Chris Pirillo » pdf http://chris.pirillo.com News and Reviews! Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:04:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 © chris@pirillo.com () chris@pirillo.com() Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. chris@pirillo.com No no http://chris.pirillo.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg Chris Pirillo http://chris.pirillo.com 144 144 Foxit Screencast http://chris.pirillo.com/foxit-screencast/ http://chris.pirillo.com/foxit-screencast/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:47:36 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=15466 Foxit Screencast is a post from Chris Pirillo


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I recently asked all of you to submit your screencasts to me for review. The best of the best will be chosen to be featured here, in my various channels and outlets. This provides content of a different perspective for our community, and gives you new exposure for your work! Marques has submitted an excellent screencast, showing you an alternative to Adobe’s PDF Reader 8 – FoxIt.

Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer. It is incredibly small, and exceedingly fast. It supports virtually all versions of Windows.

In the past, you had to download a huge PDF reader from another company, sit and wait for installation and updates, and then finally open your PDF. With Foxit, you simply install one small file and you’re ready to go. Foxit also features an annotation tool, and text conversion. What other free PDF reader can say that – and mean it?

For Marques, it only took about half the time to open and load as Adobe did. That is a significant improvement. He didnt have to wait on a splash screen – the document just opened. You can also view your PDF as a text document using Foxit… thereby copy and pasting things from the PDF to any word editing program.

In my book, free software that has better features than its paid counterparts is nothing but pure win. Thanks to Marques for providing this look at Foxit Reader for the community!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> Foxit Screencast is a post from Chris Pirillo


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I recently asked all of you to submit your screencasts to me for review. The best of the best will be chosen to be featured here, in my various channels and outlets. This provides content of a different perspective for our community, and gives you new exposure for your work! Marques has submitted an excellent screencast, showing you an alternative to Adobe’s PDF Reader 8 – FoxIt.

Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer. It is incredibly small, and exceedingly fast. It supports virtually all versions of Windows.

In the past, you had to download a huge PDF reader from another company, sit and wait for installation and updates, and then finally open your PDF. With Foxit, you simply install one small file and you’re ready to go. Foxit also features an annotation tool, and text conversion. What other free PDF reader can say that – and mean it?

For Marques, it only took about half the time to open and load as Adobe did. That is a significant improvement. He didnt have to wait on a splash screen – the document just opened. You can also view your PDF as a text document using Foxit… thereby copy and pasting things from the PDF to any word editing program.

In my book, free software that has better features than its paid counterparts is nothing but pure win. Thanks to Marques for providing this look at Foxit Reader for the community!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/foxit-screencast/feed/ 2 Adobe Acrobat.com Web Service Coupons http://chris.pirillo.com/adobe-acrobatcom-web-service-coupons/ http://chris.pirillo.com/adobe-acrobatcom-web-service-coupons/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:47:31 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=13478 Adobe Acrobat.com Web Service Coupons is a post from Chris Pirillo

Adobe is now offering Web services – and for a limited time, you can get them at a discounted rate.

Acrobat Basic: Use web conferencing to share your screen and host a meeting for up to five participants. Share and store your files online (up to 5GB) with a unique URL that never changes. Easily convert up to ten files to PDF per month. Online word processing is also included which makes it easy to work on your documents from anywhere. Two subscription levels are available. Note: you must reside in North America to purchase an Acrobat . com subscription; a valid address is required as part of the checkout process.

Acrobat Premium Plus: Use web conferencing to share your screen and host a meeting for up to 20 participants. Share large files without worrying about e-mail restrictions. Access your files, up to 5GB, from anywhere at any time. And easily create an unlimited number of PDFs. Online word processing is also included which makes it easy to work with others on the same document without the hassle of swapping e-mail attachments. Works with PCs and Macs. No download necessary; just purchase your subscription and start working with others online – right now. Note: you must reside in North America to purchase an Acrobat . com subscription; a valid address is required as part of the checkout process.

I have special rates for other Adobe products, too:

]]> Adobe Acrobat.com Web Service Coupons is a post from Chris Pirillo

Adobe is now offering Web services – and for a limited time, you can get them at a discounted rate.

Acrobat Basic: Use web conferencing to share your screen and host a meeting for up to five participants. Share and store your files online (up to 5GB) with a unique URL that never changes. Easily convert up to ten files to PDF per month. Online word processing is also included which makes it easy to work on your documents from anywhere. Two subscription levels are available. Note: you must reside in North America to purchase an Acrobat . com subscription; a valid address is required as part of the checkout process.

Acrobat Premium Plus: Use web conferencing to share your screen and host a meeting for up to 20 participants. Share large files without worrying about e-mail restrictions. Access your files, up to 5GB, from anywhere at any time. And easily create an unlimited number of PDFs. Online word processing is also included which makes it easy to work with others on the same document without the hassle of swapping e-mail attachments. Works with PCs and Macs. No download necessary; just purchase your subscription and start working with others online – right now. Note: you must reside in North America to purchase an Acrobat . com subscription; a valid address is required as part of the checkout process.

