Online Solutions
The first couple of solutions are web-based, so you don't even need to install any software to convert your files… keep in mind that with these web sites you are uploading your data to a third party, so consider the privacy implications if you are converting sensitive documents.
Zamzar
Arguably the most popular online file conversion site is Zamzar. This free service allows you to convert files up to 100MB for free. Just browse to the PDF, select the format to convert to, then enter your email address. When the document is ready Zamzar will send you an email with a link to the document to download. Zamzar will also convert a PDF to HTML, ODT, PCX, PNG, PS, RTF, and TXT.
Use Zamzar Free Online File Conversion
PDF Online
Another great online service is PDF Online. This service is powered by BCL Technologies Easy Converter software which you can download a 30 day trial of if you or your company wants to convert a large number of documents. Currently you can sign up for a BCL Premium Online account which allows you to convert 20 documents per day with a 10MB (per document) size limit.
After conversion you simply Right-Click on the link to “save link as” an RTF Word document on your PC.
Software Solutions
The next set of solutions are software-based, applications that can be installed on your local computer and used offline. These would be a better choice for converting sensitive documents.
BCL Easy Converter Desktop 1.0
Since PDF Online impressed me the most with their online conversion service I decided to take their desktop software for a spin. BCL Easy Converter Desktop 1.0 is a very simple yet powerful utility to convert PDF documents to Word. It works basically the same as the online service but on your desktop. It converts PDF documents to RTF only, but for twenty bucks it might be more useful than wasting time online. You can download a trial of Easy Converter Desktop or the purchase price is only $19.95.
Download A Free Trial of BCL Easy Converter Desktop 1.0
DocSmartz
Sometimes you might want to convert the PDF document to other file formats such as Excel, HTML, or Postscript. DocSmartz Pro is a great affordable desktop application to get the file format you want. Choose the PDF you want to convert and DocSmartz Pro walks you though different settings with an easy to follow wizard.
Download DocSmartz Pro
Free PDF to Word Doc Converter
Finally we get to the good part, the (sort of) FREE version. Free PDF to Word Converter 1.1 is also basic and simple to use like BCL’s Easy Converter but actually has a few extra options such as choosing a font and selecting page numbers. Conversions were quick and easy even with large documents with a lot of images.
There is a catch however. After the first few conversions you are asked to download a registration code from the site every time you want to convert a document. To never have to enter in a registration code you will have to pay $15.
Download Free PDF to Word Converter 1.1
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PLAXO (www.plaxo.com)
With so many ways to communicate it is difficult to keep on top of all your contacts, especially with people moving house and changing e-mail address and telephone numbers so frequently. Losing touch will be a thing of the past if you sign up to Plaxo.
This is basically a contacts management service which connects you with your friends and family and helps you all keep up to date with each others' changes.
Choose between the free version or the paid for premium, which you can have a free 30-day trial if you want to consider it. But the cut down and totally free version will be more than enough for most people.
After activating your account you need to point it to your contacts book. Unlike some other sites of this kind they will not store your password or send any e-mails to your contacts without your permission, which is a big plus for me. Make your selection from the supported options and then wait while the website processes the data.
Contacts who already have a Plaxo account are offered for processing first, followed by the option to link up to all your other contacts. There is so much more to this site, have a good explore of the features. I do want to draw your attention to the option to link up your account with other sites that you subscribe to - such as YouTube, Del.icio.us, your blog, or any number of photo sharing and social networking destinations.
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WAFFLEBOX (www.wafflebox.co.uk)
Social networking sites are all about staying in touch.
You can text people, leave messages pinned to their board, or send them pictures of what you are up to at the moment. But would it not be nice if you could just call them up for a quick waffle?
Wafflebox site is an awesome idea. It basically allocates users with a voicebox telephone number that people can call to leave short audio messages. Now you can sign up from anywhere in the world.
The number is a UK 0845 number, so people will have to put +44 in front of it to call from other countries. This will be charged at an international call rate and some networks will charge it as a premium number. Check out the site's FAQ for more details on the charging.
UK users are charged an 0845 rate, which makes it pretty inexpensive for people to leave messages - and totally free for you to receive them.
You can even embed Wafflebox in your social networking site - such as Friendster or Facebook. It is really easy to do and adds a neat little widget to your profile that should keep your friends and contacts amused for hours.
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COPERNIC (www.copernic.com)
At Copernic.com there is a very handy search tool which should speed up your browsing.You can download the basic version of the totally free search tool which will not leave you wading through pages and pages of results.
This application differs from a standard search tool by simultaneously querying all the major search engines and over 90 information sources on the web. This means it can bring back far more thorough results than many of its peers.
The basic free version includes filtering options, as well as dead link removal, grouping and numerical value scoring to really help drill down to the information you want.
The interface is a bit daunting at first, but well worth persevering with if you want to get serious about your searching.
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SEEK (http://simile.mit.edu/seek)
Another useful tool to help you manage your emails is Seek. It is made by the boffins at MIT and distributed freely as open source software for users of Mozilla Thunderbird.
It is not a pretty site to look at, but the premise of the download is that it adds faceted browsing to your Thunderbird mail boxes.
By this they mean it adds the kind of categorisation and grouping to searching through messages that you experience when browsing through online shops.
This is a must have if you are a Thunderbird user and find it difficult to keep on top of your inbox.
