Apple iLife '04 review:3 stars (Underwhelmed) - When I received my iBook 12", I was extremely excited to bust out the iLife applications. I had heard a lot about them, and played around with them at Apple Retail Stores.

I was quite disappointed. It seems that in order to be "user friendly", Apple stripped some of the most important features. I am not a professional by any means, but some of the things that Apple removed were simply ridiculous.

iLife is composed of five main applications - iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, and GarageBand (new in iLife 04), which I will review separately below.

iTunes - an audio jukebox which is by far the best and most complete application in the entire suite. iTunes is probably the best solution for ripping and organising your digital music, with an excellent interface, a beautiful visualiser, and Apple's famed drag-and-drop simplicity. But that's no reason to buy iLife, because iTunes is available for free on Apple's website. (***** of five stars)

iMovie - allows you to "edit" movies, which basically (in iMovie terms) means splicing clips together. I did manage to put together a complete video on this thing, but the labour was difficult and I found myself frustrated by how dumbed-down it felt. The lack of effects and filters was notable, and many times I felt like I could have done the job in half the time on Sony/SonicFoundry Movie Studio. (*** of five stars)

iDVD - a tool for authoring and burning DVDs. Because the iBook doesn't have a SuperDrive, I was unable to actually burn a disc with this program. I did drag-and-drop a few clips, but I didn't actually play around with it enough to give it a solid rating. (no rating)

iPhoto - basically iTunes for pictures, iPhoto allows you to organise and catalogue your photographs with snap and simplicity. It is extremely easy to use, automatically importing photographs and adding them to your library. The photos can then be added to "albums", which can be printed or even sent to Apple for a book. While iPhoto is quite short on photo editing tools, that's really what Photoshop is for. (**** of five stars)

GarageBand - lets you drop loops and compose music. Out of all the iLife apps, this is the one which disappointed me the most. I expected a comprehensive but easy-to-use audio editing application, but GarageBand was the worst I have ever used. Its interface is indeed simple enough, but it is extremely lacking in both "software instrument" synthesizers and "real instrument" filters. Many of the features it lacks baffle me as well - you can't reverse, pitchshift, or resample an AIFF track. (* of five stars)3 stars (Garageband NOT unique to Apple.) - Just to counter what one person said about "nothing comes close" on the PC. Garageband is simply Apple's version of Sonic Foundry's ACID, now owned by Sony, and you can download [...]
Garageband will even import Acidloops I'm told.

Don't get me wrong, I think the iLife Suite is great and I use both PC's and Mac's in equal measure but I get frustrated when Mac owners talk about how great Garageband and Final Cut are and how it's too bad there's nothing on the PC like it. Well, Final Cut is constantly playing catchup to Vegas Video and Acid has been around for years.

That all said, there still isn't a worthy competitor to iMovie on the PC and my iBook is my constant companion for quick and dirty video editing on the road.

J\
4 stars (Not perfect but better than anything else) - I have been a Mac User for almost 20 years and I have to say that this package is one of Apple's greatest achievements. To take so many different components (the one thing in common is the digital footprint of all the media involved) and make them work together so well.

I reviewed iLife 03 and was astonished by the melding of video, sound, and pictures. I was less than thrilled with iMovie's performance, but that speaks mostly about my older (QS 933 G4 and G3 PB at the time) equipment than it does about this software. Like that package, iLife 04 is more about the sum of it's components rather than the individual pieces. But I'll talk about them anyway.

iMovie 04: This is a much improved version of the big changes made in the 03 version. I've yet to crash it no matter how many effects and transitions I throw it. They added improved sound effects as well. If you want more than what Apple gives you, check out Gee Three for more iMovie effects and transitions packages.

iPhoto 04: Yawn. I'm sure it's much better than before..I just don't see that much difference. It is still a great photo archiver and it works with any Digital camera I thrown at it so far. Plug it in and it works. Just like it should.

iDVD 04: MUCH improved over the 03 version. New effects and the ability to add pre-video before your menus is very well done. Many new themes as well. Minor ding to Apple for not allowing external DVD burners. Guess you gotta sell those SuperDrives SOMEWAY.

iTunes 04: No real interface changes other than Smart Playlists. Very tight integration with the Apple Music Store for purchasing music online and of course if you own an iPod, there is nothing better to use than iTunes with it.

GarageBand 04: Some of the reviews here have slammed GB for not being the be-all to end-all of digital music creation. Somewhere they have forgotten a few things. Like how not everyone wants to create music from scratch for video clips or just for putting together some fun songs. I challenge them to find a program as easy to use for 50 bones anywhere else that is more fully featured. Guess what? They can't. I'm not a musician, but I can throw together some loops and effects and make something that at least I find listenable (Check out the GB tunes I made at macidol.com under artist name Guy Serle). Is it really art? Nope, and I don't claim it is. But it is fun. GB is the easiest software of this type to make music. Apple gives you everything you need to get started including 1000 loops. Many companies are now creating packages of loops in Apple's format that are drag and drop easy to install. Search for "Apple Loops" in the search engine of your choice and you'll find lots to choose from.

I took one star away for some minor issues I have that aren't really worth going into. If you have at least a G4/G5 (or even a high end G3) Mac, this is worth getting for the ridiculously low price that Apple charges. It is the best software bargain out there bar none.
Apple iLife '04 Features:
Music
audio
Sound Editing
Video
Editing
Apreciation
Apple
(Mac)
(Macintosh)
Computer software (programs)
Graphics
Multimedia
Edit (Editing)
Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple
Single installer that updates all existing iLife applications
Includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand music application
Use iLife to have more fun with digital media
Easily create professional-quality slideshows, music, movies, and DVDs
Seamless integration--iLife applications work together better than ever before

Apple iLife -04 is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 49.99USD.