satukubik

What tools do you use to create your presentation? I bet most of you will say that you use Microsoft Powerpoint, or maybe OpenOffice Impress. Well, they are the easiest tools to create your presentation, but they are not the best. I guess that is my impression after I see what kind of presentation latex can create. Latex is become one of my first choice since I move to Ubuntu Linux.

Latex? Yes… latex. Latex is not only useful for creating document. Its architecture provides possibility for users to extends its functionality. One of them is to create presentation.

Why Latex? Latex is great tools with advanced features in laying-out texts and images so the result is optimal for the viewer. Latex has many functionalities such as:

• Mathematics equation
• Graphical functionality
• Bibliography management
• Picture and table management

They who already get used to use latex aren’t satisfied with what Powerpoint and Impress offer, even thought most of the functionalities of Latex are also offered by both tools. Clearly, the quality of the result is the reason.

That’s why many packages for creating presentation in Latex are available. The most used package is Prosper. Anxious with what it can offer? See this example. Wow… I’m sure with Powerpoint or Impress, you can’t create such complex presentation as beautiful as the example.

But Prosper is not the best package you can use for creating presentation with Latex. If you don’t use mathematic equation or graph image, you may still have a deep affinity to use latex if you see this presentation. Can you see the navigation features it has on top of the page? It’s very-very-cool. It gives the audience how long will the talk be last.

The last example is built using another presentation package for latex called Beamer. The package includes several generic templates, many themes, many color schemes, long-210-pages documentation, and many examples. You can see the themes it provides here.

Using Latex you will have a professional look presentation. I have try it… and this is my presentation about Ajax. This is the result I get by exploring Beamer functionality less than one week. If you read the documentation, you can probably make better result than what I get.

Overall, I like Beamer more that Prosper… It just works for me, Ubuntu has made the installation so simple and I just have to copy and paste some codes to start my professional presentation.

Of course, this comes with some drawbacks, such as you have to work in non WYSIWYG environment. You have to decide whether you need the comfort Powerpoint provides or better result Beamer offers.