The story behind SimpleSlideShow
The idea for the SimpleSlideShow software came about when my mother, wanting to see regular pictures of her grandchildren, asked "Couldn't you just make a 'simple' slide show program that would run on my computer and show me new pictures from time to time?" I had tried various ways to keep her supplied with new pictures, but every option we tried was less then ideal. Web-based photo sites required her to remember to check, log in, and in the end just add another task to her schedule. Peer to peer solutions had the same problems and many required that we be online at the same time. The closest option was an internet-connected photo frame. But the screen was tiny, dim, had poor color, and we had to pay almost $100 a year to use it. My mother wanted something that offered the convenience of unattended photo delivery and took advantage of her computer's beautiful, large LCD display. Further, she wanted to run it at work and at home.
SimpleSlideShow Viewer
The solution to this "simple" problem is the
SimpleSlideShow Viewer. Now my mom's computers at home and at work do
the work of checking for new photos and of displaying them on her full-sized
screen as either a slide show or a screen saver. Now she can walk into the room
and be pleasantly surprised with new, visual connections to her family. She can
even subscribe to slide shows from other friends and family.
SimpleSlideShow Manager
The next problem to be solved was on my end as the author and publisher of
photos my mom wanted to see. How do I deliver new family pictures to my mom so
as not to add another burdensome task to my own workload? My digital camera
makes images that are too large to send directly to my mom by any method, so
they must all be processed to some degree. Even if I used a photo sharing
website I would want to resize my images before uploading in order to save
upload time. What I wanted was something as simple as selecting my pictures and
clicking a button that would "send to mom." The
SimpleSlideShow Manager shows me the images currently in my slide show.
All I have to do is drag and drop new images on the Manager and it
automatically makes copies of my pictures that are formatted properly. I can
add and remove images from my show, organize them into folders if I wish, and
simply click "Sync" to make my mom's computer mirror what I see in the Manager.
SimpleSlideShow Mobile
I also use a Pocket PC mobile device which, among many other uses, is a perfect
pocket slide show device. In fact, the latest version of the Pocket PC
operating system has a very nice image viewer and slide show. But it doesn't
help me get my images on to the device. In order to save storage space and to
optimize the viewing area of the screen, I would still need to resize and
sometimes rotate my images one by one. But now with
SimpleSlideShow Mobile and the SimpleSlideShow Manager I can keep my
Pocket PC device synchronized with a single click. The SimpleSlideShow Manager
makes copies of my images that are perfectly optimized for my mobile device's
screen and limited storage. The SimpleSlideShow Mobile software can even
synchronize itself over the web so I can subscribe to other slide shows from my
friends and family.
-- Thaine Norris