The field notes

Presenting, de-mythed.

Short, numbers-first pieces on what actually works when you put slides on a screen — and, honestly, when the old cable still wins. Every claim is sourced. Some of them are even funny.

Technology

PDF is safer for talks than PowerPoint

Same deck, someone else's laptop — and your layout falls apart. Here's why PDF doesn't.

6 minJul 2026
Technology

What happens to your fonts on someone else's computer

Font substitution is silent, automatic, and it reflows your whole slide. The fix is one export away.

5 minJul 2026
Technology

When slide animations hurt more than they help

The research on "seductive details" is blunt: decoration that isn't information costs you recall.

6 minJun 2026
Technology

Turn Google Slides into a projector-proof file in one click

The cloud is great until the room's Wi-Fi isn't. Export once, present anywhere.

4 minJun 2026
Technology

What WebRTC is, and why it's the best way to put slides on a TV

The same tech behind a billion video calls can send your slides straight to the screen — no app, no cloud.

6 minJun 2026
Technology

How much should a good deck weigh?

A 40 MB deck isn't "high quality" — it's usually one un-cropped screenshot. Let's fix the math.

5 minJun 2026
Technology

Mirroring vs. slide-streaming: which drains your phone faster?

Screen mirroring keeps your display, radio and encoder pinned. Sending one slide at a time doesn't.

6 minJun 2026
Technology

Why ports 443 and 80 are your ace on locked-down networks

If a network lets you load a web page, it'll usually let your presentation through too. Here's why.

5 minJun 2026
Technology

High-res diagrams on screen without losing smoothness

Vector where you can, smart raster where you can't — the trick to schematics that stay crisp and quick.

5 minMay 2026
Technology

Why a modern browser is the only presentation app you need

PDF rendering, GPU graphics, encrypted networking, camera, storage — it's all already installed.

6 minMay 2026
Hardware

The USB stick is obsolete: three reasons to leave it in the drawer

Lost, malware-prone, and a data-protection liability. The pocket drive had a good run.

5 minMay 2026
Hardware

The HDMI-adapter disasters that ruin talks

USB-C alt-mode, HDCP handshakes, the wrong dongle — a taxonomy of the five-minute stall.

6 minMay 2026
Hardware

Why you shouldn't borrow the house clicker at conferences

Unknown battery, unknown USB receiver, unknown button mapping — mid-keynote is a bad time to learn.

4 minMay 2026
Hardware

Ditch the lectern: your phone is the best remote you own

It's already in your hand, always charged, and it lets you walk. Why chain yourself to the podium?

5 minMay 2026
Hardware

Hotel Wi-Fi died mid-workshop — present over your own LTE

You don't need their network. A phone hotspot and a browser are enough to keep going.

5 minMay 2026
Hardware

The end of "email me the deck so I can show it"

The most common presentation workflow on earth is also the most fragile. There's a better handoff.

4 minApr 2026
Hardware

The projector only has VGA and your laptop is from this decade

Analog ceiling projector, no ports that match. Route around the cable entirely.

5 minApr 2026
Hardware

The lecturer's golden rule: campus AV never behaves as planned

Different room, different remote, different login, every single week. Plan for it.

5 minApr 2026
Hardware

Why coworking-space AV is a nightmare for speakers

Shared screens, mystery casting apps, and a queue behind you. The setup is the risk.

5 minApr 2026
Hardware

How much time we really waste plugging in at the start of meetings

A few minutes per meeting sounds trivial — until you multiply it across a company and a year.

6 minApr 2026
Privacy

What IT sees when you join a client's network to show a deck

Joining their Wi-Fi is a logged event with your device, your MAC, and your traffic metadata attached.

6 minApr 2026
Privacy

Privacy by architecture: why peer-to-peer beats the public cloud

The safest place for a file is a place it never travels to. Architecture beats policy.

6 minMar 2026
Privacy

Show a board report on the TV and leave no file behind

The report gets seen; the file never lands on the room's computer. That's the whole point.

5 minMar 2026
Privacy

Why sharing results on a shared USB stick risks patient data

One misplaced drive is a reportable breach. Regulators have the fines to prove it.

6 minMar 2026
Privacy

USB malware: still a real threat during audits and training

The "drop a drive in the parking lot" attack still works. Studies keep proving it.

6 minMar 2026
Privacy

What "the session self-destructs" means for confidential docs

Ephemeral by default: when the session ends, there's simply nothing left to leak.

5 minMar 2026
Privacy

What you should never download onto a client's work computer

Every file you save on their machine is now their problem — and their audit trail.

5 minMar 2026
Privacy

Keep the messenger pop-ups off the big screen

Nothing derails a pitch like a private message on a two-metre screen. Design it out.

5 minFeb 2026
Privacy

Why "no account required" is the real advantage

No account means no password to leak, no profile to sell, and nothing to breach. Less is safer.

5 minFeb 2026
Privacy

Presenting safely in hospitals without asking IT for network access

Clinical networks are locked for good reason. You can present without ever touching them.

6 minFeb 2026
The room

How the first five minutes fighting tech destroys your authority

First impressions form fast and stick hard. Don't spend yours crouched behind a laptop.

6 minFeb 2026
The room

Why moving around the room keeps an audience engaged

Being tethered to a podium isn't just dull — it costs you the room's attention.

5 minFeb 2026
The room

The stress-free sales meeting: client first, setup never

The buyer remembers how you made them feel — not how long you fumbled with the TV.

5 minFeb 2026
The room

Present architectural plans at a client's home without hauling gear

Their TV, your phone, the full drawing set — no laptop bag, no cables, no fuss.

5 minJan 2026
The room

Switch between presenters on one projector in seconds

Panels and workshops die in the handoff. Make the screen change hands, not the cable.

5 minJan 2026
The room

Why a minimalist, typographic PDF shines on a modern TV

Big screens are unforgiving. Restraint and good type read as competence.

5 minJan 2026
The room

Stage fright: how removing tech problems lowers your stress

You can't control the crowd, but you can delete a whole category of things that can go wrong.

6 minJan 2026
The room

"Zero-install" is the new standard — nobody has time to download

Every install is a tax on attention and trust. The winning tools ask for neither.

5 minJan 2026
The room

Emergency mode: run a full talk from just your phone

Laptop dead, bag lost, ten minutes to go. Any nearby screen plus your phone is enough.

5 minJan 2026
The room

How "enter a 4-digit PIN" became the most intuitive way to pair devices

From hotel TVs to smart speakers, the short code won. Here's the human-factors reason.

5 minDec 2025