“Apple iLife ’08 iLife is a triumph [and it’s] the easiest way to make and share beautiful multimedia. If you have a small child, faraway family members, and a Mac, it’s a must-buy. And if you’ve never dared make a movie before, the new iMovie is for you,” Sascha Segan reports for PC Magazine.
“iLife is five programs for $79, a great value—each of the individual programs is worth the price for the package. It combines iPhoto, the best program out there for organizing and ordering prints of your photos; iMovie, a basic but almost unbelievably easy video editor; iWeb, a template-based Web design program; iDVD, which turns iPhotos and iMovies into slick, attractive DVDs; and GarageBand, which lets you record podcasts and assemble basic soundtracks from musical loops,” Segan reports.
Segan’s review gives the following individual scores:
• iPhoto – 5 out of 5: iPhoto sets and maintains the standard for managing your personal photo library and churning out those holiday calendars the grandparents rely on.
• iDVD – 4 out of 5: iDVD is an effortlessly easy, yet surprisingly, flexible way to create good-looking, standard-def video and photo DVDs.
• iMovie – 4 out of 5: This isn’t an upgrade to iMovie HD—iMovie ’08 is an entirely new program that lets you create simple movies extremely quickly.
• iWeb – 3.5 out of 5: As long as you also have a .Mac account, iWeb takes all of the fear and confusion out of creating a basic personal Web site.
• GarageBand – 3.5 out of 5: This software looks great, is easy to use, and has some novel new features, like Visual EQ and Magic GarageBand. Not for pros, this is software you will eventually graduate from—but it makes learning fun.
And a composite score of 4 out of 5 for the iLife ’08 suite.
Full in-depth review here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Corinne” for the heads up.]
of course since they are a “PC” magazine, they totally miss the fact that iMovie 08 is a *TOTAL* step back compared to iMovie HD 6…..
Garageband only a 3.5?
I don’t even understand how you can even imagine a music program more awesome then Garageband. It’s so easy, so powerful, so fun, so full featured, so limitless in possibilities. It’s a 5 out of 5 program if I’ve ever seen one.
“of course since they are a “PC” magazine, they totally miss the fact that iMovie 08 is a *TOTAL* step back compared to iMovie HD 6…..”
no, no its not, the average person is ‘scared’ of movie editing and this is perfect for them, it is also good for pros to ‘rough out’ quickly to, for the middle area (enthusiasts) imovie 06 is free and final cut express is available.
rory,
Your post is a bit too simplistic along with being wrong.
Longtime iMovie users aren’t happy, but average consumers should be ecstatic with the new iMovie ’08; it’s actually a triumph. Just so you know where I’m coming from, in addition to my brief bio below, I am a former 15+ year professional TV producer and video editor. Chances are good that you’ve seen something I’ve edited – most likely on a Mac-based Avid system costing over $100,000. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, August 22, 2007
Please read the rest of SteveJack’s excellent iMovie ’08 commentary here: http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/14669/
“it is also good for pros to ‘rough out’ quickly to,”… Funniest thing I’ve read all day.
On the APPLE STORE, iLife still is only getting 2.5 stars out of 5 possible from customers that have actually bought and used the program.
Anyone complaining about the new iMovie either misses the point of the product (simplifying the creation of a great movie) or is too lazy to download iMovie 6 HD, which should serve any amateur who would like more than iMovie ’08 but doesn’t want Final Cut Express.
Enough with the whining already.
I have used iMovie ’08 and I like it.
It’s very fast to use and if you took the time to look into it you would realise that a lot of the functionality that seemed to be missing is now included with the last Apple update.
I’ve used iMovie 08 also. Guess I’m showing my age, but I don’t like it much. (something about old farts and not liking change)
Besides… I’m using FC Studio for the importand stuff anyways
“it is also good for pros to ‘rough out’ quickly to,”… Funniest thing I’ve read all day.”
why? im speaking 1st hand, as a final cut user
iMovie ’08 is infinitely more useable than previous versions.
Simple, fast, fun videos in minutes. This is what video editing for everyday folk should have been like 7 years ago… Waht’s not to like? Unless you are a video geek, in which case use FCPro…
I would love iMovie if it could produce normal quality output from DV-video.
no not the imovie debate again no no no ………..
can’t breathe anger …..
the rating at the apple store is likely low because a very vocal minority have gone there to rate it so their view could be seen.
i somewhat agree with traveler – garageband should’ve gotten a 4.5 or a 5. i had been using cakewalk sonar for years, and i fell in love with garageband and won’t go back, even though sonar has more pro functionality.
i wonder when this whole imovie ’08 drama will stop? honestly. imovie HD is still out there, it still rocks, and imovie ’08 just adds an option for novices who may be somewhat intimidated by imovie HD. some of the mac web acts as if imovie 06 completely disappeared! it’s still there guys, don’t worry! =)
More orchestrated FUD, I mean in the responses not in the article. : )
I see FUD, people!
