iLife09 Up-to-Date Program

So my mac mini took a dirt nap on Friday, (I’ve yet to fully diagnose the problem, suffice to say it won’t boot, and I wasn’t able to find the hard drive in target disk mode) so I purchased a new iMac to replace it. Unfortunately, iLife09 wasn’t installed on it, but I’d already read that I’d be eligible for a free upgrade. Well, it seems iLife09 will be available tomorrow. What sucks is that I’m going to have to pay the $10 for shipping and handling for the disc. I can’t just go into the Apple Store with my receipt and get a copy that they will be dropping into boxes, even though I made the purchase 4 days prior to the release. Certainly not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but as much as Apple prides itself on it’s retail experience, this seems to slip through the cracks. Couple that with the less than obvious link to the page you actually need to claim your copy, and I start to get the feeling that they aren’t really making a priority to get the copy in the hands of owners of new machines. From the press release, it took me 3 more pages to actually find the link to qualify my purchase and upgrade, which included going through the Apple Store. Maybe rather than try to push MobileMe or a printer bundle, the salesperson could have provided me with this information?