iLife Bible (Paperback)

by Dennis R. Cohen (Author), Bob LeVitus (Author) "On October 5, 1999, Apple rolled out the iMac DV, the first iMac ready for digital filmmaking that did not require any additional hardware or..." (more)
Key Phrases: first audio clip, song information dialog, timeline viewer, Ella Fitzgerald, Toast Titanium, Photoshop Elements (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
These two guides to Apple's "iLife" (or "digital hub") multimedia applications are appropriate for all public libraries. For beginners, iLife includes a useful if not scintillating 90-minute DVD that expands on and demonstrates concepts covered in the book. Its helpful menus allow viewers to watch entire sections on each iLife application or to jump to subtopics. The book contains step-by-step instructions for completing common tasks (e.g., ripping CDs with itunes, importing video into iMovie), as well as discussions of how components work together to create a complete multimedia experience. Numerous full-color screen shots help illustrate activities. For intermediate users, the more comprehensive Bible also features step-by-step guidance to common tasks, plus more advanced instructions and tips for those wanting to take further advantage of the applications. Helpful notes, sidebars, tips, cautions, and cross references lead to additional info; appendixes cover system requirements and changes in the newly released iTunes v.4. (Library Journal ,August 2003)

Product Description
* A complete resource manual for Apple's recently introduced iLife digital media suite, which includes iPhoto 2, iTunes 3, iMovie 3, and iDVD 3, re-engineered to work together seamlessly
* The iLife suite comes standard on new Macs and is available on disk for older Macs; applications deal with digital photography, audio, video editing, and DVD creation and burning
* Covers all the latest enhancements to each application, complete with tricks, tips, and tutorials, plus a guide to using the applications together and with selected third-party software for more sophisticated projects
* Provides all the necessary information for beginners, as well as coverage of higher-end programs that do more than the pre-installed versions, for those who want to advance their skills to a higher level
* Written by a crack team of experts, Mac software developer Dennis Cohen and Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus

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Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Visual (June 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764541722
• ISBN-13: 978-0764541728
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,075,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potentially very expensive book!, September 9, 2003

By A Customer

This book is chock full of great information and little gems of tips covering the entire suite of Apple's iLife products. By 'potentially expensive' I mean that I am just about ready to plunk down the cash for a nice DV camera because Cohen's book makes the iMovie/iDVD products sound very exciting. Who could have imagined being able to produce high quality videos on a personal computer just a few years ago.

And there are lots of wonderful tips that I've found to be extremely helpful. For instance, making bulk changes to iTunes track information (pg. 54). And putting together 'smart playlists' (pg. 75)! Neat! I also found the overview of page construction for iPhoto a real timesaver (pg. 176); and I'm looking forward to using the various titling options (Pg. 277) and transition effects (pg. 312) when my DV camera arrives!

Very valuable! If you're interested in getting the full potential out of the iLife products then you should seriously consider the iLife Bible by Dennis Cohen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book for those with earlier versions of iLife, July 12, 2004

By	Michael E. Cohen (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

I must disagree with the georgia56's review on two points. First, the iLife Bible is part of Wiley's "Bible" line of books, which are intended to contain all sorts of technical stuff; that's the nature of Wiley's Bible series. Second, the book is clearly described as covering iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, iDVD 3, and iTunes 3 -- not the latest iLife '04 package. All georgia56 had to do was simply to read the book's description. If georgia56 wants a simple and elegant how-to guide for using all the latest (well, almost latest) iLife applications, the same author's Teach Yourself VISUALLY iLife 04 is a great place to start. Note, too, that books about popular applications go out of date very quickly: you should ALWAYS read Amazon's detailed descriptions before you buy.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A bible no one needs, February 20, 2004

By	"georgia56" (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews

This book was very disappointing to me. To begin with, Garage Band is missing completely and all of the coverage is out of date. Most of the tips were common sense that anyone could figure out just by using the programs for an hour or so. Troubleshooting for each program is only barely covered so (for example) if Tunes doesn't work you're stuck.

What really bothered me was the way the author crammed in unrelated technical stuff that no one really needs. Obviously, just to add bulk, not counting the pages and pages of text that get repeated in two or three places. Many chapters seem more like programming guides than anything else.

Most people think that iLife is easy enough to use without much documentation. This book is an expensive way to teach that lesson. Spend an hour playing with the software and you will find that you don't need this expensive technical doorstop. Return it like I did and get a better book on iLife, like Jim Heid's The Macintosh iLife, which is the same price. Oh, Heid's book comes with a great training DVD to boot.