Image Auto-Resolution in PowerPoint 2013
I felt compelled to post this as I noticed a feature within Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2013, that can be helpful in some cases, but if you are an avid presenter, can be a bit of a nuisance as well. I noticed that since I upgraded to the 2013 Office Suite, that when creating PowerPoint presentations that my images would change in resolution automatically for some reason without my doing. I remember in PowerPoint 2010 having the ability to compress images to meet the needs of reducing the overall file size of my presentation, but this was done by me, manually and only when reducing the file size for sharing of the presentation, not presenting it as I like my images to be at full resolution at that time. Because I started noticing this happening to all of my new PowerPoint 2013 decks, I came across a setting in the File/Options/Advanced menu that apparently automatically changes the resolution of all of your images within a presentation so that you don’t have to always reduce the file size of your presentation. Again, a helpful feature, but not for me 
, so if you notice that the image resolution of your pictures you add to your PowerPoint 2013 presentations are becoming blurry and/or distorted and you’ve done nothing to cause this yourself, that’s what this is!
The following link will show you how to turn off automatic image resolution compression in PowerPoint 2013:
Future of UC Webcast
Today I had the honor of co-presenting with Don Van Doren and Jebb Dykstra via one of the best panel discussions I’ve ever been on concerning the future of Unified Communications. Moderated by Randy Thomas, this webcast session is definitely worth a listen and share.
Siemens Hits the Nail on the UC Head
Siemens CCO Chris Hummel addressed the main issue with UC today in his keynote @ITEXPO. UC vendors stop developing clients, focus on experiences! More to this discussion to come!
Enterprise SBC Conversation
Sitting in and discussing Enterprise SBC Essentials via Panel. Interesting conversations around dealing with hybrid and trial customers. Massive amount of movement to UC solutions requiring gateways and SBCs to be flexible in features and interop support. Many enterprises currently in trial with multiple UC solutions and need single, adaptable, SBC to deploy with chosen solution.
Based on panel discussion, both Sonus and Sangoma offering compelling capability. Sonus more advanced in offering hybrid capability!
Recovering My Start-up…and My Life!
I had a great idea after leaving Microsoft Research. Build applications that sit on top of UC (Unified Communications) platforms to provide organizations with real ROI (Return on Investment) by enabling them to use their UC client software for all their business communications and collaboration, not just conference calls! The point of UC is to consolidate communications and collaboration to a single, “unified” interface, so we thought, let’s extend that to applications that organizations actually use on a daily basis like Web Chat for any organization with a website who are paying web chat providers a monthly fee for all their representatives when they are now enabled with a UC client application like Microsoft Lync. Furthering this concept with specific industry use such as with patient care in hospitals by enabling communication and collaboration with existing HMS (Healthcare Management Systems) and EMR (Electronic Medical Record) software platforms, online education for K-12, universities, community colleges and training providers, and to build features we found to be critical when implementing a new software-based UC platform, like enabling organizations to re-use their existing hardware-based phones. So that was the concept and we prevailed! To generate funding for applications, we provided UC infrastructure deployment services and deployed over 50+ UC installations for Microsoft with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Enterprise Voice, coincidentally becoming one of the Top 10 global UC services firms for Microsoft…and that was not in our business plan:). We used that revenue with some friends and family funding and built SmartSIP, to connect the Microsoft UC platform to organizations’ existing hardware-based phones. When seeking funding to build our Web Chat application further, SmartChat, we were approached for acquisition by leading Contact and Call Center providers in the marketplace at a $7.5M valuation…after only putting in $750K plus profit from services revenue. Instead, we sold SmartSIP via IP acquisition (Product was still in Beta) and used the funding to build out SmartChat. We were even showcased on a CNN and FOX business series called, “The Today in America Show”!
All was going great…and then…I got sick. Really sick. Read the rest of this entry
The most significant ROI in the UC market is about to come!
If you have not heard of Dr. Sandy Pentland (http://web.media.mit.edu/~sandy/) and his team at MIT in Cambridge, Mass, lend an ear! After over a decade of research and development, Pentland, his team at MIT, and one of the many companies that he has founded, Sense Networks, has been developing and perfecting a science that has been considered one of the top 10 most innovative technologies by the likes of Dr. Stephen Hawking, who also showcased Pentland and team on his new series covered by The Science Channel called, “Brave New World with Stephen Hawking”. The science is called Human Dynamics and Reality Mining.
So why is this science, when applied to Unified Communications technology, going to provide organizations with the ability to enable their organizations with the highest level of productivity and in return, the largest ROI of any UC platform investment? Read the rest of this entry
@CompTIA #AMM12 Event (Chicago, IL)
I will be posting and tweeting from the annual CompTIA AMM event in Chicago this week. Stay tuned for relevant information regarding Unified Communications, Cloud, and Mobility trends. Join AMM today to help shape the future of the UC Marketplace including the creation of a new UC Trustmark for members. Join via http://www.comptia.org/membership/communities/Unified_Communications.aspx.
Evangelyze Communications (EC) announces SmartChat R3 release!
See press release for more details via http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9273063.htm or the EC company website via http://www.evangelyze.net. Great job team!
Top 10 Enterprise UC Concerns for 2012
Based on a 5-month research study involving 15 Enterprise Customers/Organizations, 4 Enterprise UC Resellers, and 2 Enterprise UC MSPs (Service Providers), as well as taking a recent poll at the UC3 Summit in Phoenix this past week, I have solidified the most focused concerns for the enterprise for UC in 2012 so vendors, channel partners, MSPs, and customers please take note. I welcome your comments and feedback as well to keep this content fresh and clear. Read the rest of this entry