I have special rates for other Adobe products, too:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/adobe-acrobatcom-web-service-coupons/feed/ 0 How to Edit PDFs for Free Online http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-edit-pdfs-for-free-online/ http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-edit-pdfs-for-free-online/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:22:02 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=12710 How to Edit PDFs for Free Online is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Editing PDFs is a PITA. You have to find a program that allows you to scan them in, attempt to edit them, save them to your documents, and hopefully turn out the way you need them to. Luckily, there’s a free online service that does the work for you!

PDFVue allows you to upload (or link to) your PDF, and you can easily edit it… and even add annotations. When you load the site, it will throw in a sample PDF for you to play around with. Practice using each of the various tools, so that you are ready to edit your own document when you’re ready. With PDFVue you can upload any document from any computer without having to have expensive client software. Once you’ve made your changes you can simply download the updated PDF or share the secure PDFVue link.

There are tons of options. You can add annotations, as I mentioned. You can also add links and dates, change the font and color, or add a sticky note! Save your PDF, or email it to coworkers! It’s exceedingly simple to use, and there’s nothing to sign up for or download. Heck, it’s even free!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> How to Edit PDFs for Free Online is a post from Chris Pirillo


Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

Editing PDFs is a PITA. You have to find a program that allows you to scan them in, attempt to edit them, save them to your documents, and hopefully turn out the way you need them to. Luckily, there’s a free online service that does the work for you!

PDFVue allows you to upload (or link to) your PDF, and you can easily edit it… and even add annotations. When you load the site, it will throw in a sample PDF for you to play around with. Practice using each of the various tools, so that you are ready to edit your own document when you’re ready. With PDFVue you can upload any document from any computer without having to have expensive client software. Once you’ve made your changes you can simply download the updated PDF or share the secure PDFVue link.

There are tons of options. You can add annotations, as I mentioned. You can also add links and dates, change the font and color, or add a sticky note! Save your PDF, or email it to coworkers! It’s exceedingly simple to use, and there’s nothing to sign up for or download. Heck, it’s even free!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-edit-pdfs-for-free-online/feed/ 0 How to Convert PDF Files http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-convert-pdf-files/ http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-convert-pdf-files/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:33:27 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=12601 How to Convert PDF Files is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Oh, PDF you are so beautiful there in my viewer, but I cannot edit you! I have to convert you somehow to a format that I can edit. Or I can head over to a new website that I came across last night! On Convert PDF to Word, I don’t have to sign up for anything – and I don’t have to pay anything, either!

It’s quite simple, really. Just browse to your PDF file, and open it. Then click the “convert and download” button. And uhm… you’re done. Seriously! No, I mean it! It’s done for you!

There are a few other conversion services available on this website, as well. You’ll find:

  • PDF to Word
  • PDF to Text
  • PDF to Image
  • PDF to HTML
  • Text to PDF

All of them are simple to use, and absolutely free. The next time you need to edit a PDF, just head over to Convert PDF to Word. Within moments, you’ll have a text file that you can work with. Things like this just make our lives simpler, and make me happy.

Let me know of other cool and free services you find that help people get things done.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> How to Convert PDF Files is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Oh, PDF you are so beautiful there in my viewer, but I cannot edit you! I have to convert you somehow to a format that I can edit. Or I can head over to a new website that I came across last night! On Convert PDF to Word, I don’t have to sign up for anything – and I don’t have to pay anything, either!

It’s quite simple, really. Just browse to your PDF file, and open it. Then click the “convert and download” button. And uhm… you’re done. Seriously! No, I mean it! It’s done for you!

There are a few other conversion services available on this website, as well. You’ll find:

  • PDF to Word
  • PDF to Text
  • PDF to Image
  • PDF to HTML
  • Text to PDF

All of them are simple to use, and absolutely free. The next time you need to edit a PDF, just head over to Convert PDF to Word. Within moments, you’ll have a text file that you can work with. Things like this just make our lives simpler, and make me happy.

Let me know of other cool and free services you find that help people get things done.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-convert-pdf-files/feed/ 7 Where Do You Find Manuals? http://chris.pirillo.com/where-do-you-find-manuals/ http://chris.pirillo.com/where-do-you-find-manuals/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:41:34 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=12558 Where Do You Find Manuals? is a post from Chris Pirillo


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You’ve probably hit the frustration when needing to find information about hardware or software. You reach for the manual, only to not be able to find what you need. You just can’t find things easily. They lead to nothing but frustration many times.

Take, in comparison, a PDF. You can do a quick search and find what you’re looking for. Electronic manuals are the way to go. You can read them on your phone, or on your desktop. Online help isn’t intuitative, no. You have to know what you’re looking for in order to find it.

So where can you find these electronic manuals? OwnerIQ helps you locate user manuals, how-to guides, installation instructions, and tutorials from thousands of manufacturers and hundreds of thousands of products.

