Entered CNET Catalog: 08/08/2007
SKU: 885909167319
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Manufacturer description
iLife '08, a major update to Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, delivers significant upgrades to iPhoto, iWeb, GarageBand and iDVD, plus a completely reinvented iMovie that offers a revolutionary new way to enjoy, edit and share your video.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/17/2007
Photo gallery:
Apple iLife '08
Apple is touting what it calls the biggest changes to iLife in more than five years. iPhoto gets some nice ease-of-use adjustments; iMovie changes radically from its predecessor; and the most obvious addition to GarageBand is a virtual stage for composing original songs. iDVD offers new themes and customizations as well as professional-level encoding. Overall, this package for editing photos, movies, and music seems to be a great deal, still $79, plus it's free with the purchase of a new Mac.
You'll need an Intel-based Mac, a Mac PowerPC G5, or a Mac PowerPC G4 to run iLife '08. Unfortunately for those with older Macs, iMovie '08 requires a Power Mac G5 with at least a 2GHz processor, or at minimum a 1.9GHz iMac G5. Luckily, if your system can't keep up, installing the new iMovie will not overwrite the '06 version, which will move to a new folder. Installation was uneventful, taking about 10 minutes in our tests.
iPhoto '08
The interface of iPhoto looks lovely, and it's organized well. But the application crashed on our 2GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook laptop the first time we opened it. Only iTunes and the screen grab utility were also running at that time, and there was no ongoing activity in iTunes. Even later, without other applications running, iPhoto crashed occasionally.
The splashiest new feature may be that iPhoto now automatically groups photos into Events based upon the dates they were taken. This clustering sounds like a big time-saver. Surprisingly, however, iPhoto grouped pictures dated from May 29 through August 8 on a memory card as one Event, rather than breaking them down into smaller time periods. In theory, iPhoto builds an Event for each day but can also detect if you've already organized the photos. At least you can click a checkbox to Auto Split, or hit the Split button to chop up Events one by one.
With prior versions of iPhoto, you couldn't just hook up a camera or a memory card to your computer and select which pictures to move there. Instead, iPhoto would send them to some hard-to-locate folder on your hard drive. Thankfully, iPhoto '08 displayed our SD card pictures within the list of Devices, giving us the choice to import either all or selected pictures. Still, we wished that iPhoto would detect a folder of pictures sitting on our desktop. We weren't sure off the bat where to move those pictures so they'd appear in the Photos Library, but found the Import to Library command did the trick.
A cool skimming feature creates a micro slide show of the pictures in an album as you glide the mouse across Event thumbnails. Just click the spacebar to turn the current image into the thumbnail for that Event. Intuitive display controls, such as the size slider in the lower-right corner, allow tiny thumbnails to change to big pictures. But we were irked that you can't toggle through images using the spacebar, which competing apps allow. And the arrow keys work for general scrolling, but they don't let you hop from one picture to the next.
On the positive side, the Adjust button opens more controls for sharpness, highlights, saturation, and so on. The Enhance button fixes contrast and balance with one touch. Plus, you can copy and paste a set of changes from one picture onto others. And it's easier to fix an awry Horizon line than on most other photo editors.
IPhoto also offers some clever features for reducing clutter: The Hide feature tucks away lackluster photos that you neither want to delete nor show off. The Flag, stars, and keywords also can mark notable pictures. And unified search helps to find by name or tag. In addition, lots of templates are provided for creating photo books and calendars that you can buy, and the AutoFlow feature makes the layout process a snap.
iWeb '08
iWeb '08 brings more Web 2.0 tools to your personal online domain or public .Mac pages, which now max out at 10GB of storage for $99 per year. (We like the increased space, but also wish that the .Mac service cost less.) Web Widgets can display interactive content that can be quickly embedded by copying and pasting the source code text. Google Maps integration is built in; a new My Albums page can better organize lots of content; and there's customized Google AdSense integration for those who want to make a few bucks (or pennies) from online text ads.
Paired with a paid .Mac account, iPhoto enables you to upload photo galleries that should appear the same on a Mac or a PC. Anyone can send pictures to a specific e-mail address for instant publishing to the gallery. The Web galleries are attractive and easy to navigate; we wish that photo-sharing sites like Flickr would similarly enlarge pictures. You can also easily upload work from iMovie to your .Mac site.
iMovie '08
iMovie '08 is a far cry from the '06 version. It's built to simplify on-the-fly video editing, but Apple has removed many controls that added depth to the older version. But you can keep both programs on one machine when you install iLife '08, and you can download iMovie '06 version 6.0.4 for free.
Similar to iPhoto, a new Video Library groups footage into Events; lets you skim by dragging the mouse over the thumbnail, adjusting the speed easily and clicking the spacebar to set the thumbnail to the view of the moment; and displays footage in photo gallery-like thumbnails. Memorizing keyboard shortcuts will give your hands a break from the mouse. It's cool that you can hide footage from view without deleting it, as well as add text tags to describe a project and make it easier to search for.
