I am very impressed with it, and have made a quick screencast showing how it works:

If you need to create a presentation, it’s well worth giving 280 Slides a try.

Have you tried using 280 Slides to create a presentation?

Workshare Compare for PowerPoint gives you the ability to compare two PowerPoint files and see the differences between them. While it doesn’t track changes while you edit the PowerPoint file, like Word does, it does give you the ability to see the changes that have been made between versions of a presentation.

You can select which version of the slide (either original or modified) you wish to keep right inside Workshare, much like Word’s accept/reject feature. The interface clearly shows which is which, and outlines the changes in the detailed summary at the bottom. The easy-to-use interface takes no effort to figure out, so you can get right to work. I made a quick screencast to show you how it works:

The biggest drawback to Workshare is the cost of a license. (A 14-day free trial is available.) One license of Workshare Compare for PowerPoint retails for $199$145 per license per user for one year. If you don’t renew the license, the software stops working. (Note: There are two editions of Workshare Compare, one of which is for PowerPoint and the other for comparing PDF and Word documents.)

Personally, I don’t edit PowerPoint presentations enough to justify this cost on an annual basis, and I believe that many people will agree with me. Those who edit and share PowerPoint presentations on a regular basis and frequent presenters will benefit most from the application, but the subscription-based fee may be a barrier.

Have you tried Workshare Compare for PowerPoint? Do you think it is worth the cost?

One Big Page

Where a typical presentation is based on individual slides with a set progression, the starting point for a Prezi presentation is one big page. On this blank canvas, you place all of your elements for the entire presentation — images, text, even multimedia. Organizing this information is not a question of linear progression. Instead, you add paths between different elements; you can choose to start with a main idea and then jump to an image off of the far side of the page. Prezi uses a “path” tool to let you create a moving presentation that starts at one thought and moves to the next. If you want to change that order, or zoom in on a particular part of one of your images or ideas, you can handle those alterations on the fly.

The ability to zoom in and out during a presentation is one of the most important features on Prezi. By sizing information according to importance, you can communicate on levels far beyond a simple slideshow — while still being able to move in and look at the details of a concept. Moving between different parts of the presentation with changing sizes can also add an element of animation without relying on cheesy transitions between individual slides.

Prepping With Prezi

Prezi’s interface for building new presentations is incredibly intuitive: In one corner of your web browser, you’ll find a set of options mostly focused on placing items within your presentation. Adjusting the size, placement and angle of any item in your presentation is just a matter of clicking on that item and dragging one of the three sets of circles that appear. It takes only a moment to get used to the interface. There is a tutorial that you can watch, but you can pick up the skill of building a presentation in Prezi with just a minute or two of clicking around.

It’s a fast way to create a presentation, and it offers new opportunities if you need to customize one presentation for multiple audiences. Rather than adding or deleting slides, it’s a matter of choosing which sections of your presentation you want to zoom in on; by changing the path your presentation follows around that big page Prezi offers you, you can simply avoid any material you want to exclude and focus in on those parts you want to include. Put all the information in there from the beginning and you can customize your presentations in a matter of minutes.

Practical Prezi

Prezi offers several different levels of pricing. With the free version, you can create 100MB worth of presentations, but they’ll all be public. The two premium options offer an increased amount of space, as well as the ability to make your presentations private. The Pro version also offers an offline editor. All three options provide access to an offline player, just in case you are presenting somewhere without Internet access.

Has Prezi spiced up your presentation? Share your tips in the comments.

Once installed, Offisync adds a new toolbar to your Office apps. (Offisync works with Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations.)

The Offisync toolbar

First, you need to configure Offisync with your Google account details using the “Accounts” button. Offisync supports multiple accounts, so if you use both Google Docs and Google Apps, you can easily switch between them.

You can then use Google Docs as an online repository for your Office documents. Click on “Save As” in the Offisync toolbar and you get access to a file menu showing your Google Docs account. As well as being able to save files, you can add, rename and delete folders.

Once your document is saved, you can access it from any browser through Google Docs, or open it up again in Office. You can also use Offisync to edit your existing Google Docs files in Office.

