SlidesNow!, the first application that allows any Mac OS X user to deliver slides live on the Internet, has been released. SlidesNow! was designed to work with Apple’s QuickTime Broadcaster to deliver both slides and live video in a single browser window. There are no plugins (other than QuickTime 6.02+ for video) or players to download. Viewers only need to have Javascript enabled browsers to view the content. Presentations are viewable on both Mac and Windows platforms (Safari recommended on Mac and either IE or NS on Windows).
SlidesNow! also includes a built-in chat board, enabling viewers to respond with questions and feedback to the presenter. While QuickTime Broadcaster provides the best experience for the viewer, it is not a requirement to use SlidesNow! The presenter may use the chat board or a phone connection to communicate with viewers.
SlidesNow!’s simple and intuitive interface allows you to set up a live slide show in under a minute. There is no HTML to write and no files to upload to a server; it’s all right there on your computer! SlidesNow! takes advantage of Mac OS X’s ability to serve Web pages through Personal Web Sharing. All Mac OS X computers have this capability, though until now it’s been generally overlooked by most users. SlidesNow! puts the power of webcasting into anyone’s hands.
The target market for SlidesNow! would be people who want to present a live narrated slide presentation to smaller groups of people. Businesses could use SlidesNow! to engage in training or meetings between branch offices, distance educators could employ it for small groups of students, sales people could use SlidesNow! to make a live pitch for their products, and churches could use SlidesNow! to reach out to shut-ins, for example.
A demo version of SlidesNow! can be downloaded from the Web site at
http://www.slidesnow.com . Purchase price is only $25. Try before you buy!
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