Registration is completely free. Once you sign up, create an inventory of your manuals, based on products you own. You’ll have detailed information about your possessions stored for you on the site. If and when there are updates, recalls, or other information released about your products, you will receive an email to alert you.

OwnerIQ also has a community within their site. You and other owners can learn from each other by discussing problems, giving each other tips, and exchanging documentation. Exchange of information can help all of us to get the most out of the products we own.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> Where Do You Find Manuals? is a post from Chris Pirillo


Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

You’ve probably hit the frustration when needing to find information about hardware or software. You reach for the manual, only to not be able to find what you need. You just can’t find things easily. They lead to nothing but frustration many times.

Take, in comparison, a PDF. You can do a quick search and find what you’re looking for. Electronic manuals are the way to go. You can read them on your phone, or on your desktop. Online help isn’t intuitative, no. You have to know what you’re looking for in order to find it.

So where can you find these electronic manuals? OwnerIQ helps you locate user manuals, how-to guides, installation instructions, and tutorials from thousands of manufacturers and hundreds of thousands of products.

Registration is completely free. Once you sign up, create an inventory of your manuals, based on products you own. You’ll have detailed information about your possessions stored for you on the site. If and when there are updates, recalls, or other information released about your products, you will receive an email to alert you.

OwnerIQ also has a community within their site. You and other owners can learn from each other by discussing problems, giving each other tips, and exchanging documentation. Exchange of information can help all of us to get the most out of the products we own.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/where-do-you-find-manuals/feed/ 9 How to Merge PDF Files for Free http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-merge-pdf-files-for-free/ http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-merge-pdf-files-for-free/#comments Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:35:49 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=12368 How to Merge PDF Files for Free is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Yes, you likely have PDFs scattered across your hard drive. What do you do when you want to merge one PDF with another? Unless you buy expensive software, it’s impossible – unless you use MergePDF. This service enables you to combine multiple PDF documents into a single one, free of charge.

You can easily merge up to ten separate PDF documents into one new one. Select the files you want to merge, using the “Pick Files” button, and then click the “Merge PDF!” button. The service does the work for you. The only caveat is that individual file size has to be less than 5MB. Additionally, the site creators are very security conscious:

Although this service is free, we take security of data very seriously. The uploaded files and the resulting files (the merged ones) are removed after they have been downloaded. The only thing that is not safe in itself is the data transfer as we are not transferring through SSL.

So if you need to combine several PDF documents into one new one, be sure to check out the free MergePDF service. This is another service that you’ll soon wonder how you ever managed without it!

FirstRSS+ThunderIT AWS HMAC ERROR: "http://xml-us.amznxslt.com/onca/xml?AWSAccessKeyId=05G128QTRXN0J06J6PG2&ContentType=text%2Fxml&Keywords=PDF&Operation=ItemSearch&ResponseGroup=Large&SearchIndex=Blended&Service=AWSECommerceService&Signature=UycaHE7%2FmqsGTUegHPF5iKGJEnkkoR9446vQbeHnra4%3D&Style=http%3A%2F%2Ftagjag.com%2Fcss%2Famazon.xslt&Timestamp=2009-11-22T09%3A23%3A33Z&Version=2005-07-26" NOT FOUND!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> How to Merge PDF Files for Free is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Yes, you likely have PDFs scattered across your hard drive. What do you do when you want to merge one PDF with another? Unless you buy expensive software, it’s impossible – unless you use MergePDF. This service enables you to combine multiple PDF documents into a single one, free of charge.

You can easily merge up to ten separate PDF documents into one new one. Select the files you want to merge, using the “Pick Files” button, and then click the “Merge PDF!” button. The service does the work for you. The only caveat is that individual file size has to be less than 5MB. Additionally, the site creators are very security conscious:

Although this service is free, we take security of data very seriously. The uploaded files and the resulting files (the merged ones) are removed after they have been downloaded. The only thing that is not safe in itself is the data transfer as we are not transferring through SSL.

So if you need to combine several PDF documents into one new one, be sure to check out the free MergePDF service. This is another service that you’ll soon wonder how you ever managed without it!

FirstRSS+ThunderIT AWS HMAC ERROR: "http://xml-us.amznxslt.com/onca/xml?AWSAccessKeyId=05G128QTRXN0J06J6PG2&ContentType=text%2Fxml&Keywords=PDF&Operation=ItemSearch&ResponseGroup=Large&SearchIndex=Blended&Service=AWSECommerceService&Signature=6cFP%2F%2BANXRJ7ogzTXQhTO%2BDz6oiUHuN5rRaWzgZ1ShE%3D&Style=http%3A%2F%2Ftagjag.com%2Fcss%2Famazon.xslt&Timestamp=2009-11-22T09%3A23%3A35Z&Version=2005-07-26" NOT FOUND!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/how-to-merge-pdf-files-for-free/feed/ 13 Nuance Software Coupons http://chris.pirillo.com/nuance-software-coupons/ http://chris.pirillo.com/nuance-software-coupons/#comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:55:48 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=9741 Nuance Software Coupons is a post from Chris Pirillo

Nuance is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world.

