The Macintosh iLife '06

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....!

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

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