WebProNews » Zenter

Google Presently – Presentation App

Chris Smith — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:49:30 +0000

The Inquirer reports that Google may soon deploy slideshow presentation creation and display software which they’ll call “Presently”. This application was apparently developed out of code that Google got with their acquisition of Zenter and Tonic Systems earlier this year.

The new presentation software will join the other Google Apps suite of products which include Google Spreadsheets, Google Write, and Gmail.

This is an interesting development…

I previously reported about how the Google Apps for Education program was set to ramp up adoption of Google’s thin client applications by seducing colleges and universities into using their free and cheap levels of services. Google has also recently signed on CapGemini as a distribution partner in a deal which Microsoft has sharply criticized by saying that the Google Apps are not sufficiently robust to support the needs of many businesses.

Zenter Application Screen
(click to enlarge)

I know that the application will not have nearly the amount of bells and whistles found in PowerPoint, but it could be “good enough” for the purposes of many lower-level users who don’t have the know-how or time to learn how to use the extensive features in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Microsoft’s criticism is going to be blunted a bit, though, when Presently is finally released, because the suite of apps will be that much more solid.

Comments

Google Wiki May Arrive Today

WebProNews Staff — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:30:12 +0000

The start of the Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco could be the fashionable choice for Google to unveil the product formerly known as Jotspot in its Google-icious form.

Google’s most ardent followers have been chattering online about the possible public opening of Jotspot, the wiki company Google picked up in October 2006. The latest rumors focus on a previously announced move to being a service on Google Apps.

Tony Ruscoe cited one of his commenters at Google Blogoscoped in noting the Jotspot service now appears in the list of Google Apps services codes:

anyone with a domain hosted with Google Apps who isn

Google Acquires Zenter

Andy Beal — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:15:23 +0000

Google appears to be on track to deliver on its promise to provide a PowerPoint alternative by the summer. The company has announced the acquisition of Zenter, a company offering online slide presentations.

There’s not point heading over to the Zenter site for information on the product, as you’ll be greated with a simple message explaining the company has been acquired by Google. Interestingly, you can’t even check the cache for the old site, as Google has learnt this is the first place us marketers check, and have therefore updated the cache too.

Here’s what we’ve pieced together from the web.

Via an old TechCrunch review…

Zenter is an web based presentation app that promises to really take advantage of being online. Users will have the regular functionality of PowerPoint, but with the ability to directly add content from the web (Google Images). Each public slide show will also be put into a public library, for other users to remix or just drop into their show.

And in March Business 2.0 had this to say…

“We want to be the Gmail of PowerPoint,” says co-founder Wayne Crosby. Well, so does everyone else. So what sets this online presentation tool apart?

Zenter’s coolest features are support for live broadcasts, use of fonts without plug-ins, and the ability to drag and drop images, charts and content directly from any site. Zenter also imports PowerPoint files and allows users to control who they share files with.

Referring to yourself as the “Gmail of PowerPoint” was a surefire way to get yourself acquired by Google! Now, just remember, Google is not looking to compete with Microsoft Office, despite the fact that they now have all of the components to do so!

Comments

Zenter Slides Into Google

WebProNews Staff — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:23:47 +0000

The search advertising company has acquired Zenter, a company with technology that permits the creation of online slide presentations.

We will refrain from the usual “Microsoft Office killer” refrain and let others go there instead. When there is a body to autopsy at Microsoft’s headquarters with big G-shaped fingerprints on it, we’ll go for the killer headline.

Zenter’s eponymous dot-com domain name already points to a sparse page with the Google logo and one line about the company’s acquisition. That included a link to Google’s official blog and a note from engineering director Sam Schillace about the purchase:

These days, when you create a document — whether it’s a text document, a spreadsheet, or a presentation — you usually want to share it, collect feedback, or communicate about it in some way.

We on the Google Docs & Spreadsheets team focus on making this experience easier and more powerful for you. In particular, we’re working to add presentation-sharing capabilities to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and we’re excited about the addition of Zenter’s technology and team to that effort.

Om Malik said the purchase of Zenter, a startup backed by Y Combinator, completes the Google Office lineup for an office productivity suite.

“The problem is that unless Google figures out a way to create a seamless integration between these online apps, these will all have limited utility,” said Malik. He would also like to see Google address what he sees as shortcomings in Google’s minimalist approach to its usability and interface.