Hi, #Powerpoint has its place, but it's not really a #format for the distribution of research information. The information #density just isn't there. That, and without the audio of the #presentation to go along with the slides, most of the actual content #is lost. That doesn't *have* to be the case. You *can* create presentations that are designed to be "stand alone" documents with persistent content value. Unfortunately, doing so generally requires creation of a quite detailed talk, which can be time consuming for the presenter (it is just like preparing a formal academic lesson plan or lecture), and which somewhat destroys the "illusion of spontaneity" that the best of non-technical speakers will strive to convey. Two examples of detailed powerpoint talks designed to have stand-alone usability are talks I've done for NLANR/Internet2 Joint Techs on open proxies (http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~joe/jt-proxies/open-proxy-joint-techs.ppt or pdf) and jumbo frames (http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~joe/jumbos/jumbo-frames.ppt or pdf). I believe it is worth doing this simply because you know that with limited travel budgets and parallel session tracks, your in-person audience will often be just a fraction of the total number of folks who might be trying to follow along online, or who might subsequently look at presentation materials via the web. Detailed presentation materials are also a tremendous help if you have audience members whose native language isn't english. Similarly, I'm a big believer in *printed* copies of presentations, either as collated proceedings or as individual papers, if only so you can easily mark up the parts you may want to investigate further, or to serve as a reminder when you eventually go to clean off your desk. Just my two cents... Regards, Joe St Sauver (joe@oregon.uoregon.edu) University of Oregon Computing Center