Nearly a year ago, I mentioned a wonderful product called PDF X-Change, from Tracker Software, in a post. It allows me to annotate PDF files, which many vendors maddeningly insist on using for briefings. Why “maddeningly”? Because for me at least, the best place for my notes is in the presentation – it provides the context and I don’t need another window open. In PowerPoint I just use the notes at the bottom of the window. PDF X-Change is a free download, and takes care of the rest of the pitches I see.
I recently went through the laborious process of moving from the Windows 7 Release Candidate, which I have had on my laptop since the day I bought it, to the production version. It’s pricey, but I am and have been very happy with it. (I don’t cover OS, so no “analyst freebies” for this one.) Part of that process is a “clean install” – get all the stuff off, update the OS, and reload. It went fine – literally zero problems, and a pesky device driver issue went away when the production version came up. But it has taken me a few days to [put all my apps back on.
The decision about what to have or not have on your machine is a useful one to make every once in a while. But this one was a no-brainer. PDF X-Change remains one of the most useful pieces of software I own. It works cleanly and simply, and makes working with PDFs bearable. It still baffles me why Adobe hasn’t bothered to make it unnecessary, but here’s to continued good fortune to the Tracker folks.
Disclosure: the vendors mentioned above are not clients of IT Market Strategy.