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Adobe Acrobat Pro Software Review
Adobe Acrobat Pro Software Review
Kevin Bell, Romeo Bui, LLoyd Pan
In the fast paced digital world, the exchange of information is key to success.
Whether it be business related or educational, documents come and go on a daily
basis. Enter the Portable Document Format. We all know what a PDF is, we encounter
them all the time. But what are PDFs, why are they important, and how does Adobe
Acrobat Pro help us with all of this?
PDFs can help us do a number of things. Here are some of the main reasons
why PDFs have been welcomely adopted:
they are easy and fast to create
• they make securing important documents possible through password protection,
watermarking, and even encrypting data!
• they make viewing documents consistent across all systems
• they help compress large files
So how can Adobe Acrobat Pro help us do this and what does it have on the
competition? Letʼs take a look at the what Acrobat Pro has to offer and how well they do
it.
Features
Adobe Acrobat Pro is a complete PDF manipulation package, it does everything
including viewing, creating and editing PDFs. Hereʼs a look at some of the many listed
features for Acrobat Pro:
• viewing PDFs
• creating and manipulating PDFs
• import e-mails, word documents, and even HTML into PDF format
• scan physical documents in to PDFs
• this will even leave the text editable
• exporting PDFs into word documents, excel spread sheets and more
• creating forms, which others are able to fill out
• editing PDFs
• make corrections on documents already exported into PDF format
• editing the text of the documents
• moving elements of the page around
• allows user to import many different types of documents into on file type
• ie. creating a unified document composed of excel, word documents and any other document type
• manage files
• print documents
• add presenting and interactive components
• secure important documents
• password protection
• digital signatures help validate documents
Regardless of how many features a program has, if it doesnʼt present these features in
a user friendly manner, productivity is lost. In a world where time is invaluable, what
separates a good program from a mediocre one is its ability to keep the users working
efficiently. Letʼs break this down for Acrobat Pro
Strengths
Acrobat Pro is one of the most powerful pieces of software out there. It is the complete PDF package.
Adobe were the originators of the PDF format. They understand best how they should be used and what can be done with them.
Most used widgets for the average user are easily located on the menu bar making viewing easy.
Once features are located, most are intuitive to use.
Weaknesses
Too many features cloud and hide away a lot of key features.
There are many features, however, most users donʼt know many of these features. They are hard to come across and locate.
Locating features is difficult. At times users have to resort to outside sources to locate tools.
Many tools are not in the most intuitive locations.
Opportunities
Adobe is the developer. This is definitely a great opportunity to stay on top of manipulating PDFs.
Has a large potential market because it is an all in one package that does everything in the way of PDFs.
Large appeal to the business/ professional market because features included.
Threats
There are programs which do less but are easier to use.
There are many different programs on the market that deal with PDFs.
The cost of Acrobat Pro–you can find many programs which do less but are free. Users may be willing to give up some more complex features to save a few bucks.
Here are some of the programs competing with Acrobat Pro:
Google Docs is a free internet alternative to Acrobat Pro that allows users to create PDF Files with an interface very similar to Microsoft word, as well as view PDF files, but not edit them. Google docs works well with Gmail, as it will automatically open PDF attachments in Google docs. The downside to this program is that it is slow, however you don’t need to install a PDF file viewer onto your computer to use it.
Apple Preview is another free program that comes pre-installed with MacOSX. This programs is lightweight and allows the addition of notes to a PDF file. However you cannot edit PDFs with preview beyond highlighting text and adding annotations. This program is only for Mac. Foxit Reader, is yet another free alternative to Acrobat pro, this program has many features of other PDF viewers. However, if you want to use it to edit PDF files, create PDF files, or merge together PDF files, the program will cost $129 for the pro version. This program is only for Windows.
Conclusion
Adobe Acrobat Pro is the complete package when it comes to PDF manipulation. Although there are many other products on the market that attempt to do that same thing, nothing compares to the arsenal of features Acrobat Pro provides. This however does come with a trade off, with so many features available, some may be difficult to access and hard to find. But once located, they are simple and easy to use. If you are willing to pay the price tag, you really will get your moneys worth. If youʼre looking for full control over your PDF files for both professional and educational purposes, Acrobat Pro is the way to go.
Loading ...Google Docs Software Review
GOOGLE DOCS
software review
http://docs.google.com
by Geoff Thierman, Parker Busswood, and Can Tastemel
IDEAL USER
Google Docs is a cloud-based online office suite for people who need the functionality of traditional word processors, but don’t use one frequently enough or require the features list to justify a relatively expensive software package like Microsoft Office or Apple’s iWork. It also has functionality that allows multiple users to edit a document simultaneously in real-time, making it useful for collaborative work. It’s also a great suite for someone who travels a lot and may not necessarily have access to their desktop software and files. Files are stored online, so all you need to access your documents is an internet connection. Whether you’re traveling abroad, or simply to and from work, Google Docs makes it easy to access files without having to throw your documents on a USB key or burned DVD.
iChat vs. Skype – The Showdown
Check out our software review of iChat below:
- Kate, Llorin & Michelle
PBworks
Name: PBworks Review
Authors: Eugene Or, Johan Bos, Paige Whyman-McFadden
What is PBworks?