Find More Coupons

]]> Nuance Software Coupons is a post from Chris Pirillo

Nuance is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world.

Find More Coupons

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/nuance-software-coupons/feed/ 0 Do you Want to Create PDFs from Firefox for Free? http://chris.pirillo.com/do-you-want-to-create-pdfs-from-firefox-for-free/ http://chris.pirillo.com/do-you-want-to-create-pdfs-from-firefox-for-free/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:00:13 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=7600 Do you Want to Create PDFs from Firefox for Free? is a post from Chris Pirillo


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Just today, the PDF became an official ISO standard. You’ll see PDFs show up in a lot more places. It will be the document format to beat, basically. I happen to have stumbled across an invitation-only Beta earlier for a new Firefox plugin… to make PDFs. If Firefox were my default browser on Windows, I’d definitely be using this.

PDF Download will add an icon to Firefox in Windows. By clicking that icon while on any web page, it will save the page out as a PDF for you. It’s that easy.

PDF Download by Nitro PDF Software lets you regain control over PDF files in Firefox. When you click on a PDF file, PDF Download lets you know, can tell you how big it is, and can then give you the choice to open, download, or convert it to HTML. The add-on for Firefox lets you decide what to do with the PDF files you click on and customize and automate how they should be handled.

The beauty of the PDF is that if someone creates it, it will retain the same layout no matter what computer or operating system it is opened on. Most manuals you can download from the Internet are in PDF format for just this reason. If you create something in Microsoft Word and try to open it on your Mac… yeah. You know what I’m talking about. The PDF format is just much easier to manage and use.

If you know of any other Firefox extensions or PDF tools that you’d like to pass along, let me know! I’m always happy to share new things with the rest of the world.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> Do you Want to Create PDFs from Firefox for Free? is a post from Chris Pirillo


Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

Just today, the PDF became an official ISO standard. You’ll see PDFs show up in a lot more places. It will be the document format to beat, basically. I happen to have stumbled across an invitation-only Beta earlier for a new Firefox plugin… to make PDFs. If Firefox were my default browser on Windows, I’d definitely be using this.

PDF Download will add an icon to Firefox in Windows. By clicking that icon while on any web page, it will save the page out as a PDF for you. It’s that easy.

PDF Download by Nitro PDF Software lets you regain control over PDF files in Firefox. When you click on a PDF file, PDF Download lets you know, can tell you how big it is, and can then give you the choice to open, download, or convert it to HTML. The add-on for Firefox lets you decide what to do with the PDF files you click on and customize and automate how they should be handled.

The beauty of the PDF is that if someone creates it, it will retain the same layout no matter what computer or operating system it is opened on. Most manuals you can download from the Internet are in PDF format for just this reason. If you create something in Microsoft Word and try to open it on your Mac… yeah. You know what I’m talking about. The PDF format is just much easier to manage and use.

If you know of any other Firefox extensions or PDF tools that you’d like to pass along, let me know! I’m always happy to share new things with the rest of the world.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/do-you-want-to-create-pdfs-from-firefox-for-free/feed/ 15 PDF is an ISO Standard http://chris.pirillo.com/pdf-is-an-iso-standard/ http://chris.pirillo.com/pdf-is-an-iso-standard/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:16:07 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=7568 PDF is an ISO Standard is a post from Chris Pirillo

I was up and about at 5am today (don’t ask), and I just so happened to catch a short email in my inbox:

The Portable Document Format (PDF), undeniably one of the most commonly used formats for electronic documents, is now accessible as an ISO International Standard – ISO 32000-1. This move follows a decision by Adobe Systems Incorporated, original developer and copyright owner of the format, to relinquish control to ISO, who is now in charge of publishing the specifications for the current version (1.7) and for updating and developing future versions.

Here’s the abstract:

ISO 32000-1:2008 specifies a digital form for representing electronic documents to enable users to exchange and view electronic documents independent of the environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed. It is intended for the developer of software that creates PDF files (conforming writers), software that reads existing PDF files and interprets their contents for display and interaction (conforming readers) and PDF products that read and/or write PDF files for a variety of other purposes (conforming products).

