Carmen Ferrara’s Weblog 2.0

I’m very pleased to announce the release of Presio 1.0. The new site went live several days ago and the first official release is now available for download and/or purchase. The first available release is tagged 1.1.110 (release notes below - lot’s of fixes and some new features too).

I think the new site looks great and there is now lot’s of good information on using Presio as well as some example applications. I plan on adding more “how to” tutorials to the support section of the site and will also begin posting tips on the blog.

Presio 1.1.110 (Released Feb 26, 2008)
Fixed: Windows Media templates thumbnail,TOC highlighting issue
Fixed: Slide synching issue with Flash templates
Fixed: Slide title renaming issue on Slides tab
Fixed: New Presio updates retain presenters, logos, recent project list
Fixed: Slide capture issue with certain PPT presentation font sizes
Fixed: Editing slide titles issue on Slides tab
Fixed: Remove clip from Media Tab issue - which caused inaccurate clip duration values on the Review Tab
Fixed: Synch Tab “Synch Next Slide button” - no longer skipping ahead a slide upon first load
New Feature: Import MP4 video files (for Synch w/ Slides Projects)
New Feature: Export all slides from the Slides tab
New Feature: Full screen PowerPoint support allows you to record presentation while in Slideshow Mode
New Feature: Ability to replace existing clip on Review Tab and leave slide timings in tact
New Feature: Support for Image Editing in post-production (Review Tab)
New Feature: Better support for capturing PPT animations

As part of my push to a final 1.0 of Presio, I’m creating a lot of “how to” screencast tutorials covering key features. I thought I’d share some here. These will all be posted as part of the new site redesign as well.

In this brief video, I demonstrate how to use the new Presio Image Editor tool, and specifically how to annotate (or draw) text directly on to a slide.

http://ipresent.net/support/tutorials/image-editor-text-tool/index.html

Duration: 2 minutes 3 seconds

I am pleased to announce the release of iPresent Presio Beta 2. This is a rather substantial update to the previous beta. I have decided to release a second version of the beta and hold off on an actual product release for now. I want to ensure my initial design goals are met before releasing the final product. I have received some great feedback from initial beta users and this release directly incorporates that feedback. Please keep the comments, questions and suggestions coming.

Below, I’ve listed the key updates/features contained within this release. I also want to point out that the single biggest feature that has been added is the ability to import existing media files and synchronize them with slides to create a final presentation. This was something I had always planned on incorporating at some point in a later release, but it became evident that it needed to be in there for v1. So here it is. I’ll be doing some tutorials explaining some of the new features as well as going through the software more in depth in the coming weeks. So stay tuned.

Release Notes for iPresent Presio Beta 2 - (Version 0.9.141)
Released: 1/31/2007

• Support for importing pre-recorded media files (audio or video files) and synchronizing with slides
• Ability to specify custom Windows Media Profiles for publishing output
• Better Flash output support including a new Flash slideshow template
• Table of contents now highlights which slide and thumbnail a user is currently viewing
• Ability to export project slides
• Ability for presenter to view slide notes while presenting
• Presentation output supports IE7
• Support for importing and synchronizing PowerPoint 2007 presentations
• Many minor bug fixes

Download iPresent Presio Beta 2

It’s been several weeks since I released the first public beta of Presio and I’ve been getting some great feedback so far. I was hoping to get an update released before the new year, but it looks like the next update will be coming in the next 2 weeks or so.

Based on feedback thus far, I’ve decided to add a rather significant new feature - Synchronizing existing media files to a set of slides. This feature had originally been planned for a minor point release, but based on user feedback I’ve decided it is something I need to get in before the final v1 release. Also included in this update release will be:

• Tracking the current slide during presentation playback
• Fixed intermittent presentation pausing bug (windows Media)
• Several minor enhancements and bug fixes

Merry Christmas.

Earlier this week, I made available the first “public” beta version of iPresent Presio. Prior to this release, Presio had been used primarily by FFF (friends, family, fools - to borrow a term from angel investing parlance). While I value the feedback of those close to me, it was time to release Presio out into the wild.

To truly understand where your software is at, you need to conduct a proper public beta. Finding beta testers for a brand new product is not easy. As with most things in the sofware biz, you’ll want to properly target your users. The goal is to find “quality” beta testers, not just warm bodies. For me, that meant finding users with a familiarity of web authoring tools, streaming media, e-learning, etc. Fortunately, I have been blogging and participating in various forums over the past year and was able to collect a list of interested users through my site. I’ve already received some great feedback as well as some reported issues that I’m working through.

I’ll be blogging about some of things uncovered by beta users and will start publishing more Presios (that’s rich media presentations) on a variety of topics so you can get a better feel as to what you can create with Presio. For a quick overview of how Presio works, take a look at this presentation:
Windows Media version or Flash Version

If you’re interested in trying out Presio, please visit the beta program site. The site has all the information to get started, and includes link to download Presio.