Making use of the Apple iLife application suite can help home computer users make the most of their time and energy. Using the iLife suite of applications allows everyday people to build websites, make music, organize photographs, and burn high quality DVDs of the movies they just created.

The Apple iLife package has allowed the average user to create amazing and creative works. No more are the days when a functional and good-looking website must be built by code alone. No longer does the teenage musician have to beg for extravagant software to mix their latest musical escapade. The best part? iLife comes pre-installed on all Apple systems. Here are just some of the things you can do:

1. Use iLife software to sort and perform basic edits on your photographs

2. Build a slick looking website with iWeb

3. Turn those family movies into a DVD complete with special effects

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find the latest version of Mac iLife suite

If you're running an Apple system, then you probably have iLife. The question is whether or not you have the most recent version of the software. If you don't have the latest version, and want the newest features, then it's time to upgrade.

I recommend: The first place to check is always the Apple Store. Since Apple makes the software, they always have the latest version available. New Egg is also a great resource for the Apple iLife. Office software is also available through New Egg for Apple systems.

Use iLife to share your special moments

One of the best things about iLife is the ability it gives you to share your moments with others. From creating a website showcasing various product photos or taking the candid footage from the latest corporate event and turning into a professional looking advertisement, iLife has what you need. What's more, if you don't like the templates that Apple offers in their software titles, you can always find more online or create your own.

I recommend: One of the best resources for templates is iWeb Template. They offer hundreds of templates for all kinds of themes. If you're making a DVD with iDVD, check out iDVD Theme Pak for a great selection of themes not found preinstalled on the iLife suite.

Edit photographs easily with Apple iLife software

The iPhoto aspect of iLife offer photographers of all levels the ability to organize and perform basic photo editing tasks. Using iPhoto can save your company a significant amount of money when you compare the costs of iPhoto and Photoshop or another high-end photo editor. The editing features it offers is enough to enhance most photos and clean up most blemishes.

I recommend: It's true that iPhoto is a fairly easy to use piece of software, however there are aspects of it that are markedly more advanced. To help you make the most of iPhoto, there are a number of tutorials online. Atomic Learning offers a whole course of iPhoto tutorials that include nearly every feature. Marrutt Software Training offers tutorial CDs for sale and some handy online tutorials.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To create great art, you don't necessarily need all the fancy software that costs huge amounts of money. Remember that people were taking amazing photographs, composing unthinkably beautiful music and making movies more than 100 years ago without any computers, let alone the features available in iLife. Create things that are meaningful to you.