And what my friends had to say about it:

This is a really strong move for Adobe and for those of us who use PDF constantly. – Blake Robinson via Alert Thingy

Perhaps has something to do with Microsoft opening up their doc specs? – Kenneth Younger

will adobe reader be even slower now? i hope foxit will still work with the flash-enabled pdfs. – mike

mike: the new Adobe Reader coming out is dramatically faster. – Robert Scoble

robert: phew! maybe i can venture back to using it after my tryst with foxit. – mike

this has *nothing* to do with Microsoft… And this isn't really "news", it's just the ISO officialization of what we already knew since December: http://arstechnica.com/news.ar… – Marcos Marado

It's a great document format, even though their own reader sucks, thank god for Apple's Preview. – Gerard van Schip

Finally. The whole industry-standard status was kind of weird since everyone treated it like a standard for years now anyway – Horst Gutmann

At the end of the day, this is good news for consumers; standards are always good news for us. I don’t really see a need to install Adobe Reader 9 on my Mac desktop – even though I just installed 9.0 on Ponzi’s Vista desktop yesterday afternoon; I’ll be content with Mac OS X’s built-in support for PDF. When I want to do a bit more with my PDFs, I’ll use Skim. Here’s to hoping that Flash (SWF, FLV) becomes the next ISO standard!

]]> PDF is an ISO Standard is a post from Chris Pirillo

I was up and about at 5am today (don’t ask), and I just so happened to catch a short email in my inbox:

The Portable Document Format (PDF), undeniably one of the most commonly used formats for electronic documents, is now accessible as an ISO International Standard – ISO 32000-1. This move follows a decision by Adobe Systems Incorporated, original developer and copyright owner of the format, to relinquish control to ISO, who is now in charge of publishing the specifications for the current version (1.7) and for updating and developing future versions.

Here’s the abstract:

ISO 32000-1:2008 specifies a digital form for representing electronic documents to enable users to exchange and view electronic documents independent of the environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed. It is intended for the developer of software that creates PDF files (conforming writers), software that reads existing PDF files and interprets their contents for display and interaction (conforming readers) and PDF products that read and/or write PDF files for a variety of other purposes (conforming products).

And what my friends had to say about it:

This is a really strong move for Adobe and for those of us who use PDF constantly. – Blake Robinson via Alert Thingy

Perhaps has something to do with Microsoft opening up their doc specs? – Kenneth Younger

will adobe reader be even slower now? i hope foxit will still work with the flash-enabled pdfs. – mike

mike: the new Adobe Reader coming out is dramatically faster. – Robert Scoble

robert: phew! maybe i can venture back to using it after my tryst with foxit. – mike

this has *nothing* to do with Microsoft… And this isn't really "news", it's just the ISO officialization of what we already knew since December: http://arstechnica.com/news.ar… – Marcos Marado

It's a great document format, even though their own reader sucks, thank god for Apple's Preview. – Gerard van Schip

Finally. The whole industry-standard status was kind of weird since everyone treated it like a standard for years now anyway – Horst Gutmann

At the end of the day, this is good news for consumers; standards are always good news for us. I don’t really see a need to install Adobe Reader 9 on my Mac desktop – even though I just installed 9.0 on Ponzi’s Vista desktop yesterday afternoon; I’ll be content with Mac OS X’s built-in support for PDF. When I want to do a bit more with my PDFs, I’ll use Skim. Here’s to hoping that Flash (SWF, FLV) becomes the next ISO standard!

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/pdf-is-an-iso-standard/feed/ 11 How Not to Send an Email http://chris.pirillo.com/how-not-to-send-an-email/ http://chris.pirillo.com/how-not-to-send-an-email/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:21:09 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/how-not-to-send-an-email/ How Not to Send an Email is a post from Chris Pirillo

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One of our viewers sent the following to me: “5 ways to make your e-mails more interesting and fun for all. I don’t know if such a list has already been sent to you, but in any case here are my views that I am sure you can mix with other peoples views to make a super-list.”

