Kent Pribbernow
01-21-2005, 09:00 PM
<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/iLife-04-300x275.jpg" /><br />With Apple releasing iLife '05 very soon, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look back at iLife '04, as a basis for comparison to judge how much the new iLife suite improves over its predecessor. Well, that and the fact that I was supposed to have this review posted months ago but failed in my duties. :oops: Shhhh...don't tell Jason. <br /><br />So here goes...<br /><br /> <!> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><br /><span><b>iTunes 4.7</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/itunes_icon.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software <br /><b>Company:</b> Apple<br /><b>Price:</b> Free download<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> (PC) Windows XP or 2000. Mac OSX.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Excellent user interface;<br /><li>Simple to use;<br /><li>Seamless iPod integration;<br /><li>Superb online music store;<br /><li>Free.<b>Cons:</b><li>Somewhat sluggish performance at times;<br /><li>Doesn’t sync with third party music players;<br /><li>Does not support Microsoft’s WMA format (though some may see that as a Pro not a Con). <br /><br /><b>Summary:</b><br />Apple first introduced iTunes back in the Spring of 2000 as a media player for the Mac platform. Since then this simple little app has matured and grown into a pedigreed media platform all its own. Once designed to simply playback and organize a users music library, iTunes now serves as a interface for the popular iPod digital audio player as well as an online music store. Offering a world class user experience, iPod integration, easy to understand interface, and a treasure chest of downloadable music, iTunes delivers like no other jukebox software can; on any platform. Best of all it won’t cost you a single penny. Apple knows how to rock your world!<br /><br /><span><b>iTunes</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/itunes_review_thumb.jpg" /><span><i>Figure 1: iTunes interface</i></span><br /><br />iTunes sets the standard for jukebox software design, featuring a brain dead simple user interface that makes organizing and managing your <br />music library a snap. Tracks are displayed in primary list view window with tabs along the top to segregate attributes such as Artist, Album, playback time, genre, or user rating. A browse button in the upper right hand corner toggles a navigator interface that allows you to drill down into your music library, identical to the iPod interface. A very simple and elegant solution. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/itunes_review_party_shuffle.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Party Shuffle and Smart Playlists</i><br /><br />Apple has added a number of new features in this release including an ingenious Party Shuffle mode that allows users to build a dynamic playlist that rearranges on the fly. This function is designed primarily for entertainment purposes, such as track mixing for DJs. You can even make a printout out of your playlist…or whole music library with the click of a mouse. <br /><br />Smart Playlists is another neat feature, which is handy for creating multiple playlists based on “mood music” or other criteria defined by the user. You can compile mixes varying from genre to genre, or compilations based on artists. Whatever suits your tastes. A friend of mine who does some DJ work on the side uses Smart Playlists to create different genre mixes for his audiences. Each one is set for a different audience; dance, hip-hop, electronica, etc. And the whole event is controlled via two iBooks and one iPod.<br /><br />In addition to being a handy dandy playlist maker, iTunes can even stream your music library to other playback devices, such a home stereo system. With a little help from <a href="http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/">AirPort Express</a> that is. All it takes is a WiFi connection and a set of remote speakers. <br /><br />Beyond its core set of added features, iTunes offers all the other common faire functions one comes to expect from media playback software, such as the ability to burn CDs at variable bitrates and audio formats. And while you’re doing that, you can sit back and watch all the pretty visual effects. It may seem trivial, but iTunes has some of the most elegant visuals I have ever seen. Patterns morph and blend in an orgy of color. Yes... I said ORGY! ;)<br /><br />You can rip CDs and import audio tracks in several different formats, but are limited to AIFF, AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, and WAV. Notice who is missing from that short list? Microsoft of course, there is no support for WMA. This is because Apple doesn’t want you purchasing music from one of those sleazy Windows Media based online music stores. Those cads!<br /><br /><span><b>iPod + iTunes = Bliss</b></span><br />Of course, iTunes has another purpose in this world besides playing that funky music. It serves as a conduit interface for syncing your music library with Apple’s line of iPod digital audio players. Just plug in your iPod, and in a few seconds your library and playlists are synced up and ready to go. iTunes also allows you to mount your iPod as external hard drive as well, which is a really nice feature. Think of it as a USB flash drive on steroids. <br /><br />One downside is that iTunes raises a fuss about how and when the iPod is unmounted. If you prematurely disconnect the iPod, iTunes will be thrown into a panic attack. So be careful not to uplug your iPod if a message appears on the screen telling you not to disconnect. <br /> <br /><span><b>Music Store</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/itunes_review_musicstore.