Presentations
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Google Docs presentation gets redone, wants to power your next keynote
Curiously absent from last year's Google Docs overhaul was any news on the presentation front. That changes today, with Mountain View flipping live a preview of its next-gen slide making tool. After enabling it in settings, you too can experience over 50 new features, including updated collaboration, the ability to animate slides with transitions and a bevy of fresh new themes. And just like Mountain View's other properties, the latest release now comes dressed the company's newfound design ethos. Made it this far? Well, you might as-well hop on over to the source for more details, but before you do, promise us you'll drop us a line if you make a 450-slide whopper, cool?
TUAW's Daily Mac App: PinPoint
Have you ever lost your cursor on your screen? Do you do lots of screen-sharing demonstrations? How would you like an app that puts some customizable animations around your cursor to help you or your audience spot it? PinPoint is an app that does just that -- it puts a circling animated highlight around your cursor. The app comes with different animations, from circling lines to dog paw prints, each with a plethora of options. The full-screen crosshairs, for example, are particularly useful if you're trying to make precise adjustments to graphics or layouts. You can even create your own custom animation using an image file, something that could be great for branding presentations or screenshots. Several activation options are also available, whether you want it on all the time or just when the cursor is moved. PinPoint can also show your keystrokes in an on-screen pop-up with the option to limit it to just modifier keys. A menu bar icon acts as an indicator to show you whether PinPoint is turned on or off, which you can do with a keyboard shortcut. If you're prone to losing your cursor on the screen, waving the mouse around like a madman trying to spot where it is, PinPoint will certainly help. Likewise, if you're someone who does demonstrations of applications on the Mac, being able to highlight cursor and keyboard input could be a real boon. PinPoint is available in the Mac App Store for US$2.99.
EVE Online Fanfest 2011: Final video roundup
Just over a month ago, the EVE Online Fanfest was in full swing and some exciting new information on EVE's future was being released. Massively was there to bring you all the big news as it came out, but most EVE players were unable to attend the event. Thankfully, most of the Fanfest panels and events were filmed and the main ones were even streamed live to viewers at home. For those who missed all the Fanfest excitement, CCP Games has spent the last few weeks preparing those videos for launch and uploading them to YouTube. The team has also sent us 150 professional photos from the event to include in our Fanfest gallery. In this final Fanfest roundup article, we've put together a handy list of every video from the Fanfest along with a handy summary of each. Not included in the list are the very technical Dev Tracker workshops designed to inform third-party app developers. Many of these videos contain swearing and some are definitely not safe for work. Talks definitely worth watching include the CCP panel, the EVE keynote, the content panel, incursions, words words words and live events. Things you absolutely don't want to miss are the hilarious but not work-safe alliance panel, the PvP tournament finals, the war on lag talk, guest lecture "Who Needs a CEO?" by Battleclinic founder Chris Condon, CCP Sreegs' talk on security, and of course, the EVE: A Future Vision trailer. Skip past the cut for a full roundup of all the videos from this year's EVE Fanfest.
Give presentations on Apple TV with AirPDF and AirFlick
As I've been exploring the newest Apple TV, people keep asking to see if I can push boundaries in new directions. Apple TV's concept of a wireless video endpoint that connects to a large screen TV has excited a lot of people. Although I haven't yet been able to produce a way to show live game screens from iPhones (games are likely going to have to rely on local Apple TV resource processing for that, probably involving a unit jailbreak, at least at first), Apple's AirPlay does provide a ready way to give presentations using a Mac and Apple TV. In the video that follows after the jump, you'll see a new tool that I put together in response to TUAW reader requests. It transmits PDF files a page at a time to Apple TV. Read on to learn more about how this works and how Mac developers can easily hook into Apple TV transmission.
Auto-updating charts with Numbers and Keynote
If you find yourself making the charts for your presentations in Numbers and would like an easy way to update them, the chart updating feature in Keynote does just that. With a simple click, your chart in Keynote is updated to reflect changes made in your Numbers spreadsheet. This feature requires that you start your workflow in Numbers. After creating a chart, copy and paste it over to a slide in Keynote. Now, whenever you click on the chart in your Keynote presentation, a button will appear atop of it. Clicking on the arrow with the two circles on it will update the chart with figures from Numbers. Alternatively, you can click on the "edit data" button (after clicking on the chart) and then "update all" within the data table. However, it's important to note that you must save the Numbers file first before doing this. Otherwise, the changes won't carry over.
