flip

Despite the ubiquity of Microsoft Office, it's not outside the realm of possibility that you've found yourself needing to show a PowerPoint presentation using a computer that didn't have PowerPoint installed. Flip Powerpoint is a clever program that solves this problem by saving PowerPoint presentations as flipbooks in a variety of different formats. We think it's a great choice for ensuring that your PowerPoints are accessible no matter where you go.

It's important to note that in order to use Flip Powerpoint, you have to have PowerPoint installed on your machine. Assuming that you do, … Read more

The end of next year seems a long way off, but you know how these things go: blink and it'll be December 2013.

That's why diehard Flip and FlipShare users may be happy to learn of a new service designed to let them instantly transfer their FlipShare video libraries to a different storage provider--before Cisco shuts down FlipShare at the end of next year.

Givit, a private video-sharing platform that launched in public beta last November, announced today what it calls "seamless integration" with FlipShare, which, Givit says, will let FlipShare users move their libraries with a single click.… Read more

Flip Words 2 is an addictive word puzzle that's part seek-and-find, part Wheel of Fortune, and all fun. If you like the challenge of creating words out of random letters and solving riddles, you'll find Flip Words 2 to be totally addictive.

Like all games from Free Ride Games, you will first have to download the game manager, which will then download Flip Words 2. It will also download a variety of other games without your permission unless you stop it. There's plenty of advertising, too; there's a video ad you have to sit through before … Read more

Camalen is a new accessories company that makes stylish leather cases for Apple mobile products.

I highlighted one of its iPad 2 cases in our Ultimate iPad 2 case roundup, and while it makes several iPhone cases, the one I found most impressive (they're all pretty impressive) is the Hexa.

First, the leather is really nice--the case comes in multiple colors--but more interestingly, it also converts into both a vertical and horizontal stand for your iPhone.

I'd seen the swiveling-case design in iPad cases but not in an iPhone case. What's also nice is that the swiveling … Read more

Cisco Systems is pulling the plug on another one of its video-centric consumer products.

The communications company today acknowledged that it has ceased sales of its Umi video-conferencing hardware, which it introduced in October 2010.

"While we are ending the sale of Umi, the Umi service remains unchanged," a Cisco spokesperson told CRN in a statement. "Existing customers will continue to be able to use the service to make calls to other Umi subscribers or to Google video chat accounts."

CRN reports that the shelving of the hardware formally began last month.

Cisco originally pitched Umi … Read more

iStunt 2 is a snowboarding sequel that adds enough extras and unique gameplay to make it a great time-waster and might be one of our favorite pick-up-and-play games for 2011. Just like in the original, you'll be challenged to snowboard on several complex courses that involve loops, jumps, tricks, and even snowboarding upside down. The control system uses the iPhone accelerometer to control your snowboarder, a couple of onscreen buttons for grab-type tricks, and screen swipes for jumping over gaps.

iStunt 2 is better in almost every way than the original, with better-designed tracks, better graphics, and more control … Read more

You have to give it to Cisco Systems for its perseverance.

The company, best known for supplying the guts of business and government networks, is doubling down on the tablet business with not one, but two potential follow-ups to its enterprise-centric Cius (pronounced see-us). Cisco said it is working on a larger and smaller version of the tablet for the spring and fall of next year.

Few consumers are even aware Cisco offers an Android-powered tablet, which had been in development for two years and quietly launched in August. It's a strange hybrid of a device: it has the … Read more

A story on CNET's top tech turkeys rounded up the 2011 technology equivalents of dropping a Thanksgiving turkey on the floor right in front of a slobbering mastiff while your in-laws look on in horror.

We've had some spectacular tech fails this year ranging from the mildly disappointing (what, no iPhone 5?) to the epic (Sony PlayStation Network hack).

Hundreds of thousands of subscribers jumped ship from Netflix after it flailed around with big price increases and the stunningly ill-thought-out Qwikster spin-off. Now Netflix's stock is taking a nosedive.

RIM got red in the face after a multiday outage of the BlackBerry network that impacted customers around the world. That didn't help the company's reputation after RIM's quiet year on the hardware front.… Read more

2011 was a rather remarkable year for products and companies that were on top, taking a flop.

Here are our Top 5 moves and happenings that were hard to watch, from Flip to HP to Netflix and BlackBerry. It just goes to show that some of the biggest names can lose their way spectacularly.