February 2007, Week 3 -- Powerpoint and Counterpoint

   Company reps often show their products to journalists and customers through really boring "PowerPoint" presentations. The story typically starts somewhere around "when man discovered fire" and is then followed by lots of bullet points. Bob often tells them if they don't cut it short he's going to have to kill them.

   It doesn't have to be that way. A jazzy PowerPoint presentation is devoutly to be desired and we've just discovered how to do it: Use "WildPresenter." The Lite version is $99 from WildForm.com  and the Pro version is $399.

   The program can be used with or without Microsoft's PowerPoint to create animated presentations in "flash" or "SWF" format, which can then be loaded quickly onto a Web site. This feature alone has won kudos from many users because the new file size is smaller than any made with conversion tools, and all the Web links are retained in the final version. This feature is so powerful that some PowerPoint users move their creation into WildPresenter Pro just to convert it to flash.

   The $400 professional version also lets you capture a Web site in motion or sequences from your own computer. You simply click a button to start recording. You can also record your own voice describing what's happening, which makes it great for training and classroom videos. You can then add "jukebox controls," which let the viewer fast-forward, rewind, pause or freeze during a presentation.

   You can add "mouse-overs" too. These highlight something when the mouse pointer passes over it and you can then click there for more action. The click can take the viewer to a Web site or to a more detailed explanation of what they're looking at. At any time along the way, you can add quizzes for teaching and emphasis. It takes just two steps: Type out the questions and then select from a menu whether you want answers to be multiple choice, yes or no, or fill in the blank.

   The tutorials in this program were first rate, holding your hand through every step. WildPresenter works with Windows, Mac and Linux.

Indie Movies

   In the movie business, "Indies" refers to independent films. These are usually made with shoestring budgets and little-known actors. We confidently predict they will soon be made with no budget on your desktop. The tools grow more powerful each year, and the progress is so fast it has become something of a bee buzzing in our bonnet.

   The latest big bees and little bees are Adobe's "Premiere" and the newer and cheaper "Premiere Elements 3." Premiere is a program designed for professional video editing and lists for $849 at Adobe.com. Premier Elements 3 is also for video editing, has many of the same features, and lists for $99. We found it for $60 at Amazon.

   The most important new feature of Premiere Elements 3 is the storyboard. You can drag scenes onto the storyboard and also drop in transitions (like "fade to black"), soundtracks, narration and other good stuff. Scenes and single frames can be edited like individual photos: change the contrast, color saturation, lighten, darken, sharpen, etc. You can import any video, whether it be your own creation or something you found on the Internet.

   Almost all editing action in Premiere Elements 3 is drag and drop; it's as easy as falling off a log (or a canoe if you're the kind who likes to stand up). Nothing is deleted, so you can change your mind and go back if you preferred an earlier edit. An "autosave" feature saves different versions automatically.

   The tutorials that come with Premiere Elements 3 are totally great, as they say in the software biz. They come in book form and you can take your time. You can download free trial versions of Premiere and Premiere Elements 3 from Adobe.com/downloads . Use the alphabetical list to select the programs.

Internuts: Maps

1.) FastFoodMaps.com  provides maps showing outlets for the 10 largest fast food chains in the United States. For example, El Paso has 106 of them, while Chicago, which is roughly five times the size of El Paso, has only 266. The map provides addresses and phone numbers. This kind of information is critically important if you have a sudden Big Mac attack or are traveling with children.

2.) SkiBonk.com  provides maps of ski resort locations in the United States and Europe. Click on a site and you'll see the current snow conditions, lift waits, temperatures, etc. It also has comments on whether the natives are friendly and photos for some places.

Books

   The "Podcasting Bible," by Steve Mack and Mitsch Ratcliffe (Wiley, $34.99), available at www.wiley.com.

   Here are 570 pages on how to set up a podcast, handle sound and video and work it all to produce income for yourself or your company. The first 27 pages offer a "quick start," however, and cover most of what you need to know. For those unfamiliar with the ground, a podcast can be thought of as an audio or audio/visual blog.

   For those unfamiliar with blogs, they can be thought of as online journals, sometimes interesting to others, often beyond boring except to the blogger's immediate family and pets. The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article saying most bloggers earn $2,000-$10,000 a month from their blogs. We find this hard to believe, since new blogs are being created at the rate of about one every second. Perhaps the new economy will consist entirely of transferring money between blogs, and no one will have to actually make or do anything. After all: Artists have long bought each others paintings to share the wealth.

NOTE: Readers can search several years of columns at the "On Computers" Web site: www.oncomp.com. You can e-mail Bob Schwabach at bobschwab@aol.com and Joy Schwabach at joydee@oncomp.com.