Is PowerPoint evil or is it a strategic tool?

I started running my Knowledge Cafes in 2002 in response to my frustration with "Death by PowerPoint" presentations.

I thought that PowerPoint as it was commonly used was an ineffective way to teach people but I never thought it evil until a German friend put the thought in my mind when she sent me this article recently Der Powerpoint-Irrsinn (in German) which references an original article from 2003 (in English) by Edward Tufte PowerPoint Is Evil - Power Corrupts - PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely.

In Googling the topic - I then quickly came across an article with a somewhat different point of view Is PowerPoint a Strategic Tool?

Take a read! So which is it - evil or strategic? I guess like most tools it all comes down to how you use it and what you use if for! Even I use a few PowerPoint slides in my Knowledge Cafes :-)