It's simple enough to add titles, fades and other transitions, and songs from iTunes or GarageBand. You can rotate and crop images, better adjust color settings, and easily normalize audio. There's support for high-definition video, as well as AVCHD for plugging in solid-state cameras. When movies are done, you can add them to iTunes or instantly publish them online via YouTube or to your .Mac Web Gallery for 960x540 pixel video with higher resolution than MPEG-2-format DVDs.
We're not crazy about iMovie's new split personality, with features removed from the new version in the name of simplification. For instance, there's only support for one audio track, a major omission if you want to add voiceover narration along with background music. And iMovie '08 lacks themes, which we'd like for cobbling together, say, a quick wedding video with a pastel background. While you can drag and drop clips, the omission of a timeline view, found in most video-editing applications including and Express, will annoy those seeking more granular control. Plus, if you plan to burn a DVD, you can't add chapter markers anymore without using iDVD or QuickTime.
We wish the altered interface could have retained more features from iMovie '06, instead of forcing longtime users either to suffer with less functionality or use the old software. And if you open a project you had nearly finished editing on iMovie '08, the new application keeps the raw footage but not any effects you may have added.
GarageBand '08
GarageBand looks sleeker than its predecessor, and it adds some welcome new
controls. It now enables multiple takes for recording and creating loops. For creating a layered song, GarageBand lets you label each part, so it's easy to find and manipulate just the chorus, for instance, without having to analyze the waveforms to identify it. Multiple edit points are allowed so that you can automate the behavior of instruments as well as tempo effects. We like that you can adjust equalization by dragging bands with the mouse within the Visual EQ box. In addition, there's support for 24-bit audio. Plus, you can make notated printouts of MIDI instrument tracks. Your finished audio can be added to iTunes or used for a podcast. Podcast creation is especially intuitive, and a new fade out control makes ending a show a snap.
The new Magic stage displays images of instruments that assemble a virtual band. You can pop a bass, a guitar, or a saxophone onto the stage, and then add your own voice or instrument to the band. It's sort of silly but fun, providing nine genres of music: country, rock, jazz, blues, slow blues, reggae, funk, Latin, and roots. This tool should be good for people who want to play with music but don't have a solid handle on audio-editing software, or for those who want shortcuts for smoothly mixing up songs. But you can't make these baked-in instruments play a new tune. And rather than getting new, royalty-free audio samples within GarageBand '08, you'll have to pay $99 for each of five Jam Packs. Serious hobbyists or pros should still look to richer applications, such as Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, or Adobe Audition.
iDVD '08
iDVD is supposed to be faster than its predecessor for burning projects to DVD; we could not detect a difference in our tests, but we didn't run into glitches while burning a DVD either. The Magic iDVD option provides 10 new, ready-made visual themes, such as Sunflower and Cinema. And OneStep iDVD steps you through hooking up a camera via FireWire to make a quick burn.
Service and support
We found the searchable help menus within iLife '08 to be thorough and to the point, and the video tutorials are good. Forums to interact with other users may be the among the best sources of support. iLife buyers receive 90 days of unlimited free telephone support for installation, launch, or reinstallation. Three years of telephone support is offered through AppleCare, a separate support plan available for a fee. Users can also seek help at the Genius Bars of Apple stores or attend free workshops offered by stores.
Conclusion
Newcomers to iLife will find uncluttered interfaces and a well-rounded set of features for managing pictures and making movies, songs, and podcasts. The changes are best for those who hold paid .Mac accounts, a significant expense. For those upgrading to iLife '08 from a prior version, the alterations to iPhoto are the most practical, especially for managing massive picture libraries. Although GarageBand gets more controls, iMovie eliminates many in its upgrade, and users may consider it dumbed down. And Apple seems to be pushing serious video hobbyists away from iMovie and toward Final Cut Express. We wish there were a happy medium.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
User Rating: 
7/10
Okay suite
Pros: Magic garageband and iWeb have really come a long way from what they once where. iDvD has many new themes for creating professional looking DVD's.
Cons: iMovie 08 defiantly needs alot of work.
Ease of Use 3
Speed 3
Features 4
Looks 5
This suit most certainly needs work. I really like the idea and concept behind iMovie 08 but the theme should be brought back. I would defiantly upgrade to iLife 09. I will rate it as soon as I have had a chance to use every app. I would recommend iLife 09 to anyone still using 08. But I do think that iLife 08 still blows anything windows has out of the Water.
User Rating: 
3/10
Useless, CONFUSING upgrade.
Pros: It is more compatible with other iLife products and FCP
Cons: iMovie is now a PC product, unfriendly, confusing, and unused.
