ROVIN' AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Copyright © 2004, 2002, 2000 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved; Brought to you by Peanut.org
Get E-booked for Next Christmas
As I review my articles from time to time, I find that so many links, especially to favorite freebies that I once raved about, are out of date that I am tempted to scrap the whole article. But, I still like my original idea of creating personalized e-books, so I am going to stick with this article. A favorite program is no longer available for free, but there is some great news in the left-hand column: you can create Adobe PDF files for free!
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PDF is Possible... and FREE! (2004 update) When
I first wrote this article, I acknowledged that the standard format for
e-books is the Adobe PDF format, to be read in the Adobe Acrobat reader
which has become standard on almost all computers. The
problem was, the software to create such books is quite expensive.
So, while some of my original suggestions have gone out of date, I
am pleased to add a new treasure for you, the pdf995
suite of products, Pdf995, PdfEdit995, and Signature995, three
programs that let you create these almost universally accessible e-books
at a price that can’t be beat: free.
I
know, I’ve said it myself: if something sounds too good to be true, it
probably is.
Well, in this case, it most certainly isn’t.
I’ve been using these programs for over a year, and I
have never had a question or a problem.
Pdf995
installs a virtual printer onto your computer, so that all you have to do
to create a PDF e-book is create your document, then select “Print,”
and scroll down to your new “printer.”
(It actually shows up as a printer in your Control Panel.) Yep, I know, there’s gotta be a catch. Well, there is, but it is such a tiny one that you shouldn’t mind getting caught. Every time you “print” a PDF file, a sponsor page will show up in your browser, but notice, it is in your browser, not in anyone else’s. The PDF files show up as crisp and clean as if they had been created with software causing hundreds of dollars... but if the sponsor screen bothers you, you can pay $9.95, and get a key so that you won't see it anymore. There are other free programs to generate PDF files. But, this was the first one I found, and it is so good that I haven't bothered to download any of the others. To see a PDF file generated by this program, click here - right click to download, left click to open in your browser. It is just a one page document (everything in this column except this paragraph), but it shows you the possibilities. |
This near to Christmas, have you reached such a stage of frustration about shopping that you are ready to give in to a little shopping cart rage and burn your credit cards? Well, maybe not that extreme, but what do you get for people who have everything, when it seems that more and more people have, if not everything, at least too much? While it's too late for any suggestions for this holiday season, now is a good time to think about creating some unique hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, personalized gifts for next year. Now, let me assure you that I am as craftless as I am artless, and I wouldn't know what to do with a bag of sequins if Martha Stewart hit me over the head with one. [2004: Please note this was written before Ms. Stewart's problems.] What I'm suggesting is that you start now assembling texts, pictures, web pages, your own writing, and other goodies to create distinctive e-books for everyone on your list next year. There is a variety of free software available on the Internet, as well as various on-line communities and libraries to give you ideas and support. The bad news is, the whole project could turn out to be an inflated version of the reviled Christmas form letter. An e-book (eBook, Ebook--I'll try to use the spelling associated with each site) is a program that organizes and displays files-pictures, texts, even audio files-that you select. There really is no "book" involved, and most e-book programs are for viewing on your computer rather than for printing. So, you may still have to make some styrofoam trees for friends who still don't have computers. There are three e-book programs that you can download for free. All three have various communities, libraries, and support services for their product. E-book Compiler and WinEBook offer you the option of registering the program (for pay) and gaining even more features and flexibility. The third one, KeeBoo was a favorite freebie of mine, but [2004 update] you now can download the KeeBoo software for a fifteen day free trial, only. Any of these three programs would be a valuable addition to a teacher's bag of tricks. Teachers could create their own textbooks (annotated literary works, perhaps), while students could publish class magazines and multi-media term papers (e-papers?). [2002 update - A program that I've discovered since originally writing this article has turned out to be a jewel SbookBuilder9.] The very great granddaddy of all Internet publishing is Project Gutenberg, which provides thousands of classic texts for free download. You need to read and honor the restrictions on the use of texts that you download from the Project, but you can use their texts for personal projects. Imagine creating a poetry anthology illustrated with your photos… your imagination (perhaps the size of your hard drive) is the limit. Keep your feet dry, your hearts and e-books full of noble thoughts, and if you want to give a (free) Christmas gift every day, log onto The Hunger Site. |