iLife...wow...does the PC offer any alternatives

[leftistelf]

So, I've been heavily considering a Macbook Pro with a 17" screen. Knowing that Intel's Santa Rosa/Barbara/Ana/Cruz/Whatever is right around the corner, I'm certainly going to wait on any final notebook decision. Given Apple's impending next big cat Leopard release, I'm going to wait at least that long. Besides, that puts the MS Office 2008 for Mac release within reach, too (I'm an advanced MS Office user).

However, I just couldn't prevent myself from spending almost 2 hours at my local Apple Store last Saturday getting familiar with a Mac for the first time in 12 or 13 years. Certainly, parts of the interface rock, and I've enjoyed the Leopard demo at Apple.com.

However, the part that amazed me the most was iLife. That application suite simply rocks. Even the integration with the upgraded applications like Final Cut Express was amazing. We made a quick movie from pre-existing pictures and video, plus some video we filmed right in the store on the MBP, and it was mindblowingly simple.

So, my question for this well-regarded crowd is whether any software exist on the PC side of the world that does what iLife does? Is it worth switching just for this?

[cashmonee]

Sure, there are apps that will somewhat match what iLife has to offer, but few are free, and they don;t have the integration. You could substitute Adobe Premier Elements ($80-100) for iMovie HD and iDVD, something like Picasa (free) will replace iPhoto. Not really sure about GarageBand, maybe something like audacity, and iWeb is better left unused. So while you could probably find good alternatives on the PC side, they won't integrate like the iLife apps do. For instance when making a movie in iMovie you can access stuff from iPhoto or iTunes and the organization is the same. Plus they come prepackaged for free.

**EDIT** However, I am not sure any of the iLife programs will work well for an enthusiast in that area. For example, I do a fair amount of photography and iPhoto just does not cut it.

[Blake]

The iLife suite was made to be easy to use for anyone. Like cash said, it integrates extremely well. PC has some extremely powerful, and in my opinion, better alternatives, but again, it takes a little more work to put it all together. I do understand what you mean about the simplicity of it all though, thats Mac's thing, and its hard to beat.