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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 10:21:08
If you're interested in converting documents to an easily shared format you might want to consider CSF Writer / Net It Now printer driver, used in combination with the BRAVA Reader software.
It is in some regards more basic than Adobe's Acrobat Software. Nonetheless, my experience has been that sometimes easier is better. The Brava Reader offers some important advantages not available on Adobe's Acrobat package.
(1) Very Intuitive and easy to use.
(2) The converted file (CSF format) has better fidelity with the original document. My experience is with converting MS Excel Charts.
(3) An easy way to limit document priniting.
(4) An easy way to have documents expire on a given date, whereafter they become unuseable. (This feature costs several thousand dollars if you're looking to do it through Adobe.)
(5) With some restrictions it's free for individual and / or corproate use.
Check them out at:
http://www.net-it.com/netit_now.htm
http://www.bravaviewer.com/reader.htm
Cheers!
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d a v e
Posts: 4415
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 10:59:50
and how many users have the brava reader installed, say compared to the amount that have adobe reader?!
html is also another good, easily shared format ;)
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Gekko web design
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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 11:18:02
heh. nice avatar. yes, forcing users to install yet another reader is a limiting factor depending on how badly people want the information you have to share. at the same time, i am not aware of a way to add a james bond like document destruction feature to a typical web page; i.e., an html page is easily saved to disk, and is there forever. no? (it is very possible i am missing something, which is why i always post to beginners - ha!) a CSF document is also easily saved to disk, but may be coded so that it becomes unuseable at a future point in time. in that way, the document becomes more like a live presentation, insofar that you see it for a period of time, and then it's gone. a very good way to control risk.
adobe charges thousands for this feature...i'm just guessing it may have some value to webmasters. :)
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dpf
Posts: 7121
Joined: 11/12/2003
From: India-napolis
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 11:22:22
quote:
a very good way to control risk what "risk"?
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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 11:31:28
well...risk is fundamental to the nature of information, and accordingly to businesses that deal in information; e.g., websites. consider that in a lawsuit happy world website users are more than eager to take an information-based product and use it for its intended purpose as readily as they might use it against the orginator - as long as it serves their needs. of course, sometimes lawsuits are justified and other times they are quite frivolous.
< Message edited by jcm001 -- 3/3/2005 11:42:00 >
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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 15:56:33
I've also explored some of those free PDF makers, and they're quite good at doing what they do. (Google PDF995.) PDF is a universal format and it is easy to distribute PDF documents. Nonetheless, while I understand that everyone has to make a living, I am somewhat disappointed that Adobe has chosen not to include a simple and useful expiration feature in its PDF maker software (Acrobat). According to some of the folks on the Adobe support forum it would cost several thousand to incorporate an expiration feature into a PDF document - I think by using one of Adobe's server technologies or features.
Given the difference, the two formats are competing in seperate arenas; if you can say brava is competing at all... Brava is definitely "downstream." from Adobe. Yet it serves a potentially useful purpose.
Whether or not one should use an expiration feature ultimately depends on the character of the information produced by your web site. If the information loses its usefulness after a fairly short period of time, it would be a very wise business decision to have it "self destruct." Brava makes it somewhat easier to get on the on-ramp if you're not interested in spending thousands up front. Ultimately, you always have the option of switching to PDF at a later time.
Regards. jcm001
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d a v e
Posts: 4415
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From: England (but live in Finland now)
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 16:12:48
but what do you do if people print it? do a kind of mission impossible stlye "this will self-destruct in 5 seconds, 4... 3..."
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David Prescott
Gekko web design
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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 16:29:42
Ha. That would be too cool.
No. It's by no means perfect. However, printing can easily be turned off. Of course, folks can still do a screen print - which is not very convenient, and has mixed results. Also, trying to use a browser's print feature only prints part of the page and is quite distorted.
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dpf
Posts: 7121
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From: India-napolis
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/3/2005 17:01:52
frankly, that all strikes me as paranoia.
