PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques

Microsoft Releases Vista Operating System

Today is the day for Microsoft's release of their new Vista operating system, along with the upgraded Office 2007 suite and upgraded back-end server software.  The system is being released for sale to corporate customers that buy software licenses in bulk according to CNN Money.  The release date for consumer purchases will be January 30th. 

According to the article, Gartner is estimating that Vista sales will not surpass those of the installed operating system base until 2010.  The lag in installations is projected due to migration expenses and compatibility testing with other installed software in the corporate environment.

Information Week is now being released in an electronic magazine format through NXTbook.  The latest issue covers the release of Vista and Office 2007.

History of PowerPoint

Are you curious about the history of PowerPoint?

If so, you might want to download a PPT presentation created by Cathy Bellevile one of the founders and partners at a Bit Better Corporation that was created in 2000.  In her presentation, Cathy a former PowerPoint Product Manager,  delineates the evolution of PowerPoint with a description of the feature upgrades all the way up to  PPT 2000.  Among the versions described are:

• PowerPoint 1 - 1987
• PowerPoint 2 - 1988
• Win PowerPoint 2 - 1990
• PowerPoint 3 - 1992
• PowerPoint 4.0 - 1994
• PowerPoint 7 - 1994 (there was a change in their product naming strategy)
• PowerPoint 97 - 1997
• PowerPoint 2000 - 2000

Since then they've had at least two upgrades with PowerPoint 2002 and PowerPoint 2003, soon to be joined by PowerPoint 2007.

Interested in Online Video?

Are you interested in online video?

If so you might want to see my post today on my other blog - the Web Chef's e-Bytes.  It reviews some of the latest reports on online video sharing sites beyond the YouTube phenomena.

Compression Tools Update 3 (PPTshare, NxPowerLite, PowerShrink, PowerPressed)

TechCrunch reports on the availability of PPTshare a new software tool that compresses PowerPoint presentations to a more manageable size.  The company claims that the software compresses slide presentations up to 95%.  The software has multiple compression options according to TechCrunch including "normal, extra, high quality, mobile and custom".  Interestingly in a quick look at the features on the PPTshare website I didn't see a discussion of these options.

According to the company, the software "intelligently" reduces the size of graphics and other embedded documents.  Recipients of a compressed file do not need to have PPTshare installed on their systems to be able to view the file in the PPT or PPS formats.  The software is currently only available for PCs using Windows 98 or later. 

The single user price is $45.  There is a free trial available that allows you to have up to 10 "compressions" after which you are required to purchase the software using a key.

One of the comments on the TechCrunch blog suggested that this type of tool had been available for a long time and pointed readers to NxPowerLite 2 , a similar compression utility with interestingly enough a downloadable price of $45.

PPTshare also has a tool called PPTshare desktop slide manager that is currently in Beta and is designed to help you organize your slides into a library for picking, choosing and assembling a new presentation.

Update - 10.25.06
InDesign had an interview with Bronwyn Lane at TopBytesLab in Germany about their software package called PowerShrink, another PowerPoint compression tool.  She claims in the interview that the software compresses PowerPoint files an average of 62%.

Update - 11.17.06
Another tool that I've come across is Fortress Gate Ltd's PowerPressed.  Their web site claims a compression rate up to 95% and a single user price of $11.99.

________________________________________________________________________________

All of these tools sound like they could have utility and are ones that I will plan on testing in the near future.  I'll also be adding them to my Powerful Presentation Techniques Resource Listing for the next revision. 

If you've used any of these or have additions for my PPT Resource Listing, please let me know how well they have worked for you.

Stock & Other Photography Resources Updates

Looking for another source for stock images for your PPT presentations?

Why not take a look at LuckyOliver - a community of artists, buying and selling photographs.  The web site states that the images sell for about a dollar.

For full disclosure purposes, I have an affiliate marketing relationship with them.

PPT - WSJ DUHS, DON'T'S & DO'S

The Wall Street Journal has an article (note: at some point this will only be accessible to subscribers) in today's Cubicle Culture column by Jared Sandberg titled
"Tips for PowerPoint:

• Go Easy on the Text
• Please Spare Us"

The article discusses perspectives from various professionals on what not to do including the following referenced in the article:

• Writing paragraphs for each bullet point
• Reading the slides
• Going special effects crazy
• Swapping out laptops among multiple presentations
• Using laser pointers

Given the estimated 30 million PPT presentations a day and the estimated $252 million costs due to wasted time (according to Dave Paradi), the article states that the problems stem from audiences not letting the presenter know of their boredom, from poorly trained presenters and from the innate fear of public speaking leading to the need for speakers to use PPT as a crutch.

So what can you and your organziation do about this dilemma?

The solution could be increased training not just only on PPT, but on presentation skills!

Now it's time for an ad - Why not have your staff trained during a session of PPT- Powerful Presentation Techniques? 

The interactive sessions are designed for professionals to learn more about what makes a great presentation, how to enhance their own presentation skills and what to do and not to do with PPT.  To find out more about the customizable sessions please download the PPT session description or contact me (608) 255 4092. 

Download PPT-PowerfulPresentationTechniquesDescription.pdf 

Tufte vs. Godin

Juice Analytics has an interesting review of Seth Godin's comments about Tufte's favorite infographic - Napolean's March to Moscow.  Both Godin and the poster at Juice Analytics thnk the image fails in presenting data in a "simple and to the point" fashion.

Stock Photography Updates

Periodically I come across additional stock photography resources.  I'll be updating my PowerPoint & Presentation Resource listing guide with the new information, but will also make it available immediately on PPT.

One of the stock photography sites, I've identified is Awesome Presentation Pictures.  You can purchase all of their images on a CD ROM for $299, purchase them individually for $5 or buy 10 for $40. 

In other stock photography news, Photo News Today announced that the Stock Artists Alliance, a global trade association dedicated to representing the rights of stock photographers has released a "Guide to the Business of Stock Photography" for those wanting to understand more about the business from the perspective of the photographer (PDF, registration required).

Video Fun

Viral Video Charts had a very amusing video they titled Animator vs. Animation that I think you'll enjoy.

Hat tip to Adrants contributor Angela Natividad.

Zoho Show & Slideshare Compared

Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspirations has a posting that compares Zoho Show and Slideshare on various criteria including:

• Privacy
• Editing Capability
• New Slide Show Creation
• Uploading Ease

His final results are Slideshare beating out Zoho Show.

In other Slideshare news, Utility Belt a Business 2.0 blog, has an interview with Jon Boutelle, co-founder and CTO of the company.  In the interview he provides some interesting insights on Slideshare and its users.  Among the features that they are working on is a privacy set that will allow for permission levels to be set.  This feature is one where the Digital Impressions review gave their feature points to ZohoShow.