iLife Bible

Rating:
Summary: A very good book for those with earlier versions of iLife
Review: 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 Note, too, that books about popular applications go out of date very quickly: you should ALWAYS read Amazon's detailed descriptions before you buy.

Rating:
Summary: A very good book for those with earlier versions of iLife
Review: 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 Note, too, that books about popular applications go out of date very quickly: you should ALWAYS read Amazon's detailed descriptions before you buy.

Rating:
Summary: There's information here you won't find elsewhere
Review: I'm the technical editor of Dennis Cohen's iLife Bible, so you might think I'm biased.

But I'm also the technical editor for two other books on iLife. This one, while it's a little outdated, is only a _little_ outdated (Garage Band isn't covered. So what?). There's stuff here on iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes and iDVD that isn't covered anywhere--and I do mean anywhere--else. There are tips for customizing your templates, making the most of limited equipment and money, and the best shareware and proware add ons. You won't find that information elsewhere. There are shorter, more basic books on each of the individual iLife apps, but this is the best book for the entire suite (excluding Garage Band), and the only one that reveals the inner secrets and top tips to get the most out of _all_ of the iLife apps. Each application is covered by an initial overview, then more in depth step by step instructions, followed by a more advanced (and detailed) look, concluding with a discussion of the best add-ons in terms of software and hardware (and quite a few of them are very inexpensive). If you really want to get the most out of iLife (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD), then this is the book to get. Money, and time, well spent.

Rating:
Summary: There's information here you won't find elsewhere
Review: There are shorter, more basic books on each of the individual iLife apps, but this is the best book for the entire suite, and the only one that reveals the inner secrets and top tips to get the most out of all of the iLife apps. Each application is covered by an initial overview, then more in depth step by step instructions, followed by a more advanced (and detailed) look, concluding with a discussion of the best add-ons in terms of software and hardware (and quite a few of them are very inexpensive). If you really want to get the most out of iLife (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD), then this is the book to get.

Rating:
Summary: Potentially very expensive book!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A bible no one needs
Review: 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.