Customer Reviews

The Macintosh iLife 06

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's time we had an honest conversation.

I've heard from many of you -- through email, through Amazon reviews, and through calls to Peachpit Press -- about the fact that the latest edition of my iLife book does not include the instructional DVD that accompanied every previous edition.

I've responded to some of you, and my friends at Peachpit Press have asked me to write a note that they could send to others.

Many of you saw iLife '06 "First Look" booklet that mentioned the book's DVD or saw a mention of it online. Neither I nor Peachpit Press intended to create false expectations. At the time, we were indeed planning to again include the DVD with the book.

So what happened?

Last year, not long before I began work on the latest edition of my book, I suffered a catastrophic loss in my world. The details are personal. Suffice it to say that the latter part of 2005 was the hardest period of my life.

When iLife '06 came along, the book revisions were tough-going at times. But with time and the encouragement and inspiration of friends both old and new, I got back into the groove and completed the biggest -- and, in my honest opinion, the best -- edition of my book yet: every page updated, every tip tweaked, and completely new sections and chapters to cover everything in iLife '06.

But something had to give. In past years, the first few months of each year were filled with 18-hour workdays: I'd write book revisions from sunrise until about 5 pm, then I'd edit my DVD's video until well into the night. (I edited every frame myself, and then authored the DVD myself in DVD Studio Pro.)

I couldn't do that this year. My responsibilities and priorities had been forced to change. This finally dawned on me about a week before we were to shoot the new DVD, at which time I made the hardest business decision I've ever made: to cancel the shoot and kill the DVD.

My friends at Peachpit Press could not have been more supportive or understanding. I am lucky and proud to be a Peachpit Press author.

The decision to kill the DVD came during a time when the new book was already being marketed, and Amazon's site and others still referred to the book's companion DVD. Believe it or not, it can take a frustratingly long time to make changes to massive e-commerce Web site. You would think that pixels and bits could be changed instantly. You would be wrong. As a result, some of you pre-ordered the new book thinking you were getting a DVD along with it.

Where does this leave us? With a gorgeous, complete, full-color guide to iLife '06 and a companion Web site -- together, the best single resource for iLife that there is, in my (honest) opinion.

I've contracted with Textura Design, a Seattle-based Web design firm, to develop a new design for my site that will allow me to add dedicated topic pages for GarageBand and iWeb. I'm publishing more frequent updates to the site now, with plans for podcasts and movies in the weeks to come.

So, to my long-time readers who are disappointed about the DVD's demise, I ask for your understanding. I'm happy that you found the DVD a fun and interesting way to learn. I'm sorry that it's gone. I'm even sorrier that life throws awful curve balls sometimes.

That's the truth, as is this: I remain determined to keep this book and its Web site the best iLife resource on the planet. Stick around. My commitment to and affection for Apple's amazing creative suite is as strong as ever.

I have never seen a technology book that presented the information in a more accessible fashion. Everything works together to give both a "quick read" on how to get going and all the depth one needs to really understand the technology. I'm now getting ready to make the jump to back to Mac (after a decade), and Mr. Heid's incredibly well-done book has given me everything I need to go with confidence. Good-bye PC!

The Macintosh iLife '06 by Jim Heid covers all the applications that Apple had the great idea to include for free on every new machine: iPhoto lets you manage your digital photos in a breeze, iDVD lets you create full fledged DVDs with all the bells and whistles, iMovieHD allows you to create/edit movies with whatever you imported from your camera, Garageband is Apple's recording studio for the musical fans out there - and now for '06 it also lets you taste the magic of podcasting, iWeb now lets you make a great web site in minutes without ever having to type in a line of code or HTML, and last but not least we find the ever so famous iTunes that takes care of all your music/podcasts/TV shows and now movies right of the iTunes store.

Needless to say iLife '06 has a lot to offer and even if each application is more than simple to use right away there are a lot of useful shortcuts or "secrets" that can take months to discover yourself. That's where Jim Heid's book comes in and takes you by the hand for each and every application.

The book actually starts off with a broad introduction to iLife (from the history of Personal Computers to the right way to outfit your Mac for digital media) and how it fits in our digital way of life.

Then come the sections devoted to each of the iLife '06 programs. Each section starts off by an introduction and an overview of the particular topic. Then comes the good stuff; instructions on how to start off, then some background info (which can be fairly large and very often fascinating) that you can skip if you want and then tips. But after all since we're talking about digital and considering things evolve so fast (for example as I write this Apple released iTunes version 7 that has many new features compared to the version that is dealt with in this book) Jim Heid refers to his website to get updates and more information as things evolve.

I can't describe all the sections so I'll limit myself to the first two.

The first section is probably the most famous program (it even exists on the Windows platform!) in iLife '06 - iTunes and the iPod.

