A few things to note:

• You must have a Windows Live SkyDrive account (free) in order to participate (Sky Drive is a Microsoft site for storing documents and files on-line, offering 25GB of free storage)
• You must upload at least one Office document to the public folder
• You must switch the language to English

The rest seems pretty automatic.

I followed the procedure, but was not very lucky as I started to build my first presentation.  I got source code appearing on the slides, just by entering  some simple text!

This is the result (click on the screenshot to enlarge):

Hopefully the problems will be fixed and I will be able to do further testing.

I am a very satisfied user of a wireless remote made by Kensington. It has a USB dongle that you connect to a USB port on the pc you need to control. The dongle fits inside the remote when not in use. This presentation remote is compatible with Windows computers and Macs.

The model number is 33062, not on sale any longer, but there is a similar one which is model 33374EU. You can see it in the Kensington web site, along with other types of presentation remotes.

When start to notice that the remote control is not advancing the slides in a smooth way, it means the battery is running out of juice and it’s time to change it. This is an easy operation, you just need a tiny philips screwdriver to open the battery compartment. What is not easy is figuring out what battery type to buy, as there are many small circular batteries on the market. Last year I called the Kensington technical support number to ask what battery to buy, but the technician was unable to help me. During the call, as I waited, I was searching for the answer on the internet, and I found the answer before they did! The correct battery is a lithium battery type 2032, available at supermarkets everywhere.

The remote control also has a laser pointer. (the top button). The other buttons are to go forward one slide or back one slide, and the one on below is used to show a white slide, the equivalent of pressing the “W” key in PowerPoint (the letter used is language-dependent).

I recommend the use of a remote control to everyone who makes frequent presentations. It allows the speaker to move around in the room and not have to remain very near the computer or podium.

Have you downloaded “Eight Secrets for Impeccable Presentations” ?  This is a free pdf checklist available for your download from this site. You will learn what to check and test before you go on stage for your next presentation.  Request your free copy now by clicking on the report title.

I have collaborated to make the Italian version of his Chart Chooser tool, usuful to select the best type of graphic representation for data. Often people choose a pie, bar or line chart for no particular reason, and the resulting slide is not effective at communicating the desired message.

Here are the links where you can find all language versions of the Chart Chooser: Chart Chooser diagram (many languages) and the English version downloadable pdf.

Some people might think that podcasting is the domain of high-tech firms. I think that podcasting can be used by any company or professional to promote any type of product or service on the Internet.

Making a video podcast is similar to making an effective presentation with PowerPoint. The software tool used can in fact be the same, but further software is needed in the production phase to add audio and make the final video.

Recently I have worked on a couple of video podcasts, both in Italian and English, to promote new varieties of flowering plants. A nice change from the networking world! I have loaded these podcasts on popular Web 2.0 sites like Slideshare , YouTube, and Screencast. I find YouTube to have very good video resolution, while GoogleVideo, for example, reduces resolution and does not show to our satisfaction, so we decided not to use it. Screencast also has good resolution, but it needs a display area of 640×480 to show off its capabilities. My blog has a smaller central column, so the embedded screencast suffers a bit. If you view it in Screencast, it is much better.

Here are some embedding examples, you can decide which displays better. First is Screencast, then YouTube, then Slideshare.

Below you will find an example of an organizational chart with photographs, created very quickly with the “Picture Organization Chart SmartArt Graphic”, contained in the collection.