There aren't many drawbacks to iMovie that we can see. It's reportedly very easy to use, great for consumer-level video editing, and free with the purchase of an iMac DV. In fact, there's only one big drawback that's immediately obvious: we can't actually use iMovie to find out if there are other drawbacks. Since it's only available bundled with the iMac DV, folks without one of those fanless wonders (such as ourselves) are rather out of luck. Oh, sure, we could opt for Apple's high-end professional video-editing package instead-- but who really wants to shell out a grand on Final Cut Pro just to string together a bunch of footage of the kids playing on the monkey bars? At that price, people whose editing needs lean toward the casual would almost be better off spending $300 more on a complete iMac DV in addition to their existing G4 or PowerBook.

So there's little doubt that a demand exists for iMovie, sans iMac. Don't believe us? Just check eBay. People who bought iMac DVs and don't own a digital camcorder are auctioning off their copies of iMovie to aspiring filmmakers everywhere. One such auction is up to $105. If Apple were to slap iMovie into a box, shrink-wrap it, and throw it onto the shelf at $99, a certain segment of the population would be tripping all over each other in the mad rush to buy it. C'mon, who doesn't want to be in pictures? If nothing else, "Hey, baby, I'm a director-- want a part in my next project?" is as decent a pickup line as many people are ever going to get.

Well, soon those of you with FireWire-enabled non-iMac Macs may well be able to indulge your inner DeMilles without breaking the bank. According to a Go2Mac "exclusive," an unbundled iMovie will soon be sold at least within the educational channel, and hopefully to the general public as well. (We look a bit askance at Go2Mac's claim of "exclusive" info, though, since it was a full two weeks ago that Mac The Knife talked about iMovie 2.0 shipping for $99 in the first week of April.) So warm up those camcorders; you've got nine months to qualify for next year's Oscars.