The presentation computer... is a 2.6 GHz MacBook Pro, 8 Gb ram with OS X 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) with Microsoft Office 2011. In addition to the base Mac OS, the latop will feature a Windows 7 virtual PC and Microsoft Office 2010 built on Oracle's VirtualBox . Virtual PCs operate “inside” the MacBook, but be forewarned there can be performance issues. We will use the virtual PC as the last resort and only if the presentation will not run on the MacBook Pro. Regardless of the presentation platform, do not install special software specific to your presentation and expect it to work on-site; it will not. Only Plenary speakers are allowed to use their own presentation computers.

The presentation software... will be Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple iWork Keynote. Presentations created in Open Office will NOT be supported. It is your responsibility to confirm whether it will work on powerpoint before handing the presentation off. The past couple of years, there has been at least one presentation that had to be redone over night because they used Open Office. It's your choice how you spend your evening, not ours.

As you know, it can be frustrating when the presentation “looks different” on the presentation computer than it does on the development computer. Take a few minutes to review these bullets to keep the “gottcha’s” at bay:

• avoid font mishaps in PowerPoint (fonts you can rely up on to render correctly on any machine include Arial, Verdana, Times, and Times New Roman).
  URL: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA010348241033.aspx
• download and install the free viewer if you like to test your presentation on a computer that may not have PowerPoint installed.
  URL: http://www.google.com/search?q=powerpoint+viewer
• this “About” page brings it all together with some great points to consider when moving a presentation between computers.
  URL: http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointtipsandfaqs/f/change_fonts.htm
• 10 Font Tips for Presenters is a great list of tips for all of us that prepare presentations.
  URL: http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointtipsandfaqs/tp/080119powerpoint_font_tips.htm

Images in presentations:
Most of us have witnessed a presentation where the presentation lags or has to “catch up.” Generally this is caused by having large images embedded into the presentation then resized in PowerPoint using the "handles" on the corner of the image. Here a few pointers to keep in mind when resizing images in power point.

• don't resize the image using the corner handles, resize images outside the application then place that image into the presentation.
• An article by Microsoft talks about resizing images and how to make good decisions when placing them in your presentation.
  URL: (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA011163551033.aspx)

There are many free applications that can help with resizing, and if you don’t have access to them, or need assistance drop me a note and I’ll be happy to assist. A few of my personal favorites are Irfanview for Windows, and Preview for Macs, and don't count out the online services also.
Here’s a document prepared by Microsoft that discusses image resolution.
(URL: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/what-resolution-should-i-make-my-images-for-powerpoint-slide-shows-HA001116355.aspx)

Movies in presentations:
Movies in presentations can be dicey. First, it is your responsibility to communicate when your presentation has movies, and it is your responsibilty to have them available when loading the presentation on the laptop. When you prepare your presentation, make sure the movie is in the same directory as the presentation so the locations will be correct when we copy it to the presentation laptop. When we copy the presentation, it's important that we explicitly copy the movie at the same time, and CHECK it after it's uploaded.

On-site preparation:
Near the back of the presentation room, there will an Mac where you can edit your presentation BEFORE it’s loaded on to presentation laptop. It will be as nearly configured as the presentation laptop as possible. It would be the best place to verify that fonts are compatible, slide builds work as expected, and that images display as they should. I will have folders set up for each presentation session where you can leave your “Mac proofed” presentation and I’ll be responsible for moving it to the presentation laptop. I would encourage you to verify that your presentation is ready to go on the presentation laptop just before your session. If you would like, feel free to send your presentation to me before the Maize Meeting and I’d be happy to check it out on the presentation laptop.

One final thought:
Regardless of the computer or operating system you have used to create your presentation, it would be in your best interest to view it on another computer before arriving at the maize meeting. This will go a long way to help determine if there will be issues with fonts, images, etc. Keep in mind if you have a special application installed on your personal computer to make your presentation work properly, it's a safe assumption that it will NOT be installed on the PCs provided.

I hope to make this process as pain-free as possible, and it begins with helping you to be prepared the best you can. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to drop me a quick note.

Darwin Campbell
MaizeGDB Database Administrator
[email protected]
515.294.8209