Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been using Macintoshes since 1984, and am usually an "early adopter" of new software as it's released. Before reading this book and watching the DVD video, I'd already used all of the iLife applications and thought I knew how to use them, more or less.

Well, I found out that I knew how to use them less, rather than more! Jim Heid's excellent book and video is great for the novice, but it also has plenty to teach the experienced user. In this age of "no printed manual" many of us just jump into an application and figure out how to use it. In doing so, we miss out on a lot of little tricks and capabilities that really save time, improve usability, and make using these great programs even more fun! Heid brings us up-to-speed while teaching all of these small, often undocumented features that really make using the applications even smoother and easier.

This book/video combo is a great value and recommended for any Mac user who wants their computer to be the center of their "digital life."

The Macintosh iLife consists of a DVD, a 193 page book and Internet support. The combination works.

In the book, Jim says the picture quality is a bit better if you play the DVD on a TV set instead of on your computer. The book tells you how to use the DVD remote choose the topic you want.

I popped the DVD into my iBook. It started displaying the DVD full screen in a better picture than I get from our TV set.

Soon I was watching moving close-ups of Jim Heid's monitor as he showed me how to create and name an iTunes playlist. I watched his cursor as he clicked one selection and then shift clicked another to select contiguous tunes. Then Jim command clicked individual tunes to add them to the selected list, and dragged the whole selected list to the new playlist. Next I watched Jim explain that there is another way. The view shifted back to the action on his computer as he used the same methods to select another set of tunes, and then went to the file menu and choose New Playlist from Selection.

That is the advantage of the DVD. In about 90 minutes Jim actually shows you how to do practically everything with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. I was particularly impressed Jim Heid used the iPhoto Retouch tool to rub over a dirty spot on a little girl's face, scrubbing the picture of the face clean as if it had been done with a washcloth. And, when I saw it working, I found the way the iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD work together was more impressive, more elegant than when just reading about it.

My first impression when I looked at the book was one of disappointment only 173 pages not counting the index, and in large type. As expected book is laid out with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD sections. Within each section, topics are covered in two page illustrated spreads without the hundreds of densely packed words that I had expected. But once I looked into the two page spreads covering topics such as Improving Sound Quality with the Equalizer, Tuning into Internet Radio, and Analog to Digital: Converting Tapes and Albums, I found that they covered the subject, did it clearly, and contained information that I had not remembered seeing in those more densely packed books.

The DVD and the book are designed to work together, and they reference each other where appropriate. You do not have to have the book open and watch the DVD at the same time, but the two need each other for a complete package. In my opinion, the two together will teach you more in less time than you could possibly get from either a book or a DVD alone.

...

I have bought many computer books (20 in the past year due to switching to a different computer system) and this is the hands-down best value ever. The DVD alone is easily worth what Amazon charges for this book - there is nothing quite like watching someone actually doing the work to teach you how it is done. The book itself is very clearly written, and colorful and highly informative to boot. I bought some books that covered only one of the iapps previously, and found this book was at least as informative as those books - and it covers all four iapps! I have loaned it to friends and recommended it to several others, and they have all raved. In addition, the author has posted a free update on his website covering itunes 4 - so the most up-to-date book (as of now, July 1 2003) is even MORE up to date.

Excellent resource for iLife.

I'd been playing with iLife for months. This book, and it's well-done accompanying DVD, revealed the 70% of iLife I hadn't figured out. Concise, comprehensive. Ties iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD together very well.

Best supporting tech resource I've ever used.

Also, a strong selling point for iLife and iMacs.

I agree totally with "A Reader" from Portland. I sat and watched the DVD totally amazed at the elegant simplicity of the Mac iLife group of apps. And the clarity with which Jim Heid builds one on the next. To me that was the revelation - he breaks it down and demystifies how they work together, which after all is the point! This isn't about Art or Technique: it's about using them; the Apps, your camera(s) and your computer. He shows you can do it. I just bought my first mini DV camera on the strength of his demonstration. The DVD is "chaptered" within each app's section as he goes through the steps and you can refer to the text as well. Great stuff for beginners to intermediates like me.

The combination of clear prose, outstanding book design and efficient use of the resources that the DVD offers as a complement to a book, makes this book not only a pleasure to read, but a unique learning experience. I could not put it down. I know many people who can't read past the first few pages. They will lose the enthusiasm soon. Not with this book. It is a standard to be followed. Concise and precise but at the same time so comprehensive and wonderful to read.

