Apple’s Keynote “kicks the ass of Powerpoint out of the pond. And it kicks it so hard, that Powerpoint will never be able to swim in that pond again,” Milind Alvares reports for Smoking Apples.
“Keynote is the most amazing presentation tool out there. Within minutes, you can create smooth presentations that will bring out that real ‘Wow’ (not the pathetic one Microsoft talked about with Vista). Already up at version 4, Keynote has matured, and has some great features like instant alphas, transitions and templates that are guaranteed to make people just stare at your presentations,” Alvares reports.
“You should note that I failed my computer practicals in college (topic was Microsoft Office) mainly cause I couldn’t make a good enough Powerpoint presentation. But within 10 minutes I had figured out how to work Keynote and made a stunning presentation my dad, then used on one of his talks. It has been three years since and he swears by Keynote presentations,” Alvares reports. “As you can see, so do I.”
Alvares reports, “In this little mini series, I’m going to show you what Keynote is about, how to use it, as well as let you download the each of the presentations that I will make. This will be a standard step by step tutorial so you can learn as you go. There might excessive use of superlatives like awesome and amazing, but that’s just the way it is. By the end of this series, you will be able to create the best presentation you have ever seen. So follow the steps, download the Keynote files, and let’s try and make it fun!”
Full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: “I doubt what they’ve done is as rich as PowerPoint.” – Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman, January 8, 2003
When Keynote came out, I called up the manager of the group that developed it, and told him that he’d saved my life. If I’d had to do one more WWDC presentation with PowerPoint, I’d have shot myself.
-jcr
At a point in the future, people will not want to know if something is Windows or Office compatible because Apple will have taken things to the next level that Microsoft can’t do.
They will just drop that old school spyware virus infected Windows PC in the trash and get a Mac!
Megalomaniac’s Logic
“I doubt what they’ve done is as rich as PowerPoint. I am PowerPoint. Ergo . . .”
I use it every week. Just for the way it handles video better than ppt is worth the price.
The author rightfully observes that new Mac users usally aren’t aware of iWork’s existence.
In fact, the situation is worse, many salespeople actually advise Mac switchers (and upgraders alike) to purchase the latest copy of Microsoft Office.
@Jersey_Trader “They will just drop that old school spyware virus infected Windows PC in the trash and get a Mac”
I firmly believe that Macs will replace the pc for most users, but there will always be a place for a boring workhorse in some tasks. The question is whether Microsoft can get their OS on them instead of the safer and more stable Linux.
I’ve always wondered why Apple don’t ship Mac’s to commercial customers with iWork included in the price, rather than iLife? It would help with the “Mac’s aren’t work-oriented” mis-perception.
Oftentimes, Keynote just can’t make it into the corporate board room (as there are no Macs of any kind allowed in there). So, I do my presentation in Keynote, export to PPT and deliver in PPT. It is nowhere near as rich, since most of the Keynote features aren’t available, but at least I’m the only guy with very cool-looking presentations.
The world has by now learned to recognise, within 80 nanoseconds, a PowerPoint template. There are only about a half dozen decent ones. In Keynote, there are about 30 excellent, usable templates. My presentations always have an unique look.
Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to hook up my own MacBook to that boardroom display. The real thing (meaning, the Keynote) will blow everyone away.
iWork is the best Productivity package out on the market today. Keynote is the by Presentation program because ‘the cheapest beta and QA tester in the world tests it”, while Steve’s Keynote is I’m sure ahead of the released version all the extras will get in a release down the road. Steve also uses Pages and Numbers too.
iWork is rock solid and getting better with each release.
‘I doubt what they’ve done is as rich as PowerPoint,’ said Gates, who added he had not seen Apple’s program,” reports Reuters
I guess that Microsoft still hasn’t looked at Keynote or they would have tried to copy all of Keynote into Powerpoint by now. That or their so stuck on the path that they’ve laid out that they just can’t change it.
Uhhh…without getting into the pros and cons of ppt vs Keynote (I have both) I find it hard to take an author seriously who fails a college class because he can’t make a good presentation in ppt. Keynote is clearly more polished and easier to use, but this isn’t rocket science. Sounds more like a lazy author…
I did a test run of a Keynote Presentation last week. Had to use a friend’s projector. As it turns out he was working on a Powerpoint presentation. When I showed him what Keynote could do, his jaw dropped. “I guess I have to buy a Mac”, he said.
Pedrag, you must work for a stone-age company. Crush the best, just because we can!
I saw my first Keynote presentation this week. I was impressed. A paradoxical combination of power and subtlety.
However, I’m stuck with PowerPoint, which is the only format accepted by the conferences I present at.
@Demon,
Take a look at the new Office 2008 for Mac. You will see that MS took a long hard look at Pages and Keynote. Word and PPT for Mac is dramatically different from 2003 version. They still make the simplest things difficult, but they are obviously trying.
“I doubt what they’ve done is as rich as PowerPoint.” – Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman, January 8, 2003
Richer than PowerPoint? Can you even use those words in the same sentence?
A crayon and a Big Chief tablet are richer than PowerPoint…
I’ve just delivered a great (in my opinion) keynote presentation in Poland (I live in the UK). Several delegates at the conference praised the presentation. But all of them were interested in the program that created it, more than the content I presented. I’m going back to PowerPoint.
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“However, I’m stuck with PowerPoint, which is the only format accepted by the conferences I present at.”
Not really, there is a “crap” button that will export the presentation as a PPT.
Every time I make a presentation using Keynote everybody asks “what are you using for presentations?”
Keynote is not only way more powerful than Power Point. It’s also much easier to use and more flexible.
When you try PowerPoint (I had to adapt some presentations for some Windows based coworkers), it feels like you come from driving a Ferrari to drive a Yugo.
And this is, even with the Mac version of Power Point. I tried the Windows version… man, it felt like driving a bike without a seat.
My wife, who creates on-line education courses (oftentimes using Keynote), recently showed a Keynote presentation at the national meeting of an association she works with, and the hotel’s IT folks and the audience were amazed at what she was able to create.
Things are a-changing–the IT guys, when they saw her MBP, said “Alright–a Mac!” Those of us Mac diehards well remember when IT people laughed and made fun of us for using Macs. Now, they are slowly getting it…and it’s about time.
Thank you, Apple, for saving us from death by PowerPoint. Long live Keynote.
“Not really, there is a “crap” button that will export the presentation as a PPT.”
Yeah I know, but as Predrag pointed out above, you lose a lot of the benefits and features of Keynote if you do that.
We can’t get enough good things fast enough – I hope Apple is working on porting iWorks to MobileMe, and make Keynote viewable/project out of the iPhone – then you don’t need a Mac to plug into the corporate projector and show off your presentation no matter where you are.
First of all I thank Mac Daily News for carrying my write up on Keynote. It was just the initial tip to get the obvious stuff out of the way.
Thanks for checking it out, and I hope you look at the rest of the series.
@evilronin: I did fail my Powerpoint test back in college. Granted I was lazy and had never really bothered studying it. Maybe I was a little overconfident that Powerpoint would be an easy application to get by. Alas, it was not the case. (If it matters, I was working in PowerPoint 2002 I think. I’m way out of college now)
@zaxxon4,
“I firmly believe that Macs will replace the pc for most users, but there will always be a place for a boring workhorse in some tasks.”
I know. Games like “How Fast Can My PC get Pwned”
@Predrag,
“Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to hook up my own MacBook to that boardroom display.”
Keep pushing, Predrag, keep pushing.