Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and a never-ending progression of software upgrades. Just as Office 98 begat office:mac 2001 and the Mac OS wound its way from 8.6 to 9.0 to 9.0.4 to its current incarnation as 9.1, commercial software is constantly reincarnated in progressively more advanced (and/or more bloated) guises. Obviously the bizarrely static Mac version of WordPerfect is the exception that proves the rule, but Apple's consumer-targeted digital video editing application is just as bound to the karmic cycle of version upgrades as any other normal software package. That's why iMovie is currently available for purchase at version 2.

But have you ever stopped to wonder what happens to older versions of software when they die? We're starting to suspect that restless software versions who aren't ready to move on from this physical realm just sort of stick around and haunt the living. Yes, we're talking about software ghosts, boy and girls, so gather 'round the campfire and roast those marshmallows as we spin a tale that's sure to give you the willies when you settle down into your sleeping bags tonight.

Way back in April of last year, Apple shocked the Mac community when it announced that, instead of shipping iMovie as a $99 boxed product as the long-standing rumors had predicted, the then-current version 1.02 of the previously bundled-only-on-iMacs software was immediately available as a free download-- and there was much rejoicing. However, once iMovie 2 came out last summer, iMovie 1.02 promptly vanished from Apple's servers; personally, we were never surprised by this, since continuing to distribute the previous version for free would certainly have put a ding in sales of the newer $49 version. Hence, iMovie 1.02 kicked the bucket, and we mourned the passing of a great piece of free software and moved on with our lives.

Things got weird a few days ago, though, when iMovie 1.02 suddenly resurfaced in Apple's online software library. We're sure we didn't imagine its earlier disappearance, which meant that iMovie 1.02 was indeed back from the dead. We eventually arrived at the conclusion that Apple had decided to resurrect the software now that the company has racked up a certain number of iMovie 2 sales, but just as soon as we were getting used to that idea, the fine folks at Insanely Great Mac reported that iMovie 1.02 has once again mysteriously vanished from Apple's servers, leaving no trace that it had ever returned.

So was it a short-lived mistake on Apple's part, or the restless spirit of dead software popping in for a two-day haunt? Is iMovie 1.02 doomed to wander these silicon corridors until the end of time, occasionally manifesting itself as an anachronistic free download from Apple's web site? And just where are those intrepid investigators from Scooby Doo when you need them? Ah, well... sleep tight, kids. Mwwwaaaahaahahahaha!!