How to use your Apple Remote with PowerPoint presentations
Back in November when I was preparing to speak at a conference in Boston, I started wondering if anyone had come up with a way to use the Apple Remote as a device to advance slides in a PowerPoint presentation. I didn't have time to get one of those USB presenters, but I also wanted to be free to roam away from my laptop while speaking.
What I found was a free program called iRed Lite that did exactly what I wanted it to. I've been meaning to write about since then, but LifeHacker beat me to it on Wednesday.
In any case, it' s a nice little program with settings pre-programmed for various applications that you can customize however you want. The user manual is a little intimidating, but I found the presets for PowerPoint and Keynote to be more than adequate. As long as you don't mind the clicking sound of the remote, this program transforms an accessory most Mac users probably toss in a drawer into a pretty functional tool for public speakers.
Even if you prefer using a bona fide presenter with built-in timer, vibration, and laser pointer, you can always keep the Apple Remote around as a backup.