Presentation software is a type of computer application that allows the user to present information using text, images, audio and video content. The information is arranged in a slide show, which can be set to advance frames by clicking a mouse or to run automatically by timer.
Presentation software is used in both educational and business settings to allow presenters to keep their audience focused on the message being delivered by using a format that appeals to different learning styles. There are both free and paid versions of presentation software available, with both OpenOffice and Microsoft Office containing particularly robust presentation applications.
What Are Examples of Presentation Software?
The most prominent example of presentation software is Microsoft PowerPoint. Other examples include Apple Keynote, OpenOffice Impress, Corel Presentations, Adobe Persuasion, Flowboard, Kingsoft Presentation and Prezi.
Presentation software generally is used to create slide shows for business and academic purposes. These slides incorporate text, graphics and sometimes even embedded audio and video. Presentation software packages should be chosen based on the specific purpose of the presentation and the user’s technical knowledge and comfort level with it. The ones previously listed are the most prominent, but other examples include Google Docs (which is free but requires the user to be online and signed into a Google account to use), LibreOffice Impress, Ease, Hewlett Packard Bruno, SlideRocket and Aquasoft SlideShow.
How Many Types of Software Are There?
There are two main types of software: system software and application software. System software refers to a program that makes the computer’s hardware work, while application software is software that accomplishes a specific task or several related tasks. System software is basically the computer’s operating system, and is typically bundled with the hardware. Application software comprises a large collection of applications that are built for specific tasks.
System software usually has various components that accomplish a specific job. For instance, the basic input and output system manages the flow of instructions between the different hardware parts and the operating system. A boot program loads the main operating system into memory when the computer is starting. Device drivers are also components of system software that control particular hardware devices. System software is sometimes called low-level software because it runs at the most basic level of a computer.
Application software, on the other hand, allows computer users to accomplish various tasks. When an application program is opened, it runs inside the operating system until it is closed. There are countless types of application programs including Web applications, desktop applications and many more. Typical examples of application software include spreadsheets, word processors and media players, among others.
