Apple has “revised its music-creation program, GarageBand, to be more podcast friendly, not only to sell more Macintosh computers but to make sure podcasters have an easier way to produce their programs,” Benny Evangelista writes for The San Francisco Chronicle. “I tested review copies of the new GarageBand 3 recently, while putting together several Chronicle podcasts, and found the program provides a nearly complete package of tools that average podcasters would need to create, and jazz up, their productions.”
“Of course, the catch is that GarageBand 3 is only available for Macintosh users, either by buying a new Mac computer with the iLife ’06 digital media software package pre-installed, or buying the iLife ’06 upgrade for older Macs. GarageBand 3 is part of the iLife ’06 suite and is not sold separately. And one major new feature, the ability to embed a photo slide show in a podcast, only works with Apple’s iTunes program or in an iPod,” Evangelista writes. “Still, with GarageBand 3, Apple has created a program that should be compelling to the tens of thousands of podcasters big and small now posting their own audio programs on the Web.”
“GarageBand 3 has by far the most extensive package of features designed for podcasters, starting with the fun jingles, stingers and sound effects recorded by the same professional audio production houses used by the likes of MTV and Pixar Animation Studios. There are more than 200 sound effects and more than 100 pre-recorded jingles or radio-style song clips,” Evangelista writes. “The other key new feature is the addition of a separate podcast track, which you can use to quickly create an enhanced podcast that includes a photo slide show. GarageBand lets you drag photos directly into the podcast track from a media browser window that accesses Apple’s digital photo management software, iPhoto, which is also part of the iLife suite. You can match individual photos with what was being said in the audio track and type in caption information and a Web link. Enhanced podcasts use the AAC digital file format, which can only be played back using Apple’s iTunes or QuickTime programs, which run on both Windows and Mac computers, or an iPod capable of displaying color photos.”
Evangelista writes, “Even if you’re not interested in podcasting at all, GarageBand 3 can be used to create Hollywood-style soundtracks for that family photo slide show or home video.”
Full review here.
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