PPTShare is a Windows desktop client that compresses large PowerPoint files by as much as 95%. Huge PowerPoint files have long been a problem, and if the medium is going to see extensive use in the future it’s going to need some way to be usable on platforms like the web and mobile applications. Starting at $45 for an individual license through $17 per user for between 250 and 500 users, this is largely intended to be enterprise software. There is a free trial download available, but it expires after less than 10 compressions. Five compression levels are available: normal, extra, high quality, mobile and custom. In most cases the compression rate is between 65 and 85% but on very large files it can reach the advertised 95% mark. We found the loss of quality in most cases to be minimal. PPTShare is a product of Ontra Presentations, an enterprise PowerPoint competitor from New York. In addition to the compressor, the PPTShare site also offers a slide organizing program. If you’re someone who wants to email slide decks around a lot this could work well for you. It’s very easy to use, with easy installation, a drag and drop file loader and drop down menus to compress the files. PowerPoint files are notoriously large; Microsoft’s own page of advice on the issue recommends watching out for 9 different factors that could be contributing to file bloat. Microsoft says there are limits to PowerPoint’s magical powers and that their 9 tips can help “squeeeeezzzze” more information into a lean and mean file. It looks like Ontra has come up with another layer of magic. For an alternative to emailing PowerPoint slides, see our writeup on SlideShare, which allows users to upload PowerPoint presentations to the web, with a YouTube-like interface. See also Pixsense, a company based on a compression algorithm for images. → Read More