Here at at SpeakOnCruises World Headquarters, we teach our clients to be prepared for their gigs. It’s pretty well standard that talks are PowerPoint driven. Unless you are a former NBA star or you are General Turgidson, plan on using a computer and having images. They can wing it without a computer or aids. You can’t – the Entertainment Dept will insist.
You’ll need a decent computer to drive your show. So what does that mean? Create your talk on a system that is up to date with a modern Operating System. Today, we’re talking Windows 7 or 10….or Apple ‘s version 10. You’ll need about 4-6 GB of RAM (memory) and about a 300 GB++ storage hard drive.
So that fits many you’ll see at your local Electronics store.
I prefer a full featured laptop. This is one with a DVD/CD player/recorder. That is the big rub these days. Companies want you to come and go to their “cloud.” Which means ALL your data resides in the ether. Really, it’s at a “server” aka a large computer / disk farm in Utah or somewhere. So your provider has ALL your private data. Safe? Hmmm hacks happen all the time. Ipso facto – DVD drives are going away. Many “business” laptops have them…but they are more $$$ . . . and better made (worth it).
I have a Lenovo L440. I had a solid state system put in. REAL fast and is not a spinning drive with a head that can get bumped.
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The media drive is useful when snagging photo / screen shots off of DVD’s for your talks. Also, for watching documentaries from the library about your subject when writing your talk! I know you can carry an ala carte drive….but what a pain.
I do not suggest one of the low end “chrome books.” They have very limited capability. Very. They are cheap. Very. Get one for your grandma – email and browsing.
As far as tablets go….they don’t cut it for a full fledged presentation. You’ve got to get your preso to the projection system. That means a VGA or HDMI connection. AND a microphone-out jack. AND a USB slot to use a slide changer.
Finally, Apple products are fine…just bring the converter to get into the projection system.
Sign up for our full-bore class. Just us and you. 1 to 1. Mano a mano. Actually, that’s dumb – it really means hand to hand. But you get the idea.
