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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 13, 2008
/ 10 Sivan 5768
Adobe launches online collaboration
By
Mark Kellner
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"No man is an island, entire of itself," John Donne wrote around 1624, nearly 400 years before anyone began to think of collaborative computing. Most collaborative efforts have been limited by connectivity to a local-area network, or via a sharing tool such as Novell's Groupware or Lotus Notes. Such solutions required some level of interconnection and a common hardware/software platform.
All that is changing, and perhaps the greatest "change agent" arrived June 2 with Acrobat.com, a project of Adobe Corp. This Web site usage is free for what the firm says is a basic level of service lets you create documents, use a limited set of fonts, designate text in color, add a color background to text, and do some other enhancements. The system works online, in a Web browser, and appears to cross platforms, from Windows to Macintosh, quite nicely.
It all looks very nice and graphical, as might be expected from a graphics-heavy software purveyor such as Adobe. That's nice, since non-island man doesn't live by plain text alone.
The fun begins, however, when you click the small "Share" button in the lower left corner of the screen. Once selected, you can let other people, in your office, college class or bridge club, take a look at your document, annotate it with comments, or even edit and change the text. The online system will store previously "saved" versions of the document, let you know who's seen which version, and show all the comments in a way that's easy to understand. Oh, and it'll check your spelling as you type.
Suddenly, passing around a file folder with a hard-copy printout seems really, really old.
Collaboration tools, as noted, have existed before, but Acrobat.com, which incorporates the Buzzword online word processor, offers a rather nice combination of style and usefulness. Buzzword was originally developed for an educational clientele, an Adobe product manager noted. There are some touches which make this useful for educational settings, including the ability to add endnotes to a document. Footnoting isn't possible right now, however.
Adobe's graphical and imaging sides come through: it's possible to add photographs and other graphical items to a Buzzword document and have the text wrap nicely around these. The finished product can be saved in many formats, including plain text, Microsoft Word and Adobe's PDF style, the latter being a very good way to "lock down" a document and prevent unauthorized changes.
If handled with a bit of skill, Buzzword and Acrobat.com are not just collaboration tools, they can become an ad hoc "content management system" for many small offices and work teams. The free service will let you hold online conferences with two other people; Adobe will likely offer larger conferencing connections and other enhancements with subscription versions, for which pricing hasn't yet been determined.
If you signup online at www.acrobat.com for the service, you'll get 5 Gigabytes of document storage and five free PDF conversions per month. More PDFs will also be available by subscription.
Another nice aspect of Acrobat.com is a way to "embed" a document created with the system in another Web page. If you want, this would allow anyone to see it, although you can put restrictions on such permissions. This moves documents beyond collaboration to online publishing.
The capabilities promised and delivered by Acrobat.com are quite substantial for something that's not only free for the moment, but will, Adobe product manager Mark Grilli said in a phone briefing, always have a free level of service. While the firm hopes to "monetize" such generosity with sales of higher-capacity subscriptions, it's nice that there's a way to test the waters at no cost.
The graphical niceness of Acrobat.com puts other online editing tools, such as Google Docs, to shame. It's a system worth trying, if you don't mind falling in love.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
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© 2008, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com
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