  • When sending to more than one person, ALWAYS use the Bcc: field. For those of you who don’t know, Bcc means Blind Carbon Copy, and what it does is it hides everyone’s e-mail address from one another, which is great if so-and-so #1 within your group of friends doesn’t necessarily want so-and-so #2 to know their e-mail address. Another advantage is the less e-mail addresses that can be seen, the less risk there is for them to be picked up by automatic spammers. And when that happens, we all lose.
  • Instead of sending videos as attachments, just send the video’s link on the web. Before the days of video hosting sites (like Youtube), it was common for people to manually send around videos of all kinds of stuff. Now this is not necessary, just send the link for people to click on. This is much easier for all and for various reasons. For one, your friends may only have Internet access at school (or work) and many times multi-Mb downloads are restricted. Aside from that, the computers may not have media players of any kind installed to watch such videos. However, it is very common for these computers to have their internet browsers updated so video watching via links shouldn’t be a problem. So forget the clunky attachments and just “link” it!
  • What is with all the Powerpoint presentations? Do I really HAVE to download these onto my computer to open them, only to see they are a complete waste of my time? Luckily some e-mail providers (like Gmail) allow you to open these within the browser to scan quickly through them. However many don’t, and the problems of point # 2 show up again. And boy am I tired of receiving the same “.pps” files over and over again with their smiling cats and pretty landscapes and moral whatnot. Who makes these? I have the feeling they are the same presentations since de mid-90’s, endlessly circulating from e-mail address to e-mail address in a vast circle of life, only instead of life, it’s a circle of WASTE MY TIME.
  • Urban E-mail Myths or UEM’s. If you get anything in your Inbox that seems too scary/unbelievable to be true, THAT’S BECAUSE IT PROBABLY ISN’T TRUE AT ALL. Nokia is NOT handing out cell phones, Microsoft is NOT paying anyone to receive forwarded messages and there isn’t an Indian girl with only two legs that needs an Elephant Tusk transplant. Of the few times I actually read these kinds of e-mails, it usually takes no more than 10 seconds to find out through any search engine that it is all a blatant HOAX (UEM). So, if you want your friends to believe you when you open your mouth, DON’T FORWARD ANYTHING without finding out for yourself whether or not it is true. And no, you’re not off the hook when you start your HOAX FORWARD with “I don’t know if this is true but I am letting you know anyway…”. When in doubt, DELETE THE MESSAGE, don’t send us trash in the form of Urban E-mail Myths!
  • Keep your e-mails short. Studies show the average Internet user spends about 4 (four) seconds on any given page. Our attention spans are getting dim… also we have so much other great stuff to do on-line, it just isn’t fair to take up everyone’s time with really long e-mails. Here’s a rule of thumb: If it was too long to read yourself before sending, it will be too long for others to read after sending. Short lists of content are OK, as is the occasional joke, but never a string of jokes… strings just aren’t funny. If it’s an interesting news story you want others to know about, just send the link to the story and maybe give your own (short) opinion. If you send the whole story in the e-mail… remember what I said lasted about 4 seconds? Right.. that’s the time people take before they mark your boring long e-mail as “read”. So, just send the link and one or two words, and let them be interested in reading the rest (or not).

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> How Not to Send an Email is a post from Chris Pirillo

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One of our viewers sent the following to me: “5 ways to make your e-mails more interesting and fun for all. I don’t know if such a list has already been sent to you, but in any case here are my views that I am sure you can mix with other peoples views to make a super-list.”

  • When sending to more than one person, ALWAYS use the Bcc: field. For those of you who don’t know, Bcc means Blind Carbon Copy, and what it does is it hides everyone’s e-mail address from one another, which is great if so-and-so #1 within your group of friends doesn’t necessarily want so-and-so #2 to know their e-mail address. Another advantage is the less e-mail addresses that can be seen, the less risk there is for them to be picked up by automatic spammers. And when that happens, we all lose.
  • Instead of sending videos as attachments, just send the video’s link on the web. Before the days of video hosting sites (like Youtube), it was common for people to manually send around videos of all kinds of stuff. Now this is not necessary, just send the link for people to click on. This is much easier for all and for various reasons. For one, your friends may only have Internet access at school (or work) and many times multi-Mb downloads are restricted. Aside from that, the computers may not have media players of any kind installed to watch such videos. However, it is very common for these computers to have their internet browsers updated so video watching via links shouldn’t be a problem. So forget the clunky attachments and just “link” it!
  • What is with all the Powerpoint presentations? Do I really HAVE to download these onto my computer to open them, only to see they are a complete waste of my time? Luckily some e-mail providers (like Gmail) allow you to open these within the browser to scan quickly through them. However many don’t, and the problems of point # 2 show up again. And boy am I tired of receiving the same “.pps” files over and over again with their smiling cats and pretty landscapes and moral whatnot. Who makes these? I have the feeling they are the same presentations since de mid-90’s, endlessly circulating from e-mail address to e-mail address in a vast circle of life, only instead of life, it’s a circle of WASTE MY TIME.
  • Urban E-mail Myths or UEM’s. If you get anything in your Inbox that seems too scary/unbelievable to be true, THAT’S BECAUSE IT PROBABLY ISN’T TRUE AT ALL. Nokia is NOT handing out cell phones, Microsoft is NOT paying anyone to receive forwarded messages and there isn’t an Indian girl with only two legs that needs an Elephant Tusk transplant. Of the few times I actually read these kinds of e-mails, it usually takes no more than 10 seconds to find out through any search engine that it is all a blatant HOAX (UEM). So, if you want your friends to believe you when you open your mouth, DON’T FORWARD ANYTHING without finding out for yourself whether or not it is true. And no, you’re not off the hook when you start your HOAX FORWARD with “I don’t know if this is true but I am letting you know anyway…”. When in doubt, DELETE THE MESSAGE, don’t send us trash in the form of Urban E-mail Myths!
  • Keep your e-mails short. Studies show the average Internet user spends about 4 (four) seconds on any given page. Our attention spans are getting dim… also we have so much other great stuff to do on-line, it just isn’t fair to take up everyone’s time with really long e-mails. Here’s a rule of thumb: If it was too long to read yourself before sending, it will be too long for others to read after sending. Short lists of content are OK, as is the occasional joke, but never a string of jokes… strings just aren’t funny. If it’s an interesting news story you want others to know about, just send the link to the story and maybe give your own (short) opinion. If you send the whole story in the e-mail… remember what I said lasted about 4 seconds? Right.. that’s the time people take before they mark your boring long e-mail as “read”. So, just send the link and one or two words, and let them be interested in reading the rest (or not).

