Apple’s Keynote “Kicks The Ass of PowerPoint”

Getting right to the point, Milind Alvares, writing for Smoking Apples, offers a shining review of Apple’s Keynote, which is part of the iWork Suite of Applications that is Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s Powerpoint. According to Alvares, Keynote doesn’t merely compete with Powerpoint, “but also 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.” Alvares admits that in college, he failed his computer practicals on the subject of Microsoft office, largely because he never figured out how to make a “good enough Powerpoint presentation.” All the humiliation disappeared, however, when Alvares sat down in front of Keynote. He writes, “…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.” Makes a person wonder why universities so often still focus on Microsoft programs, doesn’t it?

Alvares continues, “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.”

So, perhaps in gratitude for reclamation of his pride, coupled with enthusiasm for a great product, Alvares offers a mini-series that shows “what Keynote is about, how to use it, as well as let you download…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!”

This whole series is highly recommended, and can be found here:
http://smokingapples.com/software/tutorials/iwork-keynote-tutorial-part-one/

Information about purchase of the iWork Suite can be found on the Apple site.