When you wander the shelves of your favorite bricks-and-mortar bookstore, or click through your favorite on-line book vendor, the choice of iTunes/iPhoto/iMovie/iDVD "How-To" books can be overwhelming. Some people prefer graphically-oriented books that use little text, like the Visual QuickStart series. Others prefer text-heavy books with few graphics. Jim Heid has successfully split the difference with The Macintosh iLife, an interactive guide to iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. While Heid uses the most recent versions of these applications (iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, and iDVD 2), owners of older versions will still be able to enjoy the book.

The Macintosh iLife (hereafter referred to as TMiL) consists of both the book AND a 90-minute DVD disk. With iDVD being one of the focal points of Apple's suite of iApplications, it only makes sense to include a DVD with the book. While you can read and profit from TMiL without owning a SuperDrive-equipped or DVD-reading Macintosh, you won't be able to enjoy and profit from the lessons on the DVD. To my knowledge, TMiL is the first book to include an instructional DVD, and author Heid, Peachpit Press, and DVD producer Avondale Media have gotten it right.

Heid's target audience is the person new to the iApplications who likes to read more than a few lines of instructional text, but also likes to have screen shots for to clarify the text. TMiL is not targeted at the aspiring expert; it does not delve into the subtleties of QuickTime Pro, or how to share iTunes libraries across a network. TMiL does an outstanding job of setting out the fundamentals of using each of the iApplications, along with pointers to better use each application. TMiL easily passes what author Bob LeVitus (Adam please link to my review of LeVitus' Little iTunes book) calls "the Dad test" (would you give this book to your newbie father...?), as it is written in clear, jargon-free English.

What truly sets TMiL apart from its numerous competitors are the production values of both the book and the DVD. Measuring about 9" x 9", the book is big and pretty, and the extra space is full of large and gorgeous color photos; no tiny washed-out black and white screenshots here. TMiL has the best illustrations I've seen in a computer instructional book! The DVD is no cheesy home movie; it's a professionally done effort produced by Heid and Avondale Media. The video lessons complement the book, although Heid omits some of the more detailed steps and hints from the video, referring the viewer back to the book. You could get most of the benefits of TMiL by either reading the book, or watching the video, but doing both will work best. Reading and watching will give the iLife newbie a firm knowledge foundation to draw upon.

The ... list price is a screaming deal, as many smaller computer books list for more, and don't even include additional material. The TMiL DVD alone could be worth the price of admission for some buyers.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

David Weeks ...

This is one of the best technical books I have ever read. I work in Tech support and understand it is very difficult to write computer related books that a non-techie person can understand.
His examples and diagrams in the book are excellent. The DVD is excellent as well. I showed both the DVD and book to a few friends of mine (who are artists and designers) - they both made the same comments - that both are written extremely well and very understandable.
Everytime I read this book I am amazed at the clarity, the design, the easy-to-understand explanations. I wish every tech writer could write like Jim Heid. Highly recommended.

This book/DVD combo is simply superb. I am not technically gifted -- though I'm the son of a rocket scientist! -- but I am totally geeking out. Jim Heid is a master instructor with an utterly uncanny knack for speaking to exactly the point that you want him to address next. His sense of sequence is flawless! Apple has done a stunning job of creating an awesomely powerful, yet completely accessible, package in iLife. I'm already importing tunes, burning custom CDs and running out to buy a digital camera. I am even considering personally creating instructional DVDs for my Los Angeles based media training firm. That, in itself, is a minor miracle. I used to concede everything to IT experts; now I'm not so sure! I think Jim Heid's book -- along with David Pogue's Missing Manual series -- ought to be standard issue with any Mac.
The Mac, in my obviously biased opinion, is the most elegantly intuitive computer on earth. Equally so is this book and DVD combination. You'll be amazed at how quickly you assimilate information and navigate with growing confidence. My only criticism of this set is that I wish there was more. To that end, I plan to check out what else is available from Peachpit Press and Avondale Media (they collaberated on this combo). Well, folks, I hope I've made myself clear: The Macintosh iLife book and DVD are as good as it gets. If you've been on the wrong side of the digital divide, and if you're now ready to advance exponentially in your multimedia skills, then you simply can't go wrong with this purchase. Buy it!

Having amassed shelves full of software/hardware "How To" books over the years, this is one of the best learning resources I've ever purchased. The book alone, with its full-color graphics, approachable style, and thorough examination of each iLife component as well as how to use them in real-world applications, is great. But, add the DVD to the mix and it was like having the author sitting next to me to answer the questions I couldn't quite figure out with the book alone. Having a visual guide working in conjunction with the written word is a great new twist.

This book/DVD combo takes a simple and very visual approach to learning, in true keeping with the Macintosh style. Personally, I found it refreshing not to have to face down an 800-page tome in order to learn the essentials to start working effectively with my new software.