iPad instead of laptop at conferences?

[NatureGurl]

So conference season is coming up for me... One of them is a huge conference, spread out over several hotels in a major city. Even though I have a MacBook Air, I'm concerned about carrying it around all day. I want to be comfortable!

 

Have you ever used only an iPad air at a conference? Is it a reasonable substitute for a laptop? I'll be presenting, but I don't think I'll need my laptop much.

 

Thanks!

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

It should be fine as long as you're comfortable using KeyNote. You can't get Microsoft Office on an iPad, unlike a MacBook, so no PowerPoint. You might need to buy some special cord to plug it into a projector. But it should be able to do everything you need.

[moyru]

I usually bring both and always end up using the iPad more than my laptop. It's lightweight and so convenient. Just be sure to bring your charger and cables/adapters that you need.

[TakeruK]

Disclaimer: This is from my experience in the physical science fields. If someone from the OP's field know this to be wrong, please say so!

 

At most large conferences, like the one the OP is describing, people aren't usually allowed to plug in their own machines to present from. This would take forever and introduce security risks. Instead, there is a "Speaker Ready Room" where you bring your presentation (e.g. on a USB stick) and you upload it to a central network. Good systems will allow you to use Keynote, Powerpoint, Openoffice, PDF etc. and will allow you to preview your slides right there in that room to make sure they show up nicely. Then, your presentation can be broadcast anywhere in the building, on the network.

 

In other conferences, sometimes there isn't a wide network but speakers will still tend to have to upload their presentations into a computer (maybe just a volunteer's computer in that presentation room). 

 

I guess my point is unless you want to work on your presentation while at the conference, you can probably get away with putting your presentation on just a USB stick.

 

[okay, end of field specific stuff now]

 

If I could afford one, I would only bring an iPad to conferences. All I really do with the computer while at a conference is check email and facebook, look up yelp reviews of nearby places to eat, and look up travel info/check into flights etc. I try to spend as much of my time interacting with other attendees as possible! One time, when I presented a poster, I wanted to show some animations so I borrowed a friend's iPad and I think that gave a nice "extra" to my poster. 

 

So, in my opinion, yes!! Tablets will perform pretty much all the necessary functions and they are so much more lightweight and quiet. It's super annoying when someone opens up their laptop in the middle of a talk and it makes the "startup chime". With a tablet you can discreetly check email if you really need to etc.

[m-ttl]

You can always download google drive for the ipad to open up/view powerpoint files as well... I'm really hoping to get an ipad for classes/work/etc as well. I don't actually have Microsoft office on my laptop and haven't used it in three years on my own computers. If it's a pressing need to use, I go to the library. 

 

My latest job told me it's okay to use a tablet but not a laptop while at my desk. (Which is incredibly vexing! So I'm looking into buying one after I've finished paying for applications.) Plus you can download some apps to annotate PDFs with and who doesn't want to do that? 

[NatureGurl]

Thanks, everyone! Now I feel more confident about bringing only an iPad.

[RedPill]

It should be fine as long as you're comfortable using KeyNote. You can't get Microsoft Office on an iPad, unlike a MacBook, so no PowerPoint. You might need to buy some special cord to plug it into a projector. But it should be able to do everything you need.

 

Oh Microsoft. There is always a Microsoft alternative of higher quality, lower price and increased usability found on Apple and Android devices. 

 

Google docs is personally my free favorite. Access and create any document, any file all online using an gmail address or other Google account. As long as OP has a tool to project either wirelessly or using a wire, she will be fine.

 

Poo poo Microsoft. 

[TakeruK]

Oh Microsoft. There is always a Microsoft alternative of higher quality, lower price and increased usability found on Apple and Android devices. 

 

Google docs is personally my free favorite. Access and create any document, any file all online using an gmail address or other Google account. As long as OP has a tool to project either wirelessly or using a wire, she will be fine.

 

Poo poo Microsoft. 

 

I used to think this! I had always used OpenOffice or Google Docs. However, Microsoft Powerpoint for Mac 2011 has really changed my view on Microsoft products. I used to think OpenOffice Impress was all I needed to make snappy presentations. However, OpenOffice seems to have really fallen behind in the last few years and I get much snazzier presentations made when I use Powerpoint compared to OpenOffice. 

 

Powerpoint costs a lot though, and I would not even had the chance to try it if my school didn't provide it for free! I also got Keynote with the App Store gift card that came with my Mac and it's pretty nice, but I find the Powerpoint controls more intuitive, for me.

 

I used to think that OpenOffice was good enough that I wouldn't shell out the big bucks for anything that wasn't free/open-source. But in the future, after I graduate, I think I will make the investment in Powerpoint because I think it's worth the money!

 

I still use OpenOffice and GoogleDocs for as well though. GoogleDocs is super useful for collaborating with others! For basic documents and spreadsheets (e.g. making a trip itinerary or balancing my budget), I prefer OpenOffice because it's much less clunky than MS products.

 

I think my overall philosophy is that when it comes to using software to make things that I want to show the public, investing in Microsoft and Adobe (e.g. Illustrator, Photoshop) is worth it to give your presentations that extra dose of professionalism. 

 

Edit: Just want to clarify that I am sure it is possible for me to make presentations in OpenOffice that are just as pretty and professional as the ones I have in Powerpoint, but it would take a lot more time. So by "worth it", I mean the extra cost is worth the time I save, which I can spend on other things

Edited January 4, 2014 by TakeruK

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I used to think this! I had always used OpenOffice or Google Docs. However, Microsoft Powerpoint for Mac 2011 has really changed my view on Microsoft products. I used to think OpenOffice Impress was all I needed to make snappy presentations. However, OpenOffice seems to have really fallen behind in the last few years and I get much snazzier presentations made when I use Powerpoint compared to OpenOffice. 

