MT no longer free

Ouch, didn't see this coming. The new version of Movable Type (3.0) that was just released is not free. Well, not exactly. There is still a "free" version if you look carefully.

If you look at the MT price list, a personal license for the product starts at $69.95 (intro price, regularly $99.95). That is a license for a maximum of 3 authors and 5 blogs. A commercial license starts at an intro price of $199.95 (regular price $299.95) and goes up to $599.95 ($699.95 regular price).

Still want it for free? Here are the terms for the free version of MT 3.0:

No support from Six Apart
No access to paid installation service
No access to fee-based services
No promotion of your weblogs through the Recently Updated list
No commercial usage
No more than one author and three weblogs

And how is the MT community taking this? Not at all well.

"The shift to charging for most users has led to outrage among some bloggers, who have been swiftly writing missives on their Movable Type-powered blogs about the pricing being too high and the restrictions on the number of authors and published blogs being too tough." --eWeek