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iLife updates add full-screen Lion support, change iPhoto UI elements to match Lion
Today's earlier iLife updates are a sign that Lion is set to drop any day now. Not only do the updates add full-screen support to the iLife apps under the latest Lion Developer Preview release, they also tweak some UI elements of iPhoto to match the upcoming UI Finder elements found in OS X 10.7. The image shows a side-by-side comparison of the source list of iPhoto '11 (version 9.1.4) and iPhoto '11 (version 9.1.5). Both are running under Mac OS X 10.6.8. Gone are the colorful icons designating Events, Photos, Faces, and Places. They've all been replaced with grayed-out counterparts that mimic the look of the Finder's source list in Lion. The source list in iWeb has retained its color icons, though that's no surprise as iWeb (and most likely iDVD) has no future as part of the iLife suite and their minor updates today were solely focused on 10.7 compatibility.
Apple releases updates for iDVD, MacBook Air
Apple has dropped two new updates that you'll see in Software Update right now (if indeed you have the specific components they're designed to update). iDVD is first -- it's now upgraded to version 7.1.1, and the upgrade improves overall stability, as well as compatibility when bringing in slideshows directly from iPhoto. And the MacBook Air has nabbed a (very) Late 2010 Software Update, which supposedly fixes some issues with the system going to sleep. I'm not 100 percent sure this MacBook Air update is new (not only is it listed as a "Late 2010" update, but I don't have an Air to check on, and everyone on staff who does is currently liveblogging the earnings call), but there's an easy way to find out: run your own Software Update and see for yourself.
Buy individual iWork, iLife apps from the Mac App Store
Apple's iWork suite is a nice collection, but some users don't need all three apps. Fortunately, the Mac App Store lets you pick and choose between iWork and iLife apps. Starting today, you can buy and install only the apps you want for US$20 each. For iWork customers, that means Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Buy all three and spend $60. That's a savings of $40. Now some of you are probably saying "$40? But iWork '09 only cost $80? So if I can get them for $60, that's a savings of $20." Ah, but you are forgetting that the app you are buying can be used on all of your computers, meaning that you are really getting what used to be called the "Family Pack" which sold for $100. The Mac App Store also recognizes if you already own them, so you won't have to buy them again. Similarly, the iLife apps can be purchased individually. You'll find iPhoto or iMovie or GarageBand on sale for $15 each. That's a significant savings over the $80 for iLife Family Pack. There's one big caveat, however: you will not find iWeb or iDVD in the Mac App Store. Maybe they're coming later, but it seems more likely that Apple signified that they were cutting them lose when they were included in the boxed set of iLife but never mentioned during the announcement. Where is iWork '11? Several of us were surprised to see that iWork '11 is not on the Mac App Store. iWork '09 is, obviously, a few years old now and the Mac community has been anticipating a new release. the Mac App Store just seemed like it would be a good opportunity. Not yet, but hopefully soon. Just a reminder: there has never been Mac upgrade pricing on iWork or iLife, so if you buy Pages from iWork '09 today for $20 and iWork '11 is introduced next week, expect to pay full price for that upgrade. Caveat emptor. UPDATE: If you already own these apps but the Mac App Store doesn't recognize it, make sure they are up to date (iWork just had an update last night). After updating apps, restart App Store app and it should recognize they are installed.
After iLife '11: Alternatives to iDVD and iWeb
Over the weekend TUAW is going to be featuring in-depth reviews of the new iLife '11 suite -- or at least the three apps that were updated. As most of you know by now, iWeb and iDVD didn't receive an update at all. In light of that, we've compiled a list of several alternatives to iDVD and iWeb that you may want to try out. From a purely consumer standpoint, I don't think any of these apps offer the ease of use that Apple has so successfully built into iWeb and iDVD, but given that iDVD seems all but abandoned -- as should the MacBook optical drive be -- and the future is uncertain for iWeb, it's always nice to know you have some alternatives. iDVD alternatives: SmallDVD SmallDVD is a simple utility that lets you take any video files and add them to a DVD image ISO which can then be burned onto a DVD using Disc Utility. SmallDVD doesn't have many features, but it will appeal to those of you who want to create very simple DVDs with static background menus. It also has the added benefit of only creating the ISO file which can then be shared to DropBox or iDisk, and then downloaded and viewed on another computer using only the ISO -- no optical drive needed. SmallDVD is a free download.
