A Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow is commonly utilized for numerous reasons which count in education and instruction a by corporate professionals. It is a powerful tool for presentations simply because of its features for example, animated graphics as well as other innovative ones such as charts, videos, and clip art, among others.

Educators in academic institutions can make use of a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow to be able to enhance discussion in class. Unlike text documents, PowerPoint documents are less complicated to scan and to understand, particularly simply because they include visuals. Because they are special from usual lectures and the use of projectors, individuals often keep in mind their information more easily. This presentation tool is also indispensable for teachers. It makes it possible for them to get ready before lectures, unlike the standard use of blackboards, since a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow can be saved as a soft copy. The software also allows a teacher to create excellent visuals. Moreover, he or she can print copies to provide to individuals for future references. The presentations can also be used again in other lectures with few or no revisions.

The Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow has also turned out to be a preference among small business entities when executing proposals, customer/client research and management presentations. Marketing and advertising executives and marketing agents utilize it to introduce new processes and products to clienteles. It becomes effortless to make catchy and interesting presentations whenever making use of the Microsoft PowerPoint program mainly because of the availability of design templates, sound effects, animation, clip arts and graphics.

Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow is often applied in corporate trainings, conducted by the management for employees and other individuals. This kind of trainings could center on newly manufactured products and services, recent human resource developments, career building seminars and on- the- job- trainings. Presentations enrich the instruction sessions’ interactivity, and potential in achieving the desired result.

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*PowerPoint 2003*

1. Insert an AutoShape by choosing AutoShapes from the Drawing toolbar and then choosing the one that you want. I chose a heart. Format it as desired.

2. Duplicate the AutoShape by selecting it, and pressing Ctrl + D or copying and pasting. You now have one in front of the other. We’ll turn the copy, which is on top, into the shadow, and place it behind the original at the end.

Tip: The shadow looks more realistic on shapes without sharp edges. For rectangles, create the copy, select the copy, and choose Change AutoShape from the Draw button of the Drawing toolbar. Then choose Basic Shapes> Rounded Rectangle.

3. Double-click the copy to open the Format AutoShape dialog box. On the Colors and Lines tab, in the Fill section, click the Color drop-down list and choose Fill Effects. The Gradient tab should be on top.

4. Click the Two Colors option. For Color 1, choose black. For Color 2, choose your background’s color.

Tip: If your background is not solid, choose the nearest color. Then, in the Transparency section, set the To value to 100%.

5. In the Shading Styles section, choose the From Center option. In the Variants section, choose the option that shows black in the center. Click OK.

6. Back in the Format AutoShape dialog box, in the Line section, click the Color drop-down list, and choose No Line. Click OK to return to your slide.

7. Drag the bottom-right handle to make your shadow larger, about 1-1/2 times the size of the original.

8. Select the copy, right-click, and choose Order> Send to Back. Adjust the shadow’s size and position for the most realistic look.

9. Compare this to the standard shadow, which you create by choosing from the Shadow Style button on the Drawing toolbar.

*PowerPoint 2007*

In PowerPoint 2007, soft shadows are easier.

1. Double-click the shape to display the Drawing Tools Format tab. Click Shape Effects> Shadow> Shadow Options.

Change the following settings:

Transparency: By default, shadows are partially transparent, but you can increase the transparency if you want.

Size: You can make the shadow larger.

Blur: This is main the setting that creates a soft shadow. Drag until you like what you see.

Angle: Drag the angle slider to get the angle that you want.

Distance: To emphasize the shadow, drag its distance (from the shape) upward.

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Video files come in several formats. The formats that work well in PowerPoint are:

* AVI

* WMV

* MPG (or MPEG)

Before you start, you must put the video file in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation. The reason for this is that if you ever move your presentation to another computer, you video probably won’t play. Not following this advice is probably the #1 reason videos don’t play in PowerPoint.

Then, choose Insert> Movies and Sounds> Movie from File. (In PowerPoint 2007, go to Insert tab> Media Clips Group> Movie.) From the dialog box, find and double-click the video file. (Note that “video” and “movie” mean the same thing.)

You see a message asking you if you want the video to play automatically or when clicked. Choose whichever you want. You can change the option later. The first frame of the video appears on your slide.

— Change how the video plays in PowerPoint —
You have some control over how the video plays in PowerPoint. Right-click the video on the slide, and choose Edit Movie Object to open the Movie Options dialog box. (In PowerPoint 2007, select the video, and click the Movie Tools Options tab. Most of the options are on the tab, but not all. For more options, click the dialog box launcher arrow at the right side of the group’s title bar to open the Movie Options dialog box.)

Here’s what you can do:

* Loop the video: Check the Loop Until Stopped check box.

* Rewind the video: Check the Rewind Movie When Done (After) Playing checkbox. You would do this if you might need to play it more than once during a presentation

* Hide the video when it isn’t playing: Check the Hide While Not Playing check box.

* Zoom the video to full screen: Check the Zoom to Full Screen/Play Full Screen check box. (This was a new feature in PowerPoint 2003.) This will probably result in low resolution.

