<![CDATA[Gizmodo: ilife 2009]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: ilife 2009]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/ilife2009 http://gizmodo.com/tag/ilife2009 <![CDATA[Flickr Group Collects All The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces]]> As you probably know, iPhoto's facial recognition feature likes to spot visages in odd places. Like a ball of cookie dough that looked like a panda. Now, there's a place for even more delightful mistakes.

The Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces group already has 86 screen captures in its pool, which I'm sure is going to grow. And by the looks of it, iPhoto is as keen on seeing faces in mountains, piles of rocks and at the bottom of an empty glass as the most superstitious astrological devotee. Or Virgin-Mary-in-Toast spotter.

[Things iPhoto Thinks Are Faces - Flickr, gallery credits: ruudvaneijk, maczydeco, edu Mac nation, Daragh, iafroman, bgmb42, bgmb42-1, bgmb42-2, bgmb42-3 - Thanks, Jimbo!]

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<![CDATA[Did You Enjoy The Keynote Any Less Without Steve Jobs?]]> Aside from the actual speculated products, the big news surrounding the Apple Macworld keynote was that Steve Jobs would be out sick. But as I refreshed the Gizmodo liveblog, I wondered, did it matter?

I'm a sucker for any Apple keynote, whether I'm in the stands with the press or F5'ing away at my browser like most of you. There's a certain hypnotic timing to them, a clean presentation and a controlled, meticulous unveiling process that makes even the less exciting products seem monumental in scope.

During today's last Apple Macworld keynote, not having been there, I actually forgot at times that Steve Jobs wasn't presenting with Phil Schiller taking his place instead. Indeed, from the text/content alone, I wouldn't have even noticed. The presentation style was intact—from the clean slides to the dramatic structure, it was an Apple keynote, even if it wasn't Steve's Apple keynote. But I want to know, do you feel the same way?

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<![CDATA[iPhoto '09 Video Tour]]> Here are a few best features of iPhoto '09, including Faces and Places, which recognizes people in your albums and the locations you took those photos in.

Cool stuff: separating your photos by people, which you can then scrub (move your mouse) over and see all the images of them you have. iPhoto is smart enough to try and recognize which people are which with semi-decent accuracy, and you'll have to confirm each one as you go. Once you're done, you have a corkboard full of Polaroids of the people you know.

Geolocation is great for travelers, and if you go to a lot of different countries, your "Places" section will have a rich map made up of all the pins you've been to. You can fill in location data yourself, or if you have an iPhone or other GPS-enabled camera, it's automatically filled in for you.

Other cool stuff is Facebook and Flickr integration (includes tagging as well), plus themed slideshows. [iPhoto]

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<![CDATA[Where's the Mac Mini? And Other Rumor Smashes!]]> If Wired, TUAW and Macrumors are independently reporting a Mac Mini is on its way, we know it exists. Evidently, we're just not going to see it at Macworld. So what about other rumors?

From our original Macworld 2009 rumor roundup, here's the rundown on how all the rumors panned out.


Came True:
iLife and iWork '09 (with iWork in the cloud)
DRM-Free iTunes
17-inch Macbook Pro

Didn't Come True:
New Mac Mini
Updated 30-inch Cinema Displays

Didn't Come True Stretches:
iPod Touch Jumbo/XL/Pro/Netbook/Thing
iPhone nano
Home Server
Snow Leopard Availability
New iMacs

Seeing as many of the rumors were an admitted wild shot at best, we'd put the real rumor batting average around .400, even if it's closer to .266 on paper.

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<![CDATA[Testing the iPhone's New Wireless iTunes Downloads]]> Today iPhone users can download music from iTunes not just through their computers or Wi-Fi, but AT&T's 3G network. So how does it work? Testing it in Vegas, we can say rocky but functional.

I tried downloading Radiohead's Bodysnatchers in an area providing 3 bars of 3G reception. With no fanfare, I was able to enter the iTunes store without a Wi-Fi hotspot and purchase the song.

So far, so good. No firmware updates needed or anything!

Then the download stalled for a moment. Then the iPhone pulled that classic "you're on 3G, oops, you're really on EDGE" maneuver. I wondered what would happen. Would the download stall and wait for 3G? Or would it slowly trudge on?

It trudged on. I guess that's both a good an a bad thing. While I was able to download the song, it took me nearly 10 minutes to grab the 3.7MB file. Wilson Rothman ran the same test from nearby and was also booted to EDGE, though the download only took him about 5 minutes.

Overall, I'm glad that truly wireless iTunes downloads are here. Hopefully more and better 3G coverage will make them live up to the generally pleasant iTunes experience. [Gizmodo Macworld 2009 Coverage]

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<![CDATA[Sting Teaches You to Play Guitar in Garageband '09]]> In one of the odder announcements during the Macworld keynote, Sting, along with others like Norah Jones, will teach you to play guitar and piano in Garageband '09.

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<![CDATA[Apple Makes DRM Deal with Big Three Music Labels, Plus 3G Downloads Coming?]]> According to CNET sources, Apple has signed deals with Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner to bring flexibly-priced DRM-free music to iTunes while simultaneously introducing music downloads to the iPhone's 3G service.

While EMI is already offering DRM-free music on iTunes, they represent only 10% of the music market. With "the big three" on board, a majority of iTunes' music could be DRM-free. But the new pricing options may be the real cost of it all to consumers. While catalog titles will now start at 79 cents, the studios will be able to price music above 99 cents (to undisclosed amounts)—though CNET's source says that all music will eventually return to 79 cents.

So while it sounds like Apple finally caved to the music industry, at least consumers may get something decent out of it. Hopefully we'll hear about it all today at the keynote. [CNET]

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