A few weeks back I showed a fun interactive graphic of “my office.” Well I received a few emails asking what the stage looked like that all of the computers were used for. So, the page has been updated with a bit larger images and a photo of the staging – hope it all makes more sense now! See it here.
Troy @ TLC
For a recent PowerPoint training session my co-instructor and I put together this list of 20 items to verify before a speaking engagement. This is from the technical standpoint, because nothing is worse than getting up to speak and having a technical issue (except of course not practicing your material).
Download the “PreShow Checklist” here.
Troy @ TLC
This is a common question I get a lot. And because PowerPoint and Projectors are almost synonymous, I thought it might be good to give my standard answer here. I recently posted the below to the ‘What projector should I buy’ question in the PowerPoint Newsgroup.
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With your budget ($4,000.00) and general description I am going to make a few guesses:
– Small audience viewing (25-100 people)
– Front projection (projector in front of screen, out by audience)
– Connecting computer direct to projector (ie. no switcher, scaler, etc.)
With those assumptions, at your budget there are not many systems that outshine the other. In other words, you will do good with just about any reputable companies projector. But here are a few key items to make sure are on the projector and to consider:
1. Bulb life (what is the life of the bulb – in hours)
2. Bulb replacement cost (this can be $75 to $700 – check before purchasing so you know what to expect)
3. It should be at least 1024×768, but better would be 1280×1024
4. Size; consider your travel and placement needs (things do not have to be large any more)
5. Noise; listen to the units operating noise level (because it will be out by the audience, check if the fans are to loud)
6. Quiet Mode; this is good if projector is used in a small setting, as it limits the output power, but also runs near silent.
7. Contrast; this is a tricky number and hard to use in side-by-side comparisons (different companies measure differently), but in general more is better
8. Lumens; at your budget go for 2,000+, the closer to 5k the better
9. Lens Shift is better than keystoning (this is the ability for the projector to move the image up or down without needing to adjust the front legs, which creates a distorted projection)
10. Warranty, carrying case, etc.
In addtion, do a google search for the unit(s) you are considering and read some reviews, as well as look for anything in ‘groups.’
Troy @ TLC
So how big is Microsoft? Well on Tuesday Microsoft was issued their 5,000th patent! Sounds like a lot, but I did a quick search for IBM’s patents to put things in perspective. “In 2005, IBM received 2,974 U.S. patents… this is the thirteenth consecutive year that IBM has received more US patents than any other company in the world.”
But it does make Microsoft “among the top five technology companies in terms of patent filings.” That’s a lot of paper work – and I bet it is not doing much for the ‘paperless office…’ Here is a good write-up on the Microsoft milestone.
Troy @ TLC
The Winter Olympics are here and all the excitement has begun. Google has a cool collection of all the highlight videos. Check it out daily here.
Troy @ TLC
For your presentation you want to show how the world views a country, city or anything. Makes sense that the WORLD Wide Web could provide a world consensus on how something is viewed – right… While I am not going to recommend this for your next presentation, it does prove interesting (and I am sure a bit skewed).
Here is the resulting ‘Prejudice Map‘ that is subtitled “According to Google, people in the world are known for…” that Google Blogoscoped created.
Here is an example google search that was used to create the ‘German’ stereotype.
Troy @ TLC
Ever try to delete a file (any type of file) and instead get a message like this:
I had one that just would not go away. Very frustrating. After a bit of searching the web it was easy to see I was not the only one with troublesome files. I solved the problem (eg. deleted the file) with a free little application called unlocker.
Troy @ TLC