This section starts off by having a glance at the iTunes window and an explanation of what the different buttons do, the pretty basic stuff. Then comes importing music from your CDs - what many refer to as ripping. Now if this is as simple as inserting your CD and clicking on import the big question on some of our minds is how to choose the right audio format. This is typically the type of chapter that you can skip if the factory settings are just fine for you, but if you're an audiophile of just curious it's a plus to know all about the different formats and encoding settings that iTunes support. The author goes even further and explains how audio compression works in terms that pretty much anyone can understand.

Now once your music is on your computer you learn how to edit the songs' information and "voilà" you now have a digital Library.

But iTunes is far from being only a way to import an play your music. The book then covers the iTunes store (formerly the iTunes Music Store), from signing in and browsing to shopping (be it music or TV shows or just recently, movies) and even tips to make your musical experience even more fulfilling.

Now you could stop reading this section and skip to the next program in iLife, or learn more about playlists and their management, searching tips, EQ settings for improved sound quality, burning CDs, listening to internet radio etc... There's just so much to do with iTunes and this book covers every aspect. It even goes as far as 13 pages about the iPod and its integration with iTunes. Like I said there's so much to do it can be overwhelming!

The next section covers iPhoto and digital photography. Just like in the iTunes section, the iPhoto section starts off with the basics (like importing from your camera, organizing and browsing) and gradually evolves towards more "complicated" tasks such as photo editing and working with RAW mode. Being an intermediate photographer myself (and using iPhoto for the past 2 years) I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about iPhoto, but this book was filled with little tips that made my iPhoto experience even more enjoyable.

Now for my impressions.

I have a sweet tooth for technology (being an engineering student it's not all that surprising), music (I almost made it as a guitarist in a more than semi-pro rock band) and recently photography, so I've spent countless hours on internet learning about the programs that could help me enrich theses passions. When I started using iLife's programs I was already familiar with many of the concepts behind the apps so I rapidly went to the end part of each section.

This is what I find great about this book, it will please the total newbie that just bought his first computer and accompany him all along the way, and those who have more background will also find tons of tips and interesting knowledge. Plus, since you can also go check on the website you can never run out of things to learn.

I can tell you that reading it made me want to try the apps that I don't commonly use (namely Garageband and iDVD) and for the programs that I do use everyday, they became even more powerful.

If I do have a gripe, and it's not really the author's fault, it's concerning the iWeb section that is too short for me. Even if I've been using iWeb for at least five months now I would've liked this section to dig a little deeper. But after all it's brand new for iLife '06...

In conclusion I'll say that if you wish to make you Mac experience even more enjoyable then it already is I highly recommend this book. You'll learn how to really maximize your use of the apps you draw on every day and will want to try out the other ones just because they're so fun (and because they have great results too).

Julien M. for lesmuug

Finally a book that actually answers questions and after reading -- but never using iLife...I sat down and edited on the first try....so if you have a Mac and haven't explored iLife....DO IT. Buy the book...you'll be pleased....!

This book has so much to offer, it is almost impossible to review. Anyone new to the iLife programmes this book is a must. Not only is it a fantastic "how to " book but it also tells you why. One of my pet hates in reading so many "how to" books is the constant referral to items and illustrations on other pages. Not so with this book! Jim has managed to keep almost all of his tips and tricks on a visual two-page spread which makes reading a pleasure. (Perhaps why I am so fond of many of Scott Kelby's books)
The layout and lavish illustrations throughout are truly superb and make this book a must have for anyone wanting to learn everything about the iLife '06 programmes

Not having purchased Jim Heid's previous editions of this book, I do not miss an instructional DVD that I never used. But this volume does everything that it portends to do. Along with Heid's constantly updated Web site as an instructive companion, The Macintosh iLife '06 is a joy to have and use while exploring the uses of iLife.

Heid's book continues to be the best book on Apple iLife 06. It is beautifully designed and truly comprehensive. A real pleasure to read, see and learn from. The companion DVD, present in all previous editions, was a very useful tool. It is too bad that the author had to let it go this time. However, I must admit that I own most of the previous editions but did not spend much time on their DVD. His book is simply that good. You will not be disappointed. It simply sets the standard on how books should be made. A great book by a great author. Be ready to have fun.

I needed to learn how to make a DVD, and Jim's book helped me get the job done. His visual guides coupled with his good sense of humor sprinkled into his writing style made the learning process seem less daunting. I aim to continue on with iMovie and iWeb, but the one application made the purchase of the book worthwhile.

I loved Jim Heid's iLife '05 book because of the integration with the included DVD. You could easily follow along in the book while Jim demonstrated each feature in the DVD and there were good cross-references. The '05 book was the best money I have EVER spent on a computer book. But iLife '06 doesn't include the DVD..... still a very good book but no longer so outstanding. I guess it just got to be too hard to produce a timely DVD with features being added to iLife and new versions coming out so fast. Too bad.

I needed a book to help answer questions I had regarding iLife 06 and this was it. A great buy and very informative. I highly suggest it.