A lot of people don’t like the new iMovie. Mac user forums and blogs are rife with comments from distressed users calling iMovie ’08 a “downgrade” from iMovie ’06. Although the new version has some flashy features, it’s true some significant capabilities have vanished. Such iMovie staples as DVD chapter markers as well as a timeline that showed graphically how your video and audio clips lined up are gone.

A few comments culled from Apple’s iMovie discussion boards:

"So I paid for an upgrade and received less bang for the buck. iMovie '08 is not iMovie '06. It's barely a movie editor. I'd call it a 'wizard for idiots' who do nothing but shoot a bunch of video of their kids' birthday parties and don't really care about the final results."

"Please, please, please Apple! Fix what can only be a giant mistake. Leaving audio control features out of iMovie is a deal breaker for me. I am in shock that you have gutted this program and then sold it as 'iMovie' at all."

"I paid for an UPGRADED VERSION of iMovie; and I'm afraid this is not even close to an upgrade."

Disgruntled users expected an evolutionary version of iMovie with more features added to the old; what they got was an app aimed squarely at amateurs who need a quick and dirty video editor to throw together something for YouTube or their personal Web page. Yet fans of the new version say they like it for just that reason. Skimming through any discussion of iMovie ’08, one finds an equal number of proponents. They like the new features, such as “skimming” over video clips with the mouse to see its contents and the way the new version stores clips in a library similar to the way iPhoto works. Most tellingly, many of iMovie ‘08’s defenders actually prefer the shift in emphasis from features and effects to ease and speed.

Comments from the other side of the table:

"I think this program is a beauty, slick and sophisticated. Maybe not as many bells as iMovie 6 HD, but it is so fluid."

"Delve into the program itself, and you'll find that this is a serious upgrade to iMovieHD. Much of the features are yet to come, but this platform is simply amazing."

"iMovie '08 is exactly what I had hoped for and is the reason I rushed out to buy the new iLife package as soon as possible. I didn't realize that it was missing some editing features, but I never got over the hump with iMovie before, so I won't personally miss them."

The consternation over the major changes to one of iLife’s oldest components shows how attached users can become to how a favorite piece of software works. I haven’t used iMovie ’08 myself yet, but having used the old version for years I can understand why many are upset. For more involved projects, you do need more control than the new version provides.

But what Apple did to iMovie makes perfect sense when you look at its full range of video editing products. At the low end is iMovie, sold as part of the iLife suite for $79 and included free on all new Macs. At the high end is Final Cut Studio 2, a $1,299 suite of professional video and audio programs. In the middle is Final Cut Express, a $299 prosumer version of the high-end software that leaves out some of the more advanced features in exchange for a lower price tag.

From Apple’s perspective, the trouble with iMovie is that it was a bit too sophisticated for novices and a bit too basic for many prosumers, many of whom nevertheless would prefer not to pay $299 for Final Cut Express. Prosumers hoping for an iMovie one step closer to Final Cut Express got something intended for an entirely different customer that, frankly, Apple had largely neglected. So now they’re annoyed -- with some justification -- that in customizing iMovie for newbies, Apple has left them with a decision between using outdated software (iMovie ’06) or forking out real money for Final Cut Express.

Even though I fall into this group myself, I can see the practicality of revamping iMovie into something more intuitive. Let’s be honest: the core of the Mac message is making the manipulation of digital media so simple anyone from a schoolchild to a grandma can figure it out. It’s incumbent upon Apple to make sure that each of the iLife apps fits that criteria, and iMovie didn’t.

It’s the correct strategy for Apple, with the only snag being the inevitable backlash from long-time users of iMovie who were bound to feel cheated. Knowing this, the company made iMovie ’06 a free download for buyers of iLife ’08 (although anyone who bought a Mac within the past year or so already has the full iLife ’06 suite). That’s not what these folks wanted, but at least it’s a peace offering. And I bet most of the feathers ruffled over this issue could be smoothed over by one more conciliatory gesture from Apple: a price drop on Final Cut Express to $199. Wouldn’t that make you feel a whole lot better?