Apple's Keynote is the first major-company presentation software in years to step up to bat against ruling giant Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT). As an instructor and conference speaker, and as a Mac owner who uses PowerPoint and similar programs, I was interested in this new contender, especially since it was based on a program built for his own use by Steve Jobs, head of Apple.
Jobs introduced Keynote during MacWorld in January, 2003. I'm reviewing version 1.1, Keynote's first major point release (by contrast, PowerPoint has been around for a decade). Keynote 1.1 is ready for prime time. Mac diehards will appreciate the perfect Mac interface and how Keynote exploits Mac hardware features. Presenters and courseware authors will like its fine graphics, modern themes, user interface, and PowerPoint interoperability. You'll be seeing more and more Keynote presentations over the next months and years.
First Impressions
Keynote's interface departs from the traditional slideshow program. Older programs only showed one of Text View, Slide View or Slide Sorter. The Normal view in PowerPoint divides the screen into two columns, the text view and the slide view. If you request Slide Sorter, both columns are hidden by the slide miniatures. Keynote revitalizes the user interface by integrating a slide sorter into the main view. This Navigator shows both order and indentation; both can easily be changed by drag-and-drop. The sorter functions sort of like a tree control; the arrows beside the slides allow you to hide an entire section of the presentation.
News source: Mac DevCenter
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