PowerPoint and Publisher again are commonly used pieces of software but it is rare that the ‘typical’ home user requires them for their general computer usage.  Whereas Access is a far more specialist application for those who need to create/manage a database system.

Office 2010 is set to be released in June (2010).  Many companies are doing a deal whereby you purchase Office 2007 and can download 2010 for free when it comes out so have a look around on the internet for such deals! For example…Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Student from Amazon (PC)

Wireless Networks – In Vista I always found the connect to a network icon down by the clock a bit annoying, sometimes it would bring things straight up, other times it wouldn’t.  In Windows 7 you click it and immediately get a list of available networks along with the one you may be connected to.  From here you can easily connect to another one.  Nothing revolutionary, just something that worked made to work better!

Icons – Again this nice and simple touch is related to the task bar, the little icons that appear you install so many applications these days are now grouped in one area.  All you have to do to view them is click the arrow and a box appears with them in, see the image on the right to see what I mean.

Tile Windows – If you’re anything like me then you will often want to have two windows open at one time and be able to see some or all of them.  Commonly I use this for transferring files from one folder to another.  Arranging the windows like shown in the picture below can take time and if you are not used to using the mouse to do this it could be a fiddly process.  Now all you do is drag the windows to the left and then the right respectively and they align themselves as shown in that picture..nice and easy!

And on a similar note, if you drag a window that is not fully maximised to the top of the screen and let go…it maximises it!

Windows 7 really has been designed to make mundane tasks so much easier, it’s great!

See Also:

Windows 7 Beta – First Glance

• Buzzword
• Share
• ConnectNow
• Create PDF
• My Files

To use the website’s services you need to Create an Acrobat Account which is completely free!  To do this just go to the Acrobat Website then select the services you would like to use then click ‘Begin’ and then select ‘Sign Up’.

Buzzword:

Buzzword is in my opinion brilliant!  It is a web based word processor.  You may now be thinking “but I bet it has like none of the features that Word etc has”, but you are wrong!  All the features you could possibly want are there!  E.G. Spell Checker, Table, Picture, Fonts, Colours, Paragraph Align, Spacing, Indent, Check List, Images etc.  You can even upload documents from programs such as Microsoft Word.

Buzzword saves your work whilst you are working so your work is always kept safe and secure.  Another cool thing about it is that all the documents are saved to Acrobat servers so it can almost be used as a back up tool.  This will help your files stay safe from any viruses.  Also you can log on to the site from anywhere and view your documents so there is no need to use a USB Stick etc.  You also have the option to share your Buzzword files with the Share application.  Click to find out more about Buzzword!

Share:

Share allows you to share files with friends on the Acrobat Network.  You can either upload your own files or use your files from the Buzzword and PDF Applications.  To ensure that the receiver knows that you are sharing a file with them you can also send them a notification on the Application.  It’s a great easy way to share files with people all around the world.  Click to find out more about Share!

ConnectNow:

ConnectNow is an application which allows you to Connect with any member and talk to them whether it be through Acrobat.com using either video conferencing, a microphone, a telephone, instant messaging or the white board white board.  ConnectNow could be used for having meetings with colleagues around the world with the ability to use the features previously mentioned as well as being able to host your own meetings, be invited to meetings, share notes, share files, share your computer screen and access the application anywhere assuming you are registered and have an Internet connection.

We tried ConnectNow out in the office and it is a little confusing at first but still a great feature which has loads of potential to become big!  One thing that we did notice was that you occasionally had to download small files which allowed you to use each feature.

ConnectNow is well worth a look, click to find out more about ConnectNow!

Create PDF:

Create PDF is simply a PDF converter.  To use it all you do is upload the file you wish to convert to PDF then click ‘Create PDF’.  Easy Peasy.  You can also convert files which you have created on Buzzword etc just by selecting the file.  However, there are some file formats which you cannot convert, for example; files from Microsoft Office 2007 unless you save the file as a 1997-2003 file.  Click for a list of all the file formats and more on Create PDF.

One thing that is important to remember about Create PDF is that you can only create 5 PDF’s before you must buy the physical software, Acrobat 9, which isn’t cheap.  There are several PDF Software packages which are free to use/download and work perfectly fine.  Two that we can recommend are Primo PDF and Cute PDF.

My Files:

My Files is basically where all your files which you have either uploaded to or created on Acrobat.com are stored.  Its an easy way to store and manage your files and you can ass files from your computer too.  By storing the files online you aren’t taking up as much space on your hard drive.  Click for more info on My Files.

Like the idea of Acrobat.com?  Want to find out more?  If so the Adobe information on Acrobat.com is worth a read!  Also there is a useful video on the site which shows you Acrobat.com in action.

If you have got a tip you would like us to publish (with credit to you of course!) please drop us an email with your Tip, Name, Email and Website Address!

Happy New Year!