By Josh Ong

Published: 08:00 PM EST (05:00 PM PST)

Apple on Tuesday updated Garageband and iMovie '11 for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users to improve stability and compatibility in advance of Thursday's launch of the Mac App Store.

Garageband

GarageBand 6.0.1, a 47.5MB download, requires Mac OS X 10.6.3 or later and is recommended for all GarageBand '11 users.

The update fixes an issue related to undoing Flex Time edits. It also removes occasional latency that can occur on guitar tracks. Apple has also restored the ability to use the Quantize Note Timing menu for tracks with Groove matching.

iMovie

iMovie 9.0.1 is a 27.52MB download and also requires Mac OS X 10.6.3 or later. The update is recommended for all users of iMovie 9.0.

The update addresses an issue where stabilization would not be applied correctly to some video clips from the iPhone and iPod touch. Apple has also fixed an issue preventing the use of valid Facebook passwords containing non-alphanumeric characters.

Compatibility with cameras that create content in multiple formats has been improved, as well as performance when scrolling the Project Library.

iLife '11

Apple unveiled iLife '11 in October at the "Back to the Mac" special event. The updated suite of "Digital Life" applications included new full screen modes in iPhoto '11; audio editing, one step effects, and easy movie trailers for iMovie '11 and new Flex Time and Groove Matching features for Garageband '11.

iPhoto '11 has received several updates since its initial release. After users reported a data loss problem when upgrading their iPhoto libraries, Apple quickly released iPhoto 9.0.1.

The following week, Apple issued version 9.1 of iPhoto '11, re-adding support for calendar creation, offering additional letterpress holiday greeting card themes and addressing a bug with videos downloaded from MobileMe or Flickr. iPhoto 9.1.1 came in late December, adding new email options, improving reliability for an iPhoto library upgrade, and correcting several minor bugs.

Mac App Store

The iMovie and Garageband updates come only a couple days before the Jan. 6 opening of the Mac App Store. Apple's initial presentation of the Mac App Store suggested that the Mac maker's iLife apps will be available for sale separately for $14.99 each.

In November, AppleInsider reported that Apple plans to release its iWork '11 productivity suite alongside the launch of the Mac App Store.

Developers getting ready for the new app store appear to be adopting a software pricing approach similar to many iOS developers. New Mac apps, many of which will be ported from iOS, are expected to be aggressively priced, with developers hoping for high volume sales as a result.