Apple just released updates for iMovie and iDVD. According to Software Update, the iMovie update "addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues."

The iDVD update "supports general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues."

You can download both of these updates via Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or download the installer packages by visiting Apple's Support Downloads website.

Today Apple posted the schedule for Apple Camp. Apple Camp is held at Apple retail stores for kids 8-12 to go learn about creative things like: making presentations with Keynote, taking and managing photos with iPhoto, creating music with GarageBand, and making movies with iMovie.

Each sessions lasts about 3 hours and is available at all Apple retail locations. Kids attending will receive a DVD or CD with their creations on it, field guide, t-shirt, and will be able to get other giveaways. Best of all, Apple Camp is free though registration is required.

Kids under 13 must have a parent/guardian present; otherwise, you'll have to bring an Apple permission slip (PDF link). You can now register on Apple's Camp registration website.

Today, in the midst of total Macworld 2008 mayhem, Apple slipped-in an iMovie update. This update is for iMovie '08 (version 7). Here's what Software Update tells us:

This update addresses issues when publishing movies to a .Mac Web Gallery, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.

I am personally looking forward to this update, as I have experienced some bugs in the user interface that has caused me to restart occasionally. You can download this update for iMovie 08 by visiting the Apple downloads website, or by checking Software Update.

The thing about DRM is that there are always exceptions to the rules-- while Apple has released lots of DRM-free music, lots of it is still bogged down by DRM, and if you're like me, you disagree that any music you purchase should be limited in the ways that you use it.

Fortunately, as long as you can hear the music you buy, there'll always be a simple way around the DRM, and 5thirtyone has put together this simple writeup explaining how to break iTunes DRM with a tool you've already got on your Mac: iMovie. Essentially, you load the DRM-ed file as a soundtrack in iMovie, export it as an .aiff file back into iTunes, and then convert it in iTunes back to AAC. Simple enough.

This makes you question why DRM is there in the first place. Sure, the record companies might be pushing it on Apple, but if it's this easy and simple to do, exactly what leg are they standing on to justify it in the first place?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that before director and filmmaker Wes Anderson releases his new movie The Darjeeling Limited (it's typical Anderson, which isn't a bad thing if you liked The Life Aquatic or The Royal Tenenbaums as much as I did), he'll release a short film called Hotel Chevalier later this week at Apple stores across the country and for free on iTunes.

It sounds pretty awesome-- the new short has a few connections to the upcoming movie, but is a film on its own more than just a teaser or trailer. I'm in Chicago, just a mile or so from the Michigan Ave. Store, so I may head down there on Tuesday night to check it out.

And there's one more interesting note in the article-- Anderson says he shot the movie in 2 1/2 days and edited it on his own computer in a week. What kind of computer was that, Mr. Anderson? Could Apple be able to pick up someone to finally defend iMovie?

iMovie '08 has gotten a bad rap lately so I decided to put it through its paces and see what all the fuss was about. Now, I'm not a professional video editor -- just your average Josephine -- but, frankly, I think the new iMovie kinda rocks.

iMovie '08 certainly has sparked debate in Mac circles. Is it a step forward or a step back? Only time, and personal preference, will tell. There is one thing that no one can debate: saving disk space (I am sure someone can argue that since disk is so cheap, why bother but they are the vocal minority). This AppleScript application from iNik converts all those DV clips in your iMovie library into beautiful, efficient H.264 clips (giving you the choice of several different compression levels) which translates to lots of freed up space on your hard drive (your mileage may vary).

The application is free but you need to have Quicktime Pro and Apple's Developer Tool installed on your Mac to make it work.

Many folks who were used to the array of features iMovie '06 offered were understandably upset when iMovie '08 uprooted just about everything they knew. After all, they had the figurative rug pulled out right from under them. Eric at no one sequel, however, doesn't see this as a bad thing. Eric's entire post is definitely worth a read, but to summarize: while iMovie '06 is a good product, it doesn't exactly live up to the Apple and iLife reputation of "just working." iMovie '06 users need to learn a little too much about video editing - time codes, time lines, "rendering", etc. - causing a significant portion of the public to avoid the practice altogether. I agree with Eric - perhaps it isn't Apple's job to bring pro features and workflows to the general user. Instead, maybe it's their job to to eliminate the need for those features to exist in the mind of said user, greatly simplifying the barrier to entry in video editing so that more can use these otherwise complicated tools.

By completely rethinking the practice of video editing and redesigning iMovie around the new paradigm, iMovie '08 could perhaps be the first product that really captures the attention of the larger mass that hasn't caught the bug yet (no pun intended). Sure iMovie is lacking a few features everyone can enjoy, such as a few effects and transitions, but users no longer need to learn what a 'timecode' is just to cut together the summer vacation or a cute puppy montage. It's just skim, click and drag and poof - a video.

