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Apple iWork 08
Keynote
During the Apple special event, Steve touched on a few new features of Keynote. Most of the features already exist in Microsoft's PowerPoint, but, instead of some cheesy animations or annoying text effects, Apple actually provides attractive effects and really good-looking transitions that rise above and beyond the basics everyone is used to. The user interface is great for keynote. All the icons you need to create a professional presentation are there. The one icon that especially gets my attention is called Masters. From this icon, you edit your slide templates for each different type of slide (title slide, title & bullets, two columns, etc). This feature is usually hidden deep in the bowels of PowerPoint and is not something most users are familiar with unless they have received formal training on the application. Masters enhances productivity by enabling users to apply the same logos, controls, etc on every slide without having to manually insert them each time. The dynamic format bar makes an appearance in the Keynote application as well, along with many of the image tools that are found in Pages such as Instant Alpha and Masking.      A long overdue feature, in terms of presentation software, is the Presenter's View. While the audience sees the current slide, the computer screen shows both the current and next slides, a clock and a timer, and notes. As someone who has had to give presentations to groups of about 50 people, this would be an immense help to someone like me who isn't the most adept at public speaking. Smart builds are quick applets that allow the creation of simple animations involving images. Instead of having to manage complex animation paths and timing, just drop these small applets into a slide, and then drag and drop images from the media browser or the file system into the animation. A great way to spice up any presentation in no time at all. Finally, one feature that I've found to be immensely useful is the interactive tools. You can hyperlink text or images to other slides, web pages, an external presentation, or even send an email. Being able to create a simple, self-service, kiosk-style application would be a huge help for interactive exhibits.
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Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Splash6
on August 28, 2007 - 6:59 am Numbers is definitely a noteworthy application. It is the biggest change in spreadsheets since their creation. By creating a series of standalone tables it will soon be possible to use standard libraries of modular tables. It will no longer be necessary to check through every individual cell of a spreadsheet to ensure it is correct, just to check the tables have been wired up correctly. This will be the biggest step forward in the quality of spreadsheets that will ever have occured and can not be far off.
2 - Posted by
Max Slowik
on August 28, 2007 - 12:56 pm So it's a database with a spreadsheet interface?
3 - Posted by
Vic
on October 2, 2007 - 1:46 pm Is there a "Password protect a document" feature in iWork 08 - I can't find it. Help please
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