iLife ‘05

2005 starts off with something nice or
I buy Apple Products. It just makes me feel special.

I have a laptop that burns CDs and I own Photoshop through way of work. In the scheme of things, I’m pretty dang lucky.

So yeah, all the hardware stuff Apple launched yesterday is nice. I respect the thought that went into each product. I think the Shuffle (used without shuffle) would be more suited for me than a big iPod, but again, I mentioned the ability to burn CDs. That’s really all I need and use for music.

The mini is quite nifty, with a little more oomph than my current system for 1/3 the price. The thing is, I wouldn’t own one without a gig of ram, and that’s pricey (without it, it would be 1/6 the price.) If I was on the market for a new computer, I would seriously consider the mini. I hope it’s a hit.

But the real pleasing thing I think, are the gradual enhancements to iLife.

The former incarnation of their movie software was the source for some of the best gifts I have ever given. The first version of iTunes was the impetus for many others. I made mixes (of really questionable music) and thought I was the shit. But it was pretty personal, with a designed system of custom covers and more importantly–it was fun to do.

It wasn’t until last autumn that organizing photos got to be extremely frustrating. I ruefully fired up iPhoto and found that it worked well with all 15,000 images. Performance was no longer an issue as in previous versions, but features were lacking. I’m anal. I like categories and sub-categories. I wanted to sort by day or month. I’m glad to see those features integrated. I’m also glad to see more options with the books and reasonable prices. It’s likely the first thing I will make once I can get my paws on the upgrade.

Lastly, I’m totally diggin the new visual identity and packaging for the two consumer targeted applications. It reminds me of eWorld, but better. I’m having a bit of a struggle with what is fun design these days. It falls into two categories: clean and organic (analog?). This stuff is a mixture of both.

So was it an innovative MacWorld? Maybe not, but a refinement of lots of already good things. I feel like their software division is listening and growing with my needs, and their hardware division is reaching price points to entice folks to actually try the platform.

That’s a good feeling. It’s nice to be excited.

3 responses to “iLife ‘05”

  1. CM Harrington Avatar

    I too agree that the new package art for iWork and iLife are really beautiful. As a matter of fact, it seems to synch up with your post the other day about “The Year we LIghtened Up”. The visuals are light, slightly psychedelic Peter Max-inspired, and stunning.
    I’m sure you’re going to post about it, but iWork, specifically Pages, looks to be amazing. I look forward to playing with it in a few weeks.
    Apple continues to encourage people to be active and creative with their lives –then incorporate other people (who couldn’t be there) into those experiences through sharing and the Mac. Pretty cool.

  2. Chris Glass Avatar

    I’m looking forward to Keynote, so I figure I’ll get to play with Pages as a bonus. I’m so glad it’s not just a redux of AppleWorks, which was fine, but not Quartzy goodness.
    Overall, couldn’t have been a better MacWorld. I won’t even complain about the lack of new laptops. They did more than enough.

  3. Naz Avatar

    Ditto, ditto, ditto. That was the first thing I noticed – the brilliant bulb-like shapes of both iLife and iWork – playful illustrations with bright colours. I am so digging that kind of work lately. And indeed, this is The Year to Lighten Up.