Posts Tagged ‘Meetings’

Is 3D Technology the Future of Business Meetings?

Jun 22nd, 11 / 0 Comments

3D projector3D is all the rage nowadays when it comes to televisions, movies, computer monitors and video games. Heck, even some projectors are starting to transition into 3D. However, while 3D is primarily rooted in the entertainment industry, it appears that it may very well reach its fingers into the event meeting services industry as well, and maybe even soon.

By 2014 it is said that 3D projectors will be the new norm when it comes to business meetings. There are a ton of different projector types, all of which have their different advantages and disadvantages, when it comes to performance at meetings. Here are some features that are the latest in projector technology and what they do to assist in meetings ad event planning.

DLP BrilliantColor Technology – Uses up to six separate colors providing as much as 50% more brightness compared to older projectors.

High Audio Watt Output – Allows you to use the projector as an optional external sound system.

Short-throw Design – Perfect for interactive presentations and also simplifies projector placement in a small meeting room with limited space.

Versatile Connectivity – Able to connect with devices using HDMI, RGB, S-Video, Composite Video, Audio Input and Output, LAN and USB.

3,000 Lumens – A solid, high lumens output that allows for bright, crisp images.

3D Ready with DLP Link Technology – Allows your projector to display images in 3D and also allows it to work seamlessly with all 2D images. Integrated into most new projectors.

Content and applications are going to be the primary things that drive the use of 3D projectors in the event meeting industry over the next couple of years. As it stands right now, there are very few applications designed for the event and meeting services industry. 3D is still kind of new in the world of projectors, so it will still take a few years for it to move into these types of industries.

I do not personally think a meeting where everybody has to wear 3D glasses is a good idea. A lot of people are wary of 3D and even more seem to be getting a little tired of it. What do you think? Is 3D the future of event planning and meetings?

Source: Avent Solutions – 3D Projector Technology Defined

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Meetings

Fujitsu Unveils the Fujitsu Bay Projector

May 23rd, 11 / 0 Comments

Fujitsu Bay ProjectorFujitsu has just revealed what I think is a very cool little device, the fold-out Fujitsu Bay Projector. This is a fold-out projector that fits into any modular notebook bay. What is cool is that this projector can be ready to go in a matter of seconds and is specifically designed so that you don’t need an external beamer or any external cables in order to share data including slides, spreadsheets or even YouTube videos due to the fact that all of that is built in.

According to Head of Workplace Systems at Fujitsu Technology Solutions Dieter Heiss, “Every business notebook user knows the scenario of arriving at an important meeting ready to give a presentation, only to discover that the projector is broken, missing or just won’t work with their notebook. The Bay Projector Solves that – and underlines how LIFEBOOK models are truly a fully-mobile office. What’s more is that projecting images directly from a notebook’s modular bay is not only a world’s first but also very convenient – so we expect the Bay Projector to quickly become a ‘must have’ executive accessory.”

The Fujitsu Bay Projector will be available in July as an option for the Fujitsu LIFEBOOK P771 and the LIFEBOOK S761 notebooks. One good feature is that the Bay Projector won’t take up a lot of space. The modular bay that houses the projector is approximately the size of a DVD and will work on virtually any surface.

Brightness and contrast are adjustable directly on the Bay Projector via built-in buttons. The Bay Projector also features laser beam technology. This is designed to provide you with high contrast and color depth, giving you crisp, clear images. The projector is also able to double as a private movie cinema, projecting movies directly from your laptop.

You will be able to order this device beginning on July 1st, 2011 across the CEMEA, United Kingdom, Ireland and Nordic Regions in LIFEBOOK P771 and LIFEBOOK S761 models for a $711 price tag that will vary depending on your region.

Source: ITP – Fujitsu reveals portable projector

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Meetings

Projectors Making Your Meetings Smoother One Step at a Time

Mar 29th, 11 / 0 Comments

meetings and projectorsTechnology is a wonderful thing, especially if you are a businessman. New technology is making it a whole lot easier for business professionals with hectic meeting schedules. Meetings within the workplace are stressful and to make things worse, there are always those times when your meeting projector will fail to connect to a laptop before a big presentation or just stop working all together.