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: iTunes Music Store</i><br /><br />By far the biggest addition this release of iTunes is integration with iTunes Music store, which in turn integrates with Apple’s highly popular iPod music player. With over 1 million tracks from all four major labels plus 600 independants, and a one-click purchase process, users can select tracks or whole albums using iTunes’s embedded browser interface. Just search for the track you’re looking for and double click on it hear a preview. If you decided to buy a track simply click the <b>Buy Song</b> button. That’s it! The song will immediately begin downloading. <br /><br />There is however one gotcha. You have to be sure to backup your purchased tracks otherwise you could lose them in case of system failure. What’s even more frustrating is that if you’re setting up your Mac from scratch, iTunes will not import songs from your iPod as a backup device, which would be far more convenient.<br /><br />I will say this for the online music store…it is incredibly addictive. It was never my intention to purchase downloadable music. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer purchasing CDs and ripping tracks in a format and bitrate of my choosing. Still, over the past year I have downloaded as many as 30 tracks from iTunes, in genres that I don’t even listen to that often. That’s a success for Apple in itself. If they can lure more old farts like me away from CDs, they can convert anyone. <br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />While iTunes is available for both Mac and PC, it’s really fined tuned for OSX. Go figure. The Windows version tends to run more slowly, annoyingly so at times..especially during initial load which seems to take forever. But this is a minor quibble. Beyond that, both versions are cosmetically identical twins. iTunes is, in my opinion, the best jukebox software for either platform, and worth the download price alone: Free! :)<br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>iPhoto 4</b></span><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/iphoto_icon.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software <br /><b>Company:</b> Apple<br /><b>Price:</b> $49, part of iLife suite<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> (PC) Windows XP or 2000. Mac OSX.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Excellent user interface<br /><li>Simple to use<br /><li>Photo books<br /><li>Versatile album creation and management<b>Cons:</b><li>Sluggish performance, especially when navigating photo thumbnails<br /><li>Weak photo editing tools<br /><li>Limited effects <br /><li>Photo book feature lacks choices in size formats<b>Summary:</b><br /> iPhoto offers a complete solution for Mac users to manage, edit, and organize digital photo collections. And it’s easy to use. But it does have a few niggling shortcomings. <br /><br /><span><b>I Took How Many Pictures!?!</b></span><br />The first thing you’ll notice about iPhoto is the intuitive interface. Apple did a fantastic job designing this app. So many commercial photo applications are poorly designed, or difficult to grasp. Not so with iPhoto. The main window shows you a gallery view of all your photographs displayed as thumbnails which can be scaled to any size preference. This is a neat feature, but it needs a lot of work. Scrolling down a very large list of thumbnails can bog your system down. It will be interesting to see if iPhoto 5 fixes this problem. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_iphotoscreengrab_thumb.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: iPhoto interface</i><br /><br />Below that is a logically designed context-sensitive toolbar that changes with each function. You have four buttons that carry out iPhoto’s primary functions; Import, Organize, Edit, and Book. They serve as iPhoto’s main reason for being, as these are the most common tasks of digital photography. <br /><br />Importing photos into your Mac couldn’t be any simpler. Just plug in your digital camera’s USB connector to any Mac, and iPhoto will automatically launch. At that point you are presented with basic options like allowing the camera to delete all images in memory once the transfer is complete. After that, you simply create a new album to store the photos for better organization. From the organize window you can apply any number of set tasks with each individual photo, or the entire collection…such as printing, displaying an animated slideshow, email photos to a friend, order prints online, order a photo book (more on that later), display images on your .Mac homepage (or a .Mac slideshow), or even burn the photos onto a DVD via the included iDVD software. <br /><br /><span><b>Editing</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_iphotosepia_thumb.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Photo editing</i><br /><br />Of course, no photo software is worth its weight in gold without the ability to edit or touch up digital photos. And this is where iPhoto starts coming up short of the mark. Rather than empowering its software with a robust set of editing tools and effects, Apple chose the simple route. This approach has its tradeoffs and benefits. By limiting these functions, iPhoto remains simple to understand for the mainstream users. But the obvious downside is that its editing capabilities are far less robust than competing commercial apps like those found in Microsoft’s Digital Image Suite 10 for example.