One district attorney's journey to iPad happiness
Let's face it. Apple and the legal profession have not always enjoyed a terribly close relationship. Since the advent of the word processor, being a lawyer practically required a PC. Lawyers' slavish dedication to Corel's Word Perfect, long after everybody else had stopped using it, is the stuff of legend. Database management programs were typically proprietary things, all requiring networks of PCs. Using a Mac in this environment required, at best, many workarounds, and, at worst, a separate PC to access various schedulers, run conflict checks and access documents. Recently, e-filing and the need to share and trade digital documents allowed for greater platform-independence. Macs, iPhones and now iPads claim their share of diehard legal adherents; you can get stories from the front lines of Apple integration in law from sites like The Mac Lawyer, MacAttorney, EsquireMac, the Disability Law Blog and the MacLaw mailing list. The legal world's growing acceptance of Apple means that lawyers like Ron Elkins can get their Apple mojo working. Ron, the District Attorney for Wise County and City of Norton, in Wise, VA, has shared the ways in which the iPad has integrated itself perfectly into his criminal practice. Ron not only accesses documents (PDFs and audio files) through Safari, but conducts presentations with Keynote, dictates with Dragon Dictation, and accesses files through DropBox and GoodReader -- all through his iPad. Here's hoping that Apple continues to make inroads into the legal community. It's been lonely. [via The Mac Lawyer]
Ithaca College hosts panels and posters on MMO topics in Second Life
If you're a game theory/design nut, or you just really love talking about MMOs in an academic sense, or even listening to others talk about MMOs in an academic sense, then we've got the opportunity for you! This week is finals week for many universities around the country and Kim Chihuly's (real life's Kim Gregson) Games & Society class at Ithaca College is taking the opportunity to present their final posters and presentations inside of Second Life for the public. The presentations will cover a wide swath of topics from gold farming, to MMOs versus single player experiences, to Second Life versus Casual MMOs and much more. Each event will give the public the chance to ask the students questions and discuss their individual topics in an open forum. The the poster pavilion can be found here at this SLurl while the panel amphitheatre can be found at this link. Looking for the full schedule of events? We have it right after the break, or you can keep an eye on the Second Life Events page, under the heading of "discussion."
BlizzCon live stream order page up
Didn't get your tickets for BlizzCon? Planning to pick up the Internet stream instead, because you don't have DirecTV at home? Now's your chance -- the page has appeared to order up the official livestream in HD video straight from the conference. For $39.95, you get over 16 hours of video from the convention floor, as well as all the main stage presentations, tournament coverage, and even the Grunty the Murloc Space Marine pet. There's more answers over on their FAQ page if you have more questions.The video streaming as a test on the page suggests that both Level 80 Tauren Chieftain will be playing and Jay Mohr will be hosting again, though that video is likely from last year, and not necessarily indicative of this year's show. It looks like the HQ stream will also require you to install the RayV player, while the lower quality stream will likely be available just through Flash. You can also keep in mind that though this is probably an excellent deal (especially if you want that pet -- I know many people will pick up the package for that code alone), there will be no shortage of information from BlizzCon for sure, as we'll have plenty to go around as well. But if you were planning on picking up the Internet stream, order on up.BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
TUAW First Look: Keynote '09
Call me a curmudgeon, but I detest slide presentations. Ugh, even typing that gave me the heeby-jeebies. I've sat through too many demos during which some absolute bore read to me as if we were in preschool circle time. Not to mention the blue, marbleized buttons and millions of bullet points. Oh, the bullet points.When Keynote was introduced in January of 2003, my feelings were mixed. On one hand, Apple is a stylish company that makes thoughtful, easy to use software. On the other hand, this was presentation software. How good could it be? The answer is "pretty darn good," and even better now with the latest version of Keynote.When you first launch the demo version of iWork, you're greeted with an invitation to try or buy the software. This splash screen is much more attractive in '09 than it was in '08, and that change is indicative of nearly every aspect of Keynote '09: It's very beautiful.Click below to read more.%Gallery-40970%
CCP Games releases more EVE Fanfest 2008 video footage
For most of us who weren't able to attend EVE Fanfest 2008 earlier this month in Reykjavik, at least there have been videos of the various presentations and panels. CCP Games released quite a number of these just over a week ago, but they recently went ahead and added more. The new footage, which can be seen in higher resolution on the EVE Online Videos page or on the CCP Games YouTube page, gives viewers a look at: Designing the Walking in Stations expansion The Fanfest 2008 PvP Tournament Roxor QA! Are we ready to ship? TQ Servers: Making mountains out of molehills All footage on the EVE Online Videos page is available in two resolutions, viewable as embedded video or downloadable.