If you want to change whether the video plays automatically or only when clicked, choose Slide Show> Custom Animation (in PowerPoint 2007, Animations tab> Custom Animation) to open the Custom Animation task pane:

* If you chose to play the video automatically, you’ll see two items; the first has a Start setting of After Previous and the second has a trigger (the video itself) and a Start setting of On Click. To change to playing when clicked, delete the item that has a Start setting of After previous.

* If you chose to play the video when clicked, you’ll just see the trigger and the On Click setting in the Start box. To change to playing automatically, click the item’s down arrow in the Custom Animations task pane, and choose Timing. Under the Triggers button, click the Animate as Part of Click Sequence option. In the same dialog box, set the Start to With Previous. Click OK. (Note that there still may be a slight delay after you display the slide before the video starts to play.)

You can size the video so that it’s appropriate for the resolution of your screen or projector. This is useful if you switch to a computer or projector with a different resolution than the original computer where you created the presentation. Follow these steps:

1. Select the video.

2. Right-click the video and choose Format Picture to open the Format Picture dialog box. (In PowerPoint 2007, right-click and choose Size and Position to open the Size and Position dialog box.)

3. Click the Size tab.

4. Check the Best Scale for Slide Show check box.

— Troubleshooting video in PowerPoint —
Sometimes, videos in PowerPoint don’t play. There can be a number of reasons for this:

* Videos are linked, not embedded. If you move your presentation, or send it to someone, you must include the video file. The Package for CD feature can do this for you. Choose File> Package for CD and use the Copy to Folder button. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Office button> Publish> Package for CD.)

* When created, videos are compressed using compression/decompression algorithms. These are called codecs for short. If your computer doesn’t have the codec that was used when the video was created, PowerPoint won’t play the video.

* PowerPoint for the Mac plays MOV (Quicktime) files; but PowerPoint for the PC doesn’t. So, if the presentation was created on the Mac, your video might not play because it’s a MOV file.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ellen_Finkelstein

One thing to remember, as we go through the theories, is that there is a hard and a soft to everything. Sometimes hard and soft is merely a distinction of direction, which is to say one collides or one guides. Sometimes the distinction is a little more difficult to follow, but we will do our best to illustrate the difference.

The first theory that most everybody comes in contact with is that of Explosive Power. You’re going to find this power in Karate, Taekwondo, or most any art (or piece of art) wherein the fist collides with the face.

We have circular energy, but there are a few things that must be understood here. There is circular, as in turning the waist in kung fu, and then there is circular, as in aikido harmony. Obviously, we have a first class example here of how one energy can be considered as hard or soft.

The next energy is spiral, as in Bagua. This is an odd type of energy, as it depends on rotating limbs on a circling body. Weird or not, it is incredibly functional, simple to understand, but sometimes difficult to implement in the real world.

Now we come to suspended energy, as one would experience in the art of Tai Chi Chuan. Interestingly, Taiji energy can be considered as simple weight lifting, but it is of the whole body, and one does not explode, but rather sustains the weight of the whole body, which creates a long lasting type of power that is not common. This type of power is actually easy to learn, but one has to know what the proponents of the art are saying in terms of western physics, or forget about taiji all together.

As you may notice, many arts develop more than one type of power, which can be good or bad, depending on how cleanly they understand the differences, and how to use them. That said, Taiji is one of the few arts that use negative energy. This is a rare energy, not many people develop it as it takes correct understanding of the concepts involved.

In summation, we have barely scratched the surface of this subject, and there are not only many gradations, but whole types of energy which the future and hard study will bring. Still, if you can get these basic five down, define them exactly, and learn when and how to combine them, then you are off to a roaring start. Really, when you think about it, Martial Arts Flow Theory is what the future is all about, for when you get the moves down, what is left but to grow your energetic potential?

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Al_Case

This is a powerful laptop that comes with Intel Core i5 processor running at 2.26GHz. It is incorporated with 8GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drives that allow you to store maximum data. It has also large multi-touch touchpad and flat topped keypad that has widely spaced soft keys. You will feel soft and nice while typing anything on the keyboard. The Pavilion DM4 also has inbuilt webcam with microphone, five-in-one card reader, Bluetooth, wi-fi and many other wireless technology.

Some of the salient features of power packed HP Pavilion DM4 notebook are given below:
Packed with Intel Core i5 processor
Genuine Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit operating system
500GB of hard drive
8GB of DDR3 RAM
Access Wireless internet with WLAN 802.11
Five-in-one integrated card reader
Digital webcam with microphone
3 usb 2.0 port and one VGA port
Dolby surrounds audio speakers
Rechargeable 6 cell lithium-ion battery
Weight: 2 Kg

HP Pavilion DM4 laptops are now easily available all over the world. If you want to buy HP laptops in Australia then you can buy through online. It comes at affordable price of A$799. The best feature of the DM4 notebook is its reboot. It provides great performance and saves on boot time as compared to other notebooks. You will be able to reboot your laptop in less than one minute. It also produces less noise almost noiseless. It comes with long battery life that gives you five hours of backup.

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