Over the next few days, Zoho will update its presentation app, Zoho Show, for all users. We've been covering the app since June 2006, when we called it "extremely basic." It has matured since then, and the new version, Zoho Show 2.0, is much more professional and useful. But I found that it still has some maddening limitations.
The interface has been improved and brought more into line with Zoho's other apps. And there's now a decent library of templates, most of which are pretty sharp and will make your presentations look professional, assuming you get the content right. There's also a library of shapes you can use to draw diagrams. You can also pull up a chat window alongside a Zoho Show to collaborate with other users when you're working on it.
So close, yet so far.
(Credit: Zoho)Zoho shows can be presented in full-screen view from any Web browser. You can also embed shows in a site, and even send out links to Zoho Show players that let you remote control the advance of slides. That's very slick.
Cool: You can advance slide shows over the Web
(Credit: Zoho)Unfortunately, I found several annoyances in the product that prevent me from recommending it. A few examples: There's no undo. That's a major bummer. Text boxes don't automatically resize as you type, so you may find yourself typing blind if you overshoot a border. And there's no integration with other Zoho apps. You cannot import a Zoho word processor doc as an outline, or a Zoho spreadsheet as a table or chart. To me this indicates that Zoho is expanding too quickly, focusing on building out new products and features instead of making the tools it has work together.
Zoho's getting there with this and its other apps, but the 2.0 version of Zoho Show isn't yet ready for adoption by real-world users.
Bonus: See Zoho's CEO Sridhar Vembu get grilled by me and Dan Farber.
Zoho, makers of more than a dozen office and productivity tools, have announced a new meeting app called Zoho Meeting. It's currently in private beta and will be available to all Zoho users next month.
Zoho Meeting is screen-sharing without the need to install an application, as we've seen with Vyew, Yugma, and others. It also integrates Zoho Chat, allowing participants to talk without the need for a separate phone solution, although an integrated VoIP solution is said to be coming soon. What may be the standout feature is the ability to record, save, and share meetings for free. This opens up a wide range of uses for the tool, especially in the field of education and training tools for small groups. Just because somebody can't make the meeting doesn't mean they have to miss it or spend time having it relayed, wasting someone else's time.
Zoho meeting has integration with other Zoho apps. In particular, Zoho Show (previous coverage) has added a new type of slide that automatically launches a Zoho Meeting within the presentation. There's no need to open a separate window, it just starts up. Likewise, users will be able to embed their Zoho meetings on blogs and Web sites, which can be handy if you intend on creating Web archives of meeting notes or demonstrations. There's a whole lot of potential here.
Zoho will be one of the many presenters at tomorrow's Under the Radar Office 2.0 event. Stay tuned for a hands-on and live coverage. In the meantime, Zoho has put together a three-minute overview, which I've embedded below.
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