Isn't that the way Apple products are supposed to work?

[via Daring Fireball]

If you've got iLife '08 installed, check software update. Apple has made version 7.0.1 of iMovie available. While this update won't make it suck less, it does "...address issues associated with publishing to .Mac Web Gallery. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues."

It's a 9MB download.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

iLife '08 buyers have spoken, and Apple has listened: the new iMovie '08 is a major disappointment in some key areas. So much so that Apple decided to provide iMovie '06 as a free download, but it's almost as if they knew this was going to happen, because iMovie '06 is the only iLife app that gets preserved in a backup folder when installing iLife '08.

Adding his influential voice to the crowd, David Pogue has penned a new article blatantly titled Apple Takes a Step Back with iMovie '08, and you get three guesses as to how he feels about the new changes. Throughout the article, Pogue repeatedly slams Apple for doing something no other company has in recent memory: update a mature, popular application with a new version that retains almost no resemblance to its predecessors. Pogue even goes so far as to recommend iMovie '08 to have been given a different name, such as FlyMovie, ByeMovie or WhyMovie.

Though he does briefly praise the app for a few of its new features - such as skimming (despite its tall resource requirements), unparalleled color correction tools, YouTube sharing and the ability to truly delete portions of a clip you won't be using to reclaim hard drive space - Pogue still tosses his hat into the ring with disgruntled iMovie fans (especially since he's been using it to create all his videos for the New York Times) in asking Apple: "What the [bleep]!"

A little green and blue birdie has been chirping in our ears about the new iMovie '08. Rewritten from the ground up, it seems to lack support for plug-ins according to this birdie. iMovie '08 offers just a handful of transitions and titles and a single color correction effect. It is nice for putting together basic video but you'll want to keep a copy of iMovie 6 on-hand for more advanced video projects, especially if you've invested in third-party plug-ins. No word from Apple yet on whether they'll update iMovie '08 for third-party plug-ins. Our birdie thinks the lack of plug-in support was an artifact of the new design and not an intentional act by Apple to drop plug-in support.

iMovie '08 has been completely rewritten from the ground up, at least that's what Steve said at today's media event. Let's take a look at some of the new features:

New Icon

Initially this will be the most visible change, that is until you launch the app. The icon has been changed because the app itself is so different. Makes sense to me.

Video Library

This is a big change. iMovie has gone from a simple editing program to a catalog of all the video on your Mac, no matter where it is stored. That's right, iMovie will display movies that are on your machine's hard disk or on an external drive. Pretty cool. You can also mark clips as favorites, so you can quickly navigate to your go to clips. Taking a cue from iPhoto '08, iMovie also has Events (it automatically groups clips taken on the same day together).

General Enhancements

I know this might seem like a cop out, but the real genius in iMovie '08 isn't the laundry list of new features, but rather how they combine to make movie making faster. The new Video Library uses skimming (think of that is scrubbing through a video clip, but without having to open it in a different viewer) to make setting in and out points a breeze. New transitions, effects, and realtime title rendering also help to make your video go from concept to screen (big, medium, or small screen) in a snap. Sharing has never been easier either. iMovie allows you to upload you completed masterpiece to YouTube, or your .Mac account with a few clicks.

Some of you might already know that I do some other blogging work on another Weblogs, Inc. blog called WoW Insider, all about World of Warcraft, the MMORPG videogame. Most gaming companies tend to shy away from the Mac, but Blizzard has always been the exception. And with World of Warcraft, there are actually huge benefits to playing the game on a Mac. A while ago they added builtin iTunes controls (right into the official client), and as of the upcoming patch (now available for players to play around with on a public test), they've actually created an ingame movie recorder-- only for the WoW Mac client.

It's a pretty well done feature, too. WoW Insider's Paul Sherrard took the recorder for a test drive, and created what you see above (after a little bit of iMovie fiddling). The options are pretty impressive for an ingame vid capture as well-- you can control whether the UI or cursor is seen or not, and you even get a choice of codecs (including H.264, Pixlet, or Motion JPEG). Very nice. Whoever's working on the Mac team at Blizzard really knows what they're doing, and is definitely giving Mac users the hookup on cool exclusive features.

Thanks Mark, who also sent this in!

This week in Ask TUAW we have questions about the MacBook Pros, exporting from iMovie, Autofill for the Shuffle, Windows gaming on an iMac, and more. Remember new Mac users and Switchers who are enjoying our Mac 101 series should feel very welcome to post questions for Ask TUAW; we're happy to have them. As always, please submit your questions for next week by commenting on this post.

Hey iMovie users, if your GeeThree/Slick iMovie plugins stopped working with the QuickTime 7.1.5 update, you might want to pop over to GeeThree and download these updates for those plugins that were affected by the upgrade. The update addresses problems with Flash, with Intel Macs and the WildFX titles on PAL systems.