<br /><br />iPhoto offers just a handful of basic enhancement functions. These include the ability to crop an image, or enhance it with the mysterious “ehance” and “retouch” functions. You can also change the image to black & white, or give it sepia effect, which can come in handy for giving photos a vintage look. Beyond that, you can change the contrast and brightness levels…but that’s about it. A rather disappointing set of editing features for an otherwise stellar iLife app. <br /><br />But enough of my rant about editing, or lack thereof. <br /><br /><span><b>Photo Books</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_iphotobook_thumb.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Photo book design</i><br /><br />Arguably the best feature in iPhoto is its ability create photo books. This feature alone makes it a killer app among its contemporaries, though <a href="http://www.jasc.com/products/pspstudio/pssfeature6.asp">Paint Shop Pro Studio</a> for Windows from JASC also offers similar photobook integration. What is a photo book, you ask? Put simply, it is a hardbound coffee table book featuring all of your photos with captions, professionally illustrated and printed by Apple (via MyPublisher.com). The versatility of this tool is phenomenal. You can take any photo collection and turn it into a collage, with your own captions and text printed next to each item. Photos are printed on beautiful high quality acid-free paper. You can choose from one of several different creative layout styles including Catalog, Classic, Collage, Picture book, Portfolio, Story book, and Year book. The possibilities are endless. And iPhoto makes the task of assembling a photo book simple and painless…not to mention fun!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_photobook1.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Sample photo book project 1</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_photobook.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: Sample photo book project 2</i><br /><br />I tested this feature out earlier this year when I made a photo book for my Dad as a Father's Day gift, featuring his antique wood car collection (it’s a hobby of his). The results were impressive, and everyone seemed to enjoy the experience of viewing the book. They were all genuinely stunned when I told them I designed and assembled the book on my iMac, not knowing that such a creation was possible on a computer. Image quality looked good, though a bit grainy in some images. I suspect the quality of prints depends largely on image quality. So I highly recommend that you put extra effort into correcting and tweaking your photos before sending them off for publishing.<br /><br />This beyond all other features offered by iPhoto makes iLife worth its price tag. While you can still make your own photo books online from MyPublisher.com with any PC or Mac (sans iPhoto), it’s the way iPhoto integrates and manages the experience end to end which can’t be beat. <br /><br />That said, I do have one gripe. At the present, you can’t select from different book formats and styles beyond those offered in the software. iPhoto only allows you to print hardbound books, not softcover or photo sized prints, which could save you some money in the end because hardbound editions are more expensive by comparison. I’d really like to see Apple extend this feature in future iPhoto releases as it would make the photo book tool far more versatile. <br /><br />Despite that rather minor quibble, I can’t stress enough just how good the Photo book feature is. It’s a fantastic tool for amateur photographers and advanced users alike. <br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />iPhoto is perhaps the best application included in iLife. It brings simplicity to the seemingly laborious task of importing, organizing, editing digital photos and makes it painless and fun for mainstream users. And that’s what digital media is all about; empowering the masses. While I do have a couple complaints about lacking editing components, I give it high marks nevertheless for its ingenious design and utility. <br /><br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>iMovie 4</b></span><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/imovie_icon.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software <br /><b>Company:</b> Apple<br /><b>Price:</b> $49, part of iLife suite<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> (PC) Windows XP or 2000. Mac OSX.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Easy to use<br /><li>Intuitive interface<br /><li>New Ken Burns effect<br /><li>Lots of editing options and effects<br /><li>Direct Trimming<b>Cons:</b><li>Poor performance, very sluggish<br /><li>Designed for amatuers<br /><b>Summary:</b><br />iMovie offers a lot to like, especially for novice users. With new features such as Direct Trimming, a simplified video editing experience, and the new Ken Burns effect, iMovie 4 is an impressive editor for amateur consumer video. But it falls short of expectations. In particular the performance issues are unforgivable; at times running as slow as molasses even on fairly recent Mac hardware.<br /><br /><span><b>You Ought To Be In Pictures</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_imovie4_screengrab.