Introducing+iWork08+-+Productivity+For+Classroom


 * __Introducing iWork08 - Productivity For The Classroom (Fred)__**

Presenter: Rob Specker, System Engineer rlspecker@apple.com Affiliation: Apple Computer

The day being late and the impending ice storm having chased most of the faint at heart to the roads one could actually get a seat in the Apple lab so I opted for this session when my original choice was cancelled (faint-at-hearter presenter who probably bailed out early). Rob went over the basic enhancements to the three products: [|"Keynote," "Pages08," and "Numbers."]

This product runs on most Mac units as low as Power PC, G4 - of course on a G5. It requires Mac OSX 10.4.1, 512MB Ram (though he said 1G is better). 32 MB video memory and 1GB of available hard drive space.

__**Keynote:**__ This is a presentation software package that was originally designed for Steve Jobs exclusive use. It is a simplified "PowerPoint" but with lots of added functionality.
 * //New Text and Object Effects// - demonstrated several new effects ad transitions both 2D and 3D.
 * //Instant Alpha// - this is a really powerful feature that allows you to remove any segment of an image. Rob demonstrated how easy this was using a photo of a flower and removed the entire background with one click on this tool.
 * //Smart Builds// - This has a pre-packaged animation features with drag and drop ease. He showed the "Spinning cube" and "Thumb Through." He particularly likes the feature he called "A to B Animations" which caused a drawing of a plane to go across the slide.
 * //Voiceover Recording// - Using this you can record both voice and mouse clicks with your presentation. You can then playback with those items automatically included with the program.
 * //New Presentation Themes// - chosen from the templates.

__**Pages 08:**__ Word Processing Application which allows easy creation of page documents and page layouts. Text automatically flows from one screen to another. This version includes some nice new additions but is not a major overhaul.
 * //Contextual Format Bar// - this puts the actual tools you use to easily format text, images, tables and charts. he says it is MUCH cleaner to use than the MS Word stuff.
 * //Change Tracking// - this allows you to work with multiple authors on a single document with each chage color coded to the author who made it.
 * //New Image Tools// - Instant alpha is included here also plus tools to apply and adjust masks.
 * //New Templates// - This version includes 40 new overall templates.


 * __Numbers:__** This is Apples spreadsheet application and it is noted for its simplicity of use over MS Excel.
 * //Intelligent Tables// - he said this is a better way to organize and manage data and illustrated a umber of features here.
 * //Flexible Canvas// - You can arrange tables aywhere on the sheet and can easily resize and add new columns.
 * //Charts, Images, Text Levels// - Create 2D and 3D graphics easily. Highlight your data, click the type of chart you want and drag and drop it where you wish on the page.
 * //Interactive Print View// - Print exactly what you want using the print area.
 * There are "tons" of Customizable Templates with pre-defined formulas to use. You can import and export Excel and Appleworks spreadsheets easily. They come across clean.

Cost - there is a special going on right now. $259 for a 500 seat license!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This includes an additional 50 seats for faculty so 550 seats for $259. Compare that to the Gate's product!!! (My comment) Individual educators can purchase it for $39. The website lists the price as $71. He said to contact our Apple Account Executive and we can get the price he quoted here.

He also said that there is a special on Aperture 2.0 right now for $69 and also on iLife 08 for $39.