IT professionals average at least 35 to 40 problems every single month that relate to presentation equipment. The worse thing is that each problem could take at least 20 minutes to fix. And to top it all off, nearly 70% of the presentation teams say that they have experienced equipment failure, according to a study by Casio which was released last July.

But thankfully there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel.  You can easily find  the latest projectors which are a lot more portable and do not necessarily need a laptop linked up in order to display projects that are in PDF or JPG formats or those made with Microsoft Office programs like Excel or Word.

Instead of using a laptop, you can save your work to a memory card or flash drive, slip it into the projector and do your presentation directly from the projector. Projector company Merlin offers a trio of Pocket Projectors that display images spanning up to 100 inches.

One model, known as the WinCE, has Windows software built in which allows business professionals to leave their laptops at home. The Smartpen is another technology that is very helpful. Some of them can even record boardroom conversations via a built-in microphone.

Needless to say, technology is making business meetings a lot easier and a lot more interactive, especially when it comes to projectors. With projector use becoming more and more popular at corporate meetings, you can only expect the technology to get better.

Source: The National – In business, one must learn to project

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Meetings, Uncategorized

Projectors Making Web Meetings Easier

Mar 24th, 11 / 0 Comments

projector SkypeThere is a lot of craze right now surrounding web conferencing and people need to remember that there are several different dynamics that can impact how effective the meeting is. Some things that can impact your meeting include multitasking, or tuning out your meeting speaker, making sure your attendees are actively listening to you if you are the speaker, and accomplishing what you wanted to with each individual who attended your presentation.

As quickly as technology is advancing in our society, hardware tools such as digital projectors equipped with Skype are changing the scene for different corporations and new businesses that are utilizing web conferencing among their daily business activities.   

Business in today’s society focuses on maximizing your resources. That is why the successful business leaders in today’s society have become quite adept at adapting to the ever-changing business model. The utilization of web meetings within businesses, whether they be small businesses or large multi-million dollar corporations, is continually increasing. Analysts across the country predict that within five years, web meetings will grow at an annual rate of over 18%. According to Ovum, “with globalization and home-based working, staff and businesses are spread all over the shop.” So how does all of this tie into projector lamps, you might ask?

DLP and LCD projectors are a platform that allow companies to communicate to team members in any country in the world with internet access. If you are a CEO of a company, you can use the conferencing software Skype as well along with a web cam to video conference with your home office or your team that is out of state or out of the country without everybody having to physically be in the same room. What’s more, instead of seeing your face or their face on a small computer screen, you can project it up on a projector screen for everybody to see.

Projectors are making waves in the world of technology and business meetings and they can definitely help turn your small business into a multi-national one if you play your cards right.

Source: infoTECH – Projector Lamps Making Multinational Businesses

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Meetings

Christie and Magor Communications Team Up

Feb 24th, 11 / 1 Comment

ChristieChristie, a leader in projection systems and digital display solutions, has just picked the Magor TeleCollaboration HDWorkPlace family as its visual collaboration infrastructure. The HDWorkPlace family improves how effective video-based meetings are by integrating advanced visual collaboration capabilities into a peer-to-peer, HD video conferencing experience. This new project includes six installations that will utilize Christie digital projectors as well as Christie Spyder video processors.

Christi was aiming to improve communication and collaboration between its departments across the globe as well as with its worldwide partners and suppliers which, according to company officials with Christie, is why the company chose to go with Magor. It aimed to make HD visual collaboration calls anywhere in the world over any network. Magor also recognizes the importance of correct information for decision making.

According to Christie’s IT Director Ashish Kudsia, “Providing our global offices with an easy to use, rich visual collaboration experience that speeds up and enhances decision making and raises productivity was a key priority for us. After evaluating our options, the Magor TeleCollaboration system stood out for its flexible peer-to-peer architecture, which allows us to bring subject matter experts and critical information into visual collaboration meetings on an ad-hoc, as needed basis.”

