iLife '09 Introduced, Releases End of January
Posted 01/06/2009 at 12:11pm
| by Zack Stern

It's like a sports videogame! Who will be on the cover of iLife 2010?
Phil Schiller introduced iLife '09 changes at his Macworld Expo keynote. All of the applications have been updated to varying degrees--iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band, iWeb, and iDVD--although he only demonstrated features from the first three. iPhoto introduces new ways to browse and tag photos, iMovie adds lots of advanced editing features, and Garage Band includes guitar and keyboard lessons. iLife '09 will ship at the end of January for $79 (or a $99 family license), plus it will still be bundled free on new Macs.
iPhoto '09
iPhoto updates are especially built around image organization. With a little training the Faces feature automatically organizes photos by person. You'll identify a person, and the application is supposed to recognize them in other photos. Flickr and Facebook uploads are built into the application, and they also allow your friends to name people in your photos through those services. Afterwards, iPhoto updates that data back on your Mac.
The Places feature uses geotags to show photos by the place you shot them. It also looks up your location down to the attraction-level; instead of just turning your latitude and longitude into a city name, you can browse photos from the Eiffel Tower, for example. If your camera doesn't record GPS information, you can enter the name of a place or attraction, and iPhoto will add the location. Photos are represented as pins on maps.
iMovie '09
iMovie retains the new editing structure introduced in iMovie '08 but adds more advanced features. Those tools allow for cutaway edits, picture-in-picture, green-screen effects, audio-only inserts, and more. For beginners and intermediates, iMovie introduces new themes to tie full videos together with transitions and effects, animated travel maps (read: Indiana Jones), stabilization for bumpy handheld clips, speed adjustments, and other extras. Based on the keynote demo, this looks like a substantial update to last year's iMovie reboot.
GarageBand '09
Phil Schiller focused on the new Learn to Play feature of Garage Band. An instructor trains you on either the guitar or keyboard through nine basic, free lessons. The tool is presented with HD videos, a picture of the guitar neck or keyboard with fingering details, and music notation. Additionally, professional musicians teach you how to play one of their songs through various extra, $4.99 lessons. John Fogerty, Colbie Calliat, Patrick Stump, Sting, Sarah McLachlan, Ryan Tedder, and Norah Jones will offer the first add-on tutorials.