Keynote (presentation software)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keynote

Keynote '08 (4), part of iWork '08
Developed by Apple Inc.
Latest release 4.0.3 / April 3, 2008
OS Mac OS X
Genre Presentation
License Proprietary
Website Apple: Keynote

Keynote is a presentation software application developed as a part of the iWork productivity suite (which also includes Pages and Numbers) by Apple Inc. Released in August 2007, the latest version, Keynote 4, runs on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard only.

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.[1] The program was first sold publicly as Keynote 1.0 in 2003, competing against existing presentation software, most notably Microsoft PowerPoint. In addition, Keynote includes truly three-dimensional transitions, such as a rotating cube or a simple flip of the slide.

In 2005 Apple began selling Keynote 2.0 in conjunction with Pages, a new word processing and page layout application, in a software package called iWork. At the MacWorld Conference & Expo 2006, Apple released iWork '06 with updated versions of Keynote 3.0 and Pages 2.0. 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.

In the fall of 2007, Apple released Keynote 4.0 in iWork 08, along with Pages 3.0 and the new Numbers 1.0 spreadsheet application.

[edit] Notable uses

Former Vice-President Al Gore made extensive use of Keynote during his international talks on global warming and the software was featured in the film An Inconvenient Truth. Gore once remarked at an address at UCSD that his position on Apple's board allowed him to petition for the reintroduction of "bounce" feature taken off in previous versions.

Lawrence Lessig and Aaron Swartz frequently use Keynote for pitching using a technique referred to as "slides as chorus" or the Lessig Method.[2] The presenter speaks fluently and never refers to the slides or reads from them. Each slide contains either a simple graphic or a very short string of text, sometimes a single word. While speaking, the slides are advanced in sync with what is being said, so there can be several slides displayed per sentence.

Ever since its introduction, Keynote has been used in every MacWorld Conference & Expo as well as every Apple Expo and WWDC.

[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 (presentation files) and .kth (theme files) bundles based on XML. [1]
  • Supports all QuickTime video formats (including MPEG-2 and DV) in slideshows.
  • Version 3 brings export to iDVD with clickability
  • Compatibility with Apple Remote

[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.
3.0.2 September 28, 2006 This update is for Keynote 3.0.1 and addresses compatibility for accessing Aperture 1.5 content in Keynote.
4.0 August 7, 2007 New text effects, new transitions, Instant Alpha, Smart Builds.
4.0.1 September 27, 2007 Addresses issues with builds and performance.
4.0.2 January 29, 2008 This update primarily addresses performance issues while playing or exporting presentations.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ O'Reilly's MacDevCentre Article by Daniel H. Steinberg; Jan 10, 2003
  2. ^ The Lessig Method

[edit] External links