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Acrobat posts

Filed under: Office, Web services, Adobe, BlackBerry, iPhone, Mobile

Acrobat.com gets revamped and gets a mobile app

Adobe's Acrobat.com service is getting a big update tonight, followed closely by a new mobile app for iPhone and BlackBerry. The name "Acrobat" goes hand-in-hand with the PDF file format, and Acrobat.com allows you to convert documents to PDF and save, store and view PDF files. It also features some other applications, including the Adobe BuzzWord word processor, a web meeting service called ConnectNow, and storage space for docs, spreadsheets and images.

The new features include searching by filename (I'm still wrapping my head around how they didn't have this before), but not searching within documents. That feature is reportedly coming soon. Your files are also now displayed in a file organizer that lists everything you have stored on Adobe's webspace - I think this includes saved stuff from other web apps, including presentations.

The mobile app is reportedly going to be a pretty basic mobile front-end for Acrobat.com, with the ability to upload documents and send faxes (what's a "fax?") from your phone. It will come in both free and paid flavors, and the free version will allow a limited number of uploads and faxes per month.

[via CNET]

Filed under: Windows, Office, Open Source

Open source Adobe Reader alternative Sumatra PDF hits version 1.0

Adobe has done a lot to improve Reader in recent versions. I'm more than happy to run an open source alternative, however. Sumatra PDF is ridiculously small (a 1.2Mb download), lightweight, and handles the PDFs I throw at it without skipping a beat.

Today, Sumatra has finally hit version 1.0. Sumatra's a pretty bare-bones application, so don't expect any mind-blowing changes. What the new update boils down to is better compatibility, bug fixes, and performance tweaks.

Installed, Sumatra barely makes a dent in your drive space (not that you're counting at a few cents per gig), and it's very light on memory usage as well. The 277-page ebook I've got open is using just under 20Mb.

There's also a portable version available - an excellent way to make sure you've got a slim, speedy PDF reader with you wherever you take your flash drive. Both the installer and zip file are available for download from the author's site.

Filed under: Office, Adobe, Web

Acrobat.com goes pro

Acrobat.com premium
Adobe has taken the beta label off of its web-based Acrobat.com office suite. And while you can still create and share text documents and presentations for free, you'll need to upgrade to a paid account for up to $39/month or $390/year to unlock advanced features like the ability to create unlimited PDF files, share larger files, or host meetings with up to 20 people. Acrobat.com Premium users also get paid support.

If you don't sign up for a premium account, you'll be limited to creating 5 PDF files per month, web conferences will be limited to 3 users, and you'll be stuck with just 100 file downloads per month. There's also a cheaper plan for $14.99/month or $149/year that falls somewhere between the free and Premium Plus plans.

Adobe is also rolling out an experimental spreadsheet app called Tables as part of Acrobat.com Labs.

I can understand why Adobe would decide to create a subscription-based service in order to make some money off of their product. What I can't understand is why anyone looking for an office suite for personal use would choose to use Acrobat.com instead of alternatives like Zoho Docs, Google Docs, or even a desktop application like Microsoft Office, which might cost more up front, but which doesn't have ongoing subscription costs.

Then again, maybe the goal was never to market Acrobat.com to personal users. The key may be the web conferencing and support features, which could make Acrobat.com an attractive option for small businesses in need of collaboration tools.


[via CNET]

Filed under: Internet, Security, Adobe

Adobe warns of critical vulnerability in Reader, Acrobat

Bad news for anyone that utilizes Adobe's Acrobat software, or Adobe reader to view PDF files. A critical vulnerability has been identified that can cause the applications to crash and allow an attacker to control the affected system. All versions from 7 forward on all operating systems are suspected to be at risk.

According to the announcement from Adobe, this isn't just a possibility, it's actually happening. Reports have already been made of the buffer overflow exploit being used in this type of attack. Adobe is also working with antivirus vendors to patch the holes, and patches to update the vulnerable apps are in the works. The bad news: patches aren't likely to be ready until March 11th, 2009.

That's not nearly fast enough considering the severity of the flaw. In the meantime, you'd be wise to install an alternative applications to handle viewing PDF files. Sumatra and FoxIt are both good alternatives for Windows.

The announcement doesn't specify whether the flaw is platform specific, so Mac users may want to play it safe and stick to using Preview. *nix is also at risk, though most users are likely already utilizing alternatives.

