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Will 2015 Spell the End for PowerPoint?

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In 1992 as CGA/EGA morphed to VGA, Harvard Graphics was slowly being displaced by Microsoft’s new PowerPoint presentation software. It offered more colors, transitions and flexibility as displays and projectors became ‘active.’ Now as I venture to InfoComm after a two year absence, I seek new tools for apps and programs to ‘save us from another boring Power Point presentation.’

So, as I have always done, I seek the ‘application’ or, more specifically, what defines today’s presentations. First, we must look at the pieces which need to be part of the presentation:

  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Line drawings/plats/plans
  • Defining goals current resources and the displays involved
  • A digital rendition of the finished product or proposed solution

My main presentation equipment for these past two decades have been projectors and more recently flat screens and video walls, but now that is changing so we have the need for ‘big screens’ and hand held devices. What are the options for presentations from multiple sources in varying formats (PCs, cameras, phones, pads) to provide a coherent presentation while managing these inputs and outputs?

applewatch-0615With the advent of the body cam for police and the sudden demand for implementation, we will soon be swamped with sources from different angles and perspectives, which will allow these to be presented and compared for anything from a police review to a trial setting. This is not my major concern but rather a ‘market driver’ that will force our use of new programs and/or applications. In addition, we have had a few shocking developments over the last year, such as Sports Illustrated eliminating its photography staff and other similar media changes.

For my perspective, I want to know if I can use the following tools:

  • Android phone
  • Digital Camera/Body Camera
  • Google Glass
  • Android watch
  • Laptop PC
  • Apple device (of course an Apple set of tools may provide some better outcomes but also some problems for conversion to a PC business world)

infocomm-phil-0615Can I become a ‘one man’ rAVe’r’?

Can I control the function of some of these devices through my watch? So, imagine I have a body cam that I wear at a conference like InfoComm. Can I command my Tools to function and still record the words and sounds? Could this technology application work also for a ‘site survey’ along with assorted documents which can be an input from a ‘contractor’ to supply the proposal creators and presenters with the detail to bid without flying a group to the site without understanding the complexities?

Or will it simply be for a person like me who walks five to 10 miles a day to provide a ‘story’ which can be viewed on the big screen or the phone? And how will I deal with loss of connectivity when inside a building or under a bridge? Google Drive provides some apps that help but what will allow all of these sources to be molded to a new style of presentation that will not only be wireless but hands free?

So will this be the year of real change or will I come away disappointed and confused?

I am planning on arriving at InfoComm in time for the Keynote Address and staying until Thursday (if there is a need I can extend until Friday). Please let me know by email or text if your company or organization has an offering in these areas: hardware, software, apps or other tools. I plan to summarize my ‘quest’ before the end of June.

Leave a comment below. Or contact me via email or on the phone at 678-428-6429.

 

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