Strategic insights
iLife 06 - damn...

A few weeks back I wrote a rather favorable review about parts of iLife 06. I said something like "amazingly", "most impressive" and other really nice phrases you would use for very good products. I even went to the extent of defending the product against fellow developers who did not think so highly of it.

But... err... I might have been a bit too hasty in writing all those things - because the actual product is rather undone.

In my defense, and because I feel I have to have one, I never actually tested the product (it wasn't available at the time). I watched Steve Jobs present it, and I asked people I know what they felt about it. But my review was written only 3 days after Steve Jobs presentation - far too soon to make any sound conclusions.

I feel really terrible about that, and I am sorry. I really should have taken a closer look.

The concept

What I did like about iLife 06, and still very much do, is the concept it is built upon.

• It's the concept of being able to create without worrying about the tools.
• It is the concept of binding products together with internet enabled methods - the whole interoperability side of it.
• It is the concept of extending your product to other people without the need for specialized viewers.
• It is the concept of using what you have made, without thinking about how to get to it.
• It is the concept of hiding the technology for everyone and focus on creating and sharing.
• It is the concept of making websites as simple as your refrigerator.

All these things are something we should all try to do.

I still believe that iLife is built upon these things; it is just a shame that Apple released it before it could live up to all the promises.

One promise was when Steve Jobs prominently promoted photocasting, a thing that really seemed astounding (and the concept really is). Apple even stated on their website: "Oh, and if Aunt Sophia doesn't have iPhoto or she has a computer that runs Windows, she can still subscribe to your Photocasts via any RSS-compatible browser or RSS reader."

But what you will see in many Windows based RSS readers (including Firefox and IE7) is this:

Damn... Apple, I did not expect this from you guys.