Macworld Forums: PowerPoint 2008 vs. Keynote '08 - Macworld Forums

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I agree with the assertion that hardware is the lynchpin of choice. I'd love to always use Keynote and I do when I am creating presentations that will run on my trusty ol' iBook G4, but if I have to use a Win-dohs machine, which I do about half the time, I often have to start in PowerPoint as Keynote translation to PowerPoint is not good. What drives me crazy in PowerPoint is that if I cut and paste photographs into Mac PowerPoint (which to me is the easiest method) they drop out when I run on Win-dohs PowerPoint. Keynote allows me to do this with no penalty running on a Win-dohs machine. I hope Keynotes translation to PowerPoint in subsequent iterations and Keynote will be my sole choice.

I've found Keynote's exporting to PowerPoint in the past to be pretty good. Though I haven't yet done it with the current version of either. But my presentations are relatively simple.

One thing not mentioned is the extensive export options. Keynote actually creates a pretty decent Flash presentation, and PDF presentations too. Maybe they require a bit of cleanup, with some HTML coding to make the HTML document the Flash presentation runs in look good. But that's easy for someone with Dreamweaver.

As for themes, I find PowerPoint themes to be dreadful. Garish colors, cheesy graphics. All in all mostly a waste of space on the install disc and hard drive. Keynote's themes are vastly more sophisticated. And one company has created very nice Keynote themes with extensive masters and options for HD, iPod presentations, etc.

Apple has done great things with Keynote in the few years its been out. I hope the innovation continues.
Message was edited by: leicaman

Well, perhaps I overstated things a bit. Just seems like I have to do a quite a bit of tweaking with Keynote (the second version) to PowerPoint translations (granted the college where I teach uses Win-dohs PowerPoint 2003). That said I agree about the excellent export options, especially to PDF. If I have PowerPoint troubles with a Keynote presentation I create a PDF and use that. Export options are terrific.
And the Keynote themes are classy. PowerPoint's themes are the equivalent of plaid golf pants.

RE: "unless Apple releases a Keynote player application for Windows, which isn’t likely, PowerPoint may be a more sensible choice for many speakers."
I am not so sure I am convinced of this. I did not expect Safari to be offered on Windows. Who's to say what Apple's plans are concerning other software introductions on Windows... Anyone not working for Apple is only guessing.

We are disappointed with both the current version of Keynote and Powerpoint 2008, and have unhappily reverted to Powerpoint 2004.

We create hundreds of slides to be used during educational workshops, most with individual backgrounds/themes that tell part of the story. Powerpoint 2008 has broken the easy methods to change backgrounds/themes in each individual slide. We were able to find a work-around after consulting with MS, but it's almost unworkable and requires adding dummy slides to the presentation.

Keynote has superior functionality for individual slide backgrounds, but keeping a constant theme in terms of bullet points, fonts, etc. is not as robust as Powerpoint. when you use individual backgrounds for each slide. Where Keynote falls down flat for us is the lack of presenter tools. We use the Powerpoint presenter tools actively during the actual presentation. The time clock, ability to preview every slide, upcoming or past, and moving past slides and to immediately go to a particular slide are required for our work. We even signed up for One-on-One classes at our local Apple store in the hopes of finding new methods to facilitate our needs in Keynote, but were disappointed to finally realize the functionality we require just is not there.

So for now we are back at Powerpoint 2004.

D.W.

Barrington, IL

I also prefer Keynote, and apart from a few minor issues, find it quite easy to export to Powerpoint. I find it a lot easier, though, to create themes in Powerpoint as opposed to Keynote, which so far, seems way too complicated. It would be nice if Apple would introduce some tools or capability to simplify this.

One of the issue not discussed is the drawing tools of each program. Before Keynote, I used to make all my drawings in Illustrator, save them in PNG format and import them in PowerPoint. While Keynote cannot be really compared to Illustrator, for most of my needs as a university teacher and scientist to present schematics of biochemical processes, I now find that I can draw beautiful figures directly in Keynote. This has the added advantage that I can work directly in Keynote to make changes at the last minute without having to go back to Illustrator. Drawings in PowerPoint always look primitive and the same (you can recognize them right away at meetings). I noticed at the last scientific meeting that I attended in beautiful Whistler BC than close to 20% of presentations were done with Keynote. I must not be the only one noticing how god Keynote is a presentation program.

I was wondering if someone could explain how to highlight a bullet and have the rest dim as your presenting, a technique mentioned by the author in this article.

Thanks

Chris

What I find interesting is that in all of these comparisons I have never seen price mentioned once. How about the fact that you can buy iWork for $68.99 and Office will cost you $324.99. These are the standard prices from Amazon, this is not educational pricing.

I don't know either, the only way I could figure it out was to create a text box for each bullet.

The real difference is not in hardware or capability. It is in "philosophy." PP is a very elegant outlining app. KN is primarily a graphics program. What you do with either is determined by the way you define a presentation. Most business types are text and numbers driven. Important, but does not require or encourage creativity or passion. KN is MUCH better for building presentation with impact, but it requires you to write your presentation before you sit down to make the slides.
This is an interesting discussion, but in many ways irrelevant. Most of us are trapped in a Windows world and it doesn't really matter what we prefer. I have taken to building my briefings in KN and then exporting to PP so I can show them on the company system. Not nearly as elegant, but it works.

Chris,

Check this page in Keynote help and then play with the functions:

Creating Text Builds

You can build text line by line, word by word, or character by character. You can create text builds for bulleted or plain body text. To set up a text build:

1. Select text on the slide canvas for which you?ve defined a build.

2. Click Inspector in the toolbar, and then click the Build Inspector button.

3. In the Build In or Build Out pane, choose an option from the Delivery pop-up menu.

? All at Once: Moves all text in the text box at the same time.

? By Bullet: Moves text bullet by bullet.

? By Bullet Group: Moves each bullet and its subordinate bullets together.

? By Highlighted Bullet: Highlights each bullet as it moves, leaving only the most recent bullet highlighted.

? By Paragraph: For non-bulleted text.

The ability to add all that eye candy is one of the 'weaknesses' of PowerPoint, and to a lesser degree Keynote. Who has not been to a presentation wherein the presenter has used every effect, transition and option, thinking that somehow this enhances the event?
While this link is a couple of years old
http://www.presentat...zen/2005/11/thezenestheti.html
what it says is still true today. To quote on small part:
Simplicity
A key tenet of the Zen aesthetic is kanso or simplicity. In the kanso concept beauty, grace, and visual elegance are achieved by elimination and omission. Says artist, designer and architect, Dr. Koichi Kawana, "Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means." When you examine your visuals, then, can you say that you are getting the maximum impact with a minimum of graphic elements, for example? When you take a look at Jobs' slides and Gates' slides, how do they compare for kanso?
"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."
— Dr. Koichi Kawana