Long ago, you had to use a floppy disk to get your files from one computer to another. Today, it’s easier to move files, but users face a different issue – how documents, PowerPoint presentations in particular, appear on mobile devices like the iPad.

Below are some tips for creating presentations that will survive the trip from the PC to the iPad.

Tips for creating presentations that will survive the trip from the PC to the iPad.

Choosing Fonts and Bullets That Will Display Properly on the iPad

Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, 2007, 2010

The iPad is a natural choice for running presentations without having to carry a bulky laptop, but sometimes fonts and bullets do not display properly on the device. Consider the following tips before sending your PowerPoint file to someone who will run it from a tablet. In all cases, allow enough time to review and tweak the presentation on the iPad, as some translation issues are likely. Read more…

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As someone who works in tech support, I am always the go-to person when family or friends need computer help. I’ve thought about changing my Gmail signature to this:

It was a 20-slide beast of pasted-in Word tables, slapdash formatting, and more than a dozen randomly customized slide masters. She was frustrated.

“If you get an alarmist virus warning message, don’t click anywhere. Seriously, DON’T CLICK ANYWHERE AT ALL. Instead, hit Control+Alt+Delete on your keyboard, select the Task Manager, Applications tab, and force quit the Internet Explorer or Firefox browser application. Restart your computer, tap F8 repeatedly when you see the Windows splash screen, choose System Restore, and select Last Known Good Configuration. If you’re lucky it will work.” Read more…

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On the surface, it seems a no-brainer: Why pay extra to hire an outside company for desktop application support when the demand does not exist? This perception is confirmed by the small percentage of all help desk calls that relate to desktop applications. However, those numbers represent only a fraction of what truly exists.

Lesson 1: Icebergs and Undergrounds

In the common view of desktop application support, calls typically account for less than Read more…

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The Obama Administration today announced that it has appointed Edward Tufte to the US Recovery Independent Advisory Panel. Tufte, a Yale professor and author who is probably best known as a PowerPoint hater, will serve on the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, which will track and explain to the masses just what is being done with the $787 billion in recovery stimulus funds.

PowerPoint style “routinely disrupts, dominates and trivializes content.”

This is good news for the obvious reasons – because he believes in transparency and accountability – but also because he is such an information purist. Perhaps some of his presentation principles will rub off on corporate workers.

A little background: Tufte’s article, titled “PowerPoint is Evil” and published in Wired in 2003, should be required reading for the c-suite, if not business majors. In it, he laments the fact that PowerPoint doesn’t serve as a supplement to presentations, as it promises; rather, it has replaced them.

Tufte continues by saying that the PowerPoint style “routinely disrupts, dominates and trivializes content.” He even compares it to Stalin.

He offers a colorful metaphor:

“Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn’t. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall.”

Tufte’s piece is funny, and you could say it’s a bit impassioned, but think of the presentations you have sat through, or the ones you’ve forced upon your colleagues.  Many workers would benefit from a little PowerPoint training, at the very least.

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Jenny Sweeney PowerPoint, This Week in Tech News c-suite, CIOs, Edward Tafte, IT leaders, PowerPoint, President Obama, Wired, Yale

The economy may be showing some signs of rebound, but that doesn’t mean CIOs are back to their old spending habits. In fact, according to a report released this month by Gartner, four in 10 CIOs significantly cut budgets in the first six months of 2009.

What, or whom, to cut is never easy, especially when the software for the upcoming migration has already been purchased. It’s easier to drop services than it is to lay off employees; services don’t have a face or a family. Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Mobile Devices, PowerPoint, The Lingua Twitta

In a recent post, blogger Thomas Wailgum offered five ways to ruin a PowerPoint presentation. One in particular resonated with me: “Ignore your body language and vocal delivery.”

It brought to mind the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy presidential debate. Although I didn’t see it live, I learned about it in college as an example of how your image can negate your message. Here’s the clip from YouTube: JFK vs. Nixon, 1960 debate. Read more…

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In the current financial climate, your company probably has fewer employees, but the same amount of work (or more) to accomplish. Factor in the early March Labor Department announcement that worker productivity is down and you have a potential mess on your hands.

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about worker productivity. Do more with less, maximize returns, utilize resources, leverage assets. Great buzzwords, sure, but how can you actually accomplish this?

According to CIO.com and other IT management publications, there are a few key approaches. Read more…

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Getting more money allocated to your IT budget is already a Sisyphean effort, even more so in a lean economy. Using a sloppy PowerPoint presentation to argue your case makes your quest even more ineffective. You can’t do anything about the economy, but you can use these tips to make a more effective, polished pitch.

Trick No. 1: Add Narration To Your Show

Adding narration can be helpful if you plan on e-mailing your show or posting it to the web. Follow these steps, Read more…

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