Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most commonly used office software applications today. Essentially, this program allows the user to create slide shows showcasing any sort of information they choose. As one may expect, this program is often times preinstalled on Microsoft computers, but if not, an installation disc can be bought and loaded onto both Microsoft and Macintosh computers.
The history of this program dates back to 1987. The idea for the program is credited to both Melody Austin and Thomas Rudkin, who, at the time, worked for a company known as Forethought, Inc. The program was originally known as €presenter,€ and was being designed to run on Macintosh computers. However, Forethought, Inc. was bought out by Microsoft, and the company, now working as Microsoft's graphic business unit, continued to develop the software.
PowerPoint finally launched on May 22nd, 1990, alongside Windows 3.0. As you can imagine, the program has changed quite a bit since it was first launched; however, it still has the same basic use: creating slide shows. Slide shows created in PowerPoint are most often referred to as presentations. They are made by adding as many slides as needed from the program's top menu, then adding whatever you need to them. Users can add text boxes, titles bars, pictures, graphs, and several other items to the slides to organize them in any way they see fit.
There are also sound and animation effects, as well as the option the change the colors of the font and the background, so users can make their slides as entertaining or as professional as they want. In addition, there are several slide templates preinstalled in the program that are setup in a way that allow the user to begin working on the slide's content immediately, without having to add anything to it first.
Fortunately, even if a computer doesn't have PowerPoint installed, there is still a way to at view other PowerPoint presentations without having to buy the software. A version of the program known as Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer can be downloaded and installed on a computer directly from Microsoft's website, completely free. While this program won't allow the user to actually create PowerPoint presentations, it will allow them to view presentations made by others.
With the ability to customize your presentations in virtually any way you want, as well as being able to view them on any computer running the program, it's easy to see why Microsoft PowerPoint is so commonly used. As Microsoft adds more features to the program, it will undoubtedly keep improving, and will continue to see a lot of use in the future. Chances are, if you haven't had to use Microsoft PowerPoint yet, you probably will eventually.
The history of this program dates back to 1987. The idea for the program is credited to both Melody Austin and Thomas Rudkin, who, at the time, worked for a company known as Forethought, Inc. The program was originally known as €presenter,€ and was being designed to run on Macintosh computers. However, Forethought, Inc. was bought out by Microsoft, and the company, now working as Microsoft's graphic business unit, continued to develop the software.
PowerPoint finally launched on May 22nd, 1990, alongside Windows 3.0. As you can imagine, the program has changed quite a bit since it was first launched; however, it still has the same basic use: creating slide shows. Slide shows created in PowerPoint are most often referred to as presentations. They are made by adding as many slides as needed from the program's top menu, then adding whatever you need to them. Users can add text boxes, titles bars, pictures, graphs, and several other items to the slides to organize them in any way they see fit.
There are also sound and animation effects, as well as the option the change the colors of the font and the background, so users can make their slides as entertaining or as professional as they want. In addition, there are several slide templates preinstalled in the program that are setup in a way that allow the user to begin working on the slide's content immediately, without having to add anything to it first.
Fortunately, even if a computer doesn't have PowerPoint installed, there is still a way to at view other PowerPoint presentations without having to buy the software. A version of the program known as Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer can be downloaded and installed on a computer directly from Microsoft's website, completely free. While this program won't allow the user to actually create PowerPoint presentations, it will allow them to view presentations made by others.
With the ability to customize your presentations in virtually any way you want, as well as being able to view them on any computer running the program, it's easy to see why Microsoft PowerPoint is so commonly used. As Microsoft adds more features to the program, it will undoubtedly keep improving, and will continue to see a lot of use in the future. Chances are, if you haven't had to use Microsoft PowerPoint yet, you probably will eventually.
Source...