Jim Reisteter (pictured to the left) is the Vice President
of Sales and Marketing at Interlink Electronics. He is responsible
for sales, marketing and product development for the Business Communications
and Home Entertainment groups at the company. Jim joined Interlink
Electronics from Kodak, where he most recently held the position
of Vice President of Channel Sales and Marketing in the Kodak Professional
unit.
Geetesh:
Jim:
Tell us more about Interlink.
Interlink Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:
LINK) is a global leader in the design and manufacture
of intuitive interface technologies and products. Creating
today’s interface standards, our business communications,
e-transactions, home entertainment and specialty businesses
have established Interlink as the industry’s comprehensive
source for branded and OEM solutions.
Interface solutions for business communications include wireless presentation
remotes and input devices for people who present as well as wireless
OEM remote controls for business communications, broadband and home entertainment
equipment. Selected Interlink Electronics’ customers include Compaq,
Coretronic, Delta, Dell, HP, IBM, InFocus, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, NEC,
Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Recognized worldwide for innovate technologies
and solutions, Interlink Electronics, Inc serves a world-class customer
base from our corporate headquarters in Camarillo, CA and offices in
Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei. We currently hold more than 70 patents protecting
our Force Sensing Resistor (FSR®), VersaPoint®Pressure Pointing,
VersaPad® pen input pad and RemoteLink®wireless communication
technologies.
Geetesh:
Jim:
What type of revolution are we witnessing in the presentation
hardware industry?
The presentation hardware industry is seeing a significant
change in the customers we serve. It wasn't that long ago
that nearly all presentation remotes were sold to professional
public speakers. Now, the use of PowerPoint is standard in
business meetings and people in all types of professions
are called upon to give presentations. These people rely
on PowerPoint to communicate their ideas and are rewarded
for a well done presentation. It is these business presenters
that are the new customer for the industry and with this
comes the need for better, more creative presentation hardware
solutions.
Geetesh:
Jim:
So much of evolution in new hardware is in the form of features most
people are not aware of - or simply don't use. What do you attribute
this to: lack of skills in users, unintelligent design from vendors
or something else?
There will always be a demand for feature rich products
from a wide variety of people who present. New products strive
to meet the needs of many and in doing so, often include
features that go beyond the average customer's need. Interlink
has worked hard to diversify our remote control product line
to offer a range of features. Our RemotePoint Navigator,
is simple for anyone to operate, with just the most popular
features; slide forward, slide back, slide hide and a laser
pointer. RemotePoint Presenter has the same basic functions,
but adds a software program, programmable buttons, additional
range, and presentation storage capability. By including
such advanced features, our customers can pick and choose
the capabilities that are useful to them and customize the
remote control to their personal habits and presentation
methods.
Geetesh:
Jim:
How can users benefit from the marriage of wireless
technologies with presentation hardware.
Wireless presentation remotes make people better presenters.
It's as simple as that. I've sat through many presentation
courses and they all teach the same basic presentation principles:
move around as you are speaking, keep eye contact with your
audience and convey your confidence. It is not possible to
do these things well if you are tied to the computer to advance
your slides. A good wireless remote is a necessary tool for
successful presentations.
Geetesh:
Jim:
As online rich media makes its foray, presentation software is trying
to cope up. How do you think the hardware industry will aid online
rich media?
When using any software or media in presenting ideas, control
is the key. A remote and mouse combination like Interlink's
RemotePoint Presenter provides the ability to easily switch
from presentation to web content and enables online web navigation.
We provide a simple, easy to use presentation tool to accomplish
this.
Geetesh:
Jim:
What sort of preparation should precede an important
presentation as far as hardware is concerned?
Very little! The tools you choose to present with should
just work. My personal tips for preparing for a presentation
are:
Select presentation hardware that is easy-to-use and
supports plug and play operation.
Give yourself a few minutes to set-up prior to the presentation.
Be confident! Your presentation tools are working behind
the scenes so that you look great.
Geetesh:
Jim
Death by PowerPoint - PowerPoint is blamed for everything from space
shuttle disasters to disaster meetings. What's your opinion?
Blaming presentation software for bad meetings and bad decisions
only serves to highlight the importance of presentations.
Since PowerPoint is used by NASA to evaluate the space shuttle
program this gives credence to my previous statement that
PowerPoint is a standard for communication. With such powerful
evidence of the need for PowerPoint, I'm excited to provide
tools that make PowerPoint presenters more confident, more
credible and more in control; a better presenter!