User Rating: 
8/10
Fun, easy, efficient.
Pros: Easier to manage and great to use.
Cons: iMovie '08 could have been better
But i am glad that for those people like iMovie '06 they left it in your hard drive if you wished to use it.
User Rating: 
1/10
Will leave you wishing for a PC
Pros: None that actually work
Cons: GONE is the intuitive interface. Gone is the ability to quickly and easily cut your clips. Gone is the ability to manipulate the soundtrack indipendently.
There's no save function. That's right. No save function. Ostensibly things are just saved as you go along. Trust that? you shouldn't. I did and found that hours and hours of work had been wasted.
Like the timeline feature of imovie? I did. That's gone too. You now just dump them into a window that wraps them around like text on a narrow page.
There's so much wrong with this program that I would strongly caution anyone to not install this portion of the ilife 08 package. The other programs are solid. This piece is a steaming pile of you-know-what.
User Rating: 1/10
I am very unsatisfied with this version
Pros: can't find any yet
Cons: ruined my previous website
User Rating: 8/10
Great peice of software for average user
Pros: Imovie is easy for beginners, Iphoto is good, new.mac web gallery when combined with this ...insane
Cons: lost some functionality of imovie
User Rating: 
4/10
Disappointing
Pros: Improved Cosmetically, Easy to use
Cons: Changes to iMovie
User Rating: 3/10
Very Unhappy
Pros: still looking for some
Cons: iMovie 08 is a disaster- what were they thinking???
iMovie '06 HD for me. I never jump at first release of anything but fell for the hype this time!
User Rating: 8/10
iMovie '08 Better than iMovie '06 for Novice users but still lacks Casio Movie support
Pros: Better than iMovie '06 for Novice users but still lacks Casio Movie support
Cons: Cost, more memory intensive than iMovie '06, not intuitive enough for first time users
Here's what I found out:
The skimming feature is a HUGE time-saver. I would have to watch the entire clip first on '06 to figure out what I want to include in my edit.
Look and feel is much better than '06. I have a general overview of the video right away.
However, it still does not support *.avi videos from my Casio EX-Z750 -- a missing feature that is unusual given today's prevalence of high quality videos from digital still cameras. I've got converters but sometimes they don't work.
Another issue is the memory usage: I've got a previous-gen Intel-based iMac with the basic 1GB memory and skimming takes a while to respond. I found out that the SF Apple store fits their macs with at least 2GB memory to run iLife '08 smoothly to make the iMovie '08 run like those in Steve Jobs' demo. This means I will have to upgrade to at least 2GB memory to utilize iLife '08 more productively.
Also, the "import from camera" feature of iMovie '08 points to the integrated webcam and does not allow me to import from my own digital camera. Probably, Apple Tech support would help me change this setting.
I think the Titles and transitions (these are the only ones I've used so far) are very few. I looked forward to having more. The tutorials on Apple.com tout how easy it is to adjust the clips -- I'm having difficulty doing it following their instructions to copy and paste -- it does not work. Again, I'll have to call apple care for this.
I'm sure there are other shortcomings but overall this is so much easier to use than your traditional video editors, most notably those in the Windows OS.
I got my iLife '08 on Craigslist for about $50 -- not a fake one. The seller was just desperate to get rid of it due to a cheaper to get it by doing an upgrade on his new iMac.
Another one: not a lot of people at Apple Support, even at the Apple Store knows about the product as it is still too new.
User Rating: 
9/10
Enjoy using it...
Pros: Simple to use
Cons: iPhoto still need a better way to organize
Cure turned out to be start over.
Jim
User Rating: 
10/10
an easy to use, powerful set of apps that covers all the bases
Pros: easy to use apps that pack a punch, leaves windows media tools in the dust
Cons: .mac required for full potential
User Rating: 
2/10
watered down video editing
Pros: fast scrubbing, vidio library
Cons: no time line, no multiple soundtracks, no drm music
User Rating: 3/10
iMovie 08 - Disappointed
Pros: Very easy for very new users
Cons: Great features for experiencd users no longer there
User Rating: 
5/10
Decent, but not worth paying to upgrade.
Pros: A full suite of apps for making movies, DVDs and songs
Cons: Most of the best features require a $99/year .Mac account
iWeb - Google Maps integration is wonderful. It'd be a great way to coordinate directions to a party or wedding reception. The ability to have personal domain names are a great addition. Unfortunately, you will need a .Mac account (which costs you $99 per year) to take advantage of the feature. THe upgrade allows instant theme switching, which is great, but should've been in the first version of iWeb.
iDVD - This pretty much remains the same. No complaints, as it has been a good app for quite a while and remains to be.
