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Presentation Facts is an on-going series of posts exploring what is known for sure about presentations and presentation visuals. The series is moderated by Robert Befus.
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Toshiba threw in the towel a few days ago. I expect to see some nice sales on HD-DVD players. I’ve already seen the entry level Toshiba player way under $200 with 7 free movies for a couple of months now. That was the sign of the impending doom for sure. Check out the Reuters release in a PC Mag article here.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 10:32 PM .
I’ve been using my Boom Bag for almost a year now with no problems. It’s a 21″ short trip suitcase like many others except for one thing. It’s also a portable sound system. The sound is decent and the volume will fill most small to medium sized hotel and meeting rooms. Forget lugging around sound dock solutions for your portable players. Just plug them into the Boom Bag and you’re set. It also has USB ports for charging anything able to charge via USB connection. I recently got the new rolling back pack version and was able to get almost everything out of my trusty Wenger bag and into the back pack. The new bag fit better in the smaller regional jet overhead compartments. All of these bags, or pieces of luggage, are great for the road warrior presenter with moderate presentation audio needs. Plug in your computer and you will have enough sound for a room of at least 50 people. There is a line out available to connect multiple bags for even more sound reinforcement. So far, I think it’s a great product. The luggage has a limited lifetime warranty and the sound system comes with a one year warranty. After the one year Boom Bags will replace a failed sound system for $50 for the lifetime of the bag. Is there anyone else making something like this?………….TD
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 2:24 PM .
I’ve struggled with the dual-screen (multiple) monitor feature in Windows for the past year. After a coworker showed me this feature on a job I was working, I was anxious to learn how to do it because it looked so cool! Well I found out that it wasn’t such an easy task… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Mary Waldera at 9:40 AM .
For those of you considering a move to HD video in your presentations check out a short and sweet piece in PC Mag “Are You Ready for HD?” Besides the Sony HD camcorder referred to in the article, I also suggest a look at some offerings from JVC. Ulead software has a plug in to work with HD content on your desktop but the article mentions the big problems using these gigantic files. Those who worked with digital video years ago will think they’ve been down this road before.
Posted by Tom Bunzel at 1:18 PM .
NewTek’s improvements on their original TriCaster put the TriCaster Pro high on my wish list and captures another NAB award.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 11:55 PM .
“Instead of going over all the options here, I’m going to highlight the tools and some of the methods we use to create Rocketboom because, consequently, I have amassed what I would call not just a killer app, but a killer briefcase filled with lots of killer apps that all together allow us to see all video, hear all video and speak all video, not to mention create, tweak and seek. I haven’t been stopped by a file yet (knock on wood).
“This is what we use to make Rocketboom: “
Posted by Lee Potts at 9:51 PM .
A few months ago D’San released The Laptop SoundPort. 
If you need to get PC audio to a sound system this is the way to go. I’ve been using it for a while and I have replaced my Whirlwind PCDI with the SoundPort as my primary unit. It’s a fraction of the size and weight of most direct boxes I’ve seen and it works perfectly. The ground lift feature is the main reason I use direct boxes and the SoundPort adds a volume control. And audio techs like it when all they have to do is run a regular balanced mic (XLR) cable for computer audio . Retail price on D’San’s website is $75 USD. I think The Laptop SoundPort is a worthy investment for presenters and show technicians.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 5:14 PM .
SalesCircular.com is a newspaper sales circular aggregator.
It’s very handy especially for electronics and computer gear.
Choose your state and the site speaks for itself.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 7:57 PM .
I’ve been using my Boom Bag for almost a year now with no problems. It’s a 21″ short trip suitcase like many others except for one thing. It’s also a portable sound system. The sound is decent and the volume will fill most small to medium sized hotel and meeting rooms. Forget lugging around sound dock solutions for your portable players. Just plug them into the Boom Bag and you’re set. It also has USB ports for charging anything able to charge via USB connection. I recently got the new rolling back pack version and was able to get almost everything out of my trusty Wenger bag and into the back pack. The new bag fit better in the smaller regional jet overhead compartments. All of these bags, or pieces of luggage, are great for the road warrior presenter with moderate presentation audio needs. Plug in your computer and you will have enough sound for a room of at least 50 people. There is a line out available to connect multiple bags for even more sound reinforcement. So far, I think it’s a great product. The luggage has a limited lifetime warranty and the sound system comes with a one year warranty. After the one year Boom Bags will replace a failed sound system for $50 for the lifetime of the bag. Is there anyone else making something like this?………….TD
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 3:42 PM .
Tradeshows are like Halloween without the costumes. You go from one booth to another and people give you treats (candy, t-shirts, key rings) to make you like them.