Its my sixed cents.
MW = off
as in “f”
hey , I saw this someplace today
why don’t they support both
iMovie, and iMovie Extreme
“Not for pros” ?!
WTF! Is this somekind of alarm that Pros should not buy this? Is this F*Cking idiot magazine telling the story that the Pros can´t differentiate PRO products out of the consumer products???!!
You do not compare these programs to something else than to the task on hand.
Hate this trend towards saying “a” great value ….
Garageband is a GREAT beginner program. In that sense, I would give it a 4 or 5. But it is still very, very limited in it’s possibilities.
For example…
1. Where is the option to control an outboard synth? Garage band will not allow me to use outboard synths for a project, which is pretty ridiculous. (That option will take a big load off your CPU.)
2. What about key and/or meter changes? I can’t change the meter of a song once I start? Again, ridiculous.
3. How about using a third party AU compatible soft synth or audio processing (Apple came up with the Audio Units standard, why don’t they use it?) Nichts, nada.
4. How about the use of an audio bus to control multiple tracks with one fader or apply an effect to multiple tracks (saves CPU cyles.) Should be easily done with a software mixer but is non-existant on Garageband.
These are all very basic, take-for-granted options if you do any kind of serious or even simple arranging. Garage Band is fantastic as a beginner program—my 8 year old son spends hours with it—but you will very quickly run into many different limitations if have any experience in arranging, studio work or a pro level sequencer like MOTU’s Performer, Logic or of course, ProTools or if you have any outboard gear or softsynths.
I am Sir Willoughby Pattern, and nothing Apple does lives up to my grandiose standards of perfection . . . that is, what I (and ONLY I) want in hardware and software offerings.
If I can’t turn an iPhone into a vibrator with a few simple hacks, it’s crap. If iMovie ’08 doesn’t have at least 100% more features than iMovie ’06, it’s ordure. If the iLife ’08 Suite isn’t pure gold right out of the box, it’s poo-poo. Leopard is bound to be scat, as well, for only I know what should be in an OS, not the sad sacks at 1 Infinity Loop.
I am Gawd, just like most of those who post here on MDN. I am omniscient. I demand what I want; everyone else can go to Hades.
I am that I am . . . Sir Willoughby Pattern.
IMHO, GarageBand is great for beginners precisely because its interface does NOT use the recording studio metaphor. OK, it thereby sacrifices much of the functionality that a project studio user would need, but there is Logic Express for that (55 British pounds for schools and students). I reckon GarageBand is the 21st century equivalent of the 20th century 4-track tape recorder – just the thing for the bedroom musician. I am amazed at what it CAN do, and less concerned about what it cannot. I reckon that if you need to know about routing, effects busses and group faders, you ain’t a beginner.
Hey Jim, bet I am an older fart than you. I use iMovie 6 and also have and use Final Cut Express. But for short movies I make and post to my .mac gallery while touring the country in our motorhome, the new iMovie is just great. I can produce a very nice movie in just minutes each evening and post it. It is so simple and fast. I get a lot of compliments on my videos–and at least two relatives who have been following our trek have now opted to buy Macs. So I see iMovie 7 as a seperate but very useful tool. Some old farts like simple solutions too.
@Pirana…. yes, I like iMovie08 for the same reasons you do, but I just don’t like the new interface I guess. That’s why I think I’m starting to show my age. I like the whole timeline approach to movie editing… been using it for a long time now and it just fits my creative processes better.
For each his own hey?
@Matt… you said.
“the rating at the apple store is likely low because a very vocal minority have gone there to rate it so their view could be seen.”
This would be true if you could spam the apple store with reviews, but you can’t. And what about the vocal majority? Aren’t we, the most loyal fan base ever found capable of skewing an online poll? Seriously – we’ve seen it TIME AND AGAIN here on MDN. Someone gives Apple a bad review and we drive it into the stratosphere. Are you really arguing that the same is not true on Apple’s own online store?
No – the reasons the 2.5 rating is accurate is as follows –
1. You have to have an apple .mac sign in name to leave a review, and unless MS is paying people to sign in and purchase .Mac accounts, or mac products, then these are loyal Apple customers.
2. Also, there isn’t people posting again and again. Reviews doesn’t stay on there indefinitely, they rotate off and don’t come back on. So the fact that the reviews are at 2.5 and holding out of 5 stars is legit.
The sooner that macfanbois shut up and quit whining about “whiners” and realize that there is a real and legitimate issue here the sooner Apple will deal with it and the sooner it will go away.