Keynote (software)

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Keynote

Keynote 3
Developer: Apple Computer
Latest release: 3.0.2 / September 28, 2006
OS: Mac OS X
Use: presentation
License: Proprietary
Website: www.apple.com

Keynote is a presentation software application made by Apple Computer for its Mac OS X operating system. Originally announced in January 2003, Keynote is now part of the iWork productivity suite (which also includes Pages), with a retail price of 79 USD in the USA, 55 GBP in the United Kingdom and 79 EUR in other countries of European Union. The latest version, Keynote 3, has been built as a universal binary, allowing it to run natively on both PowerPC and Intel processors.

Contents

[edit] History

Keynote began as a software program for Apple CEO Steve Jobs to use in creating the presentations for Macworld Conference and Expo and other Apple keynote events. The program was eventually sold publicly as Keynote 1.0 for $99 (US), competing against existing presentation software, most notably Microsoft PowerPoint. Unlike PowerPoint, Keynote has full support for almost all image types, and the interface and design are much more graphic-oriented, allowing the creation of what advocates of the program think of as more visually appealing slides. Since Keynote makes use of Mac OS X's built-in graphics technologies such as Quartz, it can produce such slides very easily. In addition, Keynote includes truly 3D transitions, such as a rotating cube or a simple flip of the slide.

Some have suggested that early versions of Keynote are very close to the Lighthouse Design Concurrence presentation software, which Jobs was said to have appreciated greatly in his move from glass slides to the electronic version using NeXTSTEP (NeXTWORLD). Roger Rosner [1], director of Apple Computer and previous founder and director of Lighthouse Design, has contributed greatly to Concurrence and other Lighthouse applications.

Apple released Keynote 2.0 during Macworld San Francisco 2005 in conjunction with Pages, a new word processing and page layout application. The two applications were sold together in a software package called iWork, selling for $79 in the US and £55 in the UK. At Macworld San Francisco 2006, Apple released iWork '06 with updated versions of Keynote and Pages. In addition to official HD compatibility, Keynote 3 added new features, including group scaling, 3D charts, multi-column text boxes, auto bullets in any text field, image adjustments, and free form masking tools.

[edit] Use in popular culture

Al Gore uses Keynote for a lecture about Global Warming which he claims to have shown over a thousand times. The talk was made into a film, An Inconvenient Truth. During the film he can be seen using Keynote on a Powerbook to design a slide for his presentation.

[edit] Features

  • Themes that allow the user to keep consistency in colors and fonts throughout the presentation, including charts, graphs and tables.
  • OpenGL-powered 3D slide transitions and builds that resemble rolling cubes or flipping pages, or dissolving transitions that fade one slide into the next.
  • Dual monitor support: the presenter can show the presentation on a screen and still see the desktop or notes from his or her laptop.
  • Exports to PDF, QuickTime, Flash, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, HTML (with jpeg images) and PowerPoint. Keynote also uses .key files based on XML. [2]
  • Supports all QuickTime video formats (including MPEG-2 and DV) in slideshows.
  • Version 3 brings export to iDVD with clickability

[edit] Version history

Version Number Release Date Changes
1.0 January 7, 2003 Initial release.
1.1 June 04, 2003 Various enhancements to improve functionality and compatibility.
1.1.1 October 28, 2003 Improved stability and several user experience enhancements.
2.0 January 11, 2005 Released as part of the new iWork 05 package. Includes new transitions/animations, 20 new themes, new presenter tools and improved export options, including export to Flash.
2.0.1 March 21, 2005 Addressed isolated issues that may have affected reliability.
2.0.2 May 25, 2005 Addressed isolated issues that may have affected reliability.
3.0 January 10, 2006 New version released as part of the iWork 06 package. Includes new transitions/animations, new themes and graphics. Also compiled to run natively on both PowerPC and Intel processors as a universal binary.
3.0.1 April 4, 2006 This update to Keynote 3.0 addresses issues with three-dimensional charts and textures. It also addresses a number of other minor issues. This update should be installed on all computers that share your Keynote 3.0 files, so that textures display properly.
3.0.1v2 May 1, 2006 This update to Keynote 3.0 addresses issues with three-dimensional charts and textures. It also addresses a number of other minor issues. This update should be installed on all computers that share your Keynote 3.0 files, so that textures display properly.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • Keynote web site
  • Keynoteuser Portal for resources and news dedicated to Keynote (including theme sales)
  • Keynotehq Portal for resources dedicated to Keynote (including theme sales)
  • iWorkAbuser Forums and Downloads (including the Ultra Fun Theme)
Apple's iWork
Keynote  | Pages
Apple Computer software
OS: Mac OS X | Mac OS 9
Consumer: .Mac | iLife | iTunes | iWork | AppleWorks | Mac OS X
Prosumer: Final Cut Express | Logic Express
Pro: Aperture | Final Cut Studio | Logic Pro | Shake
Bundled: Front Row | iChat | Photo Booth | QuickTime | Safari | TextEdit
Server: Apple Remote Desktop | Mac OS X Server | WebObjects | Xsan
Discontinued: HyperCard | MacDraw | Mac OS | MacPaint | MacProject | MacTerminal | MacWrite