ilife 09 - Gizmodo

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Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces
iPhoto 8.0.2 Update Improves Recognition, Geotagging; Still Sees Faces in Cookie Dough
iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
What a $5 GarageBand Artist Lesson Actually Includes
iMovie '09 Review
What To Know About iPhoto '09 Face Detection and Recognition
iPhoto's Facial Recognition Feature Works on Cats
iLife '09 Shipping Now For Some People? Hits Torrents in Three, Two...
As Macworld Fades Into CES...
iPhoto '09 Video Tour

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Nick
04/06/09

In reply to Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces
@ Duff-Lad: what's with the tough guy comments. True Duff Guy would be more laid back.
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bosskev
04/06/09

In reply to Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces
I watched the entire Flickr slideshow, mesmerized. I came away with two conclusions:

1) There sure are some silly mistaken results!

2) Most people take gawdawful terrible photos! C'mon, folks, learn how to use a camera fercryinoutloud.
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ScottRose
04/06/09

@bosskev: On the other hand, there are a couple of good "wins" for the app:

- The reflection of the girl's face in the glass below the monkey-thing.

- The guy in the mask from that Tom Cruise movie (can't think of the damn name -- would have been a perfect reference. You know the one, with all the random sex and boobage...). I know a mask technically ain't a face, but I can hardly fault the app.
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bosskev
04/06/09

@ScottRose: "...random sex and boobage...)"

Eyes Wide Shut
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ScottRose
04/06/09

@bosskev: Indeed!
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Monty
04/06/09

In reply to Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces
It is nice to see Apple can count themselves in the game of photo collections of bugs in their product. Still, would much rather have my product nitpicked for this than a BSOD or RROD, but hey - that's just me.
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ryanbrenner
04/06/09

In reply to Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces
iPhoto? more like i****o, i'll keep picasa + mspaint, thanks
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switchblade saints
04/06/09

@ryanbrenner:

mspaint? Seriously?

I didnt even know anyone used this still
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sojrner
04/06/09

@switchblade saints: True story... I just started volunteering at the local middle school with a "technology" grant they received. At the first meeting I attended, the coordinator showed a quick video wherein some students used MS Paint to "draw" a volcano. One of the teachers was amazed - floored even! - at this fascinating, new program. His only concern was, "It's really part of Windows? When can we get training on this program?" It took all of my energy to keep from laughing hysterically.

[Sigh]

I only hope he's not typical of the majority of teachers, but won't be surprised if the opposite turns out to be true.
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bosskev
04/06/09

@sojrner: "...some students used MS Paint... "It's really part of Windows? When can we get training on this program?"

Wait. Are you saying that MS Paint comes with Windows? I had not realized this incredible added value. I mean, I knew about Solitaire, but this just seals the deal!

* lists MacBook Pro on Craigslist *

* contacts Laptop Hunters *
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ScottRose
04/06/09

I'm still trying to figure out what he meant by i****o.

My working theory is that he wanted to think of something clever, and then couldn't. So he just made it look as if he cursed cleverly by sticking some asterisks in there.
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bosskev
04/02/09

In reply to iPhoto 8.0.2 Update Improves Recognition, Geotagging; Still Sees Faces in Cookie Dough
The question on my mind--as I am sure it is for many--is how good is this update at recognizing panda bears? Previous versions were apparently less than stellar, often confusing one lovable ursine for another.
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Wilson
04/02/09

@bosskev: a panda is not a bear. closer to a racoon.
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bosskev
04/02/09

@wilson_c: "closer to a racoon."

Technically, perhaps you are right. But a big raccoon. Even, perhaps, an overweight big raccoon. Which leads to the semantic dilemma of accurate vs. preferred nomenclature. Consider this: which is more cuddly?

1) a panda bear

2) a frickin' humongous fat-ass panda raccoon

I rest my case.
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OMG! Ponies!
04/02/09

In reply to iPhoto 8.0.2 Update Improves Recognition, Geotagging; Still Sees Faces in Cookie Dough
Missing faces you say. That reminds me of a story:

As I recall, this is the 10th anniversary. And remember kids, tell 'em "Large Marge Sent Ya!"

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Takamofo
04/03/09

@OMG! Ponies!: That part scared me D:
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Jacksonville12
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
I have to say I am quite addicted to the places thing, and the faces thing is very addicting. It takes a couple of cycles to get it working really well, but I think it works as advertised.
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@Jacksonville12: Yeah, that's what I found too. My only real beef is with face detection—how many photos are totally being left out?
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adamrice
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
One of my longstanding gripes with iPhoto has been the inability to apply/edit tags in batches. Tagging did take a big step forward with iPhoto '08. Has batch tagging been addressed in '09?
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@adamrice: Well, when it comes to Faces and Places tagging, yeah—this whole piece is about managing batches of photos for those kinds of tags. As far as text tags go, frankly, I don't use them and now with this better stuff, I think they're becoming obsolete.
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tharid
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
One wonders if you had pictures of different actors, say Alec Guiness and Ewan McGregor, playing the same character, say, Obi-Wan Kenobi, if iPhoto '09 could recognize the character as one person, or recognize the actor as two different people and identify them thus.