Garageband- This one is neat. Magic Garageban (which shows you the instruments on a "stage") and multi-take recordings are great!
iPhoto - A nice set of feature that allow skimming a collection - very cool! .Mac Web Galleries are also very cool... however, again, it doesn't do you any good unless you pay $99 per year for a .Mac account. Events is a nice bit of organization and the ability to download select photos from your camera is well over-due and very welcome.
iMovie - Whoa! Probably my once-favorite app is now definitely the worst. The videos are organized into Events (like iPhoto) and that is great. It's also great that iMovie is now the central location for all the movies on your computer as it is a nice organization app. However, editing movies just plain suck: No more timeline view; no more multiple audio tracks; fewer effects and transitions than iMovie '06. It's a completely new app... and that is NOT a good thing. I understand that iMovie is supposed to be basic, but that shouldn't mean functionless.
Overall, I'd definitely wait for iLife '09 or until I buy a new Mac before I upgrade. There just aren't enough GREAT features to justify shelling out $80. Plus, the ones that are GREAT require another $99/year fee to use them. No thanks.
User Rating: 10/10
Excellent Overall Package, everything you could possibly need.
Pros: Very Snappy, Better more integrated features, easy to use
Cons: Takes Some Getting Used To.
iMovie in itself is very cool, to regain some of the lost features you can download and install iMovie 06 from the Apple website.
User Rating: 10/10
Fantastic software package for the home user
Pros: easy to use, great organization, fantastic features not found anywhere else
Cons: None what so ever
User Rating: 9/10
A really great suite gets better
Pros: Events makes photos more organized, iMovie makes quick videos easy to assemble and share.
Cons: Large movie projects will require iMovie HD or Final Cut Express
User Rating: 1/10
A Below Average Product
Pros: There really is nothing to highlight
Cons: Bugs, Bugs and More BUGS
User Rating: 10/10
Stupid Review by C|NET as usual...
Pros: Awesome update that is needed.
Cons: What will Leopard Mac OSX 10.5 add to iLife 08?
IF you need more, then that is what Final Cut Express is for. Pros use Final Cut Pro for serious editing features.
Support?
Apple has One To One program in stores now.
Apple has had the Genius Bar in stores since they opened for customer service & help.
Apple offers classes in store for additional learning of Apple programs.
Apple has Tutorial videos on the Apple web site.
Numerous "How-To-Books" are available on Apple programs such as iLife with DVD video step-by-step instructions...
Get a clue C|NET & stop the FUD.
User Rating: 5/10
1 for iMovie 10 for everything else.
Pros: iPhoto update is great.
Cons: iMovie is useless for me.
User Rating: 9/10
For the price is is excellent software
Pros: easy to use, fun amd cheap
Cons: Missing some Pro features that other software have
User Rating: 2/10
Windows Works Better
Pros: iPhoto and iWeb
Cons: iMovie is a huge leap backward for Apple
User Rating: 9/10
Moaners be patient
Pros: Much better way to store pics and vids. Which in turn make projects easier to make.
Cons: Would like to see more changes in Iweb.
User Rating: 2/10
Bad Apple!
Pros: iPhoto '08 is a nice step forward
Cons: iMovie '08 will go down in history... in a BAD way
Garageband is okay.
iWeb is REALLY buggy (doesn't open old domains well), and incomplete (still doesn't support more than one site... yes, really.
And iMovie is worthy of a class action lawsuit.
Nowhere in the WWDC speech or on the website does it warn "iMovie will NOT INSTALL on anything but the latest, fastest Macs... not even if you're already running the latest verstions of FinalCutHD, ProTools, or even CS3... nope, this "consumer" app will render any computer that's older than 1 year OBSOLETE." Of course, it does say something to that affect in 3 point grey type on the back of the box. Why not merely include a warning "you may experience sluggish performance..."?
This is underhanded, unncecessary, and very un-Apple.
User Rating: 2/10
This should be recalled and remade - A disaster for Apple
Pros: Iphoto 08 is not bad but works pretty well
Cons: imovie 08 does not do most things from previous versions
Until then it is a disaster
User Rating: 9/10
A good upgrade with a few flaws
Pros: Slicker interface, Faster operations in general, Nice new iPhoto
Cons: Some operations slower(!), Tighter system requirements, Poor iMovie
User Rating: 8/10
Good as always
Pros: Is good like other apple products
Cons: Not much new, though
User Rating: 1/10
Stick with iLife 06 Beware of 08
Pros: iphoto events
Cons: imovie 08 is plain awful
Jamie Carlisle Toronto, ON
User Rating: 2/10
The Worst Update Ever Made
Pros: Some features ok
Cons: No HD DVD authoring , too many bugs
User Rating: 9/10
much improved and simplyfied
Pros: awesome controls integration and interface
Cons: want features back into the better albeit more limited imovie
iphoto rocks
garageband rocks
imovie finally is easy
iweb gets editable themes and google
idvd is better w 3d party drives
as a whole this is a great upgrade especially the web -.mac integration!
