Announcements

Havin' Too Much Fun!

We have a really fun, really cool Argus PC Cam / Web Cam video camera on sale today! We have been playing with this around the office for the last week or so and it's a blast - we never thought it would be this great! In fact, be sure to stop by the info page and check out the little video of some of our staff waving "Hello". It's really short (and very compressed), but it shows you how good (and fun) this little camera is.

With this cool little PC cam, not only can you create regular videos using your computer, but you can also do video e-mail (really fun and our favorite use for this), video conferencing, do video monitoring, and even use it with instant messengers! (Of course, you can use it with a web site too if you like.) In addition to video, it can also take still pictures in case you need a fast digital image of something or someone. Hundreds of uses!

This color camera features a built in microphone, 30 frames per second video, adjustable focus, and connects to your computer with a USB cable (included). Since it's USB, setup is incredibly easy and will only take you a few minutes. We set it up on several computers here at the office and ran into zero problems. I wish everything was this easy to install!

After installation, just run the software, point the camera at your subject, and press record! It's that simple!

Oh, and wait till you see the easy to use software that's included with the camera! The main program is, naturally, for video. It allows you to capture, create, edit, add text, add transitions, store / catalog your videos, and more. You can even stitch several together if you like. In addition, there is video capture software, photo editing software (for still photos), and more. The software alone is worth the price of the camera!

If you've ever looked at these types of cameras, you know they can get pricey - $50 to $100 is the average range. We were able to get a really good deal on these and can sell them to you for just $29.97ea with FREE US shipping! If you've ever wanted a good web cam, but didn't want to pay the high price, this is just what you've been looking for! Check it out:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/argus.htm

Warning - The supplier told us that this is it - once we run through them it's over. So, get to the site right now if you want a shot at this incredible offer!

MS Office 101

Templates, Templates, Templates

I often get requests from readers for templates. You know, where they can they download templates for use with the MS Office Suite.

Now, while I'm sure there are many places you can look—many people don't seem to know that you can download quite a few directly from the Microsoft site.

Next time you're looking for some sort of template of anything, give this a click.

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/templategallery/

There are templates for a multitude of topics—stationary, cards, career, education, publications, marketing, finance and accounting just to name a few.

So it you're looking for a template, this is the place to go.

Office Tip of the Day

PowerPoint Peek-A-Boo

Here's the situation: you have a really great MS PowerPoint presentation—it covers "everything". It's a masterpiece, if you do say so yourself.

Now you need a slightly different presentation—this one should cover only part of the "masterpiece" mentioned above.

What do you do?

You could simply skip through the unneeded slides while giving the presentation. Not a very slick or wonderful way to do it—distracting for the audience—definitely not your best choice.

Do you copy slides from the original presentation into a new one?

You could—it'd take some time and be an extra file to keep track of—but you could.

Want a quicker, better way?

Maybe a way that doesn't require you to dismantle your presentation each time it needs to be modified?

Yes?

Cool—then it's time to play peek-a-boo with our slides.

Basically what we're going to do is to hide the slides we don't want to display. Trust me, it's faster than the copy / paste into a new file method—and who couldn't use the spare time?

The first thing you'll need to do is to open the presentation you're working with.

Now go to the Slide Sorter View. (View Menu, Slide Sorter choice or the Slide Sorter button in the bottom left corner of the window. The Alt, V then D keys will also accomplish this task.)

Now that you're in the Slide Sorter, you simply need to select a slide that should be hidden. (You do this by clicking it on—you should notice an outline around the selected slide.)

Now click the Hide Slide button located on the Slide Sorter toolbar.

(If you don't see this button, then you may need to display the correct toolbar. Go to the View menu, Toolbars submenu, and then Slide Sorter choice.)

At any rate, once you click the button you should notice a small change regarding the slide you had selected.

See the change yet?

What you should notice as different is the fact that the slide number is now crossed out—meaning that the slide has been hidden.

If you run the slide show now, you'll find that the slide is skipped entirely. (Yeah! Just what we were looking for.)

I can hear the inevitable question: How do I put the slide back into the show?

Good question.

Deserves a good answer, so here it is.

You need to return to the Slide Sorter view, select the slide to be unhidden, and click on the Hide Slide button again.

Instantly you should notice that the slide number is back to normal—meaning that the slide will appear when the presentation is run.

And there you have it.

Your masterpiece presentation may have just become the most useful file on your machine.

Ahhhh—what will you do with all the time you save now that you don't have to copy / paste all the slides?

I'm sure you can think of a few things.

~ April