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Switched Download: Foxit PDF Reader

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 9th 2008 at 11:46AMFeatured Story

Switched Dowload: Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit PDF Reader

What it does:

Foxit is a replacement for that unfortunate staple of every computer user's life: Adobe Reader. Foxit reads and even edits PDFs -- those files that look exactly like original documents -- without the slowdown and crashes associated with Adobe's product.

What we like about it:

Foxit is about as close to perfect as a piece software can get: it opens and operates faster than Adobe's Reader, uses much less RAM, and packs more features into a download about a tenth the size.

In addition to reading PDFs, Foxit can perform basic editing tasks and lets you add notes to documents -- features Adobe charges several hundred dollars for in its Acrobat platform. Foxit even has some features that Adobe's professional application lacks, such as tabs for opening several PDFs in one window, and support for multimedia so you can actually play back audio and video in multimedia e-books.

What we don't like:

Our only problem with Foxit is that the latest versions are Windows-only. Mac and Linux users need love too.

Bottom line:

The existence of the fast, stable, and user-friendly Foxit makes you wonder why anyone would continue to use Adobe's bloated, crash-prone program. Get Foxit now and clicking links to PDF files will no longer prompt panic and cursing.

Download Foxit PDF Reader

Hands-On With Adobe's New Free, Web-Based Photoshop Express

by Thomas Houston , posted Mar 27th 2008 at 5:05PM



Today, Adobe launched a beta version of Photoshop Express. Aimed at anyone who wants to do quick edits of pictures, this new flash-based version of Photoshop is totally free and runs right in your Web browser -- perfect for anyone who doesn't want to clog up their computer with a full program installation or drop hundreds of dollars on the regular version of Photoshop. The service also allows you to manage and share photo galleries with friends and family with at very own yourname.photoshop.com.

Photoshop Express gives you 2 gigabytes of online storage, and allows you to connect, edit and share your photos directly with Picasa, Photobucket and Facebook. We gave it a quick spin today and are impressed with the program's slick, clean, and easy-to-use interface, but this is definitely not a Photoshop replacement. While you can clean up your pictures and easily share them with friends, you won't be able to "photoshop" images like this.

That said, Express lets you make a range of basic photo edits -- red-eye correction, exposure changes, cropping and more -- that will be more than enough for most non-professional photographers. Also, we were impressed with the app's speed, especially considering the Web-based nature of the site. Ready to try it out? Sign up here.

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Adobe Flash Update May Bring HD to YouTube

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 7th 2007 at 3:15PM

Adobe Flash Update May Bring HD to YouTubeAdobe Flash Player just got a bit of an upgrade the other day, one affectionately known as 'Moviestar.' The third update to Flash 9 adds a couple of features that may not immediately mean that much to the average user -- support for the H.264 codec, AAC audio support, and hardware graphics acceleration.

So what does that mean for you, the web-video-obsessed public? It means a much greater quality video experience is on the way. Supporting H.264 (the same codec used by Quicktime) means that HD video in your browser is just around the corner. Imagine watching that great video of the skateboarding dog in 1080 lines of resolution. The hardware acceleration in the update also means that better quality video rendering and scaling to full screen will finally make it possible to watch YouTube videos not only in high-def, but also in full-screen high def. These features are even available in the Linux version, which is the first time Adobe has kept the Linux version of Flash current with the Windows and Mac versions.

The only problem is the current version of Flash CS3, the application used for building Flash based applications, players and sites, doesn't support the new features, and no time table for an update has been set by Adobe.

From BetaNews

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