Kudsia went on to say, “In addition to reducing travel costs, deploying the Magor TeleCollaboration solutions in combination with Christie’s own world-class projection and video processing products has improved our day-to-day business operations and increased our overall efficiency.”

Ken Davison, Vice President of Marketing for Magor Communications, said, “We are proud to add a pioneering global visual technology company like Christie to our customer roster. We look forward to working with Christie to further its competitive position by connecting its employees, partners and suppliers – and the valuable information they have on their desktops and in their personal workspaces – through innovative visual collaboration solutions.”

Source: infoTECH – Projector Lamps: Magor Improves Communication for Christie


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Meetings

5 Ways a Projector Can Boost Your Meetings

Feb 1st, 11 / 0 Comments

business meeting projectorThere are a lot of different projectors out there that can help your company’s meeting process go a lot smoother. Many of the big name brand projectors out there offer a ton of different abilities and specs that can really make your meeting stand out, but this article is going to focus on five ways a projector can boost your meetings.

1.) Presentation – Projectors give your presentations a more professional look and feel and can also be seen by potential customers as a serious commitment. A projector allows you to conduct your presentations in a variety of ways giving your audience a larger visual picture as opposed to handing something out. This also gives your meeting a more professional feel as opposed to a stiff boring one.

2.) Staff and Strategy Meetings – Projectors are great when entertaining current or prospective clients but they are also great for your in-house meetings with your staff as well. Projectors keep you from having to hand write things on a whiteboard where your handwriting may be messy and illegible. A projector also allows you to type notes into your presentation directly from the meeting and add ideas from your employees.

3.) Training – Projectors are perfect if you need to train current or new employees about how things work around the office or if you are training your customers in your products and services. Show off keystrokes and mouse movements from a computer in a clear manner so everybody learns what they need to. Don’t just explain how to do something or how something works, show them by demonstrating it on a projector screen.

4.) Teleconferencing – A projector is also a great way to connect people who are either in a different office or who can not physically come to the meeting at hand. They allow for everybody to feel like they are in the same room, even if they are hundreds of miles apart.

5.) Boardroom Presentations – Most people in the corporate world expect presentations to be delivered via projector or some other kind of technology. That is why it is important to have a good projector system for your meeting room. If you want to impress potential clients or higher-ups, then you need to have the right equipment.

A projector is definitely nice to have but is also a must if you want to keep up with the fast pace of the business environment. You can see that there are many ways a projector can benefit your meeting room and presentations, so why not get one for your meeting room?

Source: Ezine Articles

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Meetings

Collaborative Meeting Technology

Jan 17th, 11 / 0 Comments

Meeting CollaborationCollaboration in meetings is key, but it isn’t always easy. There are many different collaborative technologies that have been designed to help groups work with computer-based information in the meeting room. By utilizing such technology, widely dispersed work teams can share information without a hitch. With so many organizations focusing on teamwork today (and with good reason) easy access to all the vital information is what can help you succeed or fail.

One such technology is the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. This device allows you to access computer-based information directly from the meeting room and even record meeting information using a simple whiteboard interface. The board can improve not only your meetings but also the general productivity of your entire team.

The SMART Board Interactive whiteboard gives you control of computer-based information as well as the capability of the whiteboard you are familiar with all at your fingertips. It has a touch sensitive surface so when you project onto it you can control it by touching the surface of the board. Your finger becomes the equivalent of a mouse on a computer. If you want to open a Microsoft Windows document all you have to do is press the open document button on the whiteboard. Double-tap an application’s icon to run it or to do a number of other interactive things.

Another cool thing is the fact that since the SMART Board is pressure sensitive, you can pick up a dry-erase marker or interactive pen and write on the board. Your text will then be projected in digital ink from the projector. You can see what you have written on the SMART Board because the projector is projecting the computer monitor image onto the board.

There are a lot of benefits to using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. It gives you access to important documents whenever you need them, allows you to deliver a presentation from the head of the room where you are the most effective, allows you to make changes to CAD/CAM drawings, documents or spreadsheets during the meeting as an immediate result of group collaboration and discussion, allows you to access live web sites during your meeting or even connect via Microsoft NetMeeting software to your colleagues in another location allowing notes and other information to be seen by others in a different location.

