iLife 2008

This is a really great suite of software.  It is made for consumers which important when considering if it is right for you.  This software suite came with my Mac when I bought it early 08 and I have now used it extensively for about a year.  It has been fantastic!  It comes with iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, Garageband, iWeb.  I have used all of these apps extensively, they have been stable apps that have allowed me to produce some really neat stuff.


iDVD is a application that allows you to easily author DVDs that are playable in almost any DVD player.  The results are fantastic and you can author your own with it in minutes.


iPhoto is a application used to manage and edit photos.  As far as editing goes, its definitely not a Photoshop, but it has some tools that make basic editing possible.  It also allows you to share you photos with your friends and family in a very convenient and easy manner.  It simplifies uploading them/creating online galleries, sending them via e-mail, creating and printing a book of your pictures.


iMovie is a video editor, it is made for consumers and has significant limitations when compared with professional apps.  That being said, it is really easy, can produce great results, and also makes it really easy to share your movies with friends and family.


Garageband is a music composition/recording program.  It is as easy as it gets to use, but you can make some really neat music you can use for you movies, or slideshows or websites that you can make with your other iLife programs.  It also makes making your own podcasts really easy.  

iWeb is a program that makes authoring your own website really easy, it gives more freedom then say using blogspot/blogger  to create your own blog.  It also has seamless integration with the other iLife suite applications, so putting your music or podcasts, slides shows or photo galleries, and movies online is really easy.
My personal recommendation is buying "mobile me" it is apple's web hosting service, if you intend to be posting you creations on the web.

This suite is a great set of tools for expressing your creativity.  They have been built with the consumer in mind, so you are a professional, I recommend having them to compliment your other programs.  iLife 2009 was just released and I have not had a chance to use it, but if I were buying right now, I would go ahead and sped a few extra bucks and get iLife 2009 instead.