For sure, Microsoft's MacBU does have some great minds. What else would explain this new Art of Office concept that shows how users worldwide create art from ordinary Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents?
As their Mac Mojo blog says: "Art of Office is a place for people to submit artistic and/or useful content made using Office applications (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). Whether it’s creating pixel art using Excel (a la our Post-it Notes) developing an animated short story in PowerPoint or artistic pieces in Word, this online community allows you to share, rate, remix and discuss user-submitted content with other Mac Office users around the world. It’s a fun way to show unique applications of our product and helps people think of Mac Office in ways they may not have thought of before".
And while there are lots of comments there which complain about the delay in the release of Office 2008, I really like this initiative -- all work and no play is no good!
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called Doodles. Not only do you get five great template designs, you also get the actual backgrounds so that you can use the same designs elsewhere. In this collection, you also get wide screen templates and backgrounds, and ten transparent PNGs you can use in your presentations -- at no extra cost.
Templates
Transparent PNGs
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 Seaside Cubism. Not only do you get five great template designs, you also get the actual backgrounds so that you can use the same designs elsewhere. In this collection, you also get wide screen templates and backgrounds, and ten transparent PNGs you can use in your presentations -- at no extra cost.
Templates
Transparent PNGs
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!
NewSoft announced the WMS 200 Video wireless projector adapter, that complements the existing WMS 100 Image adapter. The WMS 200 transmits lossless, high quality MPEG-1, 2, and 4 video, music, high-resolution images, and presentations featuring animation and audio.
The WMS series are the first adapters that wirelessly link WiFi-ready laptops directly to projectors and displays. Expected to retail at a price of $349, the WMS 200 enables you to broadcast video, audio, pictures and slides from anywhere in the room to high resolution projectors and displays.
The WMS 200 also includes the Presto! WMS software, which controls access to the adapter and also offers an interface for broadcasting content.
The wireless projector adapter can support resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 at 16/24/32 bit color modes and is compliant with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g standard.
Zoho Viewer is a handy way to upload documents and share them with others via the web. Rather than clogging your friends’ e-mail boxes with weighty attachments, you can upload them to Zoho Viewer and just send a link. Viewer supports Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint files as well as PDF, RTF, ODF and OpenOffice documents, which means even if your intended recipient doesn’t have a particular program installed, they’ll still be able to view it through Zoho Viewer.
Apple announced iWork '08, a new version of its productivity suite.
This includes a new version of Keynote, their presentation software. New features in Keynote include Instant Alpha, a process that removes the background from placed images without having to use masking tools in image-editors like Adobe Photoshop. Another new feature is Smart Builds, an option that makes it easy to add animations. Keynote also adds new transition types, and text effects enhancements. All these options except Instant Alpha are already available in PowerPoint -- and Microsoft's upcoming version of Office 2008 for the Mac can only add more catch-up to do on both the Apple and Microsoft fronts.
As if that was not enough, Apple adds Numbers, a spreadsheet program to iWork '08, thus making it a more even contender to Microsoft Office for the Mac.
Pages, the page layout program adds more word processing options.
What's next? Is there an iWork for Windows coming up?
Shelfari is a new site that lets me create, update, and share my virtual book shelf. So I started with putting all books I have authored on a shelf! Naturally, if you see this blog post after a while, you might find other books as well.
You can also become my friend, create your own shelf, and track what's on my shelf by using this invite...
FlashSpring Pro is a PowerPoint add-in which allows you to converts your PowerPoint presentations into Flash SWF movies with all the slide transitions, custom animations, audio and video clips, and inserted Flash SWF files intact.
Tim Goggin is the VP of Marketing & Sales for PocketMac. He has an extensive background in technology marketing and in direct marketing. In this conversation, Tim discusses PocketMac Remote, an application that allows the use of the Apple Remote to control PowerPoint and Keynote presentations on the Mac.
Geetesh: Tell us more about PocketMac.net, and your products including PocketMac Remote.
Tim: In 2001, we started the PocketMac product line with the introduction of our first product, PocketMac Pro, almost 2 years in development, which was the first-ever tool to synchronize the Macintosh and Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. We then shortly added support for Windows Mobile Smartphones
From there, we've expanded into a variety of different areas, including our flagship PocketMac for BlackBerry, which connects Mac users and their BlackBerry handhelds; other tools work with the PSP, iPods and many more.
In 2004, Research In Motion, the creators of the BlackBerry handheld, licensed PocketMac for BlackBerry and they have continued to distribute it since that time.
Our recent releases include PocketMac Remote which expands the capabilities of the Apple Remote to control Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
We're always working to expand what computer users can do both in the Mac and Windows arena and PocketMac Remote fits nicely into this area.
Geetesh: Since most Macs can now boot into Windows, do you have any plans to make a Windows version of the product that will work with the Apple Remote?
Tim: At this time, we don't have plans but that's a great idea. I'll definitely ask our engineers to look into this. The Macs running Windows marketing is definitely one we take seriously.
The name should have served as a warning. Microsoft has announced the launch of its Office for Mac 2008 has been pushed back until January 2008. Despite the name, Office for Mac 2008, which will bring new versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint to OS X users, was originally scheduled for release in the second half of this year.
Microsoft hasn’t released a Mac Office update in four years. The company says problems with “product quality” caused the delay, but hopes to have its Mac office suite on the shelves in time for Macworld, which is scheduled for the third week of January 2008.
"Hey, take a look at this presentation" suggested an e-mail from a friend. However, there was no attached PPS file but rather a simple URL. "Oh great," I thought... "Now I'll have to go and see where on that file is on a long web page" - grudgingly as usual.
I was wrong. The link pointed towards AuthorStream.com, a new site which aims to provide the ease of use and "viral-marketing" nature of Youtube, but this time to the world of presentation files.
Ppted released a new PowerPoint template set -- this one is called People Chain. Not only do you get five great template designs, you also get the actual backgrounds so that you can use the same designs elsewhere. In this collection, you also get wide screen templates and backgrounds, and ten transparent PNGs you can use in your presentations -- at no extra cost.
Templates
Transparent PNGs
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!
Wildform announced an upgrade to their WildPresenter product that adds several new features:
A slide show wizard that easily create slideshows with images and SWF files. Just select your files and WildPresenter will take care of the rest.
Improved text rendering that includes small font enhancement features as well as improved text alignment.
New export dialogue --every time you export your files, WildPresenter tells you which files you exported, where they are located and which files you need in order to publish your project.
Improved export of slides that exports all the slides in your project individually at one time.
Improve slide navigation player that changes the name of the slide navigation player XML and thumbs folder.
Microsoft MacBU (Macintosh Business unit) announced a beta release of their Office Open XML Converter. With this update, Microsoft Office X and 2004 users can save to and open the new Office 2007 XML file formats including PowerPoint and Word files.
According to the site, "this version of the converter improves conversion of Word documents that contain XML content, inline graphics, hyperlinked graphics, WMF/EMF graphics, SmartArt graphics, tracked changes in the document header and footer, Unicode characters, and Japanese Rubi fields".
Microsoft has released a new version of Microsoft Works. Microsoft Works v9, the red-headed stepchild of Microsoft Office, is a free, ad supported office package offering word processing, spreadsheet and slideshow (PowerPoint) functionality.
Microsoft Works 9 may also someday be available as a Microsoft-hosted low-end productivity service, possibly through the company’s Live services, which would put it head-to-head with Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Zoho. But for the moment, Works 9 will be limited to the desktop.
