Customer Reviews

Apple Training Series: iLife (iLife '09 Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For home users, the Apple iLife set of productivity applications may be the most useful and elegantly designed suite on the market. The suite consists of photo, video, music making, DVD and Web page applications, which not only are separately worthwhile, but are integrated seamlessly.

While each application has Apple's well-known ease-of-use, some people like or need some guidance starting and completing home projects. That's where a book like "iLife 09" comes in handy. It is one of the books in the Apple Certified Training series and its four authors are experienced producers and communicators. The book has four parts with 17 lessons and a very good 18 page index. Each of the authors writes a part reflecting his/her relative strengths of experience, with Richard Harrington writing on both iWeb and iDVD.

The concept of the book is to provide hands-on, practical guidance to producing a project in very short order. The presentations are self-paced learning tools for results-oriented people. The projects include making an instant home movie, photo slideshows, podcasts, websites and blogs, and more. The parts share a common structure - a brief introduction to the specific program, how to open or import source material, how to create or edit material, and how to save, share, and publish. The preferred means of sharing is via Apple's own MobileMe system of Web services. I found the best lessons to be on creating iPhone ring tones and using "green screen" processes to create special effects with iMovie.

This book is not a comprehensive, systematic guide to the iLife applications. It is actually pretty sparse in its coverage of application features and power. It is meant primarily for casual users who want to create fairly simple (but worthwhile) projects in a short period of time. The book is well produced and laden with graphics, full-color photos and screenshots. The writing is straightforward and clear, but utilitarian. There are many "Tips" for readers dealing with either cautions, recommendations, or more advanced matters. It comes with a DVD of lesson material and source media.

I am finding this book to be very informative and helpful learning how to get the most from the iLife 09 software. There is a DVD Lesson File included which contains all the picture and movie files you'll need to complete the lessons. The lessons are easy and fun to do and by using the lesson files you won't have to worry about damaging your pictures or movies. I have only completed the first two lessons but I have already learned so much more about this software than I ever knew before. This book is well worth the money.

The book is most helpful in giving you the tools to do most projects in the Life '09 suite. Because it covers such an expanse it cannot dig deeper and go into the detail you'll get with the "Missing Manual" series, which covers one program per book. On the plus side, this book comes with an interactive training CD that walks you through actual projects--which is most helpful. Overall, well worth the money.

This book is primarily geared toward training for the Appple iLife test. It provides the basics of how to get around the applications, an overview of their capabilities and how to answer the test questions but if you are looking for a detailed guide to using each of the iLife applications this is not it, in particular because it covers so many applications in one book.

An aspect of the iLife suite that is at least demonstrated, if not gone into in depth is the integration among the applications which is something you might not get in a book that only covers one of them so that's a plus for this particular book.

This book does what it sets out to do and no more.

I purchased this book to take me through my iLife Associate Certification, and I passed with flying colors.

The book comes with a DVD full of real world media (no studio photo shoots here), which you'll use to complete the exercises. The book is well laid out and it concisely explains every step. Even if you're new to iLife or even working with digital media, you'll quickly find yourself doing things you never thought you could. You'll also be surprised at how professional the results from Apple's consumer applications can look.

I really enjoyed working my way through the exercises, and though I've been using Macs for years, I learnt a lot. I know it's cliched to say the book makes learning fun, but it really does.

The book also includes a code for $20 off the cost of Apple's iLife Associate Certification exam, so if that's the route you're going, this is definitely the book for you.

Even if you're not doing any certifications though, you'll still learn a lot, and as such this book is highly recommended.

Apple Training Series: iLife '09

This book is an excellent resource for someone wanting a hands-on learning tutorial about every aspect of the iLife Suite: iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. This is not a "how-to" reference manual -- you won't find feature listings or troubleshooting tips. Its exclusive goal is training sessions with pre-developed material to be done a classroom or self-teaching format. For someone who has never been exposed to these programs, it's a great resource with which to start from scratch.

Each module has lesson files that are installed on your computer and gives you a time estimate of how long the project will take. According to the book's estimates, it will take you about 13 hours to complete; however for me the modules went much quicker. Fortunately, since the materials are already created for you on the included DVD, you don't have to actually shoot video or load pictures to understand the lessons. You'll be able to follow exactly line-by-line along with the book and compare actual results. The book is well laid out with real screen shots for every outcome, so don't be intimidated by its size. At the end of each module is a quiz to test your knowledge of the subject. Obviously this makes an excellent text book for instructor or group study.

Personally, I was new to iLife '09 but have used previous versions. The book skipped over computing basics and focused primarily on new iLife features such as Face Recognition in iPhoto. The modules were extremely well paced and I had an excellent grasp of the subject material at the end. My only major complaint is that between iLife programs, the authors did not stay consistent and the lessons at times were confusing, as not all the authors had the same skill level or approach to teaching. Nonetheless, the book was outstanding as is typical of the Apple Training Series.

Pros: Training modules for the key features of the iLife Series along with pre-developed material
Cons: Inconsistent style of lessons between modules.

Great book to use in a classroom. Easy to follow, so much more information than just using the tutorials, really helps the "non-techy".

I purchased the book because it devotes quite a few chapters - in incremental complexity - to the iMovie. My 12 year old was able to read and follow the chapters as well. Besides the problem with the binding (a couple of pages came off), the material in the book is well written, well organized, and well presented.

Thanks for your prompt shipment. I hope to have the opportunity of doing business with you again soon.

The book is in excellent condition. The shipping was very, very slow, it took the full time.