PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

The Beginnings of Keynote

We all know that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a great presenter who can inspire his audience. And while many soothsayers will predict the end of slideware, Steve Jobs knew that he needed a program that helped him deliver better presentations. So that’s how Keynote was born.

Initially, Keynote was used in Steve’s keynotes at MacWorld events. Then, the first version of Keynote was released by Apple in 2003.

Filed Under: Keynote
Tagged as: Apple Mac OS X, iWork, Keynote, Steve Jobs

Now That There’s Keynote, What About PowerPoint?

So, what is it about PowerPoint? We knew that question was bound to come up sooner or later and it’s best we answer this one now.

Yes, the site owner has authored several PowerPoint books and runs a PowerPoint-related site. We design presentations for high-end clients from our presentation design studio based in Hyderabad, India. And we use PowerPoint all the time, on both Windows and Mac.

So, why are we doing this series of posts on Apple Keynote? That’s because we use Macs. We have played with Keynote, and we think it’s a cool program. And to take a discussion route far removed from flame wars, we are so glad that Keynote exists. Keynote provides competition in the presentation program marketplace, and competition is good because it leads to huge improvements in both Keynote and PowerPoint.

However, it doesn’t take too long to notice that there isn’t too much content available on Keynote. There are not too many books, websites, or even sites with themes to buy or download. That’s why we created this corner on the web, to write some content on Apple Keynote.

Filed Under: Keynote
Tagged as: Apple Mac OS X, iWork, Keynote

Keynote System Requirements

Make sure you are aware of the system requirements for Apple Keynote and the rest of the Apple iWork programs before you buy a retail box. That’s one of the reasons why you should download a trial version of the product.

The current version, Keynote 08 (or Keynote 4), runs on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, and later versions of OS X. And if you are running an earlier version of OS X, you’ll have to find an earlier version of Keynote and iWork as well (or upgrade your OS X version).

You can find older versions of Keynote and OS X on auction sites like eBay but be aware that the newest version of Keynote always has more features. Also, you might not be able to open Keynote presentations created in the new version inside older versions of Keynote, although the opposite is not true.

Filed Under: Keynote
Tagged as: Apple Mac OS X, iWork, Keynote

Installing iWork (and Keynote)

In this post, we’ll show you how you can install Apple iWork (and Apple Keynote) on your Mac. Remember, as of now, iWork comprises Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. You can also get a trial version of iWork before deciding to buy a retail version.

To install iWork, follow these steps:

1. Insert the iWork CD/DVD in your optical drive (and if you have downloaded the trial version, just double-click the downloaded file).
2. Either way, you’ll see the iWork installation screen that looks like what you can see in Figure 1, below.

Filed Under: Keynote
Tagged as: Apple Mac OS X, iWork, Keynote

Techsmith launches Snagit 9

Techsmith today launched one of their most awaited releases: the new version Techsmith Snagit 9, their screen capture product that does so much more than just screen capture. Snagit is an indispensable part of any computer we own, and the new version adds many new features and a cool, new interface.

Read more details on the Techsmith site.

Filed Under: Companion Programs
Tagged as: Companion Programs, Snagit, Techsmith