Rating: 
Summary: This is not the book you'll need on "iLife"
Review: I've been waiting for this book to release since I saw the brochure on it at Macworld SF, and I must admit that I'm sorely disappointed. The book only weighed in at 193 pages, of which 19 pages is the index. (So, a tenth of the book is its index!) Considering the subject matter, the book is very light, and the DVD seems to be more of a marketing tool for Apple than an "interactive guide to iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD". One thing that really seemed out of place can be found on p. 61, and is labeled as "Inside the iPod". Please tell me how a diagram of the iPod's guts is relevant to creating movies and DVDs?Another oddity can be found on p. 11, showing the FireWire and USB connectors and the sockets found on the back of an iMac's base. With the FireWire plugs, there's a diagram of the FireWire 800 plug, but that won't fit in the FireWire 400 socket on the iMac. With the USB plugs, the author shows plugs for connecting to peripherals (scanners and digital cameras) along with what plugs into the back of the iMac. Why? Plugging a device into your Mac is pretty simple; why take up precious space covering wires and plugs? The first chapter, "Introducing iLife" doesn't really add much value to the book (and is 15 pages long). There are a few good things in the book, but you have to wade through the chaff (and cheesy clipart) to find the rare nugget. My recommendation is that you should save your cash and wait for updates to the Missing Manuals.
Rating: 
Summary: Shoppers, take note! This is an older edition of my book
Review: It's November 2004 as I write this, and I'm surprised and a little distressed to see that this book is still selling fairly well.
Why distressed? Because this book is an older edition that covers the 2003 iLife product.
If you're using iLife '04, be sure to check out the new edition of my book/DVD, called -- amazingly enough -- "The Macintosh iLife '04." Every page has been updated for iLife '04, and the DVD is completely new, too.
Of course, if you're still using the original iLife suite -- or if you want the older DVD, which contains material not present in the '04 edition -- this is the book/DVD for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Gold Standard for computer learning books
Review: Jim Heid doesn't waste time about getting into doing things with the iLife suite. The DVD alone is worth the purchase price if you're a new or novice user. I use the iDVD portion of the DVD with beginning students to video editing. It's a no nonsence approach that keeps things moving.
Rating:
Summary: At last... a how-to book that delivers value for money
Review: Jim Heid doesn't waste time about getting into doing things with the iLife suite. The DVD alone is worth the purchase price if you're a new or novice user. I use the iDVD portion of the DVD with beginning students to video editing. It's a no nonsence approach that keeps things moving.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a pleasure to read
Review: Thank goodness Mr. Heid doesn't use a lot of technical jargon. He writes this book as if he is explaining the iLife features to his best friend. The book is easy to follow and interesting enough to read cover to cover, but it's also concise enough that I keep it with me just to look up specific sections when I need help with that. The DVD that comes with the book contains many examples and techniques and is very easy to follow. I learned quite a bit by watching and reading. If you want some basic help with the iLife apps, get this book. You will learn some things and say "Oh, that's how you do that. Cool!"
Rating:
Summary: This book is a pleasure to read
Review: Thank goodness Mr. Heid doesn't use a lot of technical jargon. He writes this book as if he is explaining the iLife features to his best friend. The book is easy to follow and interesting enough to read cover to cover, but it's also concise enough that I keep it with me just to look up specific sections when I need help with that. The DVD that comes with the book contains many examples and techniques and is very easy to follow. I learned quite a bit by watching and reading. If you want some basic help with the iLife apps, get this book. You will learn some things and say "Oh, that's how you do that. Cool!"
