Presentation Software [closed]

Question

I am looking for good presentation software that I can use on a 42'' LCD Monitor.

Currently, I am using PowerPoint with the DataPoint add-in that allows the presentation to be automatically updated from querying different files and/or databases, but am not very happy with it.

Is there something better than PowerPoint that I can use for this?

Maybe software that allows you to create different "zones" so that instead of one main slide I could break the screen into different sections/zones?

Something that would allow me to pull in RSS feeds so that content doesn't get stale as quickly?

Answer 1

Oddly enough, all the things that DataPoint lists on its home page have been in PowerPoint since at least Office 97... you have always been able to link to an external document and have the document's changes reflected in the presentation.

If you need to take it on the go, there has always been (at least since Office 97) the "Pack and Go" Wizard which will collect and package the most current version of the files at the time you pack it - allowing you to unpack and run the presentation on someone else's computer if needed.

And - IIRC - you can embed an IE control to display a web page on the slide. I'd have to test to double-check, but I suspect you could put 3 or 4 on the page in the "zones" you want and as long as you have internet access it will pull the RSS feed, or the web page, or whatever.

But, if you're hell-bent on using something else, I suspect you could do the same with OpenOffice Presenter. The nice thing about this is that there is a portable version you could put on your flash drive and take with you so you always have the right software - always a good thing for the traveling presenter. ;)