On Jan. 6, Apple announced the release of iLife and iWork ’09 for the Macintosh computers, the newest upgrades to the personal and productivity application suites. Each of the suites includes various add-ons that improve the applications and still keeps them easy to use. Having the 2008 edition of the suites, I had to get the upgrades.
I was excited to try the new iWork. Namely, I wanted to see how the word-processing application, Pages, had been upgraded. The best aspect of the new incarnation of Pages is the Full Screen view, which allows the writer to focus on what they are writing and not get as easily distracted.
Also new to the application is Outline mode, which allows users to set the architecture and structure of their document as well as rearrange the format of their outline as needed should any changes need to be made.
As for the iLife personal suite, iPhoto saw some of the biggest changes. The new iPhoto now makes organizing pictures easier by using face detection and face recognition software to find and label faces of those in pictures. The application can also organize photos by place or event.
The only thing that I disliked about iPhoto is that the face recognition software is not perfect, although it is close. I have twin 2-year-old boys, and the face recognition software cannot distinguish between them most times. Then again, my wife and I have trouble telling them apart sometimes.
Overall, the new iLife and iWork are a definite must for anyone who owns a Macintosh computer. It would take too much space to talk of each application individually as iLife consists of five applications, and the iWork is made up of three.
Anyone interested in more information can go to the apple website to read about the new features or watch the keynote from MacWorld 2009 in San Francisco in which all bases are covered and demonstrations are performed.