The
full bulletin is available on Adobe's web site.

Filed under: Internet, Office, Web services, web 2.0

PDFMeNot Offers Flash-based Online Viewing


When people think about the most irritating apps on their computer, Adobe Reader usually shows up on the list. Our readers tend to think the alternatives (like Foxit) are the way to go, and I couldn't agree more.

That's why I decided to give PDFMeNot's web app a try. I'm a Foxit user, but I really don't use PDF files that often. If PDFMeNot works well, that's one more app I can leave off my flash drive. Also, I enjoy the irony of thinking that I'm getting away from Adobe, when really I'm just choosing Flash over Reader.

Damn it. You win again, Adobe.

I did a quick Google search and located an unclassified Air Force finance report, and dropped in the URL. It took a little bit (about three minutes or so, but it was a 728-page report) for the document to be displayed, but once it was up it worked nicely.

The developers are nice enough to offer a tools page, where you'll find a bookmarklet, Firefox extension, and even code to embed the viewer on your own page.

Since it only functions as a viewer and I can't print from it, I'll be sticking with Foxit portable. I will, however, keep PDFMeNot filed away for days when I forget my flash drive somewhere.

Filed under: Utilities, Productivity, Troubleshooting, Browsers

Inline PDF viewing for Firefox 3? There's a plugin for that



If you've recently switched to Firefox for Mac, you're probably getting used to hearing all your problems answered with "there's a plugin for that." Well, here's one more problem plugins can solve: inline PDF viewing. Safari does it automatically, and you might be missing it if you've switched recently.

You could always download the PDFs and open them with the notoriously slow Acrobat Reader or a faster 3rd-party app, but if you want them to open right in your browser, just grab this plugin. No frills here, the description on Google Code simply says it, "uses PDFKit to display PDFs in the browser." We tested it out on some huge PDF magazines, and it handles them just as well as Safari can.

[via Daring Fireball]

Filed under: Utilities, Web services, Adobe, web 2.0

Adobe launches Acrobat 9 and Acrobat.com online office suite


Adobe has built a suite of online office applications to compliment Buzzword, the company's online word processor. We've covered Buzzword in the past. It's pretty, fast, and not really all that much more useful than similar products from Google or Zoho. Here's a rundown of the other applications you'll find at Acrobat.com:
  • ConnectNow: A web conferenceing tool that lets you share your desktop with others, chat, talk over a VoIP connection, or share files and mark up whiteboards.
  • Share: Selectively share files with other users. Adobe Share lets you send files to a list of contacts, and lets the recipients view PDF image, and video files online.
  • Create PDF: Seriously, do we need to tell you what this does?
  • My Files: Store and organize up to 5GB of files online.
You'll notice that Acrobat.com doesn't have a complete office suite. There are no spreadsheet or presentation applications. But that 5GB of free storage space is pretty attractive.

Adobe has also released Acrobat 9, an updated version of its desktop PDF reader. The biggest change in Acrobat 9 is support for embedded Flash, which means you might start finding PDF documents with embedded YouTube videos or other Flash content.

Filed under: Business, Design, Internet, Office, Adobe

Adobe gets rid of FedEx link

Adobe gets rid of FedEx linkAdobe had teamed up with Kinkos FedEx to print documents over the internet, unfortunately this move upset smaller printing companies.

The FedEx printing option had begun in Acrobat 8.1 and Reader 8.1 in June. However, complaints from rival businesses has forced Adobe to rethink their partnership with Kinko's and initiate a plan to take the feature out by an October release.

FedEx Kinko's will continue to distribute a version of the Adobe Reader with the special printing feature on its website.

Filed under: Business, Adobe

Adobe CS3 pricing, high as usual

adobe cs3 pricing
CS3 pricing is out, and it looks a bit high! Amazon might have let the cat out of the bag a little early when it comes to the not yet released Adobe CS3 applications. Officially CS3 is due out on March 27th, but Amazon accidentally flipped the switch to show the pricing of the newly designed creative suite a day earlier.

The pricing structure looks like this:
  • Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Web Premium - $1599
  • Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Master Collection - $2499
  • Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Production Premium - $1199
  • Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Design Premium - $1599
We know we weren't the only users grinding our teeth hoping that Adobe might bring the pricing down slightly, but that looks like that's out of the question for now.

DLS wants to know - If you are dishing out and buying into the new CS3, which version do you have your sights set on?

