iLife 2006 First Impressions
I bought iLife 2006 for creating podcasts, but apparently it's ONLY works for creating iTunes enhanced podcasts. As far as I can tell, you cannot export an MP3 from GarageBand, only an AAC (m4a) file. I tried converting that m4a file to an MP3 using QuickTime Pro, but it generated an error, so I exported it as a WAV, opened said WAV back into QuickTime and then finally exported an MP3.
Now I have to go into iWeb and put in a link to the MP3 file. If I don't do that anyone who doesn't have QuickTime installed will get a "QuickTime" required icon which Apple dutifully includes with every iWeb published podcast. I personally think that everyone should get QuickTime, I just don't want them spending precious time that would have been spent listening to my podcast downloading and installing QuickTime. They should get QuickTime because it's great and Apple convinced them to get it without using my podcast to do it.
But that's not the worst of it, the AAC files that GarageBand generates are not encoded with the correct id3 tags. GarageBand has a place to put in descriptions, but they don't show up in the id3 tags of exported file, only in the text of the iWeb page. That means that if someone subscribes to your podcast with iTunes, they will not benefit from the descriptions you typed into GarageBand. You will have to export the podcast to iTunes, copy and paste the descriptions into the AAC file there, and then move that file back into the exported iWeb folder. Whew. That is a MAJOR oversight, which I hope Apple fixes soon in a free update.
Once that is fixed, I can recommend GarageBand for creating iTunes enhanced versions of your podcast, it's really easy to put in the artwork and links as an added benefit to those who have QuickTime and iTunes installed.
While iWeb has the some of the most aesthetically pleasing site templates in the industry, it creates strange, ugly URLs and does so unnecessarily.
www.sitename.com/podcastname/934518DA-8AF3-400A-ACD6-E63855917489.html
I can't believe Steve Jobs let that one get by. Most, if not all, modern blogging tools create a nice Google-friendly, human-readable URL, and they organize your files by some method that is human readable too, like having folders for month and year:
www.switchblog.com/2006/01/2006-stevenote.html
ahhhh, much better.
Another unfortunate omission to iWeb that it has no one-step publishing mechanism without a .Mac account. Without .Mac you have to publish to folder and use separate ftp software to publish. I have Panic Software's Transmit FTP program, so I'll just create a Automator workflow that does the same thing, but ftp should really be part of the program. Once again, EVERY modern blogging and web design tool has it, it's expected.
The reason it's not included is that Apple really wants you to buy .Mac and for many people who don't have their own domain names, .Mac is a perfect solution.
For those of us who do have our own domain names, and do consulting for non-techies who have their own domain names, .Mac is simply not an option so we wouldn't buy it anyway. iWeb could have ftp and not cannibalize sales of .Mac at all.
I look forward to trying iPhoto and the rest of the iLife Apps.
Now I have to go into iWeb and put in a link to the MP3 file. If I don't do that anyone who doesn't have QuickTime installed will get a "QuickTime" required icon which Apple dutifully includes with every iWeb published podcast. I personally think that everyone should get QuickTime, I just don't want them spending precious time that would have been spent listening to my podcast downloading and installing QuickTime. They should get QuickTime because it's great and Apple convinced them to get it without using my podcast to do it.
But that's not the worst of it, the AAC files that GarageBand generates are not encoded with the correct id3 tags. GarageBand has a place to put in descriptions, but they don't show up in the id3 tags of exported file, only in the text of the iWeb page. That means that if someone subscribes to your podcast with iTunes, they will not benefit from the descriptions you typed into GarageBand. You will have to export the podcast to iTunes, copy and paste the descriptions into the AAC file there, and then move that file back into the exported iWeb folder. Whew. That is a MAJOR oversight, which I hope Apple fixes soon in a free update.
Once that is fixed, I can recommend GarageBand for creating iTunes enhanced versions of your podcast, it's really easy to put in the artwork and links as an added benefit to those who have QuickTime and iTunes installed.
While iWeb has the some of the most aesthetically pleasing site templates in the industry, it creates strange, ugly URLs and does so unnecessarily.
www.sitename.com/podcastname/934518DA-8AF3-400A-ACD6-E63855917489.html
I can't believe Steve Jobs let that one get by. Most, if not all, modern blogging tools create a nice Google-friendly, human-readable URL, and they organize your files by some method that is human readable too, like having folders for month and year:
www.switchblog.com/2006/01/2006-stevenote.html
ahhhh, much better.
Another unfortunate omission to iWeb that it has no one-step publishing mechanism without a .Mac account. Without .Mac you have to publish to folder and use separate ftp software to publish. I have Panic Software's Transmit FTP program, so I'll just create a Automator workflow that does the same thing, but ftp should really be part of the program. Once again, EVERY modern blogging and web design tool has it, it's expected.
The reason it's not included is that Apple really wants you to buy .Mac and for many people who don't have their own domain names, .Mac is a perfect solution.
For those of us who do have our own domain names, and do consulting for non-techies who have their own domain names, .Mac is simply not an option so we wouldn't buy it anyway. iWeb could have ftp and not cannibalize sales of .Mac at all.
I look forward to trying iPhoto and the rest of the iLife Apps.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home