Keynote vs. Powerpoint

karavite

karavite

Registered
Unlike a lot of you young whipper snappers, I remember the day when many many compaines produced presentation software that was more "multimedia" and related to Director than what we have today in PowerPoint. Despite processors and OSs that would be a joke today, it was a really cool time - lots of innovation (remember"innovation" - that thing Microsoft tried to kill along with our IT economy?). Of course all this innovation was ruined as Microsoft took over the world (unfairyl and without innovation) and almost every corporate or education presentation was reduced to a few ugly PPT themes. Suddenly, any subject in the world could be condensed to a set of bullet points.

Perhaps this has all changed? Keynote looks really nice - far more elegant to do the same kind of presentations PowerPoint still bumbles through (aligning objects and pitiful "seamless" intergration with charts and tables from excel for example) and it looks like Apple took some technology from Final Cut Pro in all those neat new video transitions. Still, what about making interactive presentations and making them easier to do? Believe it or not, you can do some things like this with PowerPoint, but it is far from elegant or powerful. This is something Apple could do so much better and I can't wait to see what Keynote can do in this respect and/or what Apple will add to it in the future.

So, anyone with a powerbook or ibook - make your next presentation in Keynote (it really should be offered for free) and wake up all the PC drones just like in the old 1984 Apple commercial! :)
 
This is the stupidest idea I've ever seen. I can see Apple' strategic plan on this one--go through the back door with presentation software--but it's not going to catch on. They've just been wasting time.
 
Like Jobs said, this was an App that was developed for him. They simply added some polish and released it.

It looks like a pretty awsome app, but the one down side I see is that if you want it to display with all those cool features, you will have to use it on a Mac. I'm pretty sure that the ppt format doesn't support dynamic 3d slide transitions, or alpha blending and things like that. The QT movie export could be cool, but wouldn't be user controlable (aside from hitting play/pause between slides i guess).
 
Originally posted by LordOphidian
Like Jobs said, this was an App that was developed for him. They simply added some polish and released it.
Click to expand...

That, in itself, scares me.
 
Like Jobs said, this was an App that was developed for him. They simply added some polish and released it.
Click to expand...
Did you believe one second a whole devteam worked on a stable, complete, design-intensive application for King Jobs ? Would you mind write a whole application for a keynote ?

... :| ...
 
Actually, Toast, that wouldn't surprise me. He'd probably put the new guys on it to test their talents. And it is the sort of thing they would do.
 
hiya

Given that this uses quartz rendering and open gl gaphics, I am certain that Mr. Jobs was able to leverage work already being done on the OS and other applications (i.e. Preview) to act as a basis for the Keynote software. And this was because there wasn't an easy way to do it otherwise - they needed something between powerpoint and director.

I will reserve judgement as to whether I use it for client presentations, based on export to powerpoint. But I do know that all presentations for my business will likely be done in this application and it is giving me many options to export it if I ever need to email it.

I may be the only one, but I have wondered what they were using for Jobs' keynotes and now I know. And they have already posted a note telling me how to make my keyspan dmr work with it.

cheers,
Ian
 
This is the stupidest idea I've ever seen. I can see Apple' strategic plan on this one--go through the back door with presentation software--but it's not going to catch on. They've just been wasting time.
Click to expand...

You are probably right and since they are charging $99 (again, it should be FREE) for it and there isn't a windows version, it is probably doomed. Oh well, I really was hoping for someone to end the misery I endure in seeing so many ppt presentations, but I guess I will have to accept it.

Regarding this being Jobs personal app - do you think developing it cost less or more than his helicopter?
 
I prefer Director and Flash presentations, but Keynote might take away some of the horror that powerpoint caused. The endless pain of those PP presentation, those corny effects, MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY. I just hate powerpoint presentation on a Mac, so depressing.
 
Originally posted by Urbansory
I prefer Director and Flash presentations, but Keynote might take away some of the horror that powerpoint caused. The endless pain of those PP presentation, those corny effects, MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY. I just hate powerpoint presentation on a Mac, so depressing.
Click to expand...

Right on brother! This is what I was trying to explain. Powerpoint took over and set presentations backward. The old presentation programs I was referring to (1994 - 1996 or so) were like Director, but easier to use (I like Director too though). It was snap to create presentions that were more related to a kiosk type apps - buttons, annimation, if-then logic, sound... sure ppt has some of this, but it is so limited and bland.
 
Ho ho HO ! I've read some more people are saying Keynote was developed for Jobs uniquely and then thought as a commercial product.

Come on ! Earth is down there, get your feet on it. It takes HOURS, PAID HOURS to write some good software ! I hardly think of any serious CEO to ask his devteam "Dear subjects, I Want This". I think Jobs' image would have suffered from this in his own company, and he doesn't nedd/deserve that !

No, sorry. That's untrue.
 
The old presentation programs I was referring to (1994 - 1996 or so)
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Yeah! Remember Persuasion?! There was a time when it was actually sort of fun to make presentations. I'm optimistic about Keynote.
 
Man, does anybody expect to pay for software anymore?

These companies put a lot of time and effort into making some pretty cool prodcuts and all we can do it bitch that we don't get them for free?

I'm happy to be only paying half of what I'd pay for a professional OS coming from Redmond.

Just an observation.
 
Why on earth should it be free? You have to pay for powerpoint.

There should be a free VIEWER, of course, to encourage people to use it.
 
for all complainers: we all hate MS products, specially PPT onthe MAC, now we seem to have an alternative, KEYNOTE, and just by reading at the things it can do and how, believe, I will use it instead of you know what.

We finally see nice applications from apple for Mac Users ONLY !, it is true it will be hard for them to survive is a MS dominated WORLD, but at least is our option and they certainly do the job: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD (now iLife), iCal, Mail, Safari and Keynote, to mention a few of the very best appications Apple has ever ome with for the everyday plain user...

Come on guys..they are really putting it hard to it..it shows, give them some credit and do not complain...

let's help them with suggestions, which by the way apple seems to be listening more this time around, all of this applications have clear feedback pages on the apple site and every new release comes ith most of the suggestions included...

one more thing, they are blazzing FAST ! and that is a BIG plus..I can't wait to put my hands on Keynote !
 
toast,

i'm sorry to see your scepticism, but I work for a large company. One of the managers in our area (mind you he manages a substantial part of a program, but he's no executive or anything) has a full time person that does little more than follow him to meeting and take minutes. He also has an assistant that keeps his schedule (although she does other stuff). When our CEO came over for 15 minutes, our division completely remodeled a building cafeteria so that it looked like a fancy restaurant. I could go on and on but let me tell you that we have plenty of custom-made software to satisfy this manager and that manager. After the last reorg, one of my coworkers told me that her previous full time job was working on this reporting application for her manager. Over the years the damned thing had bloated to 70,000 lines of code and hundreds of different reports!

I have seen entire program (with big iron) moved from one side of the county to the other because the program manager bough a new house and did not want a long comute!

I can *easily* believe steve has a little software program written for him (remember that a lot of the functionality in keynote is part of the OS).
 
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