GarageBand Review and iLife '04 Arrives

Check this review. Says some good things about GB.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/7716103.htm

Originally posted by ChrisH3677
Check this review. Says some good things about GB.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/7716103.htm

Wow, I guess people with 900mhz G3 ibooks won't be able to enjoy this app, if the article is accurate.
I can't see why this guy is suggesting that a G3 can only handle a max of a couple of complex tracks though. How can it be so heavy?

$29 edu discount -- not too shabby. I can't wait to check it out.

And his QuickTime audio samples of his songs ......... I thought they sounded pretty good!!

Originally posted by gileschin
And his QuickTime audio samples of his songs ......... I thought they sounded pretty good!!

Ugh.... If nothing else makes me shell out for iLife, it'll be to get GB to determine whether the limitations were the software of the composer.

When I tested GB at MWSF I was impressed with most of the app, but the effects left much to be desired in terms of flexibility. This is another feature I can't wait to explore.

PS - I know a lot of people are already downloading iLife. I hope everyone who does will either buy it when it hits the shelves or break their leg. $50 is not more than you can afford to save for such a suite. Innovation comes at a cost (R&D). If you don't pay for software than you have no right to expect innovation.

Dan

I'm sure processing loops is CPU-intensive. Each little recording must be mathematically re-processed to match the current key/pitch and tempo.

Normally, slowing down a sound makes the pitch lower, and speeding it up makes the pitch higher. But a loop app like this needs to set the pitch and tempo INDEPENDENTLY. That takes processor power to re-build the waveform on the fly at high quality.

Luckily, my 700 Mhz eMac showed no signs of choking on as many tracks and effects as I could throw at it in Soundtrack.

A fair-to-middlin' job of reviewing, IMHO. He mostly talked about usability, and didn't talk much about a feature list. I wish he had known enough to outline the reasons why someone wouldn't be satisfied with GB, for instance.

The songs he created and posted are a good sample of what we'll be seeing all over the place in the weeks and months ahead: a lot of mediocre music and a lot of just plain awful music. I'm not complaining or trying to be elitist -- just pointing out the inevitable. Kinda like when Pagemaker and the laser printer first came out in '86; all of a sudden everybody was a DTP expert, and you saw the most awful stuff popping up everywhere. Now that GB brings recording/looping capability to the masses, everyone will be a composer/performer. Sort of.

Originally posted by alset
PS - I know a lot of people are already downloading iLife. I hope everyone who does will either buy it when it hits the shelves or break their leg. $50 is not more than you can afford to save for such a suite. Innovation comes at a cost (R&D). If you don't pay for software than you have no right to expect innovation.

My copy is already on the FedEx truck. Truly, if someone can't afford $50 for this sweet suite, they've got no business having a computer in the first place.

Since I don't see '04 updates on Apple's site, I'm assuming you're talking about illegal downloaders. If so, that ticks me off somethin' fierce. Leeches!

Originally posted by gileschin
And his QuickTime audio samples of his songs ......... I thought they sounded pretty good!!

Hmmmm. If those sounded good, well, you're going to be in hog heaven pretty soon. I predict we'll be hearing very similar-sounding "music" everywhere . . .

Whoops -- please ignore the card-carrying curmudgeon who wrote the above. Fact is, a lot of people will have a lot of fun with GB. :)

David Pogue has reviewed GarageBand for the New York Times--he loves it!

Here's the Google Link.