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: iMovie interface</i><br /><br />iMovie carries on the tradition of offering a relatively simple interface that just about anyone with a basic working knowledge of digital video can understand. The interface is based around a timeline in which you drag video clips to. From there you can move them around, cut, splice, and trim, whatever you like. You can even add a number of prebuilt transition effects to clips. And iMovie doesn’t <i>just</i> handle imported video. Photos can be made into movie slideshows as well, complete with audio and transition effects. <br /><br />Another really nice feature is the integration with iDVD. You can import your movies into iMovie, direct from your digital camera. Edit it, add effects, and then export it to iDVD and turn your creation into a DVD movie. <br /><br />Unfortunately, iMovie suffers from the same horrible limitation as its predecessor; sluggish performance. At times the experience is so bad it almost makes iMovie useless for video editing. For example, I wanted to create a simple photo slideshow to export into a QuickTime movie. But dragging photos to the timeline and adding effects was a slow and time consuming process. You could brew a pot of coffee in the time it takes to work with iMovie. This above all else must be addressed if Apple wants to the get serious about consumer video editing. As it stands now, iMovie just doesn’t cut it. <br /><br /><span><b>Direct Trimming</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_imovie4_dtrimming.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Direct trimming</i><br /><br />One very welcome addition to iMovie is the introduction of Direct Trimming; a feature once only found on high end video applications like Final Cut and Final Cut Express. What is Direct Trimming, you ask? Well, previously if you wanted to remove a section of video from a clip you had to cut it out. With Direct Trimming you can simply drag the slider inwards and hide unwanted video. A nice touch. <br /><br />The downside to this feature is that it sometimes makes the timeline interface feel crowded and difficult to wield. And Trimmed video will be moved to Trash. Once emptied, you lose all your trimmed video. Apple should have done more with this feature, in my opinion. <br /><br />Apple has extended support for audio in clips, allowing you to view audio track waveforms in the timeline. With this feature you can isolate objective noises present in your video and tone it down. No one wants to hear Uncle Fred’s obnoxious arm pit fart sounds. <br /><br /><span><b>Slow performance</b></span><br />As stated earlier, iMovie's single greatest weakness is its horrendously slow performance, which very nearly cripples it as a viable video editing tool. Just about any task you perform cutting, editing, or importing will bring the software to its knees. Even loading the program takes forever. Click on the iMovie icon, and watch it bounce up and down in the dock like a Jack Russell terrier begging for a treat. Annoying. <br /><br />Whatever else Apple intends to add to iMovie in the way of improvements, performance enhancement should be top priority. <br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />iMovie 4 is a step forward over the previous version, but it still carries the same legacy of slow performance and sluggish behavior as its predecessor. The new features are a welcome addition, but I would like to see Apple merge Final Cut Express with iMovie, combined into one powerful yet easy to use app. <br /><br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>iDVD 4</b></span><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/idvd_icon.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software <br /><b>Company:</b> Apple<br /><b>Price:</b> $49, part of iLife suite<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> (PC) Windows XP or 2000. Mac OSX. Requires a DVD drive or Burner to install.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Seamless integration with other iLife apps<br /><li>Drag and drop interface<br /><li>New map view feature<br /><li>Wonderful theme selection<b>Cons:</b><li>Lacks advanced options<br /><li>Limited Map functionality<br /><b>Summary:</b><br />iDVD 4 turns DVD authoring into a simple drag and drop affair. Anyone can take a movie or photo collection and turn it into a high quality DVD movie, or animated slideshow. iDVD gets the job done without much fuss.<br /><br /><span><b>iDVD is easy</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_idvd4_screengrab.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: iDVD interface</i><br /><br />iDVD is a rather unusual application. I say that because, unlike its other iLife siblings, iDVD isn’t quite an application in the traditional sense; but rather more along the lines of a wizard interface meant to pull content authored by other iLife apps and roll them into a DVD. That’s not to say it is unworthy of its title, not by a long shot. But clearly Apple targets iDVD towards a single purpose. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_idvd4_settings.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: DVD toolbar</i><br /><br />Assembling a DVD project in iDVD couldn’t be more simple. To start, you simply choose one of the many lovely built-in themes offered. Then drag a movie you’ve made in iMovie, or any collection of photos from your photo library, right onto the primary window. Click on the settings tab to set the parameters of your work, like duration, transition effects, text attributes and button styles. The media tab gives you the option to bring audio to your movie as well. <br /><br />Once you’ve finished all the little details, simply preview your movie. If all is as it should be, you’re ready to burn your movie. Pop a blank DVD into your Mac Super Drive or DVD burner, then click the burn icon in iDVD. That’s it! Quite simple and painless really.