Review of a fabulous software tool: NXPowerLite: Compress all those Office, jpeg and pdf files efficiently!

 

It’s been a long time between posts and some time since I’ve done a review. I’ve been redesigning the Brainy Betty site among other things and updating a 1,000+ pages yourself is no fun!

But, recently I got the opportunity to review a cool software tool that does MAJOR compression of Excel, PowerPoint and Word files, in addition to pdf files, jpeg pictures and even zip files that contain these types of things.

Why Do I Care?

Do you have someone in your family (not naming names, Dad), or a friend or someone at work who emails you these ginormous pictures or presentations and does not compress anything?  Before you know it, your little Inbox is stuffed to capacity with large attachments – not to mention your hard drive space.

I remember when I was working at Honeywell when we as a matter of course sent PowerPoint files and Excel workbooks containing huge projects as a daily task. (BTW, NXPowerLite has an File Server edition for companies/organizations as well – be sure and read about the companies using that and their results.)

But nowadays, for me, working from home as an independent businesswoman, I do find that my drives are indeed cluttered with large files that are necessary to keep, but definitely taking up hard drive space.

So I was happily surprised to find the NX”Lite” Desktop edition that makes me more efficient and my hard drive skinnier! Completely easy to use – you drag and drop files into the box and simply click “Optimize”.

Do you want to see my results? Here are the actual screen shots:

In the first case, I took some digital photographs and compressed them. 13.4 MB was reduced to 185 KB with absolutely no comparable loss in the quality of the photo or the dimensions! That’s 99% smaller than the original.

In the second scenario, I took a PowerPoint presentation and reduced it – this one was filled with pictures, music and transitions – originally 8.3 MB, reduced to a very email-able 2.8 MB. A reduction in size of 66%.

The software is VERY affordably priced for individuals and large companies will definitely see cost savings of all kinds if they purchase the File Server edition.

I was so happy with the results that I asked the company if they would be willing to give away copies to our Facebook and Twitter fans. They generously agreed to allow me to give away multiple copies, so be sure and join our Fan page or Follow Us on Twitter to learn how to snag one of these for yourself!

Great product – well worth checking out!

Nan @ brainybetty

New minimalism in PowerPoint

VisualBee regularly extends the range of styles available to users. There are already hundreds of really smart and useful templates that you can select, on the fly, and the number is continually growing. Recently one of VisualBee’s designers developed a new concept for styles, one that is explicitly intended for presentations with minimal content. There is a growing momentum that encourages speakers to deliver an almost exclusively oral talk with PowerPoint being used only as a place holder. Read more...

Fotolia - over 13 million royalty free images

I recently had an opportunity to review the Fotolia site and I was suitably impressed. There are paid vector images, fantastic photographs for any topic you can think of, videos and more. In fact, you can sell your own art and digital photos and other content at the site - which allows it grow every day! Here are free images they offer: http://us.fotolia.com/FreeContents

What I liked best are the videos - I have used some of these for my PowerPoint presentations and they really do make a difference between a regular run of the mill presentation and one that has some great impact. They have an addin for Microsoft PowerPoint here as well: http://us.fotolia.com/ribbon2010

Their cool Flixtime online app allows you to upload photos and text and choose a tune and create a 60 second video free - very cool! Check it out here: http://flixtime.com/

Awesome company, great freebies and inexpensive media. Be sure and check them out!

Betty

A new plugin that AUTOMATICALLY DESIGNS your presentation for you!

I am so excited about Visual Bee!

Now you can have gorgeous PowerPoint presentations even if you don't have a knack for design! Visual Bee is pretty unique among all the PPT programs I come across daily. This program actually takes your black and white slides with your text and creates STUNNING presentations with professional graphics and background designs.

VisualBee Free has no strings attached – for everyone to use and enjoy. Take your mundane presentation and get your audience roaring, just by clicking on the VisualBee icon on the PowerPoint ribbon.

VisualBee provides automated redesign of your PowerPoint presentations with:

- Original attractive designs
- Exciting backgrounds
- Wide range of flexible layouts
- Automatic insertion of images carefully coordinated with the subject of each slide.

More advanced features are available to VisualBee’s Premium users as well. You can check out the differences between the Free and Premium versions here.

Make sure and watch the demo here to get a better idea of the capabilities. It's also listed as a favorite on the Brainy Betty You Tube Channel.

Enjoy, folks!
Nan @ Brainybetty! :)

The latest and greatest downloads…

Have you been to the Brainy Betty Presentation Shop yet? You can download a new free slide every week as well as a copyright-free, beautifully designed 23 sample slide set to use for any purpose you like! See the slides you’ll get below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have a new toolbar at the site that allows you to share and keep in touch with our latest news from our FB and Twitter pages and more.

Happy Holidays to all our fans worldwide!

Nan @ brainybetty

4 new free Animated Snowflake Background and New Christmas and Holiday Downloads

Hello Everyone! We have 4 new free animated snowflake backgrounds as well as a new Christmas and Holiday Download page full of free holiday music (royalty-free), holiday stationery and much more! Check them out…

 

Nan @ Brainybetty

OUR BIG list of Public Domain Resources. Can you say free to use??

On SUNDAY, NOVEMBER, 14, our BIG list of Public Domain Resources goes live. You'll find photos, texts and media to use for personal and commercial use. Become a Facebook Fan and be informed of the URL on Sunday!

I think if you are not a fan, you’ll be surprised at just how many freebies we give away daily. If you are a new fan, please look at the Links Tab and find every single post.

We have over 750 fans now. We’re aiming for 1,000 or more! Can you help?

Have a great weekend all!

Nan@brainybetty

Latest November Downloads at Brainy Betty

Enjoy our latest downloads at Brainy Betty!

We have a new free library section chockfull of reference and resource information. We also have:

Thanksgiving - templates, lesson plans, crafts, recipes and more!
12 new free unique fonts for your presentations!
Tutorial: Learn how to remove the background from a picture using PowerPoint 2007/2010
6 NEW Free Animated Speaker Introduction Content Slides for PowerPoint 2007/2010 users

Keep warm and safe everyone!

Nan@brainybetty

8 new free backgrounds for motivational speakers and life coaches

Enjoy these and please share!

THANK YOU! WE WON 3RD PLACE!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED! WE JUST WON 3RD PLACE IN THE MICROSOFT CALENDAR DESIGN CONTEST! YOU CAN DOWNLOAD BOTH OUR CALENDARS FREE FROM THIS LINK!