The headaches of using Microsoft software on a Mac

Being a part of the litigation presentations world it’s hard to move away from PowerPoint. Most law firms are stuck in a PC/Windows operated world, and often use outdated versions of Microsoft products. If you thought version issues of PPT across one platform were a headache, try switching over to Macs. Microsoft has cleverly made it difficult to move away from WinOS when one of your key applications is PowerPoint. On our quest to flipping over the company to Mac OS we have stumbled upon certain road blocks when using PowerPoint 2008 (Mac version). The folks at Microsoft seem to have purposely omitted some key features of the PowerPoint software in their Mac version. Now, many of us are stuck in sort of a limbo of walking around with 2 laptops or working on 2 different operating systems at the same time.

Microsoft is basically forcing us to completely abandon their software and move to Keynote, or another type of presentation software fully compatible with Macs…. Because we’re definitely not abandoning our brand new Macs! =)

Loving your Mac to the fullest

So we finally get our Macs as part of the innovation wave at Nextpoint (wahoo!). For the past 2-4 or so years I pretty much worked exclusively on PCs and had to re-familiarize myself with the Mac OS as well as learn all the new features that come with Leopard and boy am I happy. I spent about 8 hours straight without wanting to put my 15″ 4GB MacBook Pro down, and being the resident geek I am, I was on a quest to quickly flip over, so the transition between the two operating systems was seemless. Besides being a beautiful, sleek, and convenient horse (my HP desktop replacement laptop from a couple of years ago weights about 11 lbs compared to about 5) the Mac provides a new user focused way of getting things done.

First time computer users who start off with a Mac, will probably get comfortable with the interface in a fraction of the time it will take a seasoned PC user. The switch isn’t exactly seamless. The first thing I did is Google “new mac user” and looked for results that offered “conversion” to how things used to get done on a PC.

Anyway, I’m attaching a few useful tips I’ve come to learn or relearn (lol) along the way of my explorations:

• Ctrl+C/V/Z/X/A/S/F is now Apple+C/V/Z/X/A/S/F
• If you want to Right-Click (oh and you will want to =/ ): You can either press Ctrl+Trackpad click OR just use a two-button mouse (Come on Mr. Jobs, you can split the trackpad button into two)
• The Delete button has two functions: Regular, deletes stuff backwards OR while pressing fn (function key) it deletes forward. So the delete button alone works like the Backspace key, and fn+delete works like Delete key… I know confusing right lol
• If you go to System Preferences (control panel) then click on Keyboard Shortcuts it will give you some common ones.. Like how to do a Screen shot (the upward outlined arrow Symbol is for the Shift key, the little open triangle facing up is for the fn key) so screen shot is Apple+Shift+3… It will create a picture# file on your desktop instead of copying it for pasting
• Alt+Tab (moving between running applications) is now Apple+Tab
• Clicking the little Red X doesn’t “Quit” applications, and rather leaves them running while Hidden. When quitting you have to press Apple+Q OR use the toolbar menu ie click Entourage drop down menu will give you the option to quit (This is important to remember so you don’t end up running all the possible applications at the same time eating up RAM…. it’s a Mac not a miracle worker)
• To force deleting of locked items hold the Option key while pressing “Empty” in the trash can

Useful applications
Stuffit Expander : http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffitexpander/index.html… You need this for zipped files
Flip4Mac and Windows Media Player: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/flip4mac.mspx…. You need this for viewing wmv movie files which quicktime doesn’t support

Useful links
10 Apps that every mac user should download

Troubleshoot your mac (This page will help you troubleshoot common problems)

Switch to Mac from PC (This will help you further understand the OS if you were a previous PC user)

Video Tutorials (Videos of how to do stuff on your Mac)

Leopard Guided Tour , Video (Tutorial of new features in the Leopard OS like Time Machine and iChat, I highly recommend this)

Young Talent

Back in college a friend of mine from the Computer Graphics and Animation program forwarded me a link to the Ringling College of Art and Design Portfolio.  I can still remember how mesmerized and awed I was at the quality of work coming out from other young people (not to mention it made me feel a little ashamed and envious, but that gave me the push I needed to create better work).  To this day I go back to check out the amazing submissions that include Graphic Design, Animation, Fine Arts and Interior Design.

