Saturday, October 06, 2007

A Technical Question

I'm working on my SCBWI talk for next month, and I don't have PowerPoint on my laptop here at home. Is there any free Web-based presentation software out there you'd recommend? What I want is something pretty much equivalent to PowerPoint -- e.g., I can make slides and, using a projector, show them on a screen. I just need the program that would let me make the slides, with bonus points if I can save my slides to an account on the Web within the program. (I was hoping Google would have something like this, the same way they have Google Documents as an equivalent to Microsoft Word, but I wasn't seeing it.)

Thanks for any and all recommendations!

11 comments:

  1. Google does have an equivalent, in Google Documents, its possible to make spreadsheets and presentations, as well as plain "word" docs. Its still in beta, but I've heard its pretty good.

    Good luck!

    -Bonnie
    (a random reader that you don't know)

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  2. The OpenOffice.org suite also has a presentation app that is compatible with Powerpoint, called Impress. It's good, and if you know Powerpoint, you'll have no problem using Impress.

    It's not Web-based, but it's a good suite.

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  3. You could download powerpoint from the microsoft wenbsite for free. I just ran a search on google and well, the Microsoft result says that you could have a free trial. I guess that should be enough to make your presentation and save it on a flash drive or something..

    Good luck!

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  4. Ditto what scott said - openoffice.org.

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  5. I also use Open Office. I've used Google Docs just for spreadsheets and Word docs, but never for a Powerpoint. I'd run your Impress file once on Powerpoint in your office, though (make sure to save it as a .ppt file), to make sure there's nothing you did in Impress that didn't translate well. OpenOffice is freaking awesome, but it's not flawless yet.

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  6. I agree with Open Office. We used on a couple of SCBWI presentations and works on Windows or Mac. 95% Powerpoint compatible.

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  7. I disagree with all the accolades about Open Office. I consider it a piece of junk. I used it for about 6 months before I got rid of it; I'm quite good with almost any software application. Today, I was helping a student with Open Office (which we have at our high school) and it was *not* comparable to Powerpoint. It is only barely better than nothing.

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  8. When we had ALL our computer trouble, we lost everything including all the Microsoft software. We didn't have the disc to reinstall, of course. We currently operating with Open Office. I agree with Jude, Open Office is barely better than nothing! It kinda has the same goodies, if you look for it, but not really. It's like a Calvin Ball scavenger hunt to perform the must basic of functions. GAH! So frustrating!! We're lookin' to purchase Mircrosoft Office ...

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  9. Got a Mac? Keynote is pretty slick, and it's a steal at $79 as part of Apple's suite of iWork applications!

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  10. I have tried both OpenOffice and NeoOffice in my Mac lab at school and I don't really care for either. They are both slow and buggy.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Keynote!

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