Google Docs New features for 2008!

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Official Google Docs Blog: New features for 2008!:

Google has added some new features to its Google Docs applications. These include the ability to create sub folders and the ability to rename documents within the Docs home toolbar view. The one that is of most interest to me is the ability to embed Google Docs Presentations into a web page. This is similar to what is available on sites such as SlideShare. The key benefit being that you can now do this from within your Google Docs workflow. This feature is available when you publish a Google Docs Presentation. Some code is generated that you can then past into a web page or weblog post.

I am wondering if Apple will update their iLife applications to take advantage of this. They already have an export to YouTube option within Keynote. It would be nice if they added the ability to directly upload and publish a Keynote presentation in this way.

Below is a screen shot...

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Slideoo

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Slideoo is an interesting little tool that allows you to create horizontal photo slideshows from Flickr photos. The interface allows you to select from public images and define the width of the slide show and the image size. The example below is from one of my Flickr photo sets and the image size is medium. Notice the slider at the bottom of the image. Click and drag the slider to view the images.

links for 2008-01-04

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Author Uses Amazon Kindle to Beta Test New Book

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ReadWriteWeb has an interesting post about an author, Daniel Oran, who is using Amazon.com's Kindle ebook device and sales platform to fine tune his book before publishing. Oran is allowing Kindle users to download his latest draft of Believe for 99¢. The author is using the Amazon discussion and review areas for readers to provide feedback as the author works to fine tune his book for final publication. After gathering reader feedback, the author plans to publish the book in the traditional method. Proceeds from sales during the beta period will benefit Neediest Cases Fund.

Revisiting Piclens...

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Last June I wrote about PicLens. It is an immersive image viewing tool that allows you to share images from web sites in a full screen mode. During the winter break I have been spending some time playing around with it again. It is a browser plugin that allows you to display images on web pages in a full screen mode. For example if you visit a Flickr photo set, you have the option of displaying the set as a full screen slide show. Another nice example is to search for images in Google and then present them full screen via the plugin. I have been using the plug-in to make presentations to staff and parents. My workflow is to quickly mock up any text slides I need in Keynote and export them as JPEGs and then post to a Flickr photo set along with any images I want to share. Not many bullet points but mostly images that frame the presentation and my discussion.

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In addition to the browser plug-in, the folks at PicLens have also created a Wordpress plug-in that allows you to provide the same experience from your weblog and it does not require that visitors have the browser plug-in installed. For example the images below are some recent shots from a trip to a local air museum. Follow the link below for an example.

Evergreen Air and Space Museum Evergreen Air and Space Museum IMG_1448.JPG Evergreen Air and Space Museum Evergreen Air and Space Museum Evergreen Air and Space Museum