I just sat through a bad presentation. A pathetic presentation. I mean no offence to the person who presented it, but i really felt that people need to know how to present. Its the art of putting forth an idea, and helping the listener or viewer understand it inthe same sense that you’re trying to convey it.

Lots of people start off with powerpoint. Its seems to me that many have this inhibition, that MS powerpoint, is the end to all their presenting issues, but, it isnt. (Frankly speaking, its the best way you can ruin your presentation! ) Kidding.

When you decide to present something, first, just as garr reynolds would say in his blog, presentation zen, get out of the pc first. Your pc  and presentation software are just a tool to help you present. Not the solution, in itself. So, do some pre-work and decide how you want to stream out your idea to the people.

There’s loads to presentation, and excellent presentations. But, here’re are a couple of things that you probably should keep in mind.

1. Please please please, dont use, in-your-face colours. There’re millions of colours other than Yellow and Red.

2. Stop flooding the screen with text and text and text. Remember that you’re trying to convey an idea. Not write a story.

3. DO not read out what is written on the slide, or write everything that you want to say on the slide. That is not presenting. You might as well, read it out from your notepad, if thats what you wanted to do.

4.Bullets are outdated. Try not using them unless they are necessary.

5. Make your slides clear. Dont try to get overly sophisticated, unless necessary. Its more important for your idea to get across sensibly, than your expertise with the software.

6. If you’re presenting numeric details and charts, try minimizing them down to simple ones, that the persons in the presentation session, can see and comprehend.

Finally, start getting advices from awesome presenters like Garr reynolds at his blog presentationzen.com

Helps a lot.

Cheers, and Good luck with your presentations.

How much we have the urge within ourselves to break the rules. Right from the fundamental level of not wearing your helmets to, irresponsible behaviour to what not. We have to take some time off to make ourselves understand how important it is to follow rules, for the others atleast, if not for yourself.  Think about it and act!

cheers!

Talking too much and doing too little?  The politicians and the government talk so much, so much about tackling terrorism, but are they really doing it? We talk, promise so much, but are we keeping up our word?  Think about it.

Creativity is the fountainhead of progress. Alright, this is some other line I modified to make my meaning clear! Here’s an interesting post by Garr Reynolds on creativity.

Hey everyone!

I guess i’m one of the first to be writing about it. First thing, it looks GREEAAAT! It is nowhere close to the comic strips that we saw(Ones that showed two scooters attached together! ) Amazing styling, nice colours.Beautifully designed headlamps, bright tail lamps, looks better than other cars.And wow, its not a Concept car, but looks like one!Here’s presenting, TATA Nano!

Here’re some quick facts.

1. Its 8% smaller than the Maruti 800(Compact from outside, Roomy from inside!)

2.Gives around 22 km/litres.

3.Globally, this is the first of its kind.

4.Available in a normal and a Deluxe version with A/c.

5.Passed all crash tests.

6.Meets all safety standards.

Well? What’re you looking at. Go get one!!

Update #1: As of now, great number of thumbs up. Ratan Tata says: ” A promise is a promise”. Wow. Hats off!

Update #2: Seats 5 people( Beats the Maruti 800). 624 cc engine. Extremely fuel efficient.

I’ve had this clash in my mind always. There’re so many places where a real desktop differs from a computer desktop. The OS. We dont arrange “things” on our desktop. We stack them, throw them around, leave them make a mess. But in a computer desktop, things are arranged. Well , here is a new idea. What if the computer desktop was similar to the real desktop?Its possible. Here it is. Its truly amazing, believe me!You can watch this video from ted talks.Bump top is a new desktop environment inspired from the actual desktops of our daily lives. It uses a lot of practically helpful concepts and is driven my real world physics.Its truly amazing, and is a fresh futuristic concept.Inventor : Anand Agarawala Also, the presentation given to at ted talk is available on the same page

All good things come to those who wait.
BUT
Time and tide wait for no man.

The pen is mightier than the sword.
BUT
Actions speak louder than words.

Wise men think alike.
BUT
Fools seldom differ.

The best things in life are free.
BUT
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Slow and steady wins the race.
BUT
Time waits for no man.

Look before you leap.
BUT
Strike while the iron is hot.

Do it well, or not at all.
BUT
Half a loaf is better than none.

Birds of a feather flock together.
BUT
Opposites attract.

Don’t cross your bridges before you come to them
BUT
Forewarned is forearmed.

Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
BUT
Faith will move mountains.

Great starts make great finishes.
BUT
It ain’t over ’till it’s over.

Practice makes perfect.
BUT
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Silence is golden.
BUT
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

You’re never too old to learn.
BUT
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
BUT
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
BUT
Out of sight, out of mind.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.
BUT
Many hands make light work.

Hold fast to the words of your ancestors.
BUT
Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat them.

On and off, I keep emphasizing creativity and how,it is present in every child and,in Sir Ken Robinson’s words, we are squandering it. Here’s this truly interesting speech by Sir Ken Robinson, who is a leading expert on innovation, creativity and human resources.If you’ve no clue who Sir Ken Robinson is,here’s the wikipedia entry.Back to what I was saying earlier, this is an amazing speech by him on Education and Creativity. Must see. Here’s the link

I’m not sure how many of you’ve already heard of this. Internet Operating System. Yes, an operating system, well your whole desktop, straight online! Everything that you type, your files, music, folders, everything is stored at a remote server and you can access it from anywhere. How good is that? Well i’m not sure!

But the fact remains that, as the day passes, more and more offline applications are going online,with word processing and office applications leading the way. So i guess it is the OS next? Here’s something that i came across. YouOS. The underlying concept is to take the desktop online.