I’m tired of PowerPoint, and I find Prezi’s spinning and zooming hard to follow. I’m tired of having to use third parties tools to embed websites with limited functionality so that I can embed my gizmos in my presentation. The web has been around for more than 30 years; why does today’s presentation software consider it an after-thought? Why is it so difficult to use hyperlinks to link within a presentation itself?
I want presentation software that will:
- Allow me to embed live versions of websites using whatever browser rendering software I choose.
- Allow me to edit the presentation on the fly, so that I can take notes during a workshop in my presentation.
- Allow my presentation to be streamed online (with audio and a webcam stream) using the same tool that I’m presenting with.
- Allow me to save the state of 3rd party software and include it in my presentation. Think of what you could accomplish with your presentation if you didn’t have to flip between programs all the time.
- Suppress notifications from other programs. No, I don’t want to know about that email I just got, and yes, I’m aware that I should have shut down my email in advance of my presentation, but I forgot, okay?
- Can I ask for any webcam stream to be included in my presentation? I’d love to be able to embed a webcam stream from a person on the other side of the planet, while I take notes or share images on their behalf on my end of the conversation.
- Allow me poll the audience (or embed a live chat) within my presentation itself. The audience is part of the presentation, not just a passive recipient of information, they should be included as much as possible where feasible.
- Make the presentation software easy to use. We need to write more software remembering that the people on the other end may not be experts in a wide variety of software. Every time I have to teach somehow how to use software it makes me frustrated because I know it is possible to build software that is more intuitive than what currently exists.
I’m sure I’ll come up with some more features, but this is good enough for now.
Anonymous says:
Assalam-o-alikum,
I have a suggestion;whenever there is a special
day there comes a picture on the homepage
of Google.com.Like this whenever there is an
special Islamic day like Ramadhan,Haj,Eid-ul-fitr,
Eid-ul-zuha and the month of Holy Prophet
Muhammad sallah-ho-alay-hay-waaalay-he-wassalam;
Rabiul-awal there should be something on
the homepage of Google to increase Islam.
Same like when there is Earth day,cristmas
and Howard Caters birthday (today).
Wassalam.
Muhammad Atif.
9278692@gmail.com
May 17, 2012 — 10:48 am
Anonymous says:
Thinking outside the box for a moment, could it be that a new format is in order? I’m thinking of the interactive network graphs of MyIdeaTree.com. I can see it being used in the case where a) the “slides” of a presentation are interrelated and b) they follow a sequence that builds upon previous slides. In map format, that would mean maximizing branches as they become relevant to your talk. [Disclaimer: I’m the developer of MyIdeaTree. Whether or not it satisfies the items on your wishlist, you may have some insights that could inform future development.]
Looking at your wishlist:
– “Allow me to embed live versions of websites using whatever browser rendering software I choose.”
That’s the nature of things once we go to web-based presentation. In other words, it’s done.
– “Allow me to edit the presentation on the fly, so that I can take notes during a workshop in my presentation.”
MyIdeaTree allows you (or audience members you allow) to append notes in real time to any topic being displayed.
– “Allow my presentation to be streamed online (with audio and a webcam stream) using the same tool that I’m presenting with.”
Do you have a favorite online streaming tool (Google chat, perhaps)? If so, make a link to that part of the MyIdeaTree graph.
– “Allow me to save the state of 3rd party software and include it in my presentation. Think of what you could accomplish with your presentation if you didn’t have to flip between programs all the time.”
Again, comes free with the territory if those 3rd party apps are web-based, and included in the MyIdeaTree graph.
– “Suppress notifications from other programs. No, I don’t want to know about that email I just got…”
Sorry, can’t help you there.
– “Can I ask for any webcam stream to be included in my presentation?…”
You can, if it’s web-based and there exists an app for it.
– “Allow me poll the audience..”
MyIdeaTree has vote-able topics which you can drag-to-create at any time. Also, if you give them access, audience members can create vote-able topics in real time, which you will see displayed on your presentation.
– “Make the presentation software easy to use.”
The premise behind MyIdeaTree is that software should be self-explanatory, with pictures everywhere on usage, mouseover explanations, and a drag-and-drop interface. I’m sincerely interested in your opinion of how well it does in that regard and what can be improved.
Regards,
Ron
December 28, 2012 — 1:30 pm