After iLife '11 analysis: Uncertain future for iWeb, no future for iDVD
Yesterday's announcement of iLife '11 brought some cool new features across the suite... well, most of the suite anyway. As many people have noticed, only iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band were updated. iWeb and iDVD got no love besides small code changes that make them compatible with the new iLife '11 apps. So, what does this mean for the future of the two apps? iDVD Sorry, iDVD fans, but the app is as good as dead. The last time iDVD got a major upgrade was back in 2006 with iLife '06. A year later, iLife '08 brought minor changes to iDVD, restoring some themes from the first two versions of the software. Since then, two versions of iLife have come and gone, but iDVD has not changed one bit. Back in 2003 or 2004 (I don't remember which year exactly), my group at Apple was in a meeting with people from the iLife team. One of the project managers threw out a question to us. He asked why iDVD was so essential to the iLife suite, which at the time also included iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie. This wasn't just a question he was asking us either -- it was one of the interview questions for programmers that were hired to work on the iLife suite. The answer: iDVD was essential because it wrapped a user's digital life up into one tidy package. Music, photos, and movies could be edited and burned onto a shiny disc for distribution to friends and family. As an interesting side note, the programming manager told us that no one on the iLife team ever got the question right on their first try.
Rumor: iLife '11 to be 64-bit, iOS compatible
iLife, the software suite that is included on every Mac and is made up of iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD, hasn't been updated to a new version since January, 2009. That, of course, is making many of us in the Apple world curious about when the next version of the suite will appear on the market. Many Mac pundits believe the next edition will be iLife '11, and we've already seen several of the rumored release dates fly past without sign of the new iLife. Now some sharp-eyed Apple fans have noticed that there's a book listed on the German Amazon site with the title "iLife '11: Digital pictures, movies, music and more" and a release date of December, 2010. The translated description notes that the suite is entirely 64-bit, and that iPhoto will receive integration with social networking. iWeb has been "rewritten" from the ground up, and iDVD is no longer included with the suite. There's mention of a "new application," but no word on what the function or name of the new member of the suite will be. The red banner on the cover mockup at left reads "iPhoto, iMovie and more, with Apps for Mac, iPhone 4, iPod and iPad," which implies that iOS versions of the applications will be available as well. At this time, of course, iMovie is available for iOS, and it would not be much of a stretch to assume that iOS-compatible versions of the other applications could be developed. After all, Apple made an iPad version of iWork available on day one. The book is written by Uwe Nerger, who has no other published titles to his name. That brings up the question how an unpublished author has been given access to a suite of applications that many published authors of Apple tomes have not seen. Take this rumor with a fist-sized grain of salt. [via AppleInsider]
Rumor: iLife '10 coming with new application
If rumors are to be believed, Apple's iLife suite will receive a major upgrade in a month's time and feature a brand new application. Apple-centric site Mac 4 Ever claims (Google translation to English here) that the newest incarnation of the collection will be released on August 7th. Rumored features include 64-bit compatibility and a "nouvelle application (mystère !)." Also among Mac 4 Ever's list of features are improved Faces and Places in iPhoto, a totally revamped iWeb and most interestingly the absence of iDVD. Perhaps the new application will replace it, or maybe it will be a download. Or maybe these are baseless rumors and who knows what will happen. Last week, we noticed an "iLife '10 for Dummies" book on Amazon France, which has since been pulled. Keep an eye out for the next few weeks and we'll see what happens. [Via Macworld UK]
Sixteen new Apple patents, from CoverFlow to iDVD
The USPTO published a whole slew of new patent applications from Apple today, covering everything from iChat to some CoverFlow animation. Patently Apple has the whole writeup as usual. Probably the most interesting thing among them is a "virtual keyboard for media players" that uses a modified QWERTY keyboard, with more than one letter on each key. That doesn't seem like an idea that Apple will ever use, but maybe that was one of the prototypes that was originally being worked on for the iPhone. There are also some more technical patents for iChat video encoding and error adjustments on touchscreens, as well as overall patents for the MacBook Air SuperDrive and iDVD. It seems like the USPTO is just cleaning out Apple's old patents -- most of these were filed back in 2007. Now, maybe they can set the legal patent team up on newer accomplishments.
