Apple Keynote

In the modern age of computing technology and information.  Tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote allow the consumer to create a slide show including pictures and information in an organized and concise way. Keynote is the best presentation software available today for the average consumer.  Google slides is similar to Microsoft's PowerPoint. Google’s contribution to the presentation software with Google Drive, their personal cloud storage service similar to PowerPoint. Google Slides is pretty much like PowerPoint, only it’s all in your browser.  Google Drive is free as long as you have a Gmail/Google account. If you’re fine with your presentations being stored on Google’s servers, Google Slides is a good alternative to PowerPoint. No software downloads means you can access and edit your slides from any device with a modern browser and Internet connection.  Although Google drive is a free service, it is not superior to Apple's Keynote.  “There’s also the rising trend for browser-based presentations. As if browsers aren’t abused enough. Google’s online presentation tool is essentially PowerPoint 97 in a browser. Sound like a bad idea? That’s because it is.” Apple's Keynote utilizes Apples ideology of simplicity and user friendliness.  Keynote is very easily transferable through all Apple products, you can even make edits directly though your iPad.   The Keynote app is nicely designed, infinitely more usable on iPad than on the iPhone, but is annoying if you’re creating a large amount of content. Touch has its limitations.  Apple’s use of contextual menus, which lead to you searching for uses and buttons that you know must be there, is one of them.  Although Keynote on iOS has its limitations, it is only available through Keynote, therefore there is no competitor.  This is just one of the amazing benefits of using an Apple computing software. The Apple ecosystem makes utilizing these tools extremely easy and reliable.  Microsoft's PowerPoint is available on both Mac and PC, but is not supported by any devices other than a computer.  A user might want to use Keynote over Microsoft PowerPoint for its brilliant use of slide templates or its beautifully optimized display resolution.  It is even capable of creating presentations with 3D slide transitions and animations.  Keynote is capable of image alignment, shadows, reflections, opacity, picture frames, etc...  There is no doubt that Keynote has the upper hand in its default templates.  Apple is very aware of the uses that the user could possibly be using Keynote for.  It has many uses in the areas of Business, social, entertainment, news, and recreation.  Slide presentation software can be used in business for obvious reasons.  It can even be used by news companies to present information to the public.  Apple has designed a huge library of backgrounds and layouts that are polished and slick.  Apple’s templates are crafted with media in mind, with large placeholders for pictures and great frames to hold them.  Keynote has evolved beyond the capabilities of Microsoft's PowerPoint.  Although there are clearly definite advantages of using Keynote over PowerPoint, there are still disadvantages. One of the frustrations for advanced users will undoubtedly come from the fact that creating and manipulating custom shapes is so limited.

Google Drive

Google docs is a resource online that allows users to create, share, and publish documents with others. "Traditionally, only a few people could access the processing power of a supercomputer. With cloud computing, practically anyone could tap into that sort of power." (Jonathan Strickland, HowStuffWorks) These documents include: Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides.  Google docs is a word document processor that lets you create text documents and collaborate with other people and type at the same time.   If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one for free. Google Drive/Docs will let you to store your files in the cloud, as well as create documents and forms through the Google Drive web interface. The applications aren't tied to a specific computer. There's no need to download and install software on a particular machine.  Online collaboration is the advantage of having multiple users make edits to the same file at the same time.  You become the owner of any document you create or import to Google drive.  Owners can edit and export files.  The owner can also give collaborators the ability to invite other collaborators to a project.  When viewing a file, you can only export them.  You cannot make edits as a viewer.  Because Google saves earlier versions of a document, there is worry about permanently changing a documents and destroying it. You have a very large amount of space on the cloud storage, you can store up to 5000 documents with a size of 500 kilobytes each.  You get 5 gigabytes of free storage, the ability to view and store dozens of file types, and integration with other Google services, like Google+ (Social Media) and Gmail.  Google Sheets lets you create online spreadsheets and format them simultaneously with other people that you share the document with.  Google slides is an online presentation application (like PowerPoint) that allows you to present work visually.  The Google docs webpage can be a very useful resource in all your business endeavors.  Google docs word processor allows you to create word documents much like you would on Microsoft Word, but it also allows you to collaborate with other Google users and type at the same time.  Group work is made much easier when you can both type and view the document online simultaneously.  Google Sheets is also much like the Microsoft application "Excel" in that you can create spreadsheets that you can use for accounting and keeping books for your company.  Like most spreadsheet programs, Google's application allows users to create tables, charts and graphs. The application has most of the basic functions of desktop spreadsheet programs, including sorting, filtering and formula calculations.  This is a very useful tool using Google because you can collaborate with other users and keep the documents online.  If you trust Google's servers, it can also be a good way of losing your company's financial information because everything you have is stored offsite.  When having to present a PowerPoint in a meeting for your company, Google Slides can be a powerful alternative. If Google's servers are online, you can access your file if you sign in to your Google account from anywhere in the world and work on it with co-workers in real time.  Google Docs and its accompanying programs are sideways compatible with all of Microsoft's Office programs.  Google Drive can be used recreationally.  You can use Drive to draw, create maps, and make forms.  Google Drive has a lot of potentially for developing technology.  As society goes paperless, information is delivered to us digitally, and the speed we receive it is drastically increased.  News companies could potentially use Google Drive in the future to publish articles or newspapers and customers could purchase subscriptions to their news channel on the cloud. 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social media networking site that allows professionals from all over the world to connect with each other.  LinkedIn is available in 20 different languages and since 2002 has grown to have over 260 million users.  LinkedIn in a powerful resource for growing your network and utilizing nepotism.  Having access to a plethora of professional profiles lets you connect with people that have a skillset you are looking for.  It is a fantastic tool if you are looking for a social media site that lets you have a professional atmosphere that does not reflect your personal life, but your business endeavors.  LinkedIn can be very useful in business.  It allows users to research companies which they may be interested in working.  If you type in the name of the company in the search box, statistics about the company are provided for you.   Also, LinkedIn allows users to endorse each others skills and help other people in the same field.  If you attempting to establish a new company and are looking to grow your network, LinkedIn could assist you in doing this.  If you grow your profile and fill out all the sections with credentials and achievements, it could help show other people why you would be a good choice to hire.  If you choose not to do this, you are limiting your options for people to hire you. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can connect with people that have the same views you have.  Though LinkedIn is an amazing tool for business, it does not allow you to have interpersonal communication with other business leaders.  To do this, you could possibly use Skype for contact. LinkedIn can help you find out current events by following people that posts about the fields that are relevant to what you are interested in.  Nepotism and networking are a critical part of growing your business. Computer literacy is very important in this day and age.  Networking is very important in the 21st century for growing your company and expanding its reach.  Though LinkedIn is very good for business and commercial use, it is not intended for recreational or personal use.  When creating your LinkedIn page, it is very important that you conduct yourself in a professional manner.  It is known that if you choose the wrong or inappropriate picture for your LinkedIn profile picture, it can draw attention away from your page because other professionals do not want to see your personal life or the way you conduct yourself at home or with friends.

Introduction

Hello my name is Charles Hewitt. I am creating this blog for Mr. Henning's 1st period BCA class. I will be updating this blog with very interesting information regarding my personal endeavors and my educational career. I am a high school junior and am on the school tennis team. I will be updating frequently and give entertaining information about me. Thanks for your time, and be sure to come back.