<br /><br /><span><b>New Themes</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_idvd4review_themes.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: iDVD themes from Apple</i><br /><br />iDVD includes a handsome selection of professionally designed theme templates. This is where Apple really shines, when it comes to empowering novice users with the tools to create high quality work that speaks art. The new themes are event driven, arranged for such occasions as weddings, graduations, vacations, road trips, and a few general themes for kids or just any fun project. <br /><br />Apple has also extended the richness of theme support as well, adding background audio and other effects that give your work a bit of polish and depth.<br /><br />In my own tests, I created two different slideshows complete with transition effects and background audio. The results were surprisingly impressive. It’s not hard to imagine the possibilities one can create with just a few video and photos. Put a DV camera in the hands of a child and let their imagination run wild. <br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />Since iDVD is really more of a utility than a content creation app, there isn't a whole lot to say about it, except that it is a fantastic product that does what it’s supposed to do without much user intervention. <br /><br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>GarageBand 1.0</b></span><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/garageband_icon.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software <br /><b>Company:</b> Apple<br /><b>Price:</b> $49, part of iLife suite<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> (PC) Windows XP or 2000. Mac OSX. Requires a DVD drive or Burner to install<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Intuitive interface<br /><li>Lots of software instruments<br /><li>Apple loops<br /><li>Effect generator<b>Cons:</b><li>Sluggish performance, especially when importing audio<br /><li>Lots of bugs<b>Summary:</b><br />In iLife ’04, Apple has introduced a whole new app; GarageBand. By far the coolest app in the suite. Aimed at amateur musicians and audiophiles, GarageBand allows Mac users to record audio and create their own songs using Apple Loops, software instruments, or audio tracks. Even a complete musical novice can use this software to create audio. But GarageBand lacks the robust tools and features found on Apple's professional audio apps. <br /><br /><span><b>GarageBand Rocks!</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_garageband_screengrab.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: Garageband</i><br /><br />Unlike other apps in the iLife suite, GarageBand has a look all its own. Featuring a user interface modeled after sequencer hardware, the interface looks more like a piece of hardware rather than software. But its design is purpose built. Artists and musicians are more accustomed to sequencers and synthesizers than a mouse, and Apple designed GarageBand with this in mind. <br /><br />GarageBand does the job of three audio apps in one; Looping, MIDI keyboard, and live audio recording. There are a lot of professional apps out there that do the same thing, and much better in some cases, but GarageBand brings them all together simply and effectively in one app. And this is precisely what this software was designed to do. Like other iLife apps, it takes the complexity out of complex tasks (audio recording and authoring in this case), and turns it into a simple visual process. <br /><br />Though the interface is easy to understand and finely tuned, I did find one caveat when editing or creating long tracks. They can require a lot of screen relestate. So a small iBook screen may not be the best interface for working with GarageBand. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kp_garageband_instraments.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Instruments</i><br /><br />The project workspace centers around tracks. You can drag and drop tracks right into GarageBand and they are immediately presented as a timeline complete with signatures. You can also choose from a number of Real instruments built-in to the software; ranging from strings, drums, keyboards, bells, drums, synth pads, woodwinds, guitars, mallets, bass, or drums. <br /><br />Additionally, Software instruments are available as well. These include Electric Piano, Grand piano, Smokey clav, Smooth clav, Swirling electric piano, or whirly.<br /><br />To add any of the afore mentioned tracks, simply click on the + sign located on the lower left corner of the app window. This brings up a file browser window listing both categories of tracks. <br /><br /><span><b>Not For Pros</b></span><br />As I mentioned in the summary, GarageBand may look like a full blown professional tool, but don’t be deceived. It is intended for consumers, amateurs, and hobbyists. As such, it is limited in scope and capabilities to only the core functions average audiophiles would expect. <br /><br />For example, GarageBand is rather restrictive when it comes to handling audio file formats. You cannot directly import MIDI audio. And you can only export audio in AIFF format, nothing else. MP3s gets converted into AIFF as well once imported. <br /><br />Serious musicians looking for more in the way of features will need to look at professional apps like Logic Express, Logic Pro, or DigiDesign’s Pro Tools. <br /><br /><span><b>Performance Woes</b></span><br />Like any first generation software, GarageBand has some noticeable performance issues. Particularly when it comes to importing or exporting audio, which can take several minutes at time. Even opening a project can feel painfully slow at times. The problem is exaggerated by older hardware. I encounted poor performance on 1.2GHZ PowerBook, but the experience was downright miserable on my 700MHZ G4 iMac. <br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />For a first generation product, GarageBand is innovative and offers a good user experience. But performance issues needs to be addressed, and more features need to be incorporated before it can be declared ready for prime time.