Emulating iLife on Windows Vista
To get the features of iLife in Windows, emulate them using free or inexpensive programs. Here's some tips.
iPhoto
One of my favorite parts of iLife, it's also easily replicable in Windows. Windows Photo Gallery sucks, but you can easily use Picasa and it's features to nearly replicate iPhoto. For advanced image touch-ups, I recommend the Gimp, as it is a wonderful program. If you prefer a Photoshop interface, try Gimpshop. Paint.NET can do basic editing, drawing and touch-ups, and all these programs work with folders, so they have a key advantage over iPhoto's confusing database; easy interoperability with non-first-party programs. On the downside, these tools are all made by separate authors so they don't really integrate as well as iPhoto with programs such as Movie makers, DVD makers, and website authorers. That's a key advantage of iLife. As a side note, these tools are free. No reason to pay good money when open-source/freeware tools are available.
Tip: Using Linux too? Try F-spot and The Gimp. Picasa is available for Linux as well.
iMovie
This is one area where MS's tools are competent. Try Windows Movie Maker. It's comparable to iMovie '06, it uses a different philosophy then '08 and has some features '08 doesn't and doesn't have some '08 does.
Make sure you have at least v.2. For comparable capabilities to iMovie '06, specifically, HD editing, you need the version included in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. The Version in Home Basic, Business, Enterprise, and XP is not HD-capable. Most people won't use this feature, however. If you need a DVD editor, Nero covers photos, videos, and DVDs. If you're really looking for a MS free solution, try a live-cd with Cinelerra (Knoppix, for instance.) Or a LiveCD with Kino. (Dreamlinux, or others.)
Tip: Using Linux? Kino and LiVES are good bets. See the iDVD for codec selection, and also note that VLC will export WMV9 files as MPEG4 or other formats - good since WMV9 is the standard format of Windows Movie Maker.
iDVD
To match iDVD would require matching it's themes. Such a feat has not been accomplished that I know of. However, there is a $79 program (Nero 8) that comes with a DVD editor, photo editor, video editor, and CD/DVD burner.
If you don't need themes, SUPER! is a format-to-VOB conversion program. These files can then be burned with a program such as Nero Lite (usually included with your system/DVD burner) or Vista's DVD burner. If you're still running XP for whatever reason, you need a third-party dvd burner (you can still use SUPER! so it just needs to support writing files to and finalizing DVDs) or you can use http://smithii.com/cdrtools and Cygwin. These are free, Open-Source tools. They're a pain in the butt to use though. If you need to write DVDs, it might be better to pay for Nero 8 (79) or Vista Upgrade Home Premium (around $149). Vista also comes with a small DVD writer, Windows DVD maker, however it primarily supports WMV; support for AVI, MOV, MP4 and such is poor, unlike SUPER! (which is quite a bit harder to use.) If you use mostly WMV, that's fine; WinDVD Maker is simple and not advanced, but it gets the job done in most cases. If you use files in Xvid, x264, or MOV format a lot, like I do, however, it can be limiting. You can always use Windows Media encoder to convert MOV/AVI/etc. files to WMV; this is an extra step and reduces quality though. Windows Media Encoder is available free from MS. You'll need codecs for MOV, AVI, Real, etc to do this though, and they have to be DirectShow or Video For Windows codecs, not Quicktime engine/Real engine codecs. You can find some converters adapters and codecs at free-codecs.com. Be sure to have a virus program and Windows Defender on while downloading any codecs, particularly if they don't come from that site (which, as of right now, appears to be safe.) If you don't have a virus program, download in Firefox/Opera and test the downloaded files in ClamWin, a free antivirus program (non-realtime though.) Be aware that QuickTime Alternative, which supports playing Quicktime files via VfW, and Real Alternative, which does the same for RealMedia, require QuickTime and RealPlayer, respectively, to be installed to work properly. Both are free downloads.
iTunes
Use iTunes on Windows! However if that's not your thing, use Windows Media Player, or Winamp 5.5 (which is a great player.) Use Songbird! Use whatever you want. Try to encode files in AAC or preferably MP3 for compatibility and long-lasting support. WMA has an uncertain future, wheras AAC is supported by the MPEG group, who created MP3, and by Apple, who manufactures the #1 music player line. Meanwhile, MP3 is supported by everyone, from Winamp, to Amazon, to Apple (somewhat- iTunes can encode Mp3s, but doesn't by default,) and by MS (same thing as apple.) AAC has higher quality, but the encoders for MP3 are faster, and more players support MP3. If your player doesn't, you can add it using RockBox to select players, or you could make sure your manufacturer doesn't offer an upgrade to the firmware that does. Or just use MP3. My personal recommendation would be Winamp for pros, and iTunes for novices.