One of  the best things about Google Docs is how easy it makes sharing your documents with others and collaborating on them. Offisync brings that power right inside Office. Click on “Collaborate” and you can choose to share your document with anyone else through Google Docs. If they also have Offisync isntalled, they’ll be able to work on the document in Office, too.

Offisync: A document in Office and Google Docs

Offisync’s not perfect, because Google Docs doesn’t have quite the same functionality as Office — it doesn’t support tracked changes and turns some objects into images, for example — but for most documents it works very well. The next version of Office will hopefully have cloud storage and collaboration functionality included, but until it’s released, Offisync is a great interim measure.

The Offisync beta is free to download and use, and works with Office 2003 and Office 2007 on XP, Vista and Windows 7. It also requires .NET Framework 3.5, so if you don’t have that already, it will be downloaded as part of the install. There’s a demo video available if you’d like to see it in action before trying it out.

Have you tried Offisync? What did you think?

One of the most interesting features they announced in their last major release was the SlideRocket marketplace, a solution that lets you purchase content for your presentation from within the application. This past week they opened this up even more, with the addition of the SlideRocket Services Directory.

The Services Directory lets users connect with certified providers who can offer creative expertise in areas like design, copy writing, photography and more, all from right within the application. The collaboration functionality already built in to SlideRocket makes the process easy.

I’m a big fan of this trend to introduce and facilitate the connection between user and provider. It’s a win-win, offering customized presentation services to users and an additional outlet for web workers to offer our wares.

As it is a relatively new service, now might could be a great time for creative agencies and freelancers to align themselves with SlideRocket and establish yourself as an expert early on. The fact that it is a powerful platform and a joy to work with make it an even more compelling opportunity.

SlideRocket has also added two new content providers to the Marketplace. The addition of Andertoons and PresentationPro add to the offerings already available from Fotolia and Mimeo.

If you’re a service provider interested in a listing in the Services Directory, more information can be gained by emailing marketplace@sliderocket.com. Listings are free but premium placement advertising and opportunity are in the pipeline.

Are you using SlideRocket? Are your services a fit for its Services Directory?

I took the beta version of DocVerse for a spin today, and first impressions are good.

DocVerse promises easy document sharing and collaboration and it does just that: you get one-click syncing of documents from with Office and the ability to collaborate on documents with people who don’t have Office installed. Notably, it’s currently limited to PowerPoint 2007 users; DocVerse plans to roll out support for Word, Excel and Office 2003 later this spring.

You start by downloading and installing the software, and setting up a DocVerse account. DocVerse installs an add-on for PowerPoint, which adds a new pane to your PowerPoint window:

DocVerse pane in PowerPoint window

To start sharing the presentation, you just click the large “Add to DocVerse” button. The file gets uploaded to your DocVerse account. From now on, every time you save the file, it is synced with your DocVerse account. Here you can see that I’ve created a presentation and added it to my DocVerse:

Presentation ready to be shared using DocVerse

There are a couple of options for sharing the document. The first is to enter the email addresses of other DocVerse users into the “People” box, which means that any changes your colleague makes will be synced with your document and vice versa. DocVerse has a built-in resolution system to deal with any potential conflicts.

The second option is to use the document’s DocVerse URL. The great thing about this option is that you can use it to share the document with anyone; they don’t need to have PowerPoint or DocVerse installed.

Here’s my presentation in a browser window:

My presentation in Chrome

Although they can’t edit the document directly, people viewing the presentation in a browser can add comments that are then synced back to the file on my computer. This kind of simple cross-platform sharing and collaboration will make DocVerse really useful. I can’t wait for it to roll out support for the rest of the Office suite, for while I love Google Apps, I still need to use Office (particularly Word) from time to time.

DocVerse is currently in private beta. If you’d like to try it out, we have 200 invitations to give away to WWD readers .

Rashmi Sinha, the CEO of Slideshare, cheekily announced the company’s ‘acquisition of YouTube’ – more specifically, the ability to integrate ‘Video Inside Slides.’

Available starting today, this feature will enable users to play YouTube clips inside Slideshare. This potentially brings rich media to regular slide decks; and is particularly useful for demos and screencasts of applications and web sites.

