"I´m not sure what you are talking about, for all the courses of Rosetta stone it is over $500 which is a lot for a program that doesn´t work."
At my local Barnes'n'Nobles it is currently $299 for the whole set of Rosetta Stone and apparently on their own website as well. http://www.rosettastone.com/lp/sbs/prodpurplebii/?cid=se-br-gg-purpleprod&s_tnt=73307:0:0 So I'm not sure where this idea of "over $500" comes from. That being said, it was just a point of price reference. I don't think Rosetta Stone is a good program at all.
"I also wouldn´t call it a glorified flashcard system because it uses spaced repetition. I can vouch for spaced repetition myself. I use Anki with runs on the same principles and I have found memorising things a lot easier. It also focuses on pronunciation and listening skills. I mainly just used duolingo and now my reading and writing are a lot more ahead of my speaking and especially listening. Not to mention what it teaches you is actually useful things, or at least the type of things you will need for getting around in a new country. These are the things I´ve read in reviews at least, and also how I feel after testing their program with the demo."
You extrapolated the point I was making better than I did so thank you. I called it a glorified flashcard system because there are similar online flashcard based systems, like the ones you yourself mention, that do the same thing for either no cost whatsoever or a relatively small amount.
"If you don´t want to spend much money sure there are other resources, but a program with a direction will probably help you get there faster." There are many free or low priced Kindle books with directions and strategies on how to make the most of the vast amount of free/low priced online resources for learning Spanish. Not to mention blogs and useful youtube channels as well for the same purpose. I would suggest doing this for the direction aspect of what may feel like a daunting amount of information.
"For all the CD´s of Pimsleur it is over $1,000. Basically language learning programs are expensive." Not for nothing but there are ways to get at least the volumes 1-3 (the best ones since these are the ones Pimsleur was personally involved with while he was alive) for free. I got them through my local library. And not for nothing but you can easily torrent these online. I know that rubs people the wrong way and some won't even consider it an option due to their own moral values or whatever but it is a fact. The same thing goes for Rosetta Stone. Though they do offer some nice things with their newest version like video tutoring and audio CDs and such but the actual system itself is the same as the prior version that is torrentable.
Throughout reddit and other language learning hubs there are lists upon lists of very good free or low priced content. It's nice that spanish101 doesn't boast ridiculous claims of what level they can bring you to. This doesn't make up for the fact that they are charging over $700 for their complete system that they admit will not bring you past a still beginner level. You can achieve this same thing without spending a dime or a very low amount if you so choose to. I don't see why people compare it these programs to Spanish classes as it's just not the same. The effectiveness of a Spanish class depends in large part on the instructor but more to the point, most students are taking a language class because they have to. I had to in high school and even my college now requires two foreign language classes unless you can prove proficiency. All college courses cost the same, so yes they are expensive but they give you the college credits that you are required to attain. Comparing this with a self-study program is not really purposeful. Not to mention now you can video chat 1on1 with Spanish tutors through sites like italki. Some charge $10 or less even. The more popular ones of course cost more. This is a more accurate comparison and being able to talk and learn with a native or expert speaker of Spanish is a very valuable for learning. If you have money to blow that is great, but you may as well blow it in the most effective way and computer/online programs are not worth such a high price (who knows maybe in the future they will be), in my opinion of course.