If you are looking for a great piece of technology to make collaborating within your meeting easier and more interactive then the SMART Board interactive whiteboard is definitely a good investment.

Source: Effective Meetings


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Meetings

Creating an Electronic Meeting

Dec 30th, 10 / 1 Comment

Electronic MeetingsMeetings are some of the most important interactions that take place in a company. They are a place where all the top people in the company come together to discuss all the latest information about the company and what they need to do to improve on certain areas of business. One thing a lot of business are doing nowadays is transferring over to an electronic meeting.

But what exactly is an electronic meeting? An electronic meeting process is a guide that takes you through the the various stages of a meeting by using a productivity software. This specific software has been designed to assist you with the preparations and follow-up stages of your meeting and even the actual meeting itself.

Many meetings have an agenda that is distributed to all the people involved. Meeting productivity software takes this process one step further and allows you to store meeting goals, agenda items and relevant files in an electronic workspace. You can then send this workspace to all the people involved in the meeting via e-mail prior to the meeting.

During an electronic meeting you can access the meeting workspace to go through agenda items, goals and attached files. If you want, you can even get software that has timers incorporated into it that guide you through all of your agenda items which will help you stay focused.

If you have ever been in a meeting where a big decision was made and nobody was held accountable, then this software offers you a solution. In most meetings, time is set aside to record all of the decisions that are being made, the tasks that are assigned and their deadlines. You can even get some software that integrates the assigned tasks into the task feature of your e-mail system. Once the meeting has concluded the electronic workspace, as well as a record of everything that occurred, can be e-mailed to participants.

There are also a lot of benefits to having an electronic meeting. By implementing an electronic meeting process, you can shorten your meeting times by nearly 50%. If that isn’t enough for you, then you can also consider some other benefits like:

  • Having all your meeting materials housed in one location
  • Having all decisions and tasks recorded
  • Having permanent records of meeting files
  • Having easy access to past meeting files
  • Having all meeting workspaces kept private and secure

If you work at a company that meets on a regular basis then an electronic meeting is perfect for you. It is also perfect if you generate and share information, need to follow up on tasks easily or strive to make your time used more efficiently.

Source: Effective Meetings

Power Point Projectors
Most business class projectors will do a good job displaying your PowerPoint presentation. If you have a small presentation group, a 2000 lumen LCD projector will be able to produce a nice and clear picture. For larger audiences you should consider a 5000 lumen LCD projector. Visit the Worldwide Technology Rental Company…Rentacomputer.com
Meetings

Practice Makes Perfect

Aug 6th, 10 / 0 Comments

Practice Makes PerfectWhen you are having a meeting, chances are you will be making a presentation.  It may be long or short; it may be in front of a crowd of 10 or 100 people.   Regardless of the details, you want to make your best impression and give the best presentation you can give.  When you hold your meeting, you’ll learn that a little time and effort go a long way.  Practicing your presentation ahead of time will help you appear more confident, professional, and you’ll be able to grab your audience’s attention in ways you never thought possible.   You’ve always heard the saying “practice makes perfect;” well, in the case of presentations it’s absolutely true.  So what are some good ways to practice?   Take a look at the tips below and use as many as you can before your next big meeting.

1.  Record Yourself. If you can hear or watch yourself make your presentation, it makes you more aware of what you’re doing wrong and what you’re doing right.   If you have a tape recorder or some kind of audio recorder, go ahead and hit record when you make your speech.  Play it back and listen to yourself.  Are you speaking clearly?  Do you have any annoying habits such as saying “um” and “uh” between sentences?   Are there any words you have problems with?

This works for videotaping yourself as well.  Set up your video camera or if you don’t already have one, consider renting a video camera.  Record your entire presentation and play it back to see where you can make improvements.  Are your gestures distracting?   Do you make eye contact with the camera/your audience members?  Do you look nervous?

