After David Byrnes premiered his PowerPoint art in LA, Clive Thompson writing in New York Times highlights Edward Tufte’s essay that PowerPoint is a terrible way to convey information. From the Times article: In his slim 28-page pamphlet, Tufte claimed that Microsoft’s ubiquitous software forces people to mutilate data beyond comprehension. For example, the low resolution of a PowerPoint slide means that it usually contains only about 40 words, or barely eight seconds of reading.
Wired Magazine has a column by Tufte highlighting points in his essay and a column by Byrne about making art on PowerPoint. Wired later published this interview with Byrnes. Tufte’s pamphlet can be purchased from his site.
Another use of PowerPoint: The Gettysburg Address.