MacRumors

iLife '09 was officially released yesterday and people are getting their first experiences with Apple's latest updates to iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband. Apple has detailed the biggest changes in iLife '09 in a series of Guided Tours:

- iPhoto '09 Guided Tour
- iMovie '09 Guided Tour

A few early impressions include:

- Mixed reactions about iPhoto's new facial recognition feature with some that are having better results than others.
- Apple's iPhoto facial recognition does not officially support pets such as cats and dogs, but Roberto Baldwin managed to get iPhoto to recognize and tag his cats. The results don't seem consistent, however, as at least one of our own forum members was unsuccessful at the same task.
- Macworld and Beau Colburn both have posted example videos of iMovie's new video stabilization feature.

The end result seems to add a certain weight to the video, in that it has the feel of being shot with a heavier camera that wouldnt shake so much in your hand, versus the superlight Mino. Its not going to eliminate all shakes, but it can certainly minimize them in the right situations.

- iMovie HD 6 has been removed from Apple's site, though a direct download [link] is still accessible for now.

Apple has announced that Mark Papermaster will begin work at Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering on April 24th, 2009.

Apple today announced that Mark Papermaster will be coming to Apple as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, on April 24. Papermaster, who comes to Apple from IBM, will lead Apple's iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams.

Papermaster was recruited to Apple from IBM in October 2008, but IBM filed a lawsuit to block the hiring, claiming that Papermaster had violated his employment contract with IBM by leaving to work for a competitor. A U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction in early November that has prevented Papermaster from beginning work at Apple until the lawsuit was resolved.

In today's press release, Apple reports that the litigation between Papermaster and IBM has been resolved, clearing the way for Papermaster to assume his position at Apple. Papermaster replaces former iPod Division chief Tony Fadell, who stepped down in early November 2008, although he remains an advisor to Apple.

Apple has released a 2.2.1 update for the iPhone today. Available from iTunes, the update relays the following improvements:

iPhone 2.2.1 Software Update

This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
- Improved general stability of Safari
- Fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll

Products compatible with this software update:
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G

A 2.2.1 update for the iPod Touch is also available.

Early Notes

- 2.2.1 (Build 5H11)
- Modem Firmware 02.30.03
- Emoji "hacks" still seem to work.

Macworld reports that the first high-definition video downloads have appeared on the UK iTunes Store. The first two episodes of the fifth season of the hit TV show Lost are now available at a cost of 2.49 per episode, with a season pass available for 41.99. Macworld also notes that a free "Lost Starter Kit" is available in high-definition as well.

High-definition TV show downloads were introduced as part of iTunes 8 at Apple's "Let's Rock" media event, but availability has been limited to the US iTunes Store since that time.

The mammoth 358 page patent application incorporates patent applications filed as far back as September 2006 and has been previously dubbed "The iPhone Patent" by some. The application details the implementation of Multi-Touch on the iPhone alongside numerous diagrams of the device itself:

A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command.

Steve Jobs is prominently listed amongst the inventors along with other notable individuals such as Scott Forstall and Wayne Westerman.

Apple announced this morning that iLife '09 will start becoming available on January 27th at Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized retailers. Several readers, however, have been able to pick up early copies at local Best Buy stores. One reader details that you must simply ask for in-store pickup if available:

I'm an inventory manager at Best Buy and we should be getting today. Some of the east coast stores already have it. Go to www.bestbuy.com, type in ILIFE 09 in the search bar, add the item to your cart and pick STORE PICKUP and then search by state. Maine has some already and Penn.

UPS or fedex normally arrives between 10am and 12pm, so call you stores and have them check with their inventory dept to receive this product asap.

iLife '09 brings major updates to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand and is priced at $79.

Our Mac Applications forum will handle ongoing questions, discussion and troubleshooting for the software.

Update: A few reports indicate that some Best Buys will not give out copies early at the request of Apple.

AppleInsider relays the latest analyst report from Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu claims that the iMac delays could relate to both technical and strategic decisions from Apple.

First, the analyst claims that even at this late date, Apple is still grappling with core design decisions:

Apple is in the midst of figuring out whether to power the new iMac with Intel quad-core processors or more high-powered dual-core processors with larger caches"

Wu also relays circulating speculation that the iMac cooling systems may see a redesign to deal with the higher heat dissipation of the quad-core processors. From a strategic perspective, Apple is said to be debating the use of Quad-Core processors to avoid cannibalization of the low end Mac Pro, but AppleInsider points out that this reasoning makes little sense given that Apple recently admitted that their desktop business is "primarily iMac".

Unfortunately, Wu's report reads as if it were based on circulating speculation about the iMac rather than any particular insight into the new machine's manufacturing process. Our tracking of Wu's previous predictions has shown a very poor track record.

Several MacRumors readers are reporting that their orders for iLife '09, which had been announced at MacWorld as scheduled for a late January release, have been shipped.

iLife '09 brings major updates to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, and also offers iDVD and an updated version of iWeb. It is priced at $79 for a single license or $99 for a family pack that permits installation on up to five computers in a single household. Users who purchased new or refurbished Macs on or after January 6th, 2009 may qualify for Apple's $9.95 Up-to-Date program.

Update: Apple has posted a press release announcing that iLife '09 will officially be available on Tuesday, January 27th.