Creating Keynote Presentations with iWork: Visual QuickProject Guide (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With its dazzling transitions, dozens of professionally-designed themes, and wide selection of typefaces, Keynote—Apple's top-notch presentation software—lets anyone create elegant, attractive presentations with ease. Now, to help users deliver high-quality presentations even when they're short on time, is this smart, concise guide designed to take them from standing start to stellar finish with their first presentations. Rather than cover every last option Keynote offers, author Tom Negrino steps readers through on a single, basic presentation, showing them the quickest, easiest, most effective way to communicate their ideas. Each short lesson builds a component of a basic presentation, from creating slides, formatting charts and tables, incorporating sound and video, creating transitions, and adding a bit of polish to their debut presentations. Friendly, step-by-step instructions and large, full-color screen shots make the information instantly accessible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (May 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 032135754X
• ISBN-13: 978-0321357540
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #932,547 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If ZERO stars were possible..., November 13, 2005

By	Dusty Williams (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

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The only honor this book is worthy of is that of the fireplace... Here's why:

1) This book provides virtually ZERO hands-on training for the reader. The only hands-on exercises that you will get to try out is found in chapter two, in which you create a blank, Keynote presentation file (for the first time), and type in five lines of text -- and that's IT!! No, I am not joking... That's it.

2) The book focuses upon a "show and tell" (with zero practice or hands-on exercises) approach. It uses 3rd party templates, which don't come with either the software [Keynote] or the book. This keeps you from being able to try any of the concepts presented.

3) The book focuses mainly upon the "theory" of creating a presentation, rather than on teaching you how to use Keynote. I wanted to learn Keynote, not the theory of public speaking.

4) The book's chapters are filled with commerials, prompting you to purchase 3rd party products. This book (at times) looks more like the classifieds section of a newpaper than a training publication. If you don't want to believe me -- please go and check it out for yourself! Page numbers are included!!

a) Page 18 -- Asks you to buy OmniOutliner. (Which is not needed. Keynote provides this same functionality, but he doesn't take the time or effort to teach you how to do it.)

b) Page 25 -- Use (and purchase) Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, so you can use their clipart.

c) Page 26 -- Buy sounds and music from soundrangers at $1.50 per song, etc.

d) Page 27 -- Buy more stuff from Hemera, NovaDevelopment, and DigitalJuice, etc.

e) Page 28 -- Buy Garageband from Apple, etc, etc, etc. You get the idea.


Normally, I like to give books a positive rating -- as a college-level, computer science teacher for more than 10 years, I have dealt with many of such book publications. However, I honestly cannot give this book even one star -- it has failed to even begin to meet its stated objectives on the back cover.

My advice, if you truly want to learn, PLEASE LOOK TO A DIFFERENT BOOK. This is not the one you are looking for.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great overview for Beginners!, June 7, 2005

By	R. Berger "badpartners.com" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even though Negrino's book is over 130 pages, I was able to read through it rather quickly. I think the best way to use this book is to read through it quickly away from the computer to get an overview, then go back, book in hand, and sit in front of your machine with Keynote2 launched.

This book takes you through an actual presentation, and shows a lot of pictures as well as being easy to read.

Although I am not a beginner (this book is geared toward beginners), I learned a few tricks that will be valuable to me down the line.

I would highly recommend Negrino's other Keynote title, Visual Quickstart Guide once it comes out for Keynote2. If it is as good as his VQSG for Keynote1, it will be a purchase well made.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Fire Starting Material, December 31, 2005

By	hdtravel (USA) - See all my reviews

I am an avid Mac user and I have purchased other "Visual QuickProject" books from PeachPit Press that I found very useful training tools. That was until this one which was an absolute waste of money. The book starts out good and you believe that the book is going to walk you through the actual process of creating a nice Keynote presentation. At the end of Chapter 2 you are left high and dry with only 2 slides created. You are never given any more information to create the rest of the slides. Really sad !

Then thoughout the book you are shown a mutitude of other products that are suggested to you to buy. Really sad ! None are needed to use Keynote !

Save your money and do not buy this book which is a total waste of money !