2.  Have someone else watch. Whether it’s your friends, family, or a few close co-workers, have people whose opinions you trust watch you give your presentation and ask them to give honest criticism.  Ask them to tell you what they liked and didn’t like, what you need to change and what you can improve.

3.  Use a mirror. In a quick pinch using a mirror can be as rewarding as a video camera.  You have the same ability to watch yourself perform and you can watch to see what you’re doing wrong.  If you are making distracting gestures, you can stop and do it over again until you find a place where you’re comfortable.

4.  Get familiar with props and technology. If you plan to use any kind of visual aids, props, or technology with your presentation, you’ll want to make sure you do at least one run-through with them at your side.  Make sure you’re comfortable moving things around if you have props or paper visual aids.  If you plan to use a projector rental or any other technology you’re not familiar with, make sure you have the rental firm set it up ahead of time and make sure you get there early to learn how to use it well enough, so that you’re not having to stop your presentation to figure out how to change slides or power on and off.

Uncategorized

Choosing the Right Font for Your Presentation

Jul 15th, 10 / 0 Comments

Choosing the Right Font for Your Presentation

You’ve got a big presentation coming up for your company’s next meeting.  You know your topic like the back of your hand and you’ve contacted your Tech Travel Agent to secure a projector rental for your meeting, but now it’s time to put together the actual presentation.  You want it to be appealing and attention-grabbing, but you don’t want to overdo it, right?
One of the biggest things that often prevents people from even working on their presentations in a timely manner is the font.  There are so many different options when it comes to fonts these days, that picking the right one can be an overwhelming task for someone who does not usually work with programs like Microsoft’s PowerPoint.   Sure, you can use the old-fashioned standbys like Times New Roman and Arial, but that can get boring and surprisingly, it’s not always the best option.
First of all, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions:
1.  What type of audience are you presenting to?
– Do you work in an informal office, where your presentation will be made to your co-workers?  In this case, you can probably spice things up a little bit and have a little more fun with your fonts.
– Do you work for a larger company and plan to make a presentation to several executives from your corporate office?    Obviously, in this situation, you’d want to keep things formal.
2.  How serious is your topic?
– Are you discussing something important or sensitive such as accident prevention or budget cuts?  You may want to avoid using anything you would consider cute or fun in this situation.
– On the other hand, are you discussing something fun, like the budget for this year’s holiday parties or the upcoming community project your office is involved with.  These types of presentations will allow for a little more room to get creative.
3.  Is your presentation mainly in what you say or in what you type?
– If you plan to let your mouth make the point and use your slides as simply a back-up tool for people to refer to or to emphasize a few key-points, then you can afford to be a little creative with your fonts.
– If you plan to rely heavily on your slides and pack them full of information, you’ll want to stick to fonts that are easier to read and less distracting.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have at least a general idea about what types of slides you want to make and what sort of image you want to convey.
Here are a few general tips about choosing fonts:
1.  Don’t use too many.  The more you use, the more jumbled up your presentation will look.  If it’s too busy, it will be unappealing to your audience and hard to follow.  Many consultants suggest using three or four maximum.
2.  Use one main font for your main content.  Whether you have two points or ten points per slide, make sure they’re all in the same, consistent font.  You’ll also want to be sure your main font is the most plain. This would be a good time to use Times New Roman or something similar that is easy for everyone to read.
3.  For titles, captions, and other non-main text, you can use something a little more fun, but make sure it’s still readable.  Trebuchet, Tahoma, and Comic Sans are a few examples.
4.  Be careful about using anything too “out there.”   Not just because it might drive your audience crazy to look at it, but also because some of the more unique fonts don’t always transfer well from one system to another.
5.  When choosing font size, never go below 16- or 18-point.  Also, keep in mind that different fonts can be the same size but they don’t appear the same on screen.
6.  If you really want to grab someone’s attention, use even bigger fonts on words like “new,” that are meant to grab attention.   32-point or higher is great.
7.  Use bold font, italics, and underlined font sparingly.  Just like having too many fonts, having too many extra characteristics can ruin you presentation.
Meetings