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/how-not-to-send-an-email/feed/ 35 What is a PDF? http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-a-pdf/ http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-a-pdf/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:11:03 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/11/08/what-is-a-pdf/ What is a PDF? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Saving a document in this format ensures that it will look the same when viewed on another computer as it did on the original computer when created. It will also have a MUCH smaller file size, hence the “portable” part of the name. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a device-independent and display resolution-independent fixed-layout document format. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a 2-D document (and, with Acrobat 3-D, embedded 3-D documents) that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2-D vector graphics that compose the document.

If you want to view a .pdf file, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, or even the Foxit Reader. Of course, the free versions of both of these programs will only allow you to read the document, not edit or create a .pdf of your own. For that, you will need full paid versions. Also, for a Mac user, there is a .pdf viewer built right in, so you don’t have to download anything at all!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> What is a PDF? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Saving a document in this format ensures that it will look the same when viewed on another computer as it did on the original computer when created. It will also have a MUCH smaller file size, hence the “portable” part of the name. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a device-independent and display resolution-independent fixed-layout document format. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a 2-D document (and, with Acrobat 3-D, embedded 3-D documents) that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2-D vector graphics that compose the document.

If you want to view a .pdf file, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, or even the Foxit Reader. Of course, the free versions of both of these programs will only allow you to read the document, not edit or create a .pdf of your own. For that, you will need full paid versions. Also, for a Mac user, there is a .pdf viewer built right in, so you don’t have to download anything at all!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/what-is-a-pdf/feed/ 29 Tweaking Acrobat PDF Adobe Reader http://chris.pirillo.com/tweaking-acrobat-pdf-adobe-reader/ http://chris.pirillo.com/tweaking-acrobat-pdf-adobe-reader/#comments Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:06:23 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/10/08/tweaking-acrobat-pdf-adobe-reader/ Tweaking Acrobat PDF Adobe Reader is a post from Chris Pirillo


Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Almost every computer has a .pdf reader on them these days. Lately I’ve been having trouble with Adobe Reader not printing my .pdf documents properly, and I had to do a lot of investigating as to how to fix it.

Three of my friends joined me for this discussion: Kat, SC_Thor, and Wirelesspacket.

Every time I would try to print a PDF document, the text would come out all gobbledy looking. Nothing would line up where it should, and it was just a bunch of garbage. I wasted a lot of time and paper before finally finding the answer. In Adobe Reader, go to the print dialogue, and click the Advanced button. Once there, put a check mark into the box next to where it says print as image. This will make all your text and everything print onto paper exactly as it appears on the screen.

Another good PDF reader is the free Foxit reader. It’s a viewer and printer for PDF’s, very small in file size, and works faster than the Adobe counterpart.

You can find a huge list of different types of PDF reader and converting programs on Wikipedia. Here you’ll see everything from open source, to Proprietary programs. There are recommendations for absolutely every platform you might be running on your computer, as well.

Want to embed this Tweaking Acrobat PDF Adobe Reader video in your blog? Use this code:

Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) Flash Video (.flv) MP3 Audio (.mp3)

]]> Tweaking Acrobat PDF Adobe Reader is a post from Chris Pirillo


Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Almost every computer has a .pdf reader on them these days. Lately I’ve been having trouble with Adobe Reader not printing my .pdf documents properly, and I had to do a lot of investigating as to how to fix it.

Three of my friends joined me for this discussion: Kat, SC_Thor, and Wirelesspacket.

Every time I would try to print a PDF document, the text would come out all gobbledy looking. Nothing would line up where it should, and it was just a bunch of garbage. I wasted a lot of time and paper before finally finding the answer. In Adobe Reader, go to the print dialogue, and click the Advanced button. Once there, put a check mark into the box next to where it says print as image. This will make all your text and everything print onto paper exactly as it appears on the screen.

Another good PDF reader is the free Foxit reader. It’s a viewer and printer for PDF’s, very small in file size, and works faster than the Adobe counterpart.

You can find a huge list of different types of PDF reader and converting programs on Wikipedia. Here you’ll see everything from open source, to Proprietary programs. There are recommendations for absolutely every platform you might be running on your computer, as well.