There is one animation in particular, entitled Committed which I must have watched about a hundred times.  Its a very short animation, but it has an incredibly funny and a bit cooky story behind very stylized renderings. (It’s number 34 of the Computer Animation section.) Its quite amazing that this short piece of work has made such an impact on me, that I still remember it to this day!

I think its really important to check out work from people who are still in school because many times their creative juices have not yet been molded to a particular job setting. These can definitely infuse a little new flava’ into seasoned designers.

Unfortunately for new Mac users, many of the animations are posted as Windows Media, and after spending about an hour downloading all sorts of codex, Flip for Mac and Windows Media Player 9 for Mac, I’m still unable to see most of the videos…. back to PC I go… well at least for this, it’s worth it!

The Elastic Mind

Information design is everywhere, crossing technology to design to art. Here’s Moma’s effort at capturing some of the issues involved with design in their Design & The Elastic Mind exhibition. The navigation is a bit of a challenge but the individual sections are cool, I like Interfaces. Shout out to my friend, creative director flash animator and photographer extradorinairre John Adams for the link.

Fostering Innovation

About a month ago I came across an interview with Brad Bird, about what a company can do to infuse innovation and creativity into their work. Bird was hired by Steve Jobs to basically shake things up at Pixar, when Pixar was at its peak, simply because Jobs didn’t want to lose the growing momentum of the animation business. Brad is not only a creative genius, with Academy Award winning feature 3D animated movies, he is a true visionary and is not afraid to challenge standards if it means higher quality of productivity from his team.

His lessons can be applied to everyday life and virtually any company could use his ideas to improve their work product.

http://gigaom.com/2008/04/17/pixars-brad-bird-on-fostering-innovation/

More great diagrams

I’ve been really into looking at complex diagrams with great deals of detail. While in a courtroom setting, we’ve got less time to get a point across, particularly in an electronic demonstrative, some of these more detailed explanations are definitely giving me some inspiration.

John Grimwade’s portfolio is really cool, and I had the pleasure of talking to Lin Wilson from Funnel design and was super impressed by their stuff and approach.

Docu-point

Presentation Zen posted a blog earlier this week on Hillary Clinton’s campaign sending an elect ability PowerPoint to House Democrats.

I’m including links to this blog as well as a link to Rick Altman’s blog who developed a before and after version. There’s a good message here about appropriate use and design.

http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2008/05/hillary-campaig.html

For a before and after look at the same slides, see:

http://betterppt.com/blog/

Muxtape

http://muxtape.com/

Beautiful in its dedication to ugliness. I love the clear tape case too I miss those. The playlists sort of look like the inserts into tape cases.

All Streets In the US

Check out this map, pretty cool when data does what data does. It maps every street in the United States. Don’t miss the city details below too, those are pretty cool.

Edible Inspiration

In thinking about what to blog about as a first time blogger, I hit a wall. Then, I put my virtual car in reverse and hit another wall.

It’s a little overwhelming writing a note to open space (yes, I’m being a bit dramatic but it’s my blog). I’m more of an interactive person. I need to see someone’s face expression and reaction. But again, this is a blog.

So, I sought some inspiration from my colleague Renee who sits within shouting distance and she sent me to the Communication Arts site. http://www.commarts.com/insights/ I read what inspires and drives some creative greats and that got me thinking….

Food. Menus. Risk taker chefs. Great composition. Innovation. Divine pairings of flavors, colors, textures. Unique and daring interpretations using simple ingredients. Balancing technique with whimsy.

I’m hungry for design that delivers and satiates. Each case presents its own set of ingredients, seasonality, palates, time constraints, pairings, and plating possibilities. It’s like Top Chef meets the cream of the crop attorneys. My goal is to create a tasting menu for the customer presenting the arguments in a digestible way.

I attempt this by combining tried and true concepts with original interpretations. Sometimes inspiration and ideas come easily. Other times all I can uncover are the old recipes.

What I’m learning is to look for the dead end signs. If I’m not innovating on a case, it’s time to get inspired. That may include brainstorming with others, putting pen to paper, or stepping away and coming back.

Or, it may be just the time to peek through Grant Achatz’s creation gallery. My favorite is “tomato.”

http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/pages/gallery/gallery_cuis.html

It’s most important to look to at what inspires each of us during these bland times. Achatz’s interpretations demonstrate the invaluable relationship between risk and reward.