PowerPoint Blog
CounterPoint takes the omnipresent symbol of today's retail driven world -- the counter display and merges it with a PowerPoint presentation so that you can create more interactive counter displays that entertain and inform while you wait for your turn.
And in this Indezine exclusive, we have Kurt Dupont who heads PresentationPoint -- creators of CounterPoint, DataPoint, and other amazing PowerPoint add-ins.
Geetesh: Tell us more about CounterPoint.
Kurt: Well, CounterPoint is our latest addition to our product range of dynamic presentations. We all know that number display (Now serving 34) in a shop or take-away restaurant.
Boring and simple as it can only display a number from 1 to 99 and has no additional features. No additional information can be displayed and it is only used in peak times.
CounterPoint now offers that same functionality by using Microsoft PowerPoint. The big advantage here is that you can format your counter as you which and add general-purpose or advertising slides to the slide show.
You can now run a normal PowerPoint slide show with company and product information, promotions etc, all combined with your counter. As soon as an employee presses the button of a mouse -- this could also be a PowerPoint presenter remote control -- a counter slide is shown, the running counter is incremented and a sound is played. After an idle time that you can configure, the counter slide is made invisible and the normal slide show continues. You can even use multiple service desks by sharing the common number.
Geetesh: Give us some case studies about organizations using CounterPoint.
Kurt: A trendy Belgian take-away restaurant was looking for a counter display system with more functionality. The normal counter display they already had (costs EUR 400) was simply replaced by a normal PC with a 20" TFT monitor. This was even an old computer that was not used anymore. CounterPoint was installed and the owner started playing with the slide show. She created a presentation of some 20 slides with meals and promotional information. At the end a CounterPoint slide was added. Just as easy as that. Now the system is running continuously and serves as a counter display system in peak times.
The advantage that she saw was that they can better control the waiting queue in the restaurant and animate the customers with promotional information, which also leads to more sales.
At the end the customers are entertained and informed, the waiting queue is managed correctly (first in, first out), promotions are displayed and finally the employees are better organized and more effective. And all of this with CounterPoint and a spare computer.
Categories: add-in, powerpoint, interviews, presentationpoint
Today's free template is Star Streaks - download here...
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Looking Leaves. This set brings the world of pills, pharma, and prescriptions to the canvas of a PowerPoint template. Here are some previews.
Bad presentations have long provided a rich source of frustration and tedium for many, especially those in education and the corporate world, and lamentably, such poor standards seem to be the norm.
Microsoft PowerPoint, only one of many digital slide programs available on the market today, belongs to a family of modern influential mediums used to aid impartation of perspectives and boosting hard sells, termed persuasive technologies.
More on The Brunei Times site...
Categories: training, powerpoint
Users who need more hands-on help with Excel and Outlook can get in-depth training at Office Online. Also available are 30- to 60-minute "Get up to Speed" training courses that familiarize users with the Office 2007 suite of applications and the ribbon interface.
IT managers concerned about the new file formats introduced in Office 2007 can point users to the file-format section of Office Online, which includes videos explaining the new file formats, how to use the compatibility modes and how documents can be shared among different versions of Microsoft Office.
More on the eWeek site...
Categories: microsoft_office, powerpoint_2007
In the classroom, new technology is finding more important roles when it comes to educating students. More professors are creating their lectures as PowerPoint presentations, which allows them to combine visual aids with their lecture, and are using computers in other ways to run their classes.
Read more on the Purdue Exponent site...
Categories: education, powerpoint
Today's free template is Textured 19 - download here...
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Pharmacy. This set brings the world of pills, pharma, and prescriptions to the canvas of a PowerPoint template. Here are some previews.
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Microbiology. This set draws inspiration from the objects that can be seen in the laboratory, or by magnifying simple biological material. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Metal Surface - download here...
Impatica Inc. has announced that Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) is the first wireless carrier to offer the Impatica ShowMate as a must-have accessory for its BlackBerry customers. The Impatica ShowMate is a tool that can help extend the workplace for customers, as it is the first and only device of its kind to project PowerPoint presentations from a BlackBerry. Impatica ShowMate is available online at www.sprint.com.