Check out a chart that displays what applications are bundled with which version in the new CS3 here.

[via Gizmodo]

Filed under: Design, Developer, Photo, Text, Utilities, News, Windows, Macintosh, Adobe

Adobe releases Acrobat 8, previews Photoshop CS3

Adobe AcrobatAdobe recently previewed its new Photoshop CS3 product at the Photoshop World conference. There aren't too many details available on it yet, except that it will have Macromedia technology of some sort integrated with existing Adobe technologies. Adobe also starting taking pre-orders for Acrobat 8 (should ship in mid-November) as part of the Creative Suite 2.3 package. Some new features of Acrobat 8 Pro are:
  • Easy PDF creation (is that really a NEW feature?)
  • Scan to PDF with OCR
  • Convert email to PDF
  • Capture website to PDF
  • Create PDF/A and PDF/X documents
  • Combine files from multiple apps
  • Managed shared reviews with comment tracking and printing
  • Password and permissions
  • Use digital signatures
  • Protect attachments with 128-bit encryption
  • Form templates and auto-filed recognition
Adobe can only benefit by letting Macromedia technology seep into every crack of its already killer software. The two companies both have the best stuff out there in many respects, so it will be good see how this "two are better than one" idea plays out.

Filed under: Business, Text, Utilities, Windows, Linux

Foxit Reader 2.0 released!

Foxit ReaderYesterday I started waiting for an Adobe Acrobat PDF file to open. I am still waiting for the thing to open. Alright, you got me, I actually end-tasked it, 86'd it, killed the process, you get the idea. I don't have the time or patience to put up with that. Adobe Acrobat Reader has some issues, like loading a file quickly, not crashing the browser, things like that. Foxit Reader puts Adobe Acrobat Reader in its place, that's right the gar-bage. We told first you about Foxit back in 2005, but the new version was just released, now Foxit 2.0. Foxit Software's website also got a complete make-over as well. Foxit Reader is free for download, and did I mention I am un-installing Adobe's Reader right now? Ahhh, that feel better. Foxit rocks it!

[Thanks, Spluch!]

Filed under: Office, Productivity, Web services, Freeware

Convert docs to PDF online, free

PDF OnlineNeed to create a PDF file? Don't want to bother downloading/buying/installing software to make PDFs, or stuck at a library or internet kiosk where you can't? Enter PDF Online. It's a free service that will convert (almost) any document you upload into a PDF file. It supports lots of file formats, including most Office documents (e.g. Word/DOC, Excel/XLS, PowerPoint/PPT), plus HTML and plain text files, and the most common image formats including JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and PNG. All you have to do is upload your document with the PDF Online web form and enter your email address, and the PDF will be emailed to you. I tried it with an Excel file and I received the PDF in less than 30 seconds. The PDF looked good and even my Excel charts were displayed correctly. If you're feeling advanced you can also tweak a few options, like font embedding, security and watermarks, and image resolution and compression.

Filed under: Business, Design, Adobe, Commercial

Adobe launches Acrobat 3D

Adobe Acrobat 3DToday Adobe released Acrobat 3D, a new version of their PDF authoring software aimed at the manufacturing sector. Acrobat 3D has all the features of Acrobat 7.0 Pro, plus it allows the user to import 3D models from major CAD packages into PDF files that can be viewed by anyone using the free Adobe Reader 7.0. If you have Reader 7.0 installed, you can check out a demo document at the page linked above. This is an excellent move on Adobe's part because it allows customers to view 3D designs without having to invest in expensive CAD software. Acrobat 3D costs $995 per copy.

Filed under: Google

Google to introduce paid TV downloads

GoogleArs Technica is reporting that tomorrow Google will be announcing a new video service that will "allow users to buy video content for pre-determined prices," and they're also planning to announce partnerships with CBS and the NBA. Ars has lots of juicy speculation, including whether they'll be offering downloads or only streaming video, if they'll use Flash video as Google Video currently does, and if this means we'll finally see the long-rumored Google Wallet. Google also plans to announce Google Pack, a software bundle which, says Ars, will include the obvious Google software like Desktop Search, Picasa, Google Earth, Google Talk, and more, but also some third party tools including "Google-tweaked" versions of Firefox, Acrobat Reader, Symantec anti-virus software, the malware remover Ad-Aware, multi-network IM client Trillian, and RealPlayer. I agree with Ars: Those last two choices are very curious indeed.

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So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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