Apple Computer's iLife application suite is easy enough to figure out that you don't really need a manual to get started. Once you get beyond the basics, however, a little help goes a long way in making you an iLife pro, and The Macintosh iLife '06 by Jim Heid is one of the best all-in-one iLife primers I've found.

The Macintosh iLife '06 from Peachpit Press covers iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb. In addition to showing you how to use each application's features, Mr. Heid also gives you real world project examples that make it easier to see how specific techniques can benefit you.

Instead of presenting page after page of information, each chapter is broken up into two-page tutorials, complete with full-color illustrations. In addition to application specific how-tos, you'll also get some pointers on image editing, working with digital cameras and recording devices, tips on improving your techniques, and more.

If you need to photograph a panorama, for example, check out page 216. Typically, a panorama involves more than one camera shot, and this two-page tip explains how to take the shots and stitch them together in terms that real people, and not just digital photography pros, can understand.

I found every chapter to be full of great little information nuggets, and many of those gems were new to me. Well, almost every chapter. The iWeb chapter covered the basics of using Apple's new Web site creation application, but it didn't delve deeper like the rest of the book does. In fairness, you can't dig too much deeper into iWeb, but I would have loved to see something about working with multiple Web sites, and maybe just a little bit more on publishing Web sites outside of the .Mac world.

The Bottom Line
The Macintosh iLife '06 is a well organized book with everything you need to get up and running in Apple's iLife '06 applications. By covering the important stuff in two-page chunks, what otherwise could have been an overwhelming amount of information becomes approachable, friendly, and easily digestible. But even though everything you need to know to get your iWeb-built Web site up and running is there, I wish there was just a little bit more.