Whew.
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@tharid: I'm sure it would automatically say that neither bloke was as damned handsome as the dude pictured above with the Obi-Wan doll.
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artbrana
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
Hello i have a question, how exactly can my photos be tagged when i take a picture from the iphone? is it automatic?
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@artbrana: Yes, all photos from iPhones (even first-gen ones, using whatever Maps triangulation capability they have) are automatically tagged, not just with date and all that, but with some kind of geographical data. They "just work" in iPhoto.
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flamingmenudo
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
Does iPhoto store the actual photos in any logical way in case you want to stop using iPhoto? I have years of photos stored in year/month folder structure and I want to keep it that way. I look at the photo library and old version created and it was batshit crazy.
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Reapman
01/30/09

@flamingmenudo:

In short not that I know of, which really pissed me off. Now that I've basically sucked it up and integrated my photo's in it, NOW Google releases Picasa on the Mac -.-

Same with iTunes really, have to use THEIR folder structure. The only way I know to get photo's recognizable is to export the photos again, storing them elsewhere.. this is how I get my photo's displayed on my Linux box.

Mac is great, as long as you only use Mac and only think like Mac.

If I'm wrong I'd love for someone to prove me wrong.
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MrBlahBlah
01/30/09

@Reapman: you can avoid this, and with itunes as well. prefs>>advanced, and uncheck anything that has to do with copying your media or managing it for you. but you gotta do that first thing when you use the program, otherwise you will create a mess for yourself.
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cddude
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
i keep all my photos on an external hard drive categorized in folders based on event (for example -> path My Book/Photo Album. Then under Photo Album each event is a folder (2008-11-01 Disney in Orlando, FL) etc.
How can I incorporate my existing library of pics on my external into iPhoto to accomplish the following...

1. Keep pictures always centralized on my external drive including new pictures (storing them first on the external and then importing into iPhoto to preserve the same structure).
2. Avoid any doubles being made when editing in iPhoto.
3. Keep my images free to be used with Photoshop.

Basically my goal is to advantage of the organization (and other) features in iPhoto for my day to day life and yet keep them free for Photoshop.
I used a pro DSLR and am growing in my skills. I have several GB of photos spanning 10+ yrs.

I've avoided using iPhoto until I can know how to streamline this whole thing.
HELP!!!!!
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pinolo
01/30/09

@cddude:

Looks like you would be more an "Aperture" user than an "iPhoto" one. Aperture let's you do all what you mention plus:

- non destructive editing

- easy RAW editing (perfect for your dSLR)

Aperture has plug-ins, some of which are free, that allow you to have some (underline SOME) of the functionality now found in iPhoto. For instance Maperture, which is free, allows you to geotag all of your pictures and show them on a map. The map is, though, nowhere as nicely integrated in the rest of the software like it is in iPhoto.

There also are plugins, free, for exporting in Flickr and Facebook.

I am an Aperture user and quite happy with it. The advanced editing functions allow me never to use (or very rarely so) Photoshop and the ability to export pictures to sites such as flickr is also very useful.

The things I miss most, now available in iPhoto, are:

- nicely and better integrated maps (and the ability to print them in books)

- face recognition (it is true you can create keywords with the names of the people appearing in it, but you have to tag each photo and this can be quite a job).

I can however, suggest you download the trial for Aperture and see if it suits you.
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cddude
01/30/09

@pinolo: thanks for the suggestion.. however, if i decided to stick with my iPhoto/Photoshop setup how can i do the above with that setup like I asked? i also have my wife to consider who has a standard point and shoot and is not as adept to the technical side of photography. iPhoto would be best for her.
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MrBlahBlah
01/30/09

@cddude: Go to prefernces>>advanced. un-select "copy photos to my iphoto library on import" and unceck any other option that reads like "manage my iphoto library for me"

Then, using finder, drag the files from your external into iphoto (or over the icon in the dock), and it will import the pictures into events based on the names of the folders on your external. just DO NOT edit ANYTHING with iphoto, other than maybe geotagging info and faces info, because then it will make duplicates. that "feature" you cannot disable.
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jimboman
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
Money-saving tip - iLife 09 is $79, BUT it's a whole program (not an upgrade), so you should be able to sell your previous stand-alone copy (if you have one) for about $30-$40. That's what I did...
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madog
01/30/09

@jimboman: for the lazier, head to your local college bookstore and buy it for $39. You can even pay some student $5 to show his student ID and still come out ahead.
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Richard Stovall
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
Uhhhh, pretty sure (sarcasm) previous version of iPhoto have automatic redeye removal. In fact, I was literally correcting red eye on some photos in iPhoto 08 before I read this review. I was actually in the dark about the manual method until just a few weeks ago!

Totally with you on the facebook/MobileMe thing. Facebook is for friends, MobileMe is for grandparents.
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@Richard Stovall: If it didn't have face detection, how could it know where to drop the black dots? I think you could get close to the eye and it would look for an eye in that vicinity or something—occasionally to ridiculous results—but until now, you had to point and click.
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dirigoDIGITAL
01/30/09

In reply to iPhoto '09: The Definitive Review and Tip Sheet
"There's a slim-to-nil chance you will use either to tag every last one of your photos. "

That's a challenge. I accept.
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Wilson Rothman
01/30/09

@dirigoDIGITAL: I'm gonna apply an ex-post-facto minimum of 4,000 pictures on that challenge, but since that's pretty average for iPhoto users, I think you will manage.
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