"The Impatica ShowMate creates a compelling reason to carry a BlackBerry," said Ujval Alva, Sprint National Product Manager, Accessories Division for Sprint Nextel. "ShowMate lets our customers do more with their BlackBerry handsets. By choosing to offer this unique product, we hope to send a message that we provide our clients a suite of value-added mobile productivity tools."
More on the Impatica site...
Categories: impatica, powerpoint, blackberry
Impatica Inc. announced it has entered into a channel partnership with Simply Wireless, a national provider of wireless technology for consumers and businesses. Under the terms of the agreement, Simply Wireless will offer its clients Impatica's ShowMate based solution for PowerPoint viewing and projecting on BlackBerry handhelds. With the pocket-sized Impatica ShowMate, the BlackBerry can connect to any projector or display to present compelling PowerPoint presentations that include rich text, images, charts, graphs, animations and slide transition effects.
"We are delighted to welcome Simply Wireless to our global family of channel partners." said Michael Doyle, Chairman and CEO of Impatica Inc. "Simply Wireless has a very strong presence in the mobile communications market, through a combination of direct sales force, retail outlets and online stores."
Read more on the Impatica site...
Categories: impatica, powerpoint, blackberry
Tuval Software, creators of Speech-Over Studio for PowerPoint have announced Notes-Over , a new PowerPoint add-in that creates and manages formatted speaker notes coordinated with the slide contents. Not only can notes now be related to individual slides, but you can also link them to individual slide elements like shapes. In addition, you can dictate your notes and Notes-Over converts that to text.
Notes-Over also includes a full featured Notes editor. A trial version can be downloaded from their site...
Related Links: The Joel Harband Interview
Categories: add-in, powerpoint
I always like to think of PowerPoint as a glue that holds disparate media together -- these media elements include sound, movies, pictures, clip art, and animation clips. Judiciously used, these elements can make your presentation look good -- but they can also dramatically increase file sizes. Optimization software is the solution -- and there are many such programs available. The newest of them all is PPTshare File Compressor -- this allows you to optimize presentations using different compression levels.
Read the full review...
Categories: add-in, powerpoint
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Leonardo da Vinci 02. Based on the sketches of the renowned artist, this series attempts to bring his art to a PowerPoint template series. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Atom Planets - download here...
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Leonardo da Vinci 01. Based on the sketches of the renowned artist, this series attempts to bring his art to a PowerPoint template series. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Eruption - download here...
Manuel Fernandes is from Blue Pacific Software, a rich media company based out of Lisbon, Portugal. In this conversation, Manuel discusses the improvements at Rich Chart Live, their web-based charting product.
Geetesh: Tell us about the new save options in Rich Chart Live.
Manuel: The only tool you need to create a Rich Chart is a web browser and an Internet connection and one of the great advantages of working in the web is that you can share your work to collaborate with your co-workers or friends which is now possible with Rich Chart Live: you can save a Rich Chart project and send it to a co-worker so she can review or finish it.
One of our concerns was to keep this process really simple and familiar to a regular Internet user, so we decided that Rich Chart projects can be saved as browser bookmarks that can be transformed into local files for easy storage -- there can't be anything easier than this.
In short, we added the possibility of online collaboration when building a Rich Chart.
Geetesh: Can you share some user experiences for Rich Chart Live?
Manuel: We have a lot of university students using Rich Chart Live to do group work. They can easily share the generated charts with the rest of the group and when they finish they export it to PowerPoint to make their final presentations.
Categories: charting, powerpoint, animation, powerpoint_flash
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called De Stijl. Based on the famous Dutch art movement of the same name, this series attempts to bring the geometric patterns typical of the De Stijl style to a PowerPoint template series. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Watching You 02 - download here...
A large number of business users these days use PDAs, SmartPhones, and other similar equipment -- the BlackBerry is one of the most omnipresent phone PDA brands to be found these days. And to make the connection between the BlackBerry, PowerPoint, and a projector -- a company called Impatica decided to create a small product called the ShowMate.