PBworks (called PeanutButterWiki at the time) was founded in 2005 by three Stanford University students. Within 48 hours of its launch, 1000 wikis were created. PBworks (PBW) is a powerful tool that hosts free collaborative wikis. It is currently the largest wiki farm in the world with over 200,000 wikis. PBW has many high-profile clients, including The UN, Harvard University, FedEx, DePaul University and the FDA.
What is a wiki?
Named after the “Wiki Wiki” bus line in Hawaii, a wiki is a collaborative tool. It is a document that can be edited by one or many users. The largest wiki on the Internet is Wikipedia which has nearly 3.5 million pages (just in English! 35 languages have over 100,000 pages). Typically a wiki is an article with a specific topic.
QuickTime 7 Pro
A software review by Jorgen Hookham, Davina Choy and Sarah Mansour.
Our review is very long. I suggest viewing it here, where there is a navigation menu so you can more easily pick out and read smaller chunks.
QuickTime Pro is the premium, paid version of QuickTime Player, a media player with a highly extendable framework that allows other applications to perform multimedia functions. Video, audio, still images, graphics, virtual reality movies – QT Pro can play, edit, and export them all! While many pieces of software focus on just one type of media, QT Pro functions as a general multimedia player and editor. As such, its capabilities are vast and wide. The core technology of QuickTime Player is an integral part of the Mac operating system. In conjunction with Quartz and Core, QuickTime Player makes up the Graphics and Media component of the Mac OSX. Covering the entirety of QT Pro is a herculean and task, and what’s more, may not be useful for the general reader interested in a brief overview. With our general reader in mind, this review acts as a guide, highlighting QT Pro’s most common and useful features while assessing its effectiveness.
TextEdit Software Review
Who Uses TextEdit?
TextEdit is a multifaceted software for many different types of users. It is commonly utlized by individuals who need to create or edit documents, write letters, or take notes. Because it has both rich text (formatting and editing text) and plain text capabilities, it is also able to write code including css, html, javascript, php. etc. Users of TextEdit are always Mac users as this program is specific to the Mac Operating System.
Benefits To The User
TextEdit replaced SimpleText as the default text editor built into all Apple computers. It has enough word processing capability to fullfill most editing / word processing needs including text and paragraph formatting and the inclusion of multimedia elements. By adding TextEdit as the default text editor, Apple has ensured that the user does not need to purchase additional software to support these important functions. Because TextEdit is light on the formatting and editing features compared with other word processing programs like Microsoft Word, it also uses a lot less CPU and RAM making it a fast and efficient application. › Continue reading
The Future of Journalism
Russell Smith at the Globe and Mail has written a completely spot-on (and hilarious) prediction of one possible future for journalism in the age of the social web. I laughed so hard I tweeted!
How To Become A Famous Blogger
Turns out it’s not that difficult!
http://www.weblogcartoons.com/2007/10/08/become-a-famous-blogger/
Twitter Best Practices
Obvious points
- It’s a new-media class on writing. So we should be writing for new media.
- Twitter is a new medium and, um, popular.
- Therefore, we should be learning Twitter writing.
In class on Tuesday, we talked about all kinds of social media and how they conform to the basic principles of writing for all channels: ie, that the writing must be clear, coherent, and suited to a specific audience. Then the students broke into groups (a painful process but I had Scotch tape handy) to work on a brief project.
Project
Capilano University’s Interactive Design program has engaged all 26 of you to come up with a social-networking media strategy. Steer the client toward Twitter as a channel for disseminating info on the program, come up with four categories of Tweets, and write five sample Tweets in your category. The attached photo sums up the four. Sample Tweets follow. I was impressed by how quickly they generated Tweets that were not only interesting and Retweetable, but that complemented each other in providing all different ways for our imaginary prospective student to get a feel for life in the Interactive Design program. Well done, all!
Sample Tweets
- The 2011 class just finished their 3-page website mockups. Check it out, it’s awesome! [LINK]
- Running around interviewing people on the street. Hear the funny things they have to say [LINK]
- Coding stuff in #Javascript & #Actionscript like the true nerds do.
- <head>for the brain</head> <body>for everything else</body>
- Arrive at school early for free street parking.
- Go to Starbucks before class or bring VIA.
- Hide all food consumption while in class.
- Don’t buy text books; use Google Books. http://books.google.com/books
- Aim to arrive early when taking the bus.
- Make good friends with Cathy.
- Finish assignments early or you’ll be sorry.
- Insure your laptop & software.
- John Burns’ class is da bomb.
- I’m having a super sick time at #capu #orientation day. Free food, prizes and games! Who knew school could be so fun!
- learned about Twitter today….and what NOT to say on here
- One day, I hope to work in an office that is this awesome: http://bit.ly/afB7j #vimeo
- Great example of how designing experiences can change behaviour: http://bit.ly/eQdkq
- School is stressful, kittens are not: http://bit.ly/7u6L5t
- About to start twittering for a class assignment. It’s a brave new world.
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