<br /><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>iLife '04 Thoughts</b></span><br />iLife ’04 is Apple’s first attempt at marketing its creative apps as a bundled commercial software package, available for resale. As such, it falls short in a number of ways, yet balances well in others. iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie are the signature apps in iLife. iDVD is more of a utility than a full blown application, and GarageBand is still a work in progress. What concerns me most is that iPhoto is missing some key editing and effects features to make it a worthy commercial photo editing solution. It covers the basics quite well, but is limited by its crippled editing capabilities. I look for this to improve in iPhoto 5. <br /><br />iMovie desperately needs an overhaul, as it is plagued with rather serious performance issues and clumsy execution. If Apple can address this in the next release and offer some more advanced features lifted from Final Cut Express, I think iMovie will be one of the best consumer video editing solutions on the market. <br /><br />GarageBand is unique and ingenious. But it has all the earmarkings of first generation software; slow and buggy at times, in need of some polish. The same holds true with GarageBand as with iMovie. If Apple can smooth out the rough edges and add new features designed for the more advanced audience, it is going to rock!. Right now I see it as more of a live experiment. <br /><br /><span><b>iLife '05</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/ilife05top20050111.jpg" /><br /><br />The release of iLife ’05 is just days away now. With it comes the promise (at least by Apple) of new features and improved performance. And judging from the list of new features it looks like Apple has addressed most of the issue I encountered, at least on paper. <br /><br /><span><b>iPhoto 5</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/indexcallouts20050113.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: iPhoto 5</i><br /><br />iPhoto 5 will include new advanced photo editing tools, exactly what I saw as lacking in the last version. And the Photo book feature has received some lavish new book format options, another item I requested, as well as a customizable slideshow capability. I look forward to that. <br /><br /><span><b>iMovie HD</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/indexfeature20050114.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: iMovie HD</i><br /><br />Apple has really taken iMovie back to the drawing board with this release, and rightly so. Even the name has changed to reflect a new focus on High Definition, a much needed feature. Along with HD support, a new Movie Magic feature automatically imports video from your DV camera and places it in the timeline, with one click burn to DVD. Brilliant! (Apologies to Guinness Beer for stealing their line ;) ). Apple also promises “dramatically improved performance”, but I’ll believe that when I see it.<br /><br /><span><b>iDVD 5</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/iDVD5.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: iDVD 5</i><br /><br />iDVD, like iMovie HD, now supports High Definition video and can burn to new DVD formats like DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. New themes have been added as well as an improved Map view function. iDVD also supports Apple’s new “OneStep DVD” feature found on iMovie HD for automated DVD movie importing/burning. <br /><br /><span><b>GarageBand 2</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/garageband2.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: GarageBand 2</i><br /><br />GarageBand 2 steps out of infancy into adolescence with improved performance and new features. The biggest addition is Multitrack support, something the previous version lacked. You can also see musical notations presented visually (in animated form) in the timeline, which is really cool. Audio recording has been improved, as well as the addition of new loops. I look forward to this release. <br /><br /><span><b>iTunes 4.7</b></span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/itunes4_7.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 5: iTunes 4.7</i><br /><br />iLife ’05 features an exicting new release of iTunes with tons of amazing features! Just kidding. ;) No, the same release which you can download right now from Apple’s web site is the same that comes bundled with iLife ’05. Since the iPod and iTunes music store are such a vital new asset to Apple, it gets updated and distributed independently of the iLife suite. If you want to find out more about iTunes 4.7, visit Apple’s web site and download a copy.<br /><br />Stay tuned for my review of iLife '05 in the coming weeks.