It’s been a while since we all got excited about the “impending” launch of the PowerPoint app for iOS, the operating system that runs your iPad and iPhone. We spoke to luminaries within Microsoft who remained tight lipped but had a glint in their eye. We chatted it through with other app developers to get their opinions regarding the whole soap opera.
The anticipation was palpable – finally the iPad was going to be released from the clutches of the clunky (but getting better) Keynote app and allow presenters across the world to take their tried and trusted PowerPoint files and move them over to their favourite tablet device.
Rumour had it that the launch would coincide with the full release of Office 2013…but it never happened. And, fellow tech and presentation early adopters, it would seem we still have some time to wait…until Autumn next year. Or so the rumour mill has it –>
What does this mean to those business people poised to present via their iPad?
The truth is that most will have found a way around the inconvenience, either by figuring out which PowerPoint animations, fonts and features Keynote plays nicely with…and sticking with those. Or perhaps by using a conversion app (BTW – Slideshark is by far the best in the market…and we’ve tried them all) or by thinking bigger and pulling upon experts to create a fully interactive and rich media iBook presenter pack.
To find out more about any of these options, give us a call and we’ll happily chat it through and share some examples.
There may be a few ardent Microsoft fans who persisted with the awful buyer experience and actually managed to get their hands on a Microsoft Surface. I’ve not met any of these mythical creatures (and my guess is that neither have you).
In summary, we’ll have to see what this prevarication means to Microsoft when they do finally get around to releasing the inevitable app. My gut feeling? The anticipation and need has evaporated over time, people have worked their way around the issue and, frankly, Microsoft have missed the boat.
I have to admit to thinking that “Connectedness” was one of those made up “technology/marketing consulting” words, used by people far cleverer than me…but it’s not. Only when chatting through with the nice people from Microsoft did I realise that it’s something we do everyday, without thinking and by harnessing the plethora of technology around us.
As Eyeful continues to grow overseas, using technologies like Skype has become an everyday occurrence and as natural as picking up the phone. It’s easy to forget the technology that blew our minds a few years back (I still recall sending my first e-mail!) is now part of everyday life.
So how has this technology impacted our “connectedness” with the most important people in our business lives, our customers?
In the concluding part of our interview with Shawn Villaron from Microsoft, we talk to him about the future of PowerPoint and the impact that innovations like Prezi are making in the presentation world.
Then, without fear for personal safety, Simon broaches the iPad issue issue and, to his credit, Shawn shares some of the current Microsoft thinking in terms of iPad action…
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Listen to Part One – What Mr PPT loves about Office 2013 – here.
Listen to Part Two – Is ‘Death by PowerPoint’ covered by CSR? – here.
Launched on October 26th Windows 8 racked up 4 million downloads in the first 3 days, which looks immediately impressive. Unfortunately with a market share of over 90% the stats flag a little when compared to the launch of the Apple Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) in July. Their 7% market share gave them 3 million downloads in 4 days. So why the hesitation and when should you take the plunge?
Firstly we need to acknowledge that many people will naturally fall into one or more of four categories. On one side there are the ‘we fear change’ and ‘if it isn’t broke don’t fix it’, brigade and on the other side there are the ‘must have shiny new thing’ and ‘it’s my job to try this’ people. At this point only the second two are speaking out – giving unsurprisingly mixed signals.
Many reviewers are loving the Modern UI (User Interface) while others are mourning the demise of the start button. Some say that the navigation is intuitive but others are finding it clunky. Much of this is personal opinion so I’m going to stick to the facts.
With so many people using mobile devices Microsoft has worked to make Windows 8 less battery sapping than its predecessor. They have also made a concerted effort to allow the system to be synchronised across all your devices and it has touch screen capability. There is also good news when it comes to Apps with Twitter, Dropbox, Walt Disney Co, ESPN and Lego A/S all working on new, compatible releases. There is something of a US bias here but these are the sort of names that will bring others into the fold.
For many people the movement of the ‘hot’ corners (the ones where you can access hidden menus) to the right hand side of the screen may be the single biggest niggle. I understand the desire for a new look and feel but we’ve been finding these things on the left for quite a while and it seems like a difference rather than an improvement (I’m also a little disconcerted about calling icons ‘charms’ but maybe that’s just me).
Ironically multiple windows are also causing a storm with most people saying that improved capability on mobile devices has been paid for by reduced capability on desktops. Before we all get excited it might be worth noting that while having five things open at once might make you feel efficient, it’s unlikely to make you more productive unless you’re a multi brained octopus.
You may also be pleased to know that if your boss has invested in an upgrade you can now arrive at your desk 3.9 seconds later and still be booted up and working on time!
So is it worth upgrading?
At the end of the day it’s going to be down to personal choice (and which of the four groups you inhabit)…but as I posed the question it’s only right that I should stick my neck out.
Overall I think that upgrading is the way forward but like any new technology (hardware or software) it is unlikely that the first iteration is the best. We know from our chats with Shawn Villaron (Head Honcho of PowerPoint at Microsoft) that Microsoft do not rest on their laurels, so I’d have to advise waiting until they weed out the last of the niggles. We’ll keep you updated….
In the second part of our interview with Shawn Villaron he talks about the strength and drive of the team behind Office 2013 and discusses why more PowerPoint design options don’t always make for better presentations.
Shawn also reveals how Microsoft are tackling ‘Death By PowerPoint’ from the inside out – with refreshingly unscripted honesty.
