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iLife ’09 Updates Zap Bugs

Clearing the decks in preparation for the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has released updates to the entire iLife ’09 suite other than iWeb. Most of the applications see only minor changes, though iPhoto ’09 garners a number of welcome bug fixes.

iPhoto ’09 8.0.3 — Boasting either the most changes or just the best release notes, the 8.0.3 update for iPhoto ’09 fixes a variety of issues related to Faces, Places, Web publishing, and slideshows – the main new features in iPhoto ’09.

With Faces, the update fixes a number of extremely tweaky bugs that could make using Faces frustrating, including face detection boxes reappearing after being deleted, incorrect suggested matches, and Rotate not working on magnified photos accessed from the Faces corkboard.

Similarly, the fixes to Places are largely for things that most users wouldn’t have experienced, but could have caused consternation. Geotags are now properly attached to photos sent via email, and can be kept out of photos exported as maximum quality JPEGs. Other changes refine the behavior of the Add New Place window, which was previously a bit flaky in my experience.

On the Web publishing side of things, Facebook syncing now syncs updated email addresses when syncing albums containing photos with named faces. And two nasty MobileMe bugs have been squashed, one that could cause a named person to be removed from the Faces corkboard when deleting an album containing that person’s face from your MobileMe Gallery, and another that could cause published movies to be removed from a MobileMe album after resyncing the album with iPhoto.

Settings for existing slideshows are now properly preserved when upgrading from iPhoto 6. The update also fixes a problem that could prevent a DRM-protected song from playing back in a slideshow, if it followed another DRM-protected song. Add another few bucks to the societal cost of DRM technologies…

The iPhoto 8.0.3 update is 96 MB via either Software Update or as a standalone download.

iMovie ’09 8.0.3 — With iMovie 8.0.3, we have much less to go on from Apple, with the basic comment being that the update “addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues.” The release notes do mention that the problems fixed revolve around the following:

  • Support for 720p AVCHD Lite cameras and camcorders
  • Deleting a beat marker no longer modifies the project duration
  • The Video Effects palette now uses the correct thumbnail for still images

However, Jeff Carlson details the update’s undocumented changes in “iMovie ’09 8.0.3 Adds New Hidden Features” (2009-06-05).

The iMovie 8.0.3 update weighs in at 35.2 MB via Software Update or as a standalone download.

iDVD ’09 7.0.4 — All we know about iDVD 7.0.4 is that it “addresses general compatibility issues and fixes an issue where iDVD is unable to add a title/comment to an image in the image details list.”

iDVD barely changed at all in iLife ’09, so it’s not surprising that there aren’t many bugs associated with it. (For whatever reason, Apple didn’t fix an obvious bug that prevents the iMovie project name from becoming the name of the iDVD project; instead, the title that appears in iDVD is just “movie”.) It’s a 27.5 MB update and is available both via Software Update and as a standalone download.

GarageBand ’09 5.0.2 — The 5.0.2 update for GarageBand ’09 “addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues.” Specifically, the update improves the purchasing process for Artist Lessons in the GarageBand Lesson Store, and addresses issues in accessing Jam Packs installed in the loop browser. Recommended for all users of GarageBand ’09, and required for using the Lessons Store, the update is available from the Apple Support Downloads page, and via Software Update. It’s a 108 MB download.

iLife Support 9.0.3 — The iLife Support 9.0.3 update provides system-wide resources that are shared by iLife and other applications, and this particular update “addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability for the Media Browser, and fixes a number of other minor issues.” In particular, the update:

  • Resolved memory leaks for improved performance of the Media Browser
  • Corrected issues to display custom folders when added to the Media Browser
  • Maintained correct image dates when importing from iPhoto to Aperture

As you might expect from that last bullet point, the update is recommended specifically for users of iLife ’09, iWork ’09, and Aperture 2. It’s a 55.1 MB download, available via Software update or as a standalone download.

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.6 — Finally, continuing Apple’s ongoing process of adding raw file format support for new cameras, this update enables Aperture 2, iPhoto ’09, and iPhoto ’08 to handle raw image files from the Canon EOS 500D, Canon Rebel T1i, Canon EOS Kiss Digital X3, Nikon D5000, and Olympus E-30. It’s a 3.9 MB download from either Software Update or Apple’s Web site.

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