Thing #8 -- Tools for Sharing

This Thing includes lots of tools for putting content on the web. In general, I prefer to work with other non-web applications, probably because I value features and efficiently over sharing. As a Mac user at home, I am familiar with Apple's iLife suite of tools for personal use. Plus, it is fairly easy to share content using those tools and my iDisk. (I don't need to share with the world, just friends and family.)

For creating slideshows, I tried Thumbstacks and Zoho Show. Thumbstacks was extremely tedious to use--I can't imagine ever using it for anything. Zoho, by contrast was easier to use and more robust. I created the same presentation in both applications and it took me far less time in Zoho. My presentations are below.

First, from Thumbstacks. Unlike with the Zoho presentation following, I couldn't find a way to embed this in my blog.

Then from Zoho:



I also like that Zoho allows you to import an already created file. If I were to use Zoho for presentations I am likely to still create them using PowerPoint and upload them to Zoho. One use that struck me with both Thumbstack and Zoho is the ability to give the presentation remotely.

Of the other tools mentioned for this thing, I played around with LazyBase and eFolio Minnesota. (I decided I'd worked with pictures enough already and so skipped those.) LazyBase is certainly easier than Microsoft Access or FileMaker Pro, both of which I use for work and personal reasons. I like their template for "restaurants I need to try."

One thing with all these tools that I see as a drawback is having to create, and remember (!) all the different accounts I create to access the tools. Both Google and Zoho provide several different applications for one login, but these other stand alone tools make things more complicated.