iPhoto, iMovie, and iWork clearly got the bulk of the attention at yesterday’s mini Stevenote, but they weren’t the only apps to get updated. While changes to the other iLife apps may not have been quite as flashy, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t noteworthy.
Musician (and Macworld contributor) Peter Kirn has a great rundown of what’s new in Garage Band ‘08. Peter notes that the changes in the music-creation software focus on two audiences: the complete beginners who have little idea what a track or a take is, and—at the other end of the spectrum—advanced users who will benefit from some of the features that Apple usually keeps for its higher end software, like Soundtrack Pro.
Besides the very flashy Magic Garage Band feature that we saw demoed at the event, you’ll also find multi-take recordings, a visual equalizer, automated tempo curves, and more.
Personally, I’d started getting into Garage Band a few years ago, in my brief “Hey, let’s make a band!” phase, but since then I’ve used it almost exclusively for podcast creation. I’m not sure that these features are enough to suck me back in, but it’s good to know that they’re there.
Awhile ago you asked us readers to suggest what improvements were needed in iLife. I said that it was critical that tempo changes, and in particular, graphical tempo curves be added (paying for logic express for only this feature is just not right). I don't quite understand Apple's PR copy, but it looks to me like this has indeed been added. And if it has, then I'll be purchasing iLife '08.