Running the software
The Presenter-to-Go module slides into the Visor, but before you can use it, you must plug in the monitor adapter cable and then plug a power cord into that. Once this is taken care of, the program starts automatically. I plugged the other end of the cable into a monitor, and voila, I had a full-color presentation running from a monochrome Visor Deluxe. My co-workers were just as impressed as I was.

You can use the scroll buttons on the Visor or the included wireless remote control to advance the slides. You can also set an amount of time that will automatically switch the slides. Each Presenter-to-Go slide takes a few seconds to load, so don't expect the same speed that you would get from a laptop or desktop driven presentation.

You cannot view the actual slides from the Visor. To view the actual slide, you must use a PC or a projector or monitor connected to the Visor. File editing can also only be done on the PC. The Visor only lets you reorganize the slides via drag and drop and view speaker notes on the screen of your Visor while the Presenter-to-Go module shows the corresponding slide on the monitor.

The module has 2MB of Flash RAM that you can use to store your presentations. The 23-slide 4.5MB presentation I converted shrank by 50% to a little over 2MB in size. At this size, I needed to store it on my Visor, rather than the module. However, I was able to use the included FileMover software to move some of my other files to the module and make room on the Visor.

I have to admit, I'm quite impressed with Presenter-to-Go. It's quick and easy to use, and it really shows how far you can take a Visor. It also provides another method of giving presentations to a group without having to worry about lugging a laptop. For me, sales people, and other presentation-oriented users, it seems like a very good bargain at around $299. But at that price, it's a rather expensive Springboard module and I'd assume you'd need to have a pretty serious need to be able to justify the expense.

Presenter-to-Go requires a 486 processor or higher; 32MB of RAM; 50MB of hard drive space; a CD-ROM drive; Windows 2000, 98, 98SE, or ME; a Handspring Visor with 102KB of free RAM; and a monitor or projector.

Claire Pieterek is a long-time Palm handheld user. On a mission to ditch her Franklin Planner, she bought her first--a Pilot 5000--in May, 1996. She currently owns a Japanese-language Sony Clie 650C, a Sony Clie 710C, and a Palm Zire 71, among others. She is most at home in Chicago and Kyoto, and is a student of life, the universe, and Japanese.