Just in case we were wondering how much mapping is making it into the mainstream, check out the new features in Apple's iLife '09 products.

For starters, they've added support for manual geocoding (type a place name and drag a pin around on a map) and maps for navigation of photo data. This is all encapsulated in a new feature they refer to as "places". And, the support has been extended from the photo management side to photo book production, providing nearly effortless map addition to a photo book. Pretty neat.

On the video side, Apple's iMovie has map templates that will create an animated fly-to effect from the departure point to the arrival point. It looks like there might be some other related features in there, but we won't really know that until it's available later this month.

Nothing earth-shattering in terms of capability, but in terms of ease-of-use and accessibility it's a pretty amazing step.