Powerpoint's finest hour?

[sbisson]

One of the most common pieces of business software, it's everywhere you go, and badly done, it can be intensely annoying (or mind-numbingly tedious) - and it was Colin Powell's main tool at the UN.

Check out this Guardian piece for a concise history of Powerpoint (without the slides, bullet points and pointless transitions). I have to admit to being surprised to find out that Whitfield Diffie was one of the original authors.

Comments

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Now I love Powerpoint. But then I absolutely refuse to let it tell me what to do. Thank you, little paperclip, but I know how to give a presentation, almost invariably better than you do. And for that matter, most of my powerpoint work has been more in the form of technical lessons rather than management infodumps.

I have certainly seen some very, very bad Powerpoint. (But then I recall plenty of very, very bad OHP presentations. At least Powerpoint mistakes can be easily fixed, whilst bad OHPs just get used over and over.) But I've also seen some very nice examples. It's a tool, and like all tools you have to be taught how to use it properly.

MC

[pdcawley.livejournal.com]

If you ever get a chance to see Damian Conway teach I can recommend it. He's one of the best drivers of Powerpoint I've ever seen. Nothing flashy, simple slides and immaculate timing.