At the VNU Training Fall Conference and Expo last week in Long Beach, CA, I came away with a lousy box of mints, a blinking lapel pin and a couple of rubber earth balls. No matter, I was more interested in seeing which business presentation vendors were exhibiting at the event. What I found was a sparsely attended regional show dominated by e-learning vendors, most of them offering enterprise-level software and services. Only a six-pack of companies were clear crossovers to business presentation: Articulate, PointeCast, Serious Magic, SMART Technologies, TechSmith and Turning Technologies. As close as presentation and training are in spirit and practice, the two worlds are still mostly segregated. Why do you suppose that is?
Still it was worth the trip. I ran across a few products that might be of interest to the blog goblins who haunt Visual Being. See what you think.
One is ReadyGo. The company offers a Web Course Builder that boasts ease of use. But its real attraction is price. Most similar products run in the thousands of dollars. This one retails for less than $500. The thinking behind the product is that people who are not e-learning specialists can now create courses without a high cost of entry or a steep learning curve. Courseware for the masses. I suppose this means that soon everyone will publish their own online school. “I got my degree at the University of Fred.”
Qwizdom is an audience response system that focuses on the training market, but is fully applicable to business presentation. It competes with ARS products such as Turning Point and Fleetwood. The two keypad styles have digital readouts that give them extra flexibility for audience interaction. Unlike Turning Point, which works as a PowerPoint plug-in, Quizdom Interact software is a stand-alone application that imports PowerPoint slides and other media types.
The last product, which you should look at just for laughs, is called FastTrack, from Apixel in Australia. The company sells a training course package (Metamorphosis) that uses a “smart” search engine to quickly parse Word documents into training modules, complete with layouts and auto-selected artwork. For reasons the sales rep could not explain, the company took the same software engine and packaged it for presentations. FastTrack divides paragraphs in a Word doc into individual slides then searches its built-in stock photo database for images that correspond to the words on the page. Sound nutty? See for yourself. There is very little info on the site, but you can download the trial version and user guide. (Beware: If you are doing a presentation about “boxers,” the system might paste in a dog, or a factory worker, or an athlete, or a pair of men’s underwear. Talk about trick or treat.)
Posted by Robert L. Lindstrom at 6:06 PM .
In the every-burgeoning quest for the best (and lightest) solution to being a graphic facilitator, we are constantly searching for the Nirvana of portable wall systems.
These may not be the lightest, but they are pretty dang mobile. Last week, our new panels from Neuland arrived ahead of schedule for a local scribing gig.
Although we could have bought the GraphicWall Bundle at a 15% discount (valid thru 9/30/05), we opted for the more basement-friendly combo of a left and right including paper dispenser and carrying bags.
These facile boards have been used by facilitators for years.
Normally, we trundle in a 30" x 40" cardboard box of white foam core. When I asked Diane Durand, a facilitator in Pittsburgh (and also my wife) why she preferred the new walls, she listed the benefits:
Available from The Grove, Facilitator U or direct from Neuland.
Call 1-888-713-2333 to order
Posted by Peter Durand at 12:20 PM .
I recently purchased my second hard case from Porter Case. 
I have yet to see anything as useful and diverse as my little Porter Case. It’s one of those things that always prompts a question or observation of coolness and wow. Equipment bags and cases always get my attention like some women are drawn to purses and shoes. I have turned to Wenger (Swiss Army Knife) for my everyday soft bags but Porter is by far my choice for small hard cases. Every once in a while I’ll see someone with a Porter Case. They are usually technicians and photographers and we smile like we know the “secret.” The unique feature is how the case can be used as a cart carrying up to 200 lbs. It fits in all but the smallest of airline overheads. 
I think it was an Embraer RJ145 where it fit like a glove. I have my Elite model configured to hold mostly cables, connectors, power supplies, and other small electronics. It usually gets a bit of interest from the TSA folks. When I arrive at my destinations I just load everything on the little Porter Case and roll away. Porter Case recently came out with a new rolling soft bag called the Multimedia 22 Backpack. 
I hope to have one of these at PowerPoint Live next month. It might be able to hold my number one wish list item….Newtek’s TriCaster.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 3:43 PM .
I was doing some demographic research regarding seniors and the Internet and came across this “Enhanced Visibility” Keyboard.
Not that I am getting OLD or anything, but a couple of great features for those Power Point Trainers out there.
1. The larger letters on the keys
2. Works great in low light situations
3. Comes wired or wireless
The wireless is $79.99 and the wired is only $39.99
www.seniors.com
Posted by Julie Marie Irvin at 10:08 AM .
This technique might provide an convenient way to practice a presentation in the plane, the cab, the lobby or other places where you’d rather not have to boot up the laptop. And, as the author remarks, it might be a good way to get the boss to let you expense an ipod.
“there’s a new tool (for macs) that will export powerpoint, pdfs and keynote slides for use on the ipod photo, $18 or you can use my how-to to do the same. an ipod photo, portable media center or any device that plays photos will do. might be a good way to get the boss to let you expense one of these. in the how-to i pump the images out to a headset display, which is part of a cool project that’ll i’ll post about later.”
Posted by Lee Potts at 12:39 PM .