Backup or copy your iDVD home movies
If you've ever used iDVD to burn your own home movies then chances are pretty good that you've had a family member request a copy. And since your iDVDs are yours to share and duplicate, then you are more than happy to pull up the project and whip out another copy. Lo and behold, as fate would have it, the iDVD project has vanished (or in my case, was eaten by a recent HDD failure). Luckily for you, savvy OS X user, there's still a way to get a copy of that holiday montage onto a disc for Grandma to use. Over at MacFixIt, there is a pretty simple tutorial for making a backup or copy of an unprotected DVD. In the past, TUAW has covered some methods of using downloaded software to back up DVDs that you don't own. The MacFixIt tutorial provides handy information about how to copy unprotected DVDs that you do own, using the software that is baked right into OS X. The basic process involves inserting the DVD, firing up Disk Utility, and making an image file using the DVD as a source. From there you can either retain the image file for future use/backing up or you can burn it to disc and pass it off to any friend/relative of your choosing. This method will work for any unencrypted DVD, not just iDVDs made on a Mac. That means you can work with discs created by your Windows-loving cousin who swears that Windows 7 is not going to have any of the problems that Windows Vista had.
Apple planning to add iTunes LP creation to iDVD?
With the recent introduction of documentation to create iTunes LP and iTunes Extras and the ability to submit the the iTunes Store, Apple might be thinking about bringing development of iTunes LP a bit further. Boy Genius Report is reporting they've heard that Apple might be wanting to bring iTunes LP creation to the next version of iDVD, which is part of iLife. This could further broaden the creation of iTunes LP for independent artists, as they could be created right along with other things in iLife. iDVD hasn't received a major update in a few years, so it could be likely iDVD will receive some sort of update.
iDVD - black sheep of the iLife suite
For me, iDVD has always been the redheaded stepchild of the iLife suite. While I've used Garageband to make songs, iPhoto to manage photos (until I got Aperture), iWeb to make websites, and iMovie to make movies, until recently I'd never once tried to use iDVD to put together a DVD project. I've spent the past week trying to put together a DVD of our first year in New Zealand to share with our family back in the States, and while the movie's turned out great, getting there has definitely not been half the fun.Creating the movie itself was somewhat of a chore. Because I haven't yet upgraded to iLife '09, I'm stuck with the much-maligned tinker-toy interface introduced in iMovie '08. I couldn't use iMovie HD instead, because it's not compatible with my hard disk-based camcorder. After several days of wrestling with iMovie '08 to get it to do what I wanted it to do, I finally had a 95-minute project ready.At "professional quality" in iDVD, that 95-minute project left me with almost a third of the DVD unused, so I decided to add more content, including a slideshow with 300+ pictures and two more short movies in an "extras" menu.This turned out to be my downfall. Suddenly, iDVD no longer wanted to co-operate with me.
iLife and iDVD 7.0.3 updates available
Apple just released two new updates for both iLife and iDVD. The iLife Media Browser Update will "improve overall stability and address a number of other minor issues," according to the update page.In addition to the iLife update, Apple also updated the iDVD authoring software. iDVD 7.0.3 "improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues." Both of these updates are available to iLife '08 users. You can update using Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the two installer packages from Apple's Support Downloads site. Note that these updates do not affect the newly released iLife '09.Thanks to Tarun for the tip!
iMovie 7.1.2 and iDVD 7.0.2 updates
Apple just released updates for iMovie and iDVD. According to Software Update, the iMovie update "addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues."The iDVD update "supports general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues."You can download both of these updates via Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or download the installer packages by visiting Apple's Support Downloads website.