In true Slideshare fashion, the company has heralded the arrival of video…in slideware!

Some of the company’s suggestions for the use of video include:

• video CVs and resumes
• news videos
• screencasts
• soundbites for press releases

Adding a video is as simple as selecting the Edit and Insert YouTube video commands from Slideshare and then choosing between which slides the clip is to be inserted. Simple!

The company states that this brings together the largest presentation archive and the largest consumer video archive, which opens some fascinating possibilities and potentially some great mashups and enhanced creativity for boring corporate material.

Coupled with the recent Powerpoint integration, this new partnership with YouTube might indicate there’s a broader ‘Slideshare-inside’ program in the offing. This means new value without jeopardizing years of experience invested in existing tools. Both developments around Slideshare suggest that the service deserves a richer API than is currently available, to enable the support of more diverse extensions and enable the development of commercial extensions in a Slideshare ‘ecosphere.’

More on the Slideshare site.

Bloggers and web marketing personnel have been looking for ways to host PowerPoint slide presentations in “the Cloud” and embed them within weblog posts. SlideShare’s service had become one of the most popular of these services due to its relative ease-of-use. However, my first experience last spring found me switching between my PowerPoint desktop application to review and edit a third party’s PowerPoint presentation, and my browser to set up a SlideShare account through which I could upload the resulting presentation for embedding into a post.

Two days ago I had to upload another Power Point presentation to a weblog host. It just so happens I came across a press release from SlideShare along with an invitation to try out their new SlideShare Ribbon Bar for PowerPoint. So I gave it a workout.

As a result I was able to not only review and edit the slide show within PowerPoint but also perform the upload, tagging and title/description write-up with no need to use a web browser. Basically, SlideShare is one of the first services to embed web hosting access so deeply within an Office application.

This ribbon bar provides the ability to completely manage your SlideShare account from within PowerPoint. While I was able to install and use it successfully, it currently does require that the user manually do a .NET 3.5 SP1 upgrade (not yet performed via Windows/Office Update) that took close to an hour to complete over a broadband connection. Installing the ribbon bar itself went exactly as in the instructions stated and only took a few minutes.

The login to your SlideShare account is persistent, making it readily accessible anytime you launch PowerPoint 2007. You can bring back previously hosted slideshows for editing and re-uploading. One final comment: while I’m sure they will be addressed, I found a few minor bugs but they did not prevent me from accomplishing my main goal of making a PowerPoint presentation available for use within a weblog post.

SlideShare Ribbon Bar for PowerPoint could turn into a significant productivity tool for weblog authors and anyone involved in web-based sales, marketing and support activities.

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Flypaper wants to change that by providing tools that allow the general business user the ability to create and share rich content without the need for programming.

Flypaper is a Windows based application that makes creating Flash Content possible without the typical time and expense of hiring a developer.

Using just about any media content, you can create Flypaper Stories that aren’t just presentational, they can even be interactive and gather form data from your viewer.

Some examples on their site include everything from interactive sales presentations and brochures to portfolios and even fun things like a collection of Top 10 Monty Python Sketches.

Where Flypaper really pays off is that it is super easy to edit and reuse your stories. Make changes and revisions quickly so you can customize your content for a particular event or audience.

The creation process is very visual, sort of a cross between creating PowerPoint or Keynote slides and video editing. There is no code and no programming, but I would describe it as being very object oriented.

Everything that you create or add to a story has properties that define its appearance and behavior. If you create a page, you set the properties of that page. Add a button to the page and the interface changes to allow you to set the properties of that button. It is a very logical building block sort of approach and it works very well.

Creating branches in your stories to allow for user choice is really simple and a Story Map shows you how your pages fit together.

The Flybrary tool allows you to not only create libraries of your photos and other assets but it contains a bunch of sample templates and components that you can use in your own stories. It is also web enabled so you can search Flickr and other photo sites directly from Flypaper and drag and drop the content right in. (Be sure to check usage licenses on photos and other items found on the web)

When your story is created you can post it on the Flypaper.net or your own personal hosting site, or export to various formats including movies, executables  or even SCORM e-learning courses. The Dashboard lets you view statistics on your stories, know what was viewed down to the page level.

