Converting files from Acrobat (.pdf) to Word; Back-country Internet

Sometimes you have a .pdf file and need access to the contents. While in many cases you can copy and paste bits, if you want an easier way to access the whole thing, check out http://pdfundo.net/convert/ for a free online pdf to Word converter.

Also, if you don't have easy access to high-speed internet because of where you live, you may want to check out http://lifehacker.com/5066868/how-do-you-get-broadband-in-the-boonies - lots of ideas presented in the comments section on how to get access in challenging areas.

Reference and Bibliography Manager

You may want to check out http://www.zotero.org/ for an open source reference and bibliography manager. It runs within FireFox and is attracting a LOT of attention, with quite a few people switching to it from Endnote and the like. It can easily be carried around on a jumpdrive, etc., and in fact, you can use a portable version of FireFox on your USB drive, install Zotero to that, and then use it anywhere. They're also beta-testing a sync solution which would allow you to backup and share your database between all your machines.

In my preliminary tests I'm quite impressed. I like its ability to grab online data (whether you're browsing Amazon or your library database) and inserting that info rather painlessly in your local "library" file. It does a number of things better than Endnote, and needs a bit of improvement on a few others. Since it's open source and has a strong and enthusiastic following, I'm confident those improvements will be coming. I haven't switched over entirely yet (I've only been using it since about 1am this morning...) but most likely will do so. Compared to $300 for Endnote ($200 academic, $100 each upgrade) or $100/year for an individual subscription to RefWorks, free is a great deal!

More Video Downloading, and File Distribution

If you've run into sites which don't work for some of the video download/capture methods I've posted, here's a new piece of software which might work - xVideoServiceThief. It's Open Source (which means it's free - you can use it freely, but can't take the software itself and sell it), works on PC, Linux, and Mac systems (!!), includes conversion capabilities and multiple downloads, will automatically update itself as new versions come out, and have I mentioned that it's free? The only caveat to mention is that this is alpha software, so it's still somewhat in the testing stage. However, it already does a lot of stuff really well, and should be marvelous by the time it's mature.

Also, a tip from Steve Mills via Mel Ming: YouSendIt is a site/service which allows you to send and receive large files, either one to one, one to many, or many to one. There's a free service, which allows files up to 100mb and caps both the total bandwidth used (1gb/month) and number of downloads per file (100), and numerous paid plans starting at about $10/month. The $10 plan allows much larger files (2gb), bandwidth (40gb), and downloads (500/file). For most of us I suspect the free plan will do nicely, and the $10/mth plan should take care of the rest.

More Free Stuff

Hard on the heels of last week's article, here's another article from ComputerWorld with more free software and some services.
One that intrigued me right on the first page is a service to which you can forward emails you get when you buy stuff on the web. They'll find the tracking number and give you a unified page where you can see all the different things you're waiting for. This will save me a lot of time (though, sadly, no money whatsoever).
On page three there's a free program that lets you set up an encrypted "virtual drive" - great for keeping sensitive stuff safe, especially on vulnerable machines like laptops, as well as software for blocking spam and viruses.
There are pages full of some really neat stuff. Just one warning: you can "invest" a lot of time here, because there is so much excellent material to explore.

Free and Excellent Software

Here's an article from ComputerWorld which lists a bunch of software (from email to Office suites to graphics to money to antivirus to....) which is mostly free (a few items offer enhancements for a bit of money, like generally $10 or so). What is very exciting about the items on the list, though, is not only the low price, but also that in many cases the free stuff outdoes the expensive stuff - now THAT'S something I can really appreciate!

Ease Office 2007 Frustrations

If you're frustrated by the changes in Office 2007, here's some help:

a cheat-sheat for Word 2007 – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9010482

a cheat-sheat for Excel 2007 – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028228

a cheat-sheat for Powerpoint 2007 – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063119

If this isn’t enough and you find yourself frustrated on an ongoing basis, you might want to invest in a copy of Classic Menu – free to try for 30 days at http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/, about $30 if you like it and want to add technical support (doesn’t seem to actually time-out). It adds the old menus and commands to the new office, so you get the best of both worlds. (Thanks to Mel Ming for making me aware of this one.)

The Easiest YouTube Conversion Yet!!

Thanks to Glen Davis, via Mel Ming, for this tip:

Check out the service and more importantly, the downloadable program, at http://vixy.net/. This is a one-step capture and/or convert process for YouTube and other web videos - basically converts from .flv to a number of formats (.mp4 for iPod etc., .avi for general PC use, .mov for general Mac use) or simply capture the .flv file.

Now for the caveats: the online service to do it didn't work when I tried it - simply never was able to contact the server. Could be all sorts of things, and you may have a different result. However, the great news is that there's a downloadable program (still in beta format) which is currently free, is available for Mac as well as PC, and it worked brilliantly, couldn't be simpler, and gave terrific results. This is a must have - check it out!