iDVD, iLife Support updates
Fire up Software Update, folks, Apple is setting some updates free. iDVD 6.0.4 is now in the wild, and it 'improves overall stability and supports compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5.'iLife Support 8.1.1 has also been released which, 'improves overall stability, addresses a number of other minor issues, and supports general compatibility issues.'Apple hasn't posted these on their site for download yet.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Mac 101: Get rid of that Apple watermark in iDVD
I do not spend too much of my time (free or otherwise) in the wilds of iDVD, however, last week I found myself needing to make a DVD for work. What better program, thought I, than iDVD to get these movies onto a DVD! It worked like a charm, and within 30 minutes I had a very slick looking DVD but there was one little problem. This DVD I was making had nothing to do with Apple, its products, or its technology and yet there on the lower right hand corner was an Apple logo watermark. It was out of place, and I wanted to get rid of it.Luckily, it is very easy to get rid of that watermark. Simply go into the iDVD preferences and you'll find the option right there in the General section. Uncheck 'Show Apple logo watermark' and you're good to go.Simple? Yes, however, sometimes the most difficult thing about a program is knowing the options that are available. Go forth and make watermark-less DVDs!
iLife 06 Hot Tips are actually pretty handy
I saw a del.icio.us/popular bookmark fly past NetNewsWire for the GarageBand 3 Hot Tips section of Apple's site, and wondered if Apple started posting tricks in those pages that might actually be useful. Sure enough - they have. Check out the Hot Tips sections for iWeb, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand. I never knew, for example, that you could simply drag a clip from iMovie's clip bin or even timeline onto the QuickTime icon in the Dock to export and re-encode said clip. How about that musical typing keyboard in GarageBand, or the app's ability to tune your guitar or bass? These Hot Tips pages probably have a little something for all levels of iLife users, but feel free to post your own hidden gems that you've found if you think Apple missed something.
Apple releases iLife video tutorials
The tireless folks on the iLife team at Apple have released a very nice set of video tutorials for each of the suite's applications. You can browse the videos by topic, and move through each step-by-step clip easily. It's a great place to start getting you hands dirty with the iApps. Check it out (and go create something!).[Via Macworld UK]
My "head-slap" moment from Steve's Keynote
The January keynote is usually a doozy, and today's was no exception...not by a long shot. For me, there's always that one moment that causes me to smack my hand against my forehead and just say, "Wow." This year, it wasn't the flash of iLife '06, the shiny new Mactels or even the .Mac enhancements. No, this year I was blow away to see that iDVD now supports third party DVD burners! Holy cow! *smack*How long have we Mac users clamored for this, and how long has Apple used their non-compliance as a means to sell Macs? Finally, Apple. Thank you.So, what was your "head-slap" moment? I know you all had one.
Apple releases iLife 06, Photocasting, iWeb addition
Apple today unveiled iLife 06, a major update to their award-winning suite of multimedia applications. The largest updates came to iPhoto, which can now handle 250,000 photos and features better, full-screen editing options. A major new feature is called Photocasting, which will allow an iPhoto user to publish their photos to the web using RSS technology, allowing anyone to subscribe to a feed of their images and the ability to be notified of updates. You can also subscribe through your own copy of iPhoto 06, which will allow you to actually download the images and use them as if they were your own, enabling editing as well as ordering prints, cards and now calendars.GarageBand 3 now features a "Podcast Recording Studio," along with professional podcast sounds, a Podcast Radio Engineer, iChat Interview Recording and iMovie Scoring.iMovie HD 6 adds Apple-designed iMovie themes, real-time effects, cinematic real-time titling, enhanced audio tools and effects, multiple open projects and video podcast/blogging abilities.iDVD 6 brings Magic DVD, widescreen DVD abilities, an enhanced map view and the much-requested compatibility with 3rd-party DVD burners to the table.A new addition to the iLife family is iWeb, a much rumored new app that does what everyone had assumed: it will allow .Mac members to easily publish content from other iLife apps such as podcasts, imovies, photos, blogs and more to their .Mac space. It features Apple-designed templates, easy flexible site creation, and iLife media browser and one-click .Mac publishing. I guess there was a reason behind that 1 TB bandwidth upgrade back in Dec.Even with all these great new features, iLife 06 still sells a single license for only $79, with a 5-license pack for $99, and is available today at the online store. I'm sure local stores will have it in soon, as well.