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Listen to Part One – What Mr PPT loves about Office 2013 here.
Listen to Part Three – Will PowerPoint and the iPad ever kiss and make up? here.
The Microsoft Surface has been eagerly awaited here at Eyeful Towers. We’ve held on to the hope that it will combine the best of Microsoft’s software ingenuity with the outright sexiness of the iPad and a USB port. So now that the great and the good have had a chance to run to run it round the block, it’s time to look at whether our dreams have come true.
Much of Apples success has been based on access to Apps and this is an area in which the Surface seems to be struggling. The stuff that already lives under the Microsoft umbrella is there and works well, Skype being an example. But most Apps will be developed by the same independent companies that currently do most of their business with Apple gadget owners. Developers will only invest in Apps for the Windows operating system if they see a valid return on investment, while many consumers will hold fire on buying a Surface until the Apps are available – resulting in a good old fashioned chicken and egg conundrum.
Many commentators are also critical of the level of touch screen sensitivity. But the Surface has a clever little keyboard (sadly an optional extra on cheaper models) so that’s ok – or is it? If the keyboard is the best way to interact with the Surface, is it still a bona fide tablet or just an anorexic laptop?
It would seem that Microsoft themselves are not entirely sure, with the more powerful Windows 8 Pro model (expected in about three months) being pitched as a rival to the MacBook Air.
The build quality has a reassuring solidity but I suspect that an errant piece of fluff or hair may be able to play havoc with the connectors. For those who wish it to be known that they are definitely not using an iPad the ‘clickety-click stand and connect’ theme tune will definitely make their point. But it’s a brave move by Microsoft because drawing attention to users makes it even more important that you’ve given them something that they’re proud to be seen with.
From a business perspective having fully loaded versions of the Office suite on a tablet is fantastic. Here at Eyeful we’ve blogged, begged and cajoled for this for a while but now we have it on the Surface does that mean that the iPad App is mothballed forever?
iPad sales in 2013 are expected to be around 142.8 million units, so unless the Surface really is a giant killer there will still be a lot of frustrated businesses.
And last but not least it does have a micro USB.
Microsoft have made much of the business potential of the Surface and if they can make a niche for themselves as the ‘serious’ competitor to the ‘stylish’ iPad, we may just have a fight on our hands.
All this week we will be blogging about all things Microsoft, including an exclusive interview with Shawn Villaron (Group Program Manager for Microsoft Office) or Mr PPT as we like to call him!
Shawn was happy to chat about some of the more controversial aspects of PowerPoint including ‘Death by PowerPoint’ and the always-hot-topic of the iPad – interesting stuff from someone in such a lofty position. And he was a genuinely nice bloke!
In part one of our interview Shawn shares his excitement about Office 2013, chats about the Presenter View feature and tells us why the cloud is so important to the future of tech.
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Part two – Is ‘Death by PowerPoint’ covered by CSR? – available here.
Part three – Will PowerPoint and the iPad ever kiss and make up? – available here
We’ve blogged quite a lot about recent Microsoft innovations, we’ve compared the Surface to the Kinect, told the world how much we love PowerPoint 2013 and we’ve got a rather interesting interview with Shawn Villaron (Microsoft’s own Mr PowerPoint) coming your way in the very near future.
And Microsoft have managed to catch our eye again, this time with an interesting patent application. The patent in question is for a device that projects a gaming environment on all four walls of a room, using a ‘depth camera’ to extend the on-screen action right around the gamer. This will allow action to emerge from behind the gamer and although the interactive element will remain largely on screen the effect will be truly immersive.
It also has some clever little gismology that will prevent the images being projected onto the gamer thus avoiding being actually blinded (or consumed) by whatever game they happen to be playing.
We have berated Microsoft in the past for its failure to recognise the business potential of similar innovations, but this time we’re getting in really early to help them out!
An architect can walk his clients through their new home before anyone fires up an excavator.
A room full of people can sit inside a new sports car – at the same time.
People across the world can visit a production line without using a single hairnet or overshoe.
All good stuff, but before we get carried away; there are some things that need to be considered. As with 3D presentations making something move doesn’t make it informative and, as with Prezi, we need to be aware that some of our audience won’t have cast iron constitutions.
I believe that a couple of good solid rules are all we need to make this and other innovations into valuable tools for business presentations:
Our beloved MD Simon Morton is currently hob knobbing with the great and good of the presentation world at the Presentation Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The first of his ‘on the spot’ reports contains some surprising insights into the experience so far and a promise of towelling based adventures to come!
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And for those of you who can wait no longer, here’s the robe!
Last Friday saw a double helping of webinar excitement here at Eyeful Towers when our resident übergeek Matt and illustrious MD Simon revealed their thoughts on PowerPoint 13 to the World. With over 100 attendees, there was a real energy to the webinars and the excitement hasn’t ended there:
“Many thanks to you both – v good session so thanks for sharing your knowledge!!”
“Hi from Melbourne, Australia! That was a really informative presentation – thanks very much for the preview. I’m looking forward to using this at work when they upgrade to 2013 (in about 2017…!)”
“Enjoyed the #PowerPoint 2013 webinar – nice work and thanks for sharing the knowledge!”
Since the webinar, we’ve had a number of people ask for us to add a copy onto our YouTube channel…so here you go! Enjoy…
Rumour had it that the launch would coincide with the full release of Office 2013…but it never happened. And, fellow tech and presentation early adopters, it would seem we still have some time to wait…until Autumn next year. Or so the rumour mill has it –>
