The new iLife suite of applications consists of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and Garage Band and it comes pre-installed, at no additional charge, on every new Mac. iLife buyers receive 90 days of unlimited free telephone support for installation, launch, or reinstallation. New users especially will appreciate the video tutorials and downloadable "getting started" documents available on the Apple website. They make it look easy, and in most cases, it is.

Upgraders, however, are likely to have a more mixed reaction.

Let's take the programs one at a time:

Garageband '08 is the most complicated and powerful of the applications. Unfortunately, I know nothing about audio-editing or podcasting and thus can't say anything useful about its technical capabilities. Apparently one new feature is multi-take recording, which allows you to stitch together parts of different takes. But I can talk about Magic Garageband, a brand new feature that makes the program accessible for non-musicians. You choose a genre from the 9 available and a curtain opens to reveal a virtual band on a stage. Clicking on any instrument allows you audition different instruments, including your own voice, and, in theory, compose an original song. It's kind of fun but not nearly as addictive as computer solitaire.

iDVD '08 is the least updated application in the iLife '08 suite. The few new additions - primarily some templates and 10 ready-made visual themes with animated elements and drop zones - are fine in themselves but wouldn't warrant purchasing the full Suite.

iWeb '08 is incredibly quick and easy to use, allowing you to create a web site from the included templates. In the past, when I've wanted to share a number of photos with a number of people, (i.e., photos from a trip), I've used flickr.com, an online photo-sharing website. It did the job but uploading was slow and a subscription "pro" account is required for unlimited uploads. With iWeb, I simply dragged and dropped the photos I wanted to use, added text along with some nice effects and published the site to my .Mac account in minutes. It was just as easy to upload a project from iMovie '08. Widgets allow you to drop things like Google Maps and YouTube videos onto your web site. Contrary to what I've read elsewhere, iWeb '08 can be used without a .Mac account. A "Publish to Folder" option will create a folder on your Mac that you can then upload to a server of your choice.

iMovie '08 is the most controversial application in the iLife suite because it is completely different from its 2 year-old predecessor. There have been complaints that this upgrade is actually a "dumbed down" version of iMovie HD. There's validity to this complaint; the old audio effects are gone as are plug-ins, chapter markers, bookmarks, themes, and visual effects.

On the other hand, there are welcome additions. You can send a completed video to an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, YouTube or your .Mac Web Gallery with one menu command, piece together or delete unwanted segments of your clips, create titles, text, crossfades, and color adjustments quickly and never again twiddle your thumbs while waiting for your video to "render."

Whether you love iMovie '08 or hate it will probably depend on your degree of expertise with "non-linear" editing systems. My friend, who makes professional quality CDs from photos taken at weddings, etc. was dismissive of iMovie '08 and particularly annoyed by the omission of a timeline view. Having tried several applications on her PC, she eventually settled on Roxio's Easy Media Creator 9. I, on the other hand, was delighted with iMovie '08 because it allowed me to do exactly what I've been wanting to do for years: turn a "roll" of digital photos into an appealing slideshow with titles, transitions, and music. True, Roxio has more options and flexibility but it also has a steep learning curve and a $100 price tag. I wish iMovie '08 had a few more bells and whistles, but overall, its intuitive interface is adequate compensation for its lack of sophistication

Apple is clearly aware of the complaints iMovie has generated. So if "quick and dirty" isn't adequate for your needs, you'll be relieved to know that iMovie HD hasn't been retired. In fact, when you install iLife '08, you'll find iMovie HD preserved (or newly installed) in a folder called "iMovie (previous version)

The most significant upgrade in iPhoto '08 is the addition of Events. The photos are actually grouped by dates, but more often than not, this translates functionally into specific Events. Once grouped, you can skim through a slideshow of all thumbnails for that Event. Hit the space bar to chose a "cover" photo for each event. Use the size slider to change to big pictures. Double click to open the Event folder. To add other photos to an event, simply drag and drop. There's a button for merging events and another to Auto Split or select and Split photos into separate events. Another nice feature is the ability to hide photos within an event rather than delete them from your hard drive. You can still choose to see your entire library of photos individually rather than grouped as events. Flags, stars, keywords, dates, and ratings are all part of a new unified search feature.

Editing has also been enhanced with a Straighten button, several Effects such as "edge blur" and "enhance colors" and an Adjust button which opens up a panel of sliders for Exposure, Contrast, Shadows, Saturation, Noise Reduction, Sharpness, etc. You can copy a set of changes from one photo to others.

Also new are several printing options that are fantastic. You can choose a contact sheet or portrait, change the layout, add matts and borders in a variety of colors and styles. The only limitation on the finished product will be the quality of your printer and paper.

So that's it. The iLife '08 suite gives you 5 hard-working applications (6 if you count iMovie HD) for $79 list. Each has some shortcomings but overall, it's a bargain.