Open Source, Embeddable, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3
These tools clearly show the power of Open Source and the new freemium SaaS business model. All you need is a browser. Any browser, any operating system will do. No vendor lock, as the enterprise guy would say. You can download your results as PDF, but the main use is the online presentation, sharing, embedding. SEO friendly. Social media friendly. Budget friendly. You know… they are… just friendly. Learn to love them.
OK, let’s see what we have.
Reveal.js
Use the Open Source JS library as a developer, or use the Service as an End-user.
Lib: http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/#/
Git: https://github.com/hakimel/reveal.js
Service: http://slid.es/
Look at this little gem. The author, Hakim defines it as “The HTML Presentation Framework”, and he truly is right. Not much of a fancy, at least not the Powerpoint-ish way. Slides. But. It is not linear, it’s 2D. You can navigate using the arrow keys into all four directions. Of course you do not have to. You can do it on your own site by hosting the required library, and in this case you can hack any look or feature into it for your own amusement. Or you can use the SaaS approach that allows online editing and gives you freemium access to advanced features. You can zoom, you can syntax highlight, you can use Markdown. Give it a try.
Impress.js
I hate how this little fancy code dares to challenge Prezi…
Demo: http://bartaz.github.io/impress.js/#/bored
Git: https://github.com/bartaz/impress.js
OK, you got to be a developer or at least technically literate to use this tool. No drag-n-drop, just coding. But. Dude, it’s a 3D presentation tool! How cool is that?! And – as its content is nothing, but HTML – it is also search and SEO friendly. If you are into such things you can even develop or customize it further. Enjoy.
Google – html5slides
You expected Google can be omitted from a list like that?!
Service: http://docs.google.com
Demo: http://html5slides.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/template/index.html#1
SVN: http://html5slides.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/
Yes, Google has it too. I guess you are not surprised. Unless you are afraid of Big IT Companies, you already know and use the Google Drive and its Presentation feature. The good news is that you can download and use the code behind that to create your own presentations. Do not expect any eye candies, this one does exactly one thing – changes slides as you press buttons.
Deck.js
One of the very first HTML5 presentation systems and is a great option for every level
Demo: http://imakewebthings.com/deck.js/
Getting started: http://imakewebthings.com/deck.js/introduction/
Git: https://github.com/imakewebthings/deck.js
Deck.js was not only here from the beginning, but a very good blend in this league. It is not yet a SaaS, but really user friendly, has a great documentation, and I love, how much it focuses only on those simple features I appreciate the most in a system like this. Advanced users can hack this MIT-licensed code apart at their will of course. The well documented API will make them really happy I guess.
Shower Presentation Engine
And yes, we can get even more barefoot… in a good way.
Demo: http://shwr.me/?full#Cover
Github: https://github.com/shower/shower
Do not forget to press ESC! This über-simplistic presentation engine has a cool gallery view. Nothing much more though. It does exactly the bare minimum that allows something to be called a presentation tool. On the other hand, it is blazing fast and works well on every single browser ever invented.
