Windows equivalents of iLife apps

[Doctor Q]

I would like to be able to tell Windows users what retail software they might buy that would give them applications "equivalent" to the iLife applications. I don't expect an exact feature-to-feature match, but something for the same purpose, the same target audience, and with about the same feature level. They don't have to be in a single suite or be intergrated as well as the iLife apps, just individual apps that one could consider comparable to the Apple versions.

For iTunes, originally considered to be part of iLife, it's easy: iLife for Windows!

What commercial applications are close, featurewise, to each of these iLife '06 applications?

• iPhoto
• iMovie HD
• iDVD
• GarageBand
• iWeb

 

[Applespider]

For iPhoto, I'd suggest Picasa is pretty much the equivalent. And then one of the online printers for books/cards

 

[Unorthodox]

Wow this is going to be hard.
Hmmm....

Well, Pinnacle Studio is pretty much the same thing as iMovie.

 

[mad jew]

For iPhoto, I'd suggest Picasa is pretty much the equivalent. And then one of the online printers for books/cards

I agree, but it's not quite as intuitive. Maybe that's because I'm just used to iPhoto though...

iMovie and Windows Movie Maker 2 are relatively similar in concept, if anything. I don't mind Movie Maker except it exports to WMVs.

 

[Bern]

Let's face it, there's no real windows alternative to iLife... haven't you seen the advertisement ?

 

[Foggy]

Adobe Photoshop Elements is close to iPhoto

 

[tilman]

The Adobe Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements covers iPhoto, iMovie HD, and iDVD nicely. It supports importing video from DVDs, too, which requires Quicktime Pro and the Quicktime MPEG-2 component on the Mac.

Just for iPhoto, consider Picassa, Cerious Thumbsplus, ACDSee, and many others.

Windows Moviemaker is actually pretty close to iMovie, but without HD support.

I'm not into audio editing, so I don't know what to use in place of Garageband. Ahead Nero includes some audio applications that might cover you here.

I haven't found anything affordable that is as easy to use as iWeb.

 

[speakerwizard]

acid or something for garageband, i think there is a cut down reason too

 

[ddekker]

iLife windows

here is the list of things I find simular to the ilife apps... some not as nice, some I like better...

iPhoto = Picasa
iMovie HD = windows movie maker2
iDVD = sonic mydvd
GarageBand = got me... my niece had a pretty cool one though
iWeb = lol... any web editor

DD

 

[tominated]

for garage band, i would choose a program called 'Magix music Maker' almost exactly the same in usage.

 

[dreamsINdigital]

ProShow or ProShow Gold is pretty similar to iMovie.

 

[dXTC]

A possible equivalent for GarageBand is Cakewalk Music Creator (I believe it used to be called Cakewalk Home Studio). It has multitrack digital audio, software synthesizers, and ACID-format loop compatibility.

According to the Cakewalk website, its MSRP is $39, which is lower than what I would have expected. But then, only a handful of effects are available, and only two synths are shipped: Roland Sound Canvas (a GM/GS module) and Dreamstation for very basic analog-type sounds.