtrack Pro will be eligible to upgrade to the entire Final Cut Studio Universal for $200, while Final Cut Pro 5.0 owners will be able to upgrade to the Universal Studio package for $100. Customers who already own a copy of the current Final Cut Studio can update to the universal version of the suite through a $50 "Final Cut Studio 1.1 Crossgrade Fulfillment" upgrade, and information about how to take advantage of all upgrades should show up on Apple's website in early February, according to the report. Contacts close to Apple have suggested that fulfillment upgrades may only be available through traditional postage mail, requiring customers to supply all installation disks for the software that they are upgrading. Apple will also offer $50 crossgrade upgrades for its other Pro applications, including Aperture and Logic Pro 7.1. For Logic Express 7.1 users, the upgrade will be priced at $30.