Powerpoint 2000 Powerpoint is a program designed for making visual presentations to an audience.  It was designed by a UC Berkeley graduate student named Bob Gaskins back in the early 1980s, and has since grown by leaps and bounds to become one of the most widely used presentation software programs by businesses, schools, and even governments around the world.  Different versions of Powerpoint have been made for both the Apple and the PC, produced by its vendor Microsoft.  Powerpoint 2000 is the version released in conjunction with the Microsoft Office 2000 package, and is designed to word on a Windows operating system platform. Powerpoint 2000 offered a number of steps forward from its previous versions.  In the 2000 version, it became easier to access recently used documents using the 'Open File' selection.  A history of the last 20 to 50 documents used is readily available with just a click, reducing the amount of time spent searching through folders for the desired file.  The copy and paste function was enhanced as well, allowing up to 12 items to be stored on a 'clipboard' that could be accessed later using any of the Microsoft Office 2000 programs. The Powerpoint 2000 version also had a number of advances in its presentation design features as well.  The Office Assistant feature was enhanced, taking up less screen space and generally being a little less obnoxious than the previous versions.  It also was updated with a host of new tips, and advice to offer learning users of the program guidance in using its less obvious functions.  The newer assistant also offers direct links to the internet, should your questions go unanswered.  Many critics still find the assistant to be more annoying than helpful, but not to worry; it can be easily disabled if you find it too distracting. The 2000 version of Powerpoint offered a host of other advances over previous versions, including and 'auto-fit' text function, better viewing options, graphical bullets, support for using numbered lists, a more advanced voice narration feature, some new design and content templates, and a more in depth tutorial for new users of the program.  Powerpoint 2000 also offers an updated clip art gallery, more graphics and objects to use, better scanner support and the ability to use animated GIF files in your presentation.  Even though there have since been several newer versions of the program, the advances of Powerpoint 2000 was a significant benchmark for the series, and is still widely used around the world today.