iSpring Solutions offers a new Powerpoint Add-In application that meets the needs of people who might be using Impatica and Adobe Presenter. iSpring offers a free version of their application, which can convert a Powerpoint to a flash presentation for upload on the web or into Blackboard Vista. Unlike Impatica, it doesn't use any Java technology, so users only need a flash player enabled browser. The free version does not include audio recording capabilities, but it does allow you to insert YouTube videos or other flash content. People who need audio recording capabilities should still work with Adobe Presenter, but everyone else can benefit from this free offering.

The application can be downloaded here: 

http://www.ispringsolutions.com/products/ispring_free.html

The following material is from their site:

Free PowerPoint to Flash converter creates web-friendly Flash movies from your PowerPoint content keeping its visual parameters and animation effects during conversion. iSpring Free works within PowerPoint, transforming it into a fast and easy Flash authoring tool. Just click Quick Publish and iSpring will generate a Flash movie from your PowerPoint presentation in just a few seconds.

iSpring creates high quality Flash movies with true vector representation of standard PowerPoint objects and keeps most of advanced PowerPoint 2000/XP/2003/2007 features.

• 180+ PowerPoint animation effects
• All PowerPoint slide transitions
• Hyperlinks and action buttons
• Animations and hyperlinks on Slide Masters
• One click conversion
• Embedded audio and video clips
• Insert Flash feature
• YouTube video insert new
• Presentation autostart control
• Flash-based player
   

Simple, easy, and significantly cheaper than traditional camcorders, these tapeless cell phone sized camcorders are exactly what you need for your basic video recording needs. The video quality is great even on a 720p widescreen TV. It doesn't bog you down with lots of extra features that you'd never use, nor does it require any attachements, or equipment. Point, shoot, and share. That's it.

For details visit their website:

 

http://www.theflip.com/

3M recently introduced a portable projector that's about the size of a cell phone. Compact, lightweight and super mobile, the MPro110 pocket-sized microprojector opens up a whole new world of opportunity for people wanting to present or share digital content on-the-move.The MPro110 MicroProjector is an LED-driven device that offers full VGA resolution connectivity to a range of multimedia devices.

The Library has aquired one for use in their small study rooms, anyone considering making a purchase is encouraged to head down there and try it out.

The following site has details about the product:

http://www.3mmpro.com/demo.aspx

http://its.easternct.edu/CIT/science.htm

On Oct. 17th 2005 I set up a tripod on my desk and mounted a digital camera on it because ground breaking for the science building was about to start. The purpose was to create a time lapse video of the construction. The tripod sat half on my desk and half on the shelf next to my desk, spanning the space between, and a black fleece vest covered the shinny aluminum legs because they were reflected in the window which showed up in the test pictures. A sticky note on the handle read "Please Do Not Move" for anyone who might want to clean underneath it or borrow it. The whole apparatus looked part jerry rigged spy cam, part coat rack.

When I did this, I did not really comprehend the full ramification of what I was doing. For almost 3 years this thing did not move. For reference, my computer changed twice in that in that time, three ski seasons where I could have used that fleece went by, twice the police showed up at my office wondering if I had captured suspicious activity on the construction site, and the camera, once top of the line, is now so old and slow that no one would ever want one.

On Aug 28th 2008, after waiting the last few months for them to remove the plastic covering on the roof trim, I took the final picture. A total 1509 photos were taken. In celebration, I dismantled the setup at 11:50 AM and then went to lunch.

 

CIT has a new blog service available for faculty and departments. The CIT blog is an example of a departmental blog where multiple people can author contributions and publish to the blog, which is designed to blend in seemlesly with the existing departmental webpage.