Read the review here...
Categories: impatica, powerpoint, blackberry, projector
Rodney Saulsberry is one of the top voice-over talents in the United States, and author of the new book, Step Up To The Mic. For more than a decade the Detroit native and University of Michigan graduate has given voice to many successful commercial campaigns, including Toyota Camry, Alpo, Verizon, and numerous movie trailers. In this interview, Rodney discusses his new book.
Read the interview here...
Categories: interviews, powerpoint
Today's free template is Watching You 01 - download here...
Today's free template is DNA 05 - download here...
Today's free template is DNA 04 - download here...
Today's free template is DNA 03 - download here...
Today's free template is DNA 02 - download here...
Laumakis frequently uses ConceptCheck questions integrated into his PowerPoint presentation slides to get immediate feedback on student comprehension of course content.
He also uses the clickers to poll the class and to do demonstrations, including demonstrations that permit the gathering of real-time classroom data to demonstrate the serial position effect.
Read more on the SDSUniverse site...
Categories: education, powerpoint
The students in second grade used Microsoft PowerPoint to develop a three-slide presentation. Students in grades three and four will also use PowerPoint to design a nine-slide presentation which will include a bibliography page. Working on this project has been an enjoyable activity for the children. They are not only using technology to conduct research, but they are also using their writing skills to share their information with an audience.
More on The Advertiser News site...
Categories: education, powerpoint
Today's free template is DNA 01 - download here...
Today's free template is Textured 18 - download here...
Today's free template is Twisted Bliss - download here...
It has been observed that presentations that contain graphical elements score higher than those that contain just text. By graphical elements here, I don't mean illustrations or pictures -- but diagram style graphics that show relationships and contain text as part of the graphic.
PowerPoint, by itself contains a very capable diagramming feature -- and the new SmartArt feature in PowerPoint 2007 is even more impressive. Even then, there are bound to be times when you want something that's easier to use, provides more options, and even works well with PowerPoint. That's exactly what SmartDraw 2007 aims to be.
Read more in my SmartDraw 2007 review...
Categories: smartdraw, powerpoint
Jonathan Boutelle is the CTO of SlideShare, and is a principal at Uzanto Consulting. A software engineer by training, his interests lie at the intersection of technology, business, and user experience. He has worked as a software engineer for such companies as Commerce One and Advanced Visual Systems, and has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies to help them make their technology easier to use. He is particularly focused on technology that brings the web experience closer to the capabilities of the desktop.
In this interview, Jonathan discusses SlideShare and PowerPoint...
Categories: slideshare, powerpoint, interviews
Articulate has announced the Guru Award Contest for users who have developed content using Articulate's e-learning and presentation authoring tools. Articulate is looking for content that is worthy of public recognition and award prizes.
Winners will be announced on March 28th, 2007. Prizes include cash ranging from $250 to $1,500 -- all prize winners will also receive two free licenses of Articulate Rapid E-Learning Studio Pro, which is a $3,800 value -- this is to be donated to the school or charity of their choice. Winners will also be featured on the Articulate website.
More information on the the first annual Articulate Guru Awards Contest can be found here...
Categories: articulate, powerpoint
...The good news is, it isn't PowerPoint itself that generates this malformed PPT file, so there's not something there that needs an immediate patch for users worldwide. The even better news is that the exception cannot be exploited for remote code execution - it simply crashes PowerPoint...
Read more on the BetaNews site...
Categories: powerpoint
Today's free template is Light Blocks - download here...
Rich Chart Live, the web based charting program from Blue Pacific Software that I reviewed a while ago has been updated.
I'm so glad that this new version includes the ability to save your chart projects so that you can continue working on the same chart after at a later time. You can also send your chart projects to a friend or co-worker for collaboration, or edits.
Learn more here...
Related Posts: Conversation with Manuel Fernandes
Categories: charting, powerpoint, animation, powerpoint_flash
The RemotePoint ONYX presentation remote from Interlink carries its own USB Auto RF receiver, which operates at up to 100-feet, and automatically switches between 64k unique addresses to keep make sure nobody else starts running your presentation. The unit also has a built-in laser pointer, the requisite buttons, and a nifty clock to keep you on schedule. No word on price of availability, but a CES 2007 launch would be a good guess.