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Dan
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jcm001
Posts: 125
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/4/2005 8:08:42
paranoid or not...either way, it seems various very large organizations have chosen to evaluate and / or use this technology.
the features i mentioned are the ones easily identified as prominent, and what i mentioned in my previous post are just some of the factors that could serve as justification for the products' adoption.
take it for what it's worth - it's a tip and a hint.
good luck.
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traveler98
Posts: 362
From: Dallas Tx USA
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/6/2005 2:36:08
Is that like even paranoids have real enemies?
LOL
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d a v e
Posts: 4415
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From: England (but live in Finland now)
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/6/2005 11:31:44
doesn't that mean that it's women that make all the progress?! ;)
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Gekko web design
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caz
Posts: 3779
Joined: 10/10/2001
From: Somewhere south of Chester, UK
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/7/2005 7:27:42
Phtttt.
Don't go to where women are invisible in history.
Augusta Ada Lovelace
In the annotations, which were called "Notes", Ada Lovelace described how the Analytical Engine could be programmed and gave what many consider to be the first ever computer program.
Re Charles Babbage's "computer"
Ada
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Peppergal
Posts: 2207
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/16/2005 23:00:34
Donkey - some inventions we have to thank women for:
ANDERSON, MARY
The windshield wiper was invented by Mary Anderson in 1903 to help streetcars operate safely in the rain. In 1905 she patented her invention, which allowed the car operator to control the external, swinging arm wipers from within the car. Windshield wipers became standard equipment on cars a decade later. Anderson was from Alabama, USA.
APGAR SCALE
The Apgar scale is a standardized scale that is used to determine the physical status of an infant at birth. This simple, easy-to-perform test was devised in 1953 by Dr. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974), a professor of anesthesia at the New York Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. The Apgar scale is administered to a newborn at one minute after birth and five minutes after birth. It scores the baby's heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, reflex response, and color. This test quickly alerts medical personnel that the newborn needs assistance.
BLODGETT, KATHERINE
Kathering J. Blodgett (1898-1979) was an American physicist and inventor who invented a micro-thin barium stearate film that makes glass completely nonreflective and "invisible" (patent #2,220,660, March 16, 1938). Blodgett's invention has been used in eyeglasses, camera lenses, telescopes, microscopes, periscopes, and projector lenses. Blodgett also invented a gauge that measured the thickness of this type of coating (which can be only a few molecules thick), called a "color gauge."
COCHRAN, JOSEPHINE
The first dishwasher was patented in 1850 by, Joel Houghton; his machine was a hand-turned wheel that splashed water on dishes - unfortunately, it wasn't very effecive at washing dishes. The first working automatic dishwasher was invented by Mrs. Josephine Garis (W. A.) Cochran, of Shelbyville, Illinois, in 1889. Her dishwaser was a wooden tub with a wire basket in it - the dishes went in the basket, and rollers rotated the dishes. As a handle on the tub was turned, hot, soapy water was sprayed into the tub, cleaning the dishes. Cochran's machine was first shown at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois. At first, her machine was only bought by some restaurants and hotels. Cochran's small company was eventually associated with the KitchenAid company. The dishwasher didn't become widespread as a labor-saving machine until the 1960's.
DISPOSABLE DIAPER
The disposable diaper was invented in 1950 by Marion Donovan. Her first leak-proof diaper was a plastic-lined cloth diaper. Donovan then developed a disposable diaper. She was unsuccessful at selling her invention to established manufacturers, so she started her own company. Donovan produced many other consumer-based inventions and held more than a dozen patents.
ELION, GERTRUDE
Gertrude Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 - February 21, 1999) was a Nobel Prize winning biochemist who invented many life-saving drugs, including 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol) and 6-thioguanine (which fight leukemia), Imuran, Zovirax, and many others. Elion worked at Burroughs-Wellcome (now called Glaxo Wellcome) for decades (beginning in 1944) with George Hitchings and Sir James Black, with whom she shared the Nobel Prize. She is named on 45 patents for drugs.
HOPPER, GRACE M.
Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (1906 - 1992) was a US naval officer and mathematician who invented the computer compiler (called the A-O) in 1952. Her compiler revolutionized computer programming, automatically translating high-level instructions (easier to understand by people) into machine code (the cryptic, native language of the central processing unit). Hopper and a team developed the first user-friendly business programming language, COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language). There is an unconfirmed story that Hopper determined than an error in the early Mark II computer was caused by a moth that was trapped in it; she then coined the term "computer bug."
HYDE, IDA HENRIETTA
Henrietta HydeIda Henrietta Hyde (1857-1945) was an American physiologist who invented the microelectrode in the 1930's. The microelectrode is a small device that electrically (or chemically) stimulates a living cell and records the electrical activity within that cell. Hyde was the first woman to graduate from the University of Heidelberg, to do research at the Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiological Society.
KARLE, ISABELLA L.
Isabella Helen Lugoski Karle (1921- ) is a American physical chemist who invented new methods of X-ray Crystallography. She used electron diffraction and then x-ray diffraction to study the structure of molecules. Karle developed a three-dimensional modeling process, enabling her to identify and show the structures of hundreds of complex and important molecules (including alkaloids, ionophores, steroids, toxins, and peptides [amino acid compounds]). Because of Karle's process, the number of published molecular analyses has jumped from about 150 to over 10,000 per year. Karle received the National Medal of Science in 1995. Karle is a senior scientist and head of the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) x-ray diffraction section in the Laboratory for the Structure of Matter. Karle's husband, Jerome Karle, is a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.
KEVLAR
Kevlar (poly[p-phenyleneterephtalamide]) is a polymer fiber that is five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Kevlar is used in bullet-proof vests, helmets, trampolines, tennis rackets, and many other commonly-used objects. Kevlar was invented by Stephanie Louise Kwolek and was first marketed by DuPont in 1971.
LIQUID PAPER
Liquid Paper is a quick-drying, paper-colored (white) liquid that is painted onto paper to correct printed material. Liquid Paper was invented in 1951 by Bessie Nesmith (1922-1980). It was based on white tempera paint (Nesmith was also an artist). Nesmith was a secretary in Texas, USA, before the time of word processors. She began selling her vastly popular invention, and soon ran the very successful Liquid Paper company. Her son, Michael Nesmith, was a member of the rock group called the Monkees. (now, there's something! lol)
RADIOIMMUNOASSAY
Dr. Solomon A. Berson (1919-1972) and Dr. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921- ) co-invented the radioimmunoassay (RIA) in 1959. The radioimmunoassay is a method of chemically analyzing human blood and tissue and is used diagnose illness (like diabetes). RIA revolutionized diagnoses because it uses only a tiny sample of blood or tissue and is a relatively inexpensive and simple test to perform. Blood banks use RIA to screen blood; RIA is used to detect drug use, high blood pressure, infertility, and many other conditions and diseases. For inventing RIA, Yalow won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1977 (Yalow accepted for Berson, who died in 1972). Yalow and Berson did not patent the RIA; instead they allowed the common use of RIA to benefit human health.
WAKEFIELD, RUTH
Ruth Graves Wakefield (1905-1977) invented chocolate chips (and chocolate chip cookies) in 1930. Wakefield ran the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. Her new cookie invention was called the "Toll House Cookie." Her original cookies used broken-up bars of semi-sweet chocolate. Her cookbook, "Toll House Tried and True Recipes," was published in 1940.
Naturally, Ruth Wakefield is probably the most distinctive and important woman on this list. ;)
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womble
Posts: 6283
Joined: 3/14/2005
From: Living on the edge
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RE: PDF Alternative - 3/17/2005 5:03:23
I use eXPert PDF 3Pro (£34.99 from Amazon). It does everything I want it to. The downside, practically none existant help onscreen (it's all in the little booklet that comes with it) and it changes the default printer to itself. A bit of pressing buttons though to see what they did soon got me up and running.
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Newbie FrontPage
Posts: 28
Joined: 4/27/2004
From: Australia
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RE: PDF Alternative - 5/8/2005 3:51:13
One more for the girls, those who know birthpain: "Happy Mother's day." [Here in Australia today that is at least].
Cute PDF is free
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