Customer Reviews

The Macintosh iLife 05: An Interactive Guide to iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From now on, as long as Apple continues to make improvements and enhancements to its suite of applications known as iLife, I will continue to get an updated version of Jim Heid's book. Due to some error in mailing, I never actually got my Jim Heid book for the iLife '04 suite. I muddled through using another book and a site on the Web. When this new version was published, I grabbed one of the first copies and kept my fingers crossed. I was delighted when it got here without delay or problem!

At my home, we are an iLife family. I only have one copy of the suite, but it suits us well in our two-Mac home because while I like using the cutting edge version of iMovie and Garageband, I have little need or use for iPhoto. My wife, on the other hand, loves and uses iPhoto extensively. Of course, iTunes is a free application, but the other iLife apps are not free. It is therefore nice that Apple makes it easy to install single applications from the iLife suite, and so we have each updated our Macs accordingly.

We both, however, share Jim Heid's book whenever we have a question about our respective iLife applications. Even without the accompanying DVD, this book is great. It is wonderfully laid out, so that a person need not read through an entire section to learn how to do something or even to learn of a new feature compared to the last version of a particular iLife app. It is also a book that you could sit down with on the couch and read through WITHOUT having your Mac right in front of you. The content is presented in such a way that you can learn from it and then easily recall what you read and saw pictured in the book the next time that you are in front of your Mac.

So it should not be a surprise that I think this book is as great as the first iLife book I reviewed in Spring of last year. The accompanying DVD is the icing on the cake here. As mentioned of the DVD accompanying the first book, Jim does a superb job of anticipating the iLife users' questions as they follow along with his guided instructions and his explanations of the various features. It is almost as good as having a live person right there along your side, and I'm confident that with this book, you will have less of a need to contact your usual "go-to" Mac expert.

Lastly, to address the review below that says that this (and other books of its type) are a waste of money, I feel it necessary to say that, as a Mac expert and leader of a Mac User Group, I find his comments both short-sighted and arrogant. Sure you could get along without buying any book, but the point is that if you own a program, you probably want to get the most out of it that you can, and finding the best resource to help you do that is a very important and worthwhile thing. I happen to think that this book is an excellent one to help you do that.

...and no, I don't say that about every book I review.

...and no, I don't get any money from Jim Heid or owe him anything other than my appreciation for creating a good resource of which my family makes good use.

When I bought the book, I was a totally novice in working with Mac. Being a PC user for 20 years, the transition to Mac was a challenge. So I bought this book, hoping it could simplify the process. I started with the educational CD, and just by watching the demos, I learned so much, that the rest was a piece of cake. Getting started with the demos, I haven't had any need for reading the book yet, I guess I'll look into it when I need to go more into things.

I heartily reccommend the book especially when you supplement it with the DVD that comes with it. Between the book and the DVD demonstrations you can develop a sense of what you can do with each program and (very importantly) how far you don't want to go (at least not yet.)
What a relief after sorting through a number of books on Photoshop Elements 3 (PS-3) that porport to be useable for Mac when in fact direction is almost exclusively Windows. iPhoto 5 will make you glad you are back in Mac country and will probably be able to most of your editing right there, without going on to PS-3. (The exception is layers, for which you have to go into PSE-3) but only really advanced photographers use this. And who knows, at this rate, iLife '06 might have layers, clone stamp etc as well. Apple is on a good roll here with iPhoto, as indicated by the fact that the editing possible is so much more powerful than in iLife '04.

Jim Heid provides an excellent resource for the iLife '05 software series. He has clearly spent a great deal of time learning the software, and searching out it's hidden treasures, making it easier for us! This is what makes the book and the DVD so helpful. Using them together, you are certain to learn everything you need to know and then some. Well worth the price.

This book is incredibly helpful for people just beginning on the Mac. It sets up each program seperately and also shows you how to get the best use of all of them together. The DVD is also a wonderful suppliment to the book, they follow along with each other.

As a recent switcher to Mac - I was very familiar with some similar tools on the PC, but clueless about iLife. This book (while I am only 2/3 through) is very well written, informative, and easy to read. It was exactly what I was looking for - gives basic overviews of all processes, step-by-step procedures for specific tasks, un- or under-documented secrets that I may never have found, and ties all the apps together. Very well done by Mr. Heid. Recommended!

Jim Heid does a great job explaining and showing the ins and outs for new Apple users. Several tricks and shortcuts were offered.

In particular, the DVD was fabulous, as long as you can work around his geeky nature. Having the text and the visual choice is great for clarification or follow up.

This is an extraordinary book!! It will be at my side constantly as I learn all the intricacies of ILife 05. There are so many tips; it is written in a logical fashion, with a humorous touch. Easy to read; easy to understand; it's been invaluable for me to learn all the intricacies of ILIFE - which you would NEVER discover on your own!

In reviewing iLife '05, I must say I've never seen a more thorough presentation. I would recommend this book to any Mac user. The included 90 minute CD is reason enough to purchase this great CD. What you read is supplemented by pictures to further explain each topic. A valuable investment.

I am a new Mac user and this book is a great introduction and tutorial to the iLife 05 programs. The book is well written, easy to read and has lots of helpful photos and graphics. THe DVD is a great supplement as well. I would recommend this book to anyone new to Mac or iLife 05.