I found Flypaper to be relatively easy to use, and the drag and drop functionality sure makes the process pretty simple. It will still take some time to create a fully featured professional looking presentation though. And there is still no shortcut for writing good copy and preparing compelling content.

Flyaper is a Windows only app but it should run well in Parallels or similar on the Mac.

A 30-day trial is available, after which the app and access to your flypaper.net account will normally run you $249, although there is special offer in place now for $195.

Would Flypaper make it easier for you to use Flash Content in your marketing?

SlideRocket has always offered a a feature rich authoring tool with all of the bells and whistles you would expect, if not more. With today’s release they up the ante by adding powerful collaboration features and an integrated marketplace.

Collaboration:

Even in a small organization, preparing a slide deck is usually a collaborative process, or at the very least involves the sharing of frequently used assets. SlideRocket’s new collaboration functionality gives you all the tools you need to collect and share your content including library management, content synchronization, and version control.

The library lets you collect frequently used items and assign permissions across your group as to who has access to what items.

Powerful versioning functionality keeps track of changes and lets you revert back to prior copies at the slide and presentation level.

The SlideRocket Marketplace:

Also launched today is the integrated marketplace, a store within SlideRocket which allows you to browse and buy presentation related assets and services such as images, templates, printing and more. Initial partners include Fotolia, Mimeo and PresentationPro with many more planned.

One of the most intriguing features is the built in analytic tools. See who is viewing your decks, how long they spent on each slide as well as tracking clicks and forwards. Rather than sending your presentations out blind, you can now track their effectiveness.

SlideRocket runs in any browser across multiple operating systems, in addition to offering an offline player so you can present on the go without an internet connection.

SlideRocket is offering limited time discounts on their pricing plans from free limited functionality single user accounts up to fully featured Business plans from $20/user per month. Pre-paid annual subscriptions are eligible for further discounts.

Are you still using PowerPoint or Keynote? Could SlideRocket be an option for you?

SlideRocket, the online presentation designer and manager we raved about back in March has flipped opened their doors and entered an open public beta phase.

SlideRocket offers an extremely impressive set of tools for creating and distributing presentations, and as they move into this next phase they have also added some really nice collaboration functionality that lets you share presentations, slides and specific assets with others in your organization.

Take the online tour and then grab your free beta account – if you’re looking to make an impression with your next presentation, SlideRocket won’t disappoint.

Google Presentations, Google’s attempt at a Microsoft PowerPoint-like application was recently launched.  To enhance cross-office collaboration, users can now export to PowerPoint.  To use this feature, chose “Save as PPT” from the File menu from within Google Presentations.

Also, you can use now save your searches.  So if you’re looking for a document from a particular person named “Joan”, you can save your search for future use for quick file reference.

[via Google Docs Blog]

Enter SlideRocket, a new entrant into the online presentation arena. This rich internet application is said to resemble Apple’s Keynote in its use of transitions, reflections, and fonts.

SlideRocket uses Flex technology from Adobe and includes a client that allows for offline access to presentations. Whether you’re on a plane or otherwise away from an internet connection, you can edit your SlideRocket presentations. This is something Google Presentations doesn’t offer at the moment.

This application is at home in the online environment, easily showing live-updating information from Google Docs/Spreadsheets, pictures off Flickr, and photos from a media folder that is shared by your presentation collaborators. SlideRocket also offers asset management, delivery and analytics tools, all in their hosted environment. There is even a mobile client that allows viewing of a presentation on a WAP-enabled mobile phone.

Like Google Documents, it’s easy to invite people to collaborate with you on your SlideRocket presentation. Version control is built in to the SlideRocket client. Assets and presentations can be tagged for easy lookup in the future. When viewing a presentation, SlideRockets allows you to gather feedback from users through comments and poll results.

It’s great to see a presentation app that blends the features from Microsoft PowerPoint but with some of the flashy features of other online applications. The offline client makes this a viable alternative to Google Presentations and perhaps even Microsoft PowerPoint.

SlideRocket is currently in private beta. Look for service plans to be $12/month for an individual or $50/month for business who want to have SlideRocket available for an entire team.