14 free tools: Obscure yet helpful software from Adobe, Microsoft, and more

Many of the biggest software makers are known for their expensive, but nevertheless popular purchase programs. Yet many of these companies also offer free software with some surprisingly useful features. Yes, even giants like Adobe and Microsoft! This article will introduce you to these mostly unknown free gems. It’s important to note that the free programs from Adobe and Ashampoo are best downloaded via their own software platforms — Adobe Creative Cloud and Ashampoo Connect, respectively — which require you to create an account before you’re given access to the freebies. For even more no-cost stunners, be sure to check out our roundup of the best free software for your PC. This article was translated from German to English, and originally appeared on pcwelt.de. As such, some of the screenshots below still appear in German. Adobe Fresco Painting and drawing Adobe If you like to paint and draw, Adobe Fresco is an easy-to-use program to let your imagination run wild. You have a choice of three brush types — pixel brush, interactive brush and vector brush — which you can customize in terms of color, size, ink flow, and smoothing. For each type of brush, you have different options: For example, you can choose the pixel brush, which shows the individual pixels when you zoom in, as charcoal, marker or ink pen, and each of these types also offers other choices (for example, charcoal pen and charcoal, marker brush and marker crescent or wet... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2023-07-19 12:30:00 UTC ]
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For DRM-Free Content, Look for the New FSF Logo

This new label from the Free Software Foundation aims to help buyers find ebooks and other media distributed without digital rights management restrictions. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony Reader gets a new design, Evernote integration and a free Harry Potter book for $129

In the market for a new e-reader? One could certainly do worse than Sony's Reader line. The company's been packing features onto its devices, and the already leaked latest entry is no different, with upgrades over its predecessor, packed into a newly redesigned body with bigger, better looking... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Asking 'Where's Waldo' helps increase local bookstore business

The 'Find Waldo Local' campaign, held nationwide for the month of July, had customers hunting for Waldo in independent bookstores and businesses. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Free prequels for Bloomsbury's Assassin

  Bloomsbury has begun releasing prequel e-novellas for free through online girls’... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon puts 50MB limit on 3G Kindle's 'free' experimental browser

Sad news for global freeloaders travellers looking to keep up with Gmail and Twitter on their Amazon e-reader. The online book seller has started closing in on excessive free web browsing, policing a 50MB data limit on its keyboard Kindle iterations. According to users on MobileRead, you'll... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video)

In light of recent scandals, it's hard not to see this as a bit of image rehabilitation, but we'll do our best to take it at face value. News Corp is bringing its 18-month-old educational division to the fore by rebranding it Amplify and teaming up with AT&T to put tablets in the hands of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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QuadrantOne Unveils Targeting Tools For Newspaper Sites

QuadrantOne, an online ad platform created by a consortium of newspaper publishers, including Gannett, Hearst, the New York Times Co. and Tribune, is introducing three new ad management tools intended to improve targeting and measurement of online ad ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More Tablet Owners Want Free Apps, With Ads, Instead of Paid

Both the number of people who use tablets and usage per tablet user are exploding. But tablet users' appetite for paid apps isn't following the trend.   A new study commissioned by the Online Publishers Association found that 54% of tabl ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon rolls out software update for $79 Kindle, promises improved legibility

Amazon has a bit of good news today for those that have opted for its least expensive e-reader. The company has just begun rolling out a new software update that brings with it a new reading font that's said to be "higher contrast and crisper" for an even more "paper-like reading experience."... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Osprey launches DRM-free list

Military history publisher Osprey has set up Digital Rights Management-free digital list aimed at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HuffPo to help brands make their own sites

The Huffington Post is expanding the way it works with brands in an effort to cash in on the popular brand-as-publisher trend, Ad Age has learned. The company, part of AOL, has been talking to ad agencies and marketers about helping them build websites for brands and subsequently aiding in... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Subs drop as chain adopts buying tool

Waterstones has dropped its initial subscription numbers on some titles following the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade must help bookshops compete in e-world

Booksellers must address their "toxic" real estate and band together to compete in an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe Announces Next Generation of Digital Publishing Suite

NEW YORK — May 15, 2012 — At Adobe’s annual Digital Publishing Summit, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced a series of groundbreaking new features for Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) th ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABC Interactive to Conduct Audit of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite Metrics

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (May 15, 2012) – ABC Interactive announced it is working with Adobe to audit metrics provided by Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite, an industry-leading set of hosted services and viewer technologies that ena ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alohomora! Free Harry Potter books coming to Kindle

Harry Potter has joined the Kindle lending library.Amazon.com announced Thursday that on June 19, the ebook editions of J.K. Rowling's seven Potter novels will become part of the Kindle service available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Members can download a book for free once a month. Amazon's... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PPA Conference: Stylist editor reveals how free title competes in challenging market

It would be a big surprise if one of the major publishers were to follow Stylist magazine and launch a mainstream free women's title, according to Lisa Smosarski, editor of Stylist, who believes such a move would be a "big step". Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Appreciation: Maurice Sendak helped children's imaginations run wild

For all his contributions to children's literature, Maurice Sendak, who died Tuesday at 83, struck a chord with 'Where the Wild Things Are,' a dark and vivid adventure in a daunting world beyond a child's bedroom.When my son Noah was little — no more than 2 years old — his favorite book... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble and Microsoft: A Win-Win?

The deal between Barnes & Noble and Microsoft gives both companies things they need—B&N receives a much-needed infusion of cash, while Microsoft gets another chance to participate in the consumer digital marketplace. In addition to the $300 million investment Microsoft has made to give... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Microsoft Nabbed the Nook

Microsoft's $300 million investment in Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader and digital book subsidiary makes perfect sense, according to experts at Wharton and elsewhere. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton

[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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