More on the Engadget site...
Categories: remotes, powerpoint
Today's free template is Firelight - download here...
Microsoft is gearing up for a huge product launch on November 30. That's when the company will officially announce the business availability of a whole raft of new products, including Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007.
More on The Windows Observer site...
Categories: microsoft_office, powerpoint
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Local Politics. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Corrugated Blue - download here...
PowerPoint MVP Austin Myers has developed a step-by-step tutorial on inserting closed captioned video in PowerPoint.
Austin adds that "As we build presentations with video we often over look the fact that many people suffer from a hearing loss and can not hear the audio portion of the video. In the past it wasn't feasible to add closed captioning to video in PowerPoint because you could not place text "on top" of a running video from within PowerPoint. I recently found a method to change this and allow users to both create a closed captioned video in PowerPoint and distribute it to others".
Read more on Austin's site...
Categories: movies, powerpoint, tutorials
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Elections. Here are some previews.
Today's free template is Decoratia - download here...
None of the templates at Ppted.com are free -- these are all designer templates. I just wanted to say that because lots of readers write in to say that their Indezine passwords don't let them download all the Ppted templates for free!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Graffiti. Here are some previews.
Microsoft announced that Office 2007 has been RTMed (Released to Manufacturing) -- this means that the final copy has been released although it might be a while before it is actually available.
Microsoft Office 2007 Available December 1
Microsoft announced today that it has completed the code for its 2007 Office system, a major overhaul for the best-selling productivity suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and a slew of other applications (depending on which version of the suite you buy). U.S. and Canadian customers can download a fully functioning 60-day trial of the suite starting on December 1.
More on the PC World site...
Office 2007 -- It's Done
Microsoft announced this morning that is Microsoft Office 2007 has been released to manufacturing, setting the stage for it shipping to corporate customers later this month, and to retail early next year.
This is probably the biggest change to Office since Office 95, nearly a dozen years ago. The family menu system has been replaced by the "ribbon" user interface, especially in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Microsoft is making a big bet on this new UI, as it makes all of these applications look very different.
After using it for a while, I find a like the ribbon very much. And I've talked to users who are raving about "new features" in programs like Excel. But most of these aren't new features at all; just old features that the ribbon makes easier to fine. The problem, though, is that many people are resistant to change, and the ribbon interface does take some getting used to. After all, we've had the File, Edit, View, Window, and Help pull down menus for a long time.
More on the PC Magazine site...
Categories: microsoft_office, powerpoint
Today's free template is Mint and Lemon - download here...
About.com recently reviewed my book Cutting Edge PowerPoint For Dummies. Wendy Russell, who is the Presentation Software Guide at About.com says that "the writing style is so easy going that you will enjoy the experience of just reading this book. The tips and tricks are invaluable for making a presentation that viewers will sit up and notice."
Read more here...
Categories: book_review, powerpoint
Today's free template is Red Flares - download here...
Today's free template is Rusted - download here...
Today's free template is Distogrid - download here...
Vyew announced the public beta release of Vyew 2.0 -- a web conferencing and always-on collaboration platform that enables shared visual communication from any browser almost instantly without software installations. This a major version release that includes several new and expanded features.
More on the Vyew site...
Categories: conferencing, powerpoint, whiteboard, training
Today's free template is Spiroripples - download here...
Today's free template is Abstillusion - download here...
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A lot is at stake -- power, money, reputation, future plans, justice. You need to win this case. Your presentation materials surely will play an important role in helping the judge and jury experience the sights, sounds, and details of the case ... or not. The choice is up to you, says one tech-savvy attorney.
The choice is up to you, says one tech-savvy attorney. It all depends upon whether you are willing to push PowerPoint beyond its normal boundaries to maximize its interactive and persuasive potential. This article by Robert Lane and
Bruce A. Olson
provides a better idea of using PowerPoint in court. 