EVE TV returns to Fanfest, seeking interviews with players
CCP Games announced that EVE TV is going to returning for EVE Online Fanfest 2008, and will still operate under the principle of being "something made by EVE players, for EVE players." That's the word from one of newest members of the Marketing team at CCP Games, CCP Charlie, who introduces himself by announcing the scheduled content from Fanfest that they'll be recording and making available to everyone. He says, "Every video will be made available for download within a week or two after the Fanfest," and lists the specific content we can expect to view:
Funcom announces its Dragon*Con plans
American readers: are you going to Dragon*Con this Labor Day weekend? Funcom (developer of Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, and The Secret World) is! Its specific plans have been laid out at the Age of Conan website.The company will have its own booth, of course, which will be open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Friday through Sunday, and from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday. More interestingly, though, Funcom will be hosting what it calls the "FunCon Event" in the Sheraton Capital Ballroom on Friday at 10:00 PM. The party will feature music by DJ Tarryk and visitors from the teams of all three Funcom projects.The following day, Funcom will present its two currently-released games -- Anarchy Online at 10:00 AM and Age of Conan at 7:00 PM. Somewhere amidst all these proceedings, fans will have the opportunity to win posters, inflatable swords, t-shirts, lanyards, custom PC cases, and "one special customized Anarchy Online PC." That's cool. It's probably not cool enough to go out of your way to go to Dragon*Con for, but if you're already gonna be there you might as well stop by. Check out Massively's complete Dragon*Con schedule for other events and booths to hit up, too.
Nikon D700 presentation video revealed early, it's very nice
We've been teased with the inevitable launch of the Nikon D700 DSLR, but it looks like our introduction is pretty much here with the nascent of a product presentation video that's supposed to hit the internets tomorrow. Observe as the nice man rubs the camera and says naughty things in French (hopefully we'll have a translation soon). He goes on to show off the new interface, quick menus, battery port, pop-up flash, and even gets a nice shot through the new viewfinder. In all seriousness, this is looking like a slick new camera. You're still looking at around €2,600 ($4,000), a July release, a 12-megapixel sensor, and sensor cleaning system. More information is sure to surface tomorrow when our friends across the pond wake up. Hit the continue link to be taunted a second time.[Thanks, Pete]
Plainview: chromeless browser for presentations
Plainview is a full-screen browser based on WebKit specifically for presentations or situations where seeing browser chrome is undesirable. (I don't know, maybe you're making a presentation about oil.) It's wonderfully simple: Starting the software shows the Plainview start page. Enter a search term, or press command+L and you're off. Plainview has a set of key combinations to help during your presentation, and you can control-click anywhere to bring up a contextual menu. It can even import your Safari bookmarks. Saft can do this, I know, but if you don't like InputManager hacks, then Plainview is for you. [Via Swissmiss.]
Keynote gets some love
When you think Apple applications you think iLife, Final Cut, Motion, iChat, OS X. Those are the biggies, right? But what about poor little iWork? Well, it looks like iWork, Keynote in particular, is getting some love from the blogosphere. Tim Bray, XML geek and all around cool computer guy, penned a love letter to Keynote the other day. He declared that is it Apple's best app. Daring Fireball agrees that it is good, but probably not the best app Apple offers, while Theocacao lists some of the things that makes Keynote so gosh darned fun to use (anyone ever say that about PowerPoint?).I must admit that I haven't used Keynote all that much, since I don't find myself giving many presentations (if you would like me to give a presentation just contact me. I'm lonely, and I have a MacBook!). The few times I have found myself whipping something together in Keynote I have been impressed with how such little effort by me resulted in such a great looking presentation.So, dear TUAWers, any Keynote lovers out there? Let us know in the comments what you like about Keynote, and what Apple should fix in the next version (which I bet will be announced at Macworld '07).
IDG unveiles Macworld 07 event highlights including Kevin Smith, David Pogue
Get your frequent flier miles ready boys and girls, cuz IDG has just announced the event highlights for the Macworld 07 (of course, if you're a lucky SF resident, you can probably hang onto those miles). Key speakers include Kevin Smith (yea, the), as well as the New York Times' own David Pogue. Of course, Mr. J's keynote has been confirmed again, and let's not forget it should shape up to be quite the event considering IDG added a second hall.Personally, I'm with reader boom bam boom bam bam's comment: I think we should turn Steve's 'Boom!' into a drinking game.
Macintosh intro one of the top 10 best presentations ever
We all know that his Steveness is a master showman. His patented Reality Distortion Field often gets people to take out their wallets before he has even uncovered whatever product he is showing off. That is why it should come as no surprise that his 1984 keynote, introducing the Macintosh, made this top ten list of presentations. Martin Luther King Jr also made the list, so Steve isn't in bad company.Dear TUAW'ers, I thought it would be fun to ask you what your favorite Stevenote was. I have to pick the 2006 MWSF Stevenote, since that was the first one that I saw in person. How about you?[via iFlipFlop]
Epson's 3LCD PowerLite S4 projector
Epson has just released a new LCD projector that, while neither ultra-portable nor ultra-high-resolution, promises to deliver a crisp, bright picture for under $700. The 5.7-pound PowerLite S4 sports Epson's three-chip engine with no moving color wheel, a 170-watt lamp that throws a picture with 1,800 ANSI lumens of brightness (but only 800 x 600 pixels, unfortunately), and several features -- like Instant Off shutdown technology -- that help you get in and out of those stressful presentations a little bit faster.