Want to embed this Tweaking Acrobat PDF Adobe Reader video in your blog? Use this code:

Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) Flash Video (.flv) MP3 Audio (.mp3)

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/tweaking-acrobat-pdf-adobe-reader/feed/ 6 Free eBook Novel http://chris.pirillo.com/free-ebook-novel/ http://chris.pirillo.com/free-ebook-novel/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2006 04:05:34 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/08/13/free-ebook-novel/ Free eBook Novel is a post from Chris Pirillo

I think Jake’s talking about arranging an eBook sale at some point in the near future. Until then, this offer will have to tide you word lovers over:

I’ve been a follower of Lockergnome for several years now, going back to when it was the single newsletter. I’m amazed at how you guys can still crank out quality info every day. I love it! I work in IT at a relatively low-end job, but it puts clothes on the kids, food on the table, and a roof over our heads. Best of all, I work nights and get to spend the days with the kids (sleep is something thats missing though). Along with technology and the kids, my real passion is writing (and reading). I’ve written one novel and I’m working on a second. I went the self publishing route using LuLu.com. I’m really happy with them; the books look great. My only two wishes are for an editor and marketing guru. What i’d like to do, if you are so inclined, is to offer the first twenty Gnomies to email me (gnomie @ jasontjohnson.com) the PDF for free. If you want to check it out first, I have the JasonTJohnson.com!”>prologue and first few chapters online.

Well, a free eBook is certainly better than no eBook at all. If only I wasn’t behind on my reading materials. Everybody, could you please not publish anything new this week? Thanks. I ‘preciate it.

]]> Free eBook Novel is a post from Chris Pirillo

I think Jake’s talking about arranging an eBook sale at some point in the near future. Until then, this offer will have to tide you word lovers over:

I’ve been a follower of Lockergnome for several years now, going back to when it was the single newsletter. I’m amazed at how you guys can still crank out quality info every day. I love it! I work in IT at a relatively low-end job, but it puts clothes on the kids, food on the table, and a roof over our heads. Best of all, I work nights and get to spend the days with the kids (sleep is something thats missing though). Along with technology and the kids, my real passion is writing (and reading). I’ve written one novel and I’m working on a second. I went the self publishing route using LuLu.com. I’m really happy with them; the books look great. My only two wishes are for an editor and marketing guru. What i’d like to do, if you are so inclined, is to offer the first twenty Gnomies to email me (gnomie @ jasontjohnson.com) the PDF for free. If you want to check it out first, I have the JasonTJohnson.com!”>prologue and first few chapters online.

Well, a free eBook is certainly better than no eBook at all. If only I wasn’t behind on my reading materials. Everybody, could you please not publish anything new this week? Thanks. I ‘preciate it.

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/free-ebook-novel/feed/ 2 Free Cheat Sheets http://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/ http://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/#comments Mon, 29 May 2006 21:57:50 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/05/29/free-cheat-sheets/ Free Cheat Sheets is a post from Chris Pirillo

After you’ve finished watching Darth Vader Calling the Emperor, you should probably find something a bit more constructive to do. Spurred on by Sean’s linking to a couple of WordPress cheat sheets (API, Theme), I went looking for some of my favorite cheat sheet authors to see if any had been updated – or new ones added. I found a wealth of great desktop-based cheat sheets. The Cheat Sheets from ‘ILoveJackDaniels’ are simply amazing, and their design is definitely the one to beat. The Quick Reference Cards page has links to a few good ones, largely for the geekier development types. The Google Cheat Sheet PDF is a must-have, even if you already think you know your way around Google. Cheat Sheets are great when you need a one- or two-page reference (and digging through a manual or help file is just too arduous a task).

]]> Free Cheat Sheets is a post from Chris Pirillo

After you’ve finished watching Darth Vader Calling the Emperor, you should probably find something a bit more constructive to do. Spurred on by Sean’s linking to a couple of WordPress cheat sheets (API, Theme), I went looking for some of my favorite cheat sheet authors to see if any had been updated – or new ones added. I found a wealth of great desktop-based cheat sheets. The Cheat Sheets from ‘ILoveJackDaniels’ are simply amazing, and their design is definitely the one to beat. The Quick Reference Cards page has links to a few good ones, largely for the geekier development types. The Google Cheat Sheet PDF is a must-have, even if you already think you know your way around Google. Cheat Sheets are great when you need a one- or two-page reference (and digging through a manual or help file is just too arduous a task).

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/feed/ 2 How to Handle Remote Tech Support <em>Using <a href="http://www.gotoassist.com/chris">GoToAssist</a> is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party. </em> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT http://gotoassist.com/chris/ http://gotoassist.com/chris/ Network Tools for Windows You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">SolarWinds ipMonitor</a>: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">Download your free trial today</a>. Or, try their <a href="http://www.solarwinds.com/products/freetools/">totally free tools</a>! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase <a href="http://store.solarwinds.com/s.nl/sc.16/.f">ipMonitor 9.0</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome Get Your Own Web Site Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">GoDaddy</a> includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">code CP2</a> at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order. <p>Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">CHRIS7</a>, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">GoDaddy.com</a>.</p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a> or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> and/or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ Coupons for Online Shopping <p style="color: red">This feed is fueled by Lockergnome <a href="http://www.lockergnome.com/buy/">Online Shopping and Coupon Codes</a></p> <p> Before you shop next time, see if we have <a href="http://coupons.lockergnome.com/">a coupon</a> first. </p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT http://coupons.lockergnome.com/ http://coupons.lockergnome.com/