Tip: On Linux use Amarok, or RhythymBox. Many people swear by Amarok. You'll also need to use Grip to rip, or you could use Wine and a Windows CD ripper, like iTunes 4, as it will be easier to use. Finally, to burn Audio CDs, use K3b.
iWeb
Replicate the photo album functionality of iWeb with Picasa Web Albums (you are using picasa as your photo organizer aren't you?) or Flickr. Replicate the Blogging functionality with a free blog at Blogger. Replicate the Web-page creating techniques using Nvu, a free program for Web Editing, and more flexible then iWeb too. (http://www.nvu.com/) Replicate Video hosting with YouTube, Google video, or for longer videos, encode them in Quicktime format (that's the most cross-platform compatible) and possibly WMV9 too (plays back on all Windows machines, without needing to install Quicktime) using Windows Media Encoder and SUPER!. Specifically, to encode in quicktime format with SUPER!, select h.264 or MPEG-4, as the encoding for video. Select MOV as the file format to save in. Select AAC as the audio format to save in. Choose bitrates (for the web, 250-700kbits is good for video, with 64kbits for audio, or for an audio-centric video, like a music video, 128kbits.) Then select resolution (640x480 is usually recommended) and encode. Now just use Nvu to put the video on the web by linking to it, or using the EMBED tag to include it on the page.
You'll need hosting for custom webpages. Good hosting services are available, with around 750 MB or even 2GB storage for less than .Mac, and they have features like PHP too. They are coming down in price.
Tip: All this except SUPER works on Linux.
GarageBand
I don't know of any good music editors other than one program by Adobe that costs around $99 dollars.
:(
iChat
Not actually part of iLife, iChat is part of OS X. However, it is a very cool application and there are two apps for windows that are similar and about as good or even better. Skype provides Video and Audio chat. And for text chat on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, Icq, IRC, and more, use Pidgin (also known as Gaim) for Windows. Yes, you could download AIM 6, but why deal with slowness, ads, AOL intrusiveness and other annoyances just to get videochat over AIM when Skype does videochat over Skype and you can text chat over AIM and about half a dozen other systems at the same time with Pidgin?
Tip: On Linux? Try Ekiga for video, Skype for audio, and Pidgin/Gaim for text.
Summary
As you can see, there are quite a few alternatives to iLife for Windows and Linux that are free or low-cost. Many of them are open-source or even come with Windows.
iPhoto
One of my favorite parts of iLife, it's also easily replicable in Windows. Windows Photo Gallery sucks, but you can easily use Picasa and it's features to nearly replicate iPhoto. For advanced image touch-ups, I recommend the Gimp, as it is a wonderful program. If you prefer a Photoshop interface, try Gimpshop. Paint.NET can do basic editing, drawing and touch-ups, and all these programs work with folders, so they have a key advantage over iPhoto's confusing database; easy interoperability with non-first-party programs. On the downside, these tools are all made by separate authors so they don't really integrate as well as iPhoto with programs such as Movie makers, DVD makers, and website authorers. That's a key advantage of iLife. As a side note, these tools are free. No reason to pay good money when open-source/freeware tools are available.
Tip: Using Linux too? Try F-spot and The Gimp. Picasa is available for Linux as well.
iMovie
This is one area where MS's tools are competent. Try Windows Movie Maker. It's comparable to iMovie '06, it uses a different philosophy then '08 and has some features '08 doesn't and doesn't have some '08 does.
Make sure you have at least v.2. For comparable capabilities to iMovie '06, specifically, HD editing, you need the version included in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. The Version in Home Basic, Business, Enterprise, and XP is not HD-capable. Most people won't use this feature, however. If you need a DVD editor, Nero covers photos, videos, and DVDs. If you're really looking for a MS free solution, try a live-cd with Cinelerra (Knoppix, for instance.) Or a LiveCD with Kino. (Dreamlinux, or others.)
Tip: Using Linux? Kino and LiVES are good bets. See the iDVD for codec selection, and also note that VLC will export WMV9 files as MPEG4 or other formats - good since WMV9 is the standard format of Windows Movie Maker.
iDVD
To match iDVD would require matching it's themes. Such a feat has not been accomplished that I know of. However, there is a $79 program (Nero 8) that comes with a DVD editor, photo editor, video editor, and CD/DVD burner.
