A Forbes article compares Apple’s new US$99 Keynote presentation software with Microsoft’s PowerPoint and finds that both do basically the same thing, but that “Keynote does it with a superior elegance and simplicity of use that is Apple’s design trademark.”
Forbes says that the Apple application is commendable for its ease of use, drag-and-drop implementation, importing abilities, and context-sensitive Inspector tool. The review also praised Keynote’s chart and table tools and it adds that the Mac-only program’s graphics tools are where it consistently bests PowerPoint.
“The novice presenter will easily produce the more stunning-looking slideshow using Keynote,” Forbes opines. “A seasoned colleague for whom style is as important as substance will feel as if they are using a powerful graphics program rather than a presentation one thanks to Keynote’s graphics layering and pixel-precise positioning tools.”
Keynote’s weakness? Mainly the fact that the business world is dominated by PowerPoint running on Wintel machines, which gives the Microsoft product a big edge.
“But with Keynote, Apple gives Mac users that haven’t yet moved up to Jaguar [Mac OS X 10.2] one more reason for doing so,” the review concludes. “And for any Mac user who just wants their presentations to look that bit more polished — and have their belief in the Apple’s design elegance confirmed — then Keynote is well worth the indulgence.”
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