With all of the hoopla over the iPod mini recently, it is easy to overlook some of Apple’s other equally cool offerings that were announced during MacWorld in San Francisco this past January (like iLife ’04). Those of you who’ve bought iLife ’04 already know about the many improvements in iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD, and have gotten a chance to try your hand at hit creation with Garage Band, Apple’s new music-making software.
For those of you still pondering whether spending US$50 on iLife ’04 would be money well spent, there are lots of reviews of the software suite available around the Web. One of the latest is authored by Associated Press reporter Mathew Fordahl, who says, “For me, the suite would be a bargain even at twice the price.”
Here’s more of the article, appearing in the Oakland Tribune, titled Apple energizes digital lifestyle:
A lot of high-tech companies strive to be the hub of a digital lifestyle, but unless they’re pushing an expensive Media Center PC they mostly leave it to consumers to figure out how to make their products work with others.
Macintosh computer owners don’t face that headache.
Apple Computer Inc.’s updated iLife ’04 suite of five programs lets you organize photos, play and buy songs, edit movies, burn DVDs and, now, create music. The programs all work well together and the suite costs just $49, unless you’re buying a new Mac. Then it’s free.
The article continues to detail many features of the individual applications in iLife ’04, as well as compare them to their Windows counterparts. You can read the full account in the Oakland Tribune.
The Mac Observer Spin:
While controversy and accolades stream in about the iPod and iPod mini, the press has been extremely one-sided about iLife ’04; they love it. All of the now-familiar applications (iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes) have been blessed with many improvements, the crown jewel of iLife ’04 is Garage Band, which lets even a grandma produce jams that Mick Jagger might find interesting.
It took a lot of people working long hours to make iLife ’04, so it is all the more surprising that Apple is only charging US$50 for the suite… at least until you remember that Apple is a hardware company. iLife ’04 will definitely help sell Macs. Regardless, Apple has a hit on it’s hands with iLife ’04.