Why I hate PowerPoint Plugins

• By: Admin
• On: 12/10/2007 16:58:04
• In: PowerPoint Plugins
• Comments:

I mean come on lets face it, if it was really that good. If it was going to change the face of presenting forever then I'm sure Microsoft could afford to buy the company and integrate into PowerPoint. We've just had PowerPoint 2007 released so why are there no "the plugin formerly known as..." buttons in the new version?

Perhaps these plugin manufacturers are simply trying to stand as tall as they can and shout in a YouTube type voice..."Hey....here I am....come and buy me!"?

I came across a company...apparently THE speicalist in PowerPoint plugins. They "Energize PowerPoint". I guess I really should have been suspicious from the start. Energize PowerPoint...what does that mean? Does it mean that it's only good for you if you open your presentation and your laptop starts beeping. your colleague frantically hands you a power cable. "NO!" you scream, " I have to energize PowerPoint"! Or is it only for people whose presentations have run flat out of slides? What do you think?

Anyway, after the marketing blurp and so wanting to believe this could be true. I mean can a simple plugin in really transform my drab, dreary PowerPoint presentations in to full video, tv style, action packed presentations? Has someone really managed to cram the combined power of the A - Team into one tiny littel download? A mere Winzip file?

I donwloaded the trial. I could hear the A - Team in my head. Ok, here we go. Unzip and install. All good so far. I love it when a plan comes together! ....and then I launched PowerPoint. My mouse finger twitching with excitment I opened one of my drab and lifeless PowerPoint presentations. I assigned the TV style slide transition and voila! ...."Windows has encountered a serious error and must close. We are sorry for this inconvenience".

Huh?

Where is my TV style presentation? Where is my audience inspiring showcase? Come on....show me the energy?

"Ok", I thought...."teething errors. Second try". And so I launched PowerPoint, I opened my still drab, my now terminally dying PowerPoint presentation and went to the menu. I applied a different transition. "Yes, I thought, that has to be it. The transition I tried before required so much energy that it sucked the very life out of my laptop! I'll try something a little less A- Team, a little more Texas Ranger".

 I selected Walker. I assigned the transition to my presentation and voila!....jepp...."Windows has encountered a serious error and must close. We are sorry for this inconvenience".

Huh?

Well now this is inconvenient actually, and an awful lot of hassle to boot. So I relaunched PowerPoint one more time. I opened my drab and dreary PowerPoint presentation. It was now on death's door. Hanging on by a thread. If the slide transition didn't work this time there would be no alternative other than to open it up and edit!

"If at first you don't succeed. Try and try again", I thought. "Ok, I didn't succeed the first time. I've tried. And now...I must try again." And so launching PowerPoint one more time I opened my presentation. "Hang on in there", I kept thinking to myself, "Soon you will feel the power. You will be energized". And so I select a different transition and with breath held, I assigned it to my presentation.

Now can you imagine my surprise when suddenly upon the screen it said...."Windows has encountered a serious error and must close. We are sorry for this inconvenience".

And so I realized that "Energizing PowerPoint" actually means that you spend hours wasting energy on the awe inspiring, next generation, tv style, PowerPoint plugin. But need only one minute to think and remember. My PowerPoint presentations have always been well received before. Heck, I've even had standing ovations for some of them. So how did I fall prey to the lure of the TV Style PowerPoint slide transition plugin? Like a cow with a grass rush I thought the grass really was greener on the other side. But when I got there all I found was a thorn that I couldn't fully uninstall. And the irony is that although the plugin couldn't find a way to energize my PowerPoint, the producer seems to have found out how to fill my inbox with more amazing offers of plugins and tools that will make my PowerPoint presentations come to life. So i guess if at first you don't succeed....