iLife 08 vs. iLife 09

What is iLife? To Mac users, this program suite is just like bread and butter. It is the most common, and built-in collection of software applications that they usually have upon purchasing their Mac computers. Although this suite can also be bought separately as a standalone program collection, the iLife has undoubtedly been revered for its publishing, editing and organizing capabilities, with regards to handling videos, photos and even music. To date, there have been a lot of upgrades made to this suite. The latest of which is iLife 09.

So, how does this version differ from its predecessors, such as the iLife 08 for example?

Well, foremost, the iLife 09 was launched last January 2009, and is obviously the newest installment from Apple. It immediately followed the iLife 08 version, which was released back in August 2007. Therefore, technically, users are almost always expecting something new from the iLife 09 bundle. However, is there really that much of an improvement with this version, compared to the iLife 08?

Clearly, both suites have a pack of applications that include: The iPhoto, iWeb, iDVD, GarageBand, and iMovie. The latter was thought to be flawed in iLife 08. Even if it boasted of a newer user interface that incorporated a movie library like the ones seen in iTunes, the iMovie 08 was really not up to the task, most especially when handling or editing more complex video tasks. It did hit its objective in making video editing easier, or faster for simple projects, but it really failed when it came to larger and more sophisticated movie projects. This has made movie editing with iMovie 08 more tedious.

On the brighter side, the iMovie 09 from iLife 09 brags of a more precise video editing tool. With its so-called ‘precision editor,’ users can now edit specifically at the exact frame point of choice. This gives way to a more accurate video editing experience. iMovie 09 also adds more video processing tools, and various color adjustments. Moreover, you can make direct uploads to video streaming sites, such as YouTube, with this software.

In addition, creating movies with the iDVD was more of a chore with iLife 08. This version was seen to have the most number of bugs and errors upon program usage. What this implies, is more time spent for simple DVD tasks. Although not that perfect, iLife 09 has tried to eradicate this flaw, and is now seen to be better in this aspect.

All in all, both suites are basically the same, with the more recent version having some noteworthy upgrades. They were also priced similarly ($79) during their release, but still differ in some aspects like:

1. The iLife 08 is an older program suite from Apple compared to the more recent iLife 09.

2. The iLife 09 suite has a more accurate or precise video editing tool (iMovie 09), and DVD creating tool (iDVD 09), compared to iLife 08’s mediocre, not to mention, error laden iMovie 08 and iDVD 08.

Sharing is caring!