Rating:
Summary: Simply excellent
Review: The combination of clear prose, outstanding book design and efficient use of the resources that the DVD offers as a complement to a book, makes this book not only a pleasure to read, but a unique learning experience. I could not put it down. I know many people who can't read past the first few pages. They will lose the enthusiasm soon. Not with this book. It is a standard to be followed. Concise and precise but at the same time so comprehensive and wonderful to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Macintosh iLife, learning made easier and faster
Review: The Macintosh iLife consists of a DVD, a 193 page book and Internet support. The combination works. In the book, Jim says the picture quality is a bit better if you play the DVD on a TV set instead of on your computer. The book tells you how to use the DVD remote choose the topic you want. I popped the DVD into my iBook. It started displaying the DVD full screen in a better picture than I get from our TV set. Soon I was watching moving close-ups of Jim Heid's monitor as he showed me how to create and name an iTunes playlist. I watched his cursor as he clicked one selection and then shift clicked another to select contiguous tunes. Then Jim command clicked individual tunes to add them to the selected list, and dragged the whole selected list to the new playlist. Next I watched Jim explain that there is another way. The view shifted back to the action on his computer as he used the same methods to select another set of tunes, and then went to the file menu and choose New Playlist from Selection. That is the advantage of the DVD. In about 90 minutes Jim actually shows you how to do practically everything with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. I was particularly impressed Jim Heid used the iPhoto Retouch tool to rub over a dirty spot on a little girl's face, scrubbing the picture of the face clean as if it had been done with a washcloth. And, when I saw it working, I found the way the iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD work together was more impressive, more elegant than when just reading about it. My first impression when I looked at the book was one of disappointment only 173 pages not counting the index, and in large type. As expected book is laid out with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD sections. Within each section, topics are covered in two page illustrated spreads without the hundreds of densely packed words that I had expected. But once I looked into the two page spreads covering topics such as Improving Sound Quality with the Equalizer, Tuning into Internet Radio, and Analog to Digital: Converting Tapes and Albums, I found that they covered the subject, did it clearly, and contained information that I had not remembered seeing in those more densely packed books. The DVD and the book are designed to work together, and they reference each other where appropriate. You do not have to have the book open and watch the DVD at the same time, but the two need each other for a complete package. In my opinion, the two together will teach you more in less time than you could possibly get from either a book or a DVD alone. ...
Rating:
Summary: Simply fantastic -- please, Jim Heid, More!!!
Review: This book/DVD combo is simply superb. I am not technically gifted -- though I'm the son of a rocket scientist! -- but I am totally geeking out. Jim Heid is a master instructor with an utterly uncanny knack for speaking to exactly the point that you want him to address next. His sense of sequence is flawless! Apple has done a stunning job of creating an awesomely powerful, yet completely accessible, package in iLife. I'm already importing tunes, burning custom CDs and running out to buy a digital camera. I am even considering personally creating instructional DVDs for my Los Angeles based media training firm. That, in itself, is a minor miracle. I used to concede everything to IT experts; now I'm not so sure! I think Jim Heid's book -- along with David Pogue's Missing Manual series -- ought to be standard issue with any Mac.
The Mac, in my obviously biased opinion, is the most elegantly intuitive computer on earth. Equally so is this book and DVD combination. You'll be amazed at how quickly you assimilate information and navigate with growing confidence. My only criticism of this set is that I wish there was more. To that end, I plan to check out what else is available from Peachpit Press and Avondale Media (they collaberated on this combo). Well, folks, I hope I've made myself clear: The Macintosh iLife book and DVD are as good as it gets. If you've been on the wrong side of the digital divide, and if you're now ready to advance exponentially in your multimedia skills, then you simply can't go wrong with this purchase. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Simply fantastic -- please, Jim Heid, More!!!
Review: This book/DVD combo is simply superb. I am not technically gifted -- though I'm the son of a rocket scientist! -- but I am totally geeking out. Jim Heid is a master instructor with an utterly uncanny knack for speaking to exactly the point that you want him to address next. His sense of sequence is flawless! Apple has done a stunning job of creating an awesomely powerful, yet completely accessible, package in iLife. I'm already importing tunes, burning custom CDs and running out to buy a digital camera. I am even considering personally creating instructional DVDs for my Los Angeles based media training firm. That, in itself, is a minor miracle. I used to concede everything to IT experts; now I'm not so sure! I think Jim Heid's book -- along with David Pogue's Missing Manual series -- ought to be standard issue with any Mac.
The Mac, in my obviously biased opinion, is the most elegantly intuitive computer on earth. Equally so is this book and DVD combination. You'll be amazed at how quickly you assimilate information and navigate with growing confidence. My only criticism of this set is that I wish there was more. To that end, I plan to check out what else is available from Peachpit Press and Avondale Media (they collaberated on this combo). Well, folks, I hope I've made myself clear: The Macintosh iLife book and DVD are as good as it gets. If you've been on the wrong side of the digital divide, and if you're now ready to advance exponentially in your multimedia skills, then you simply can't go wrong with this purchase. Buy it!
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