News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

April 2, 2008

software

ImageWell 3.5 released, now shareware

Posted Apr. 2, ’08, 3:46 PM PT by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen
Category | Software

ImageWell.jpgMacUser regulars no doubt know us bloggers love ImageWell, an image editor/uploader that is both simple and powerful. Until now, it was also free, with “Xtras” for a price. Version 3.5, released today, is only available as a paid piece of shareware with a 7-day trial period.

While this move is sure to sadden freeware-lovers like myself, I personally think it’s completely justifiable. ImageWell is a huge time saver and was bound to become for-pay at some point. So we can whine about it, but hey, $20 is really not a lot of money when you think of it, plus it helps fund the future growth of the software.

Since we’re on the subject of free vs. paid, I’ll mention an excellent post that MarsEdit developer and friend of the blog Daniel Jalkut wrote in response to Leo Laporte’s claim that Pukka “should be free”. It’s a thorough exploration of what “free” truly means, and it all comes down to this: “Software costs money, time, and resources to develop”.

Back on topic, what’s new in ImageWell 3.5? Not much, but a couple of new features are worth pointing out: sharpness control, new shapes, and general interface improvements. As I alluded to previously, it costs $20 from XtraLean software (if you bought the Xtras, your license should still be valid).


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