 

Powerpoint costs a lot though, and I would not even had the chance to try it if my school didn't provide it for free! I also got Keynote with the App Store gift card that came with my Mac and it's pretty nice, but I find the Powerpoint controls more intuitive, for me.

 

I used to think that OpenOffice was good enough that I wouldn't shell out the big bucks for anything that wasn't free/open-source. But in the future, after I graduate, I think I will make the investment in Powerpoint because I think it's worth the money!

 

I still use OpenOffice and GoogleDocs for as well though. GoogleDocs is super useful for collaborating with others! For basic documents and spreadsheets (e.g. making a trip itinerary or balancing my budget), I prefer OpenOffice because it's much less clunky than MS products.

 

I think my overall philosophy is that when it comes to using software to make things that I want to show the public, investing in Microsoft and Adobe (e.g. Illustrator, Photoshop) is worth it to give your presentations that extra dose of professionalism. 

 

Edit: Just want to clarify that I am sure it is possible for me to make presentations in OpenOffice that are just as pretty and professional as the ones I have in Powerpoint, but it would take a lot more time. So by "worth it", I mean the extra cost is worth the time I save, which I can spend on other things

Yeah I'm gonna buy Microsoft Office 2013 when I get my financial aid refund in a few weeks. There are sites that have discounted versions for college students. You could get it for about $80 instead of $130 if you bought it directly through Microsoft.

But I have a question you might be able to answer. I've barely ever used Google Docs. I did write a few word documents with it. But I'm curious, does a Google Docs have something similar to PowerPoint to make presentations? I should probably give it a try. I've never collaborated on a presentation but Google Docs might be the answer. Our perhaps a combination of PowerPoint and DropBox.

[m-ttl]

Googledrive allows you to make documents as presentations and you can export them as Microsoft powerpoint files. (.pptx I think it is?). I use it for my presentations in class. 

[TakeruK]

Yeah I'm gonna buy Microsoft Office 2013 when I get my financial aid refund in a few weeks. There are sites that have discounted versions for college students. You could get it for about $80 instead of $130 if you bought it directly through Microsoft.

 

Yeah, $80 is well worth it! Wait until you enroll in a new school, if that is happening soon, because your new school may have it for free or cheaper than standard student pricing from Microsoft.

[Canis]

I always bring my laptop - but I take really extensive notes in panels and need to be able to type. I couldn't do a conference without my laptop.

 

Regarding presentations, if you don't use transitions (effects from one slide to the next) or embedded video, etc. just save your presentation as a PDF. It's the best way to go - then you just open the PDF in full screen and go from slide to slide. So much lighter, easier, and will work on any computer they end up having - and you also know exactly what it will look like.

 

To me OpenOffice and PowerPoint are the same, I could create about the same stuff with both  - but Keynote, that's a beautiful app for making slides!

[yhakak]

I would just point out that if you're counting on this conversion for a major presentation, try it out beforehand. It doesn't do everything (for example it messes up animations, etc.) and sometimes there are font issues. Regarding the OP's question, i'd say the only reason to cart around a laptop is to type. I write on my laptop and do everything else on my tablet, I keep a few adaptors (HDMI, VGA) in my bag so i can present from anywhere.

 

Also, check out Prezi. It's a completely different way of thinking about presentations. Some people love it, it makes me dizzy...

 

 

Googledrive allows you to make documents as presentations and you can export them as Microsoft powerpoint files. (.pptx I think it is?). I use it for my presentations in class. 

[TakeruK]

I always bring my laptop - but I take really extensive notes in panels and need to be able to type. I couldn't do a conference without my laptop.

 

Regarding presentations, if you don't use transitions (effects from one slide to the next) or embedded video, etc. just save your presentation as a PDF. It's the best way to go - then you just open the PDF in full screen and go from slide to slide. So much lighter, easier, and will work on any computer they end up having - and you also know exactly what it will look like.

 

To me OpenOffice and PowerPoint are the same, I could create about the same stuff with both  - but Keynote, that's a beautiful app for making slides!

 

I agree that PDFs are the best way to ensure your presentation looks the way you want it. But you have to make sure you embed your fonts, otherwise if the fonts are not installed in the other computer, it will revert to some defaults and it might change the layout. Better yet, only use basic fonts that are sure to be installed everywhere. 

 

One thing I like to do on my slides is to have things appear sequentially, especially if they are individual steps or components of a schematic that I want to explain one at a time. I can do this in Powerpoint with animations pretty easily, but if I want to PDF it, I would have to make each "step" an individual slide. This takes a lot more time! And then if I want to change something that was in the original slide, I would have to do it on all the slides! My dream feature in Powerpoint or whatever is to be able to PDF of each step of each animation! (Most of my animations are just things appearing/disappearing, not moving, so it's not so bad).

[ctg7w6]

Get Office365 for mac. It's 80 dollars for four years, which is a pretty good deal. Also, iPad has Word, Powerpoint, excel, etc... Attach it to your Office365 account and you can also actually work on your papers, etc from your ipad.

[Monochrome Spring]

Office supply stores will often have $20-50 off one item coupons online. I got $30 off my $80 Microsoft Office, which was more manageable on a low income.