Chris Harris

Presentation Browser (Mac Only)

There are reasons so many conference presenters use Macs. One is the super-nifty instant zoom feature (Ctrl+mouse scroll) that highlights URLs, helps identify toolbars, or just gets the audience a bit closer to an important point. Then there is ProfCast, a tool that automatically synchronizes audio recording with slides from a presentation to create an instant movie of a talk. Now another presentation tool has emerged that make Macs even more attractive to speakers.

Plainview is a Mac browser that presents a truly full-screen view of the Web. By removing all of the normal browser wrappers, not only is there extra room for content, but that content flows seamlessly from presentation to demonstration. With the ability to create bookmarks (or import them from Safari) it is quite easy to create a playlist for a presentation.

Plainview also includes a password protected kiosk mode that locks a computer into the browser. While the program doesn't extend this protection via a whitelist of allowed sites, without knowledge of the keyboard shortcuts users will find it difficult to do anything but follow links.

[via TUAW]

Posted by Chris Harris on June 5, 2008 | Comments (1)