iMovie '09 has it all over '08, that's for sure. I never really liked the previous iMovies, just because they seemed a little klunky and unnecessarily complex (for me).
I never hated iMovie '08 (like so many others did),
except for the fact that so many usable effects, transitions and other features were missing. Those were all restored (and then some) in iMovie '09, so that's what I use now and get really nice results (IMO).
But I know the Final Cut way is more what pros are accustomed to and have built around. I'm afraid if Apple goes and shakes that tree, and does to pros (money-making pros who truly do this stuff for a living!) what they did to consumers in August 2007 (iMovie '08), it ain't gonna be pretty.
Unless I'm just reading things wrong,
or they've got some new "pro" level version planned that's eve...nah, that just doesn't make sense either, now that I type it. The story is pretty damn clear-cut, isn't it? They're overhauling/tweaking/refocusing their FC apps...
EDIT: Good points, Banana. An improved, easier-to-use interface is fine (but it shouldn't be such a complete 180 that people lose time and work, in those particular fields, getting their heads around it). But when I hear "focus on prosumers", I take that to mean "funky, high-end features that only professionals ever use will be unceremoniously jettisoned". But that's just me...
Kinda like the difference between Photoshop Elements and Photoshop...Elements is
mostly there, minus CMYK separations, channels(?), etc. (I'm going on memory from previous years...for all I know, the latest Elements has everything Photoshop CS2 or 3 has?)
jdcfsu, I thought Final Cut Express filled that role?