Once you've created the presentation, the archive manager opens. Here you can trim off the start or end of the presentation, alter the slide time line, rearrange slides, delete slides or change chapter information. PresenterPro lacks a preview option, so we couldn't view our changes until after they were published. When we finished editing, we uploaded the presentation to a Web server using Windows File Sharing, but FTP is an option, too. With this package, we also could prepare a recorded presentation to be burned on CD-ROM. Accordent's product doesn't do the burning. Rather, it exports a directory containing the required HTML, graphic and video files, which can then be burned to CD.
PresenterPro's biggest shortcoming is its end-user client interface. The table of contents page, which lets you jump around the presentation, is just a gray window with text that doesn't even look hyperlinked. Furthermore, slide navigation doesn't cause the video to fast forward to that particular spot. And PresenterPro lacks a built-in presentation organization: You cannot organize multiple presentations into categories or directories. If you want to group presentation displays, you must code the Web pages yourself. The isn't a huge shortcoming, but we wish the organization were more automatic.
PresenterPro Enterprise Edition 5.1.3, $15,000. Accordent Technologies, (310) 374-7491. www.accordent.com
Sonic Foundry's hardware approach to webcasting has some advantages. Mediasite Live, a portable unit, is a PC in a briefcase, complete with LCD screen, full-size keyboard, optical mouse, cable storage area and a carrying handle. A presenter can bring this box into a room, record and leave, or attach it to a separate management server and do a live presentation. The management server is responsible for handing live presentation, interactive content and uploading presentations to the Web and streaming server.
The unit we tested is a fully self-contained, portable Windows XP computer with a 3-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 111 GB of disk space and special encoder and capture software. Sonic Foundry also makes a rackmount version. A camcorder or other live video/audio source can be plugged into the system's Osprey video card. Slides are captured automatically from a VGA source. You can plug in a laptop or use a VGA splitter/tap to display on a projector and the MediaLive machine simultaneously. The device automatically senses screen changes and pushes the new image as a slide. You can turn off the automatic cycling when you want manual control.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