If you don't need themes, SUPER! is a format-to-VOB conversion program. These files can then be burned with a program such as Nero Lite (usually included with your system/DVD burner) or Vista's DVD burner. If you're still running XP for whatever reason, you need a third-party dvd burner (you can still use SUPER! so it just needs to support writing files to and finalizing DVDs) or you can use http://smithii.com/cdrtools and Cygwin. These are free, Open-Source tools. They're a pain in the butt to use though. If you need to write DVDs, it might be better to pay for Nero 8 (79) or Vista Upgrade Home Premium (around $149). Vista also comes with a small DVD writer, Windows DVD maker, however it primarily supports WMV; support for AVI, MOV, MP4 and such is poor, unlike SUPER! (which is quite a bit harder to use.) If you use mostly WMV, that's fine; WinDVD Maker is simple and not advanced, but it gets the job done in most cases. If you use files in Xvid, x264, or MOV format a lot, like I do, however, it can be limiting. You can always use Windows Media encoder to convert MOV/AVI/etc. files to WMV; this is an extra step and reduces quality though. Windows Media Encoder is available free from MS. You'll need codecs for MOV, AVI, Real, etc to do this though, and they have to be DirectShow or Video For Windows codecs, not Quicktime engine/Real engine codecs. You can find some converters adapters and codecs at free-codecs.com. Be sure to have a virus program and Windows Defender on while downloading any codecs, particularly if they don't come from that site (which, as of right now, appears to be safe.) If you don't have a virus program, download in Firefox/Opera and test the downloaded files in ClamWin, a free antivirus program (non-realtime though.) Be aware that QuickTime Alternative, which supports playing Quicktime files via VfW, and Real Alternative, which does the same for RealMedia, require QuickTime and RealPlayer, respectively, to be installed to work properly. Both are free downloads.
iTunes
Use iTunes on Windows! However if that's not your thing, use Windows Media Player, or Winamp 5.5 (which is a great player.) Use Songbird! Use whatever you want. Try to encode files in AAC or preferably MP3 for compatibility and long-lasting support. WMA has an uncertain future, wheras AAC is supported by the MPEG group, who created MP3, and by Apple, who manufactures the #1 music player line. Meanwhile, MP3 is supported by everyone, from Winamp, to Amazon, to Apple (somewhat- iTunes can encode Mp3s, but doesn't by default,) and by MS (same thing as apple.) AAC has higher quality, but the encoders for MP3 are faster, and more players support MP3. If your player doesn't, you can add it using RockBox to select players, or you could make sure your manufacturer doesn't offer an upgrade to the firmware that does. Or just use MP3. My personal recommendation would be Winamp for pros, and iTunes for novices.
Tip: On Linux use Amarok, or RhythymBox. Many people swear by Amarok. You'll also need to use Grip to rip, or you could use Wine and a Windows CD ripper, like iTunes 4, as it will be easier to use. Finally, to burn Audio CDs, use K3b.
iWeb
Replicate the photo album functionality of iWeb with Picasa Web Albums (you are using picasa as your photo organizer aren't you?) or Flickr. Replicate the Blogging functionality with a free blog at Blogger. Replicate the Web-page creating techniques using Nvu, a free program for Web Editing, and more flexible then iWeb too. (http://www.nvu.com/) Replicate Video hosting with YouTube, Google video, or for longer videos, encode them in Quicktime format (that's the most cross-platform compatible) and possibly WMV9 too (plays back on all Windows machines, without needing to install Quicktime) using Windows Media Encoder and SUPER!. Specifically, to encode in quicktime format with SUPER!, select h.264 or MPEG-4, as the encoding for video. Select MOV as the file format to save in. Select AAC as the audio format to save in. Choose bitrates (for the web, 250-700kbits is good for video, with 64kbits for audio, or for an audio-centric video, like a music video, 128kbits.) Then select resolution (640x480 is usually recommended) and encode. Now just use Nvu to put the video on the web by linking to it, or using the EMBED tag to include it on the page.
You'll need hosting for custom webpages. Good hosting services are available, with around 750 MB or even 2GB storage for less than .Mac, and they have features like PHP too. They are coming down in price.
Tip: All this except SUPER works on Linux.
GarageBand
I don't know of any good music editors other than one program by Adobe that costs around $99 dollars.
:(
iChat
Not actually part of iLife, iChat is part of OS X. However, it is a very cool application and there are two apps for windows that are similar and about as good or even better. Skype provides Video and Audio chat. And for text chat on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, Icq, IRC, and more, use Pidgin (also known as Gaim) for Windows. Yes, you could download AIM 6, but why deal with slowness, ads, AOL intrusiveness and other annoyances just to get videochat over AIM when Skype does videochat over Skype and you can text chat over AIM and about half a dozen other systems at the same time with Pidgin?
Tip: On Linux? Try Ekiga for video, Skype for audio, and Pidgin/Gaim for text.
Summary
As you can see, there are quite a few alternatives to iLife for Windows and Linux that are free or low-cost. Many of them are open-source or even come with Windows.
posted by Ryan Butler at 1:03 PM
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