Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

RT @labnol Use the undocumented AROUND(n) operator in Google to make searches more specific based on word proximity - http://bit.ly/eXSM4p

PDFpen Lets You Sign and Fill Out PDFs Print-Free [Downloads]

PDFpen Lets You Sign and Fill Out PDFs Print-Free Mac: PDFpen is a smart and simple application that helps you fill out and sign PDFs without printing anything, perfect for times you have to fill out a little paperwork. No more print, sign, scan, then email.

PDFpen (made by the people who developed the incredibly time-saving text substitution app TextExpander) is perfect for anyone who fills out a lot of paperwork, but it's just as handy for those one-off documents. There's not much to getting started with it: Download the app, open it, pick a PDF to fill out, then grab the pen or text tool and get to work.

PDFpen is available as a free demo, but all PDFs saved with the trial will be waterstamped. That's good enough for a lot of paperwork (it's the version I use), but if you need it waterstamp-free, the $60 version removes the waterstamp. Thanks Matt and Jason!

PDFpen [Smile Software]

Acer Revo 100 now available in UK, slide-out RevoPad and all

We did a bit of a double take when we first saw the press release this morning for the new Acer Revo 100. Sifting through our memory banks (and Engadget archives), we finally remembered: the "Revo 2" with Intel CE4100 shown off earlier this year at IDF. We're betting this is just a twin and the Intel version is still en route, but for now, the Revo 100's packing AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core processor with NVIDIA ION graphics, up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, Dolby Home Theater v3, Blu-ray drive, 802.11b/g/n, and a multitude of ports including HDMI and two mini-PCI Express card slots for expansion. More interesting, though, is the slide-out RevoPad, which can function as either a multitouch gesture pad or, when activated, a QWERTY keyboard with lit-up keys on the same surface. Software-wise, we've got Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and Acer's new clear.fi media sharing system. When's it available? Now -- at least in the UK. How much? £599.99 including VAT. We've dropped Acer a line as to US release details; we'll let you know what we hear. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Acer Revo 100 now available in UK, slide-out RevoPad and all

Acer Revo 100 now available in UK, slide-out RevoPad and all originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google demos Chrome Web Store, rolling out later today to US

It hasn't been that long since we first saw Google's web store -- mid-May, to be exact. An updated version is currently being showcased on stage at the Chrome event. The UI looks much more refined, and those who are itching to try some out yourself, it seems some of the web apps are already available, at least partially: NPR, The New York Times, Amazon Windowshop. If you ask us, they feel a lot like iPad apps for browsers and mice / keyboard. Audio can run in the background even if you move to another tab. There's offline mode, too. App purchases are tied to your Google account, naturally. There's some gaming, but from what we've seen so far ("you pop it!"), it's nothing you're gonna be focusing a lot of time on. Interesting note from the Q&A is that the apps, since they're built with "standard web technologies," will work with all compatible browsers. We've been trying to access the web store (via the Chrome browser, naturally), but it's currently hiding behind a "coming soon" redirect -- it's rolling out later today, though, at least for the US, so keep an eye out.

Gallery: Chrome Web App demos

Google demos Chrome Web Store, rolling out later today to US originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Salesforce Chatter Goes Freemium

In its attempt to bring social streams into the enterprise, Salesforce is taking its Chatter messaging service and making it freemium. Unlike most freemium services which start out free, and then add on premium features for a price, Salesforce is going in the opposite direction. Chatter started out as an additional $15/user/month service, but perhaps the uptake wasn't what CEO Marc Benioff had hoped it would be. Now most of the basic features will be free (as, arguably, they should have been from the beginning), and premium features will be available for power users at the $15 price as Chatter Plus. Chatter first launched in private beta last February, and then opened up in June. Chatter gives employees a realtime feed of what is going on in their company. You can follow other co-workers, but also documents, data, and accounts. It is tied into Salesforce.com, and all the apps built on top of the Salesforce platform (although that is now extra, see below). So for anyone who uses Salesforce, Chatter provides a realtime intelligence feed.