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Top 5 Alternative Search Engines For Discovering Great Images On Flickr

Friday, February 10. 2012

If you’ve ever surfed online for images, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of Flickr.com–the major online photo management site where you can upload, discover, and share your photos. Flickr is a great place to find some of the best images and photos on the web.

However, because there are so many uploaded images, Flickr becomes a bottomless resource that can be hard to search. Flickr does, indeed, allow you to tailor a search on the site. You can search for photos added by tags, place, sets, and galleries. You can also search by date–images recently added, added by month, or the most interesting uploads in the past 7 days. Flickr even lets you search for photos taken by a specific camera!

Although those search options are readily available, they can become a bit limited or inefficient at times when you can’t find what you’re looking for.

Ever spend hours trying to find the perfect image? Combing through the same tags over and over again? Clicking on each image for related leads? It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, there are a few alternative search tools that can make for a more efficient search. So if Flickr’s usual search filters don’t cut it, try a few of these to get an image search that works for you.

1. FlickrStorm

If you need a search tool that’s more direct when it comes to searching for images with a certain type of license, check out FlickrStorm. FlickrStorm lets you skip the extra clicks required on Flickr. Just specify which licensed image results you want returned from the drop down box, type in your keyword, hit search, and you’re on your way.

2. Mulitcolr

Multicolr takes searching for images by colour up a notch. If you’re searching for photos based on a wide pallet of colours, Mulitcolr will let you pick up to 5 colours to search for image results containing those colours.

Multicolr’s search results return all Creative Commons images that were voted by Flickr users as “interesting.” So with Multicolr you get a high quality selection of the most visually appealing images.

3. Tiltomo.com

With Tiltomo.com you can search more freely for images based on Theme and Colour. The visual search code crawls two Flicker Databases which may help in narrowing down your results even more.

Type in a tag and below each image you’ll see the option to search by similar theme or colour. When you click on either option, you’ll get highly related images that can make your search more efficient.

4. Tag Galaxy

Tag Galaxy is one of the most interesting ways of searching Flickr for images by tag and just had to be included on the list. As you can tell from its title, Tag Galaxy mixes tag searching with the visual concept of searching through a galaxy.

Once you key in your first tag, Tag Galaxy will let you further refine the search by giving you the option of adding more tags other users have associated with it. Tag Galaxy will then add those tags into its search and generate results of images containing all the tags you enter.

Click on a photo to see it, then click again to get a short summary of the photo. Along with the summary, you’ll get a hyperlink directing you to the photo’s Flickr page.

5. FlickrCC

Although Flickr allows you to search for images by license type, it requires a few clicks. If you want to try a quicker way of accessing those images in a search, FlickrCC is an alternative you should check out. This search engine lets you find images released under the Creative Commons license.

With different flavours of CC licenses, the creator of FlickrCC clarifies which CC licenses are part of the default search on the about page. Unlike FlickrStorm, FlickrCC will give you images tagged under a number of related license types by default.

If you want images that can be edited and tweaked, for instance, check the “For Editing” box. This will allow the search to include images with licenses that allow derivatives. You can also switch to searching for commercial licensed photos via the checkbox located in the upper right hand corner, as well.

Regardless of which images you’re looking for, it’s always a good idea to have a few tricks up your sleeve when it comes to searching Flickr.com. If you can get creative with these search tools, you can quickly tailor down your search and navigate around Flickr’s databases even more efficiently in no time.

Thanks For The Support!

Thursday, February 2. 2012

So far, it’s been a great month as we settle into 2012. We’re trying new ways of getting up close and personal with Able2Extract users—both old and new. And we’ve started the year off with yet another easy way in which you guys can connect with us.

In the beginning of January, we started an Able2Extract group on LinkedIn, the business-related social network where working professionals can connect with others. A big thank you to everyone who joined the group.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, head on over. You can pose your own questions or comments, post a related link for discussion and start meeting other Able2Extract users. We’ve already got discussion threads started on Able2Extract and a couple of hot tech-related topics. Feel free to chime in or ask your own questions–we’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our Able2Extract G+ network has also started to grow. Thanks to everyone that dropped by to give a friendly +1 on our posts or added us to a circle. We’ve added you back and continue to look forward to seeing you on the network!

And as always, a big thanks to our supporters on Twitter for following and mentioning us. Whether you’re tweeting about Able2Extract or sharing a resource article of ours, we always appreciate how you share a bit of Investintech in your own way. Here are a few of our best Twitter supporters this month:

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/Kemisdigital/status/153998491889311747

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/patelchaitanya/status/154421788066054144

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/DiscoVietnam/status/156936309162782720

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/rahulrg/status/157386072316329984

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/able2extract/status/161892429425934336

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/Spreadsheet411/status/163995039402434560

Let’s not forget our Facebook community. We’re always listening to the conversation and comments taking place on our Wall. It’s a great opportunity for us to interact with you guys on a one-on-one basis. So a big shout out in thanks to everyone for getting involved and taking the time to leave a comment, a question or some feedback:

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Able2Extract/posts/188843891213567

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Able2Extract/posts/361121963900243

Thanks for all the support, guys!

DIY E-Publishing: Turn Your PDF into an eBook with Sonic PDF Creator

Monday, January 23. 2012

Interested in writing a novel? An anthology of your best writing? How about a cookbook with all your greatest recipes? With eBooks being front and centre in the news with Apple’s recent announcement about iBooks Author, you may be thinking that it’s high time to create your own eBooks.

Fortunately, there are simple DIY methods you can employ to create your own eBook. Having a PDF or your work is a good start, but how do you get that PDF into something that remotely resembles an eBook?

What follows are a few DIY tips for Sonic PDF Creator that can help get your PDF looking less like a PDF and acting more like an eBook you can call your own.

Convert Word to PDF

If you’re a writer who prefers to write by hand, you’ll need to get your work into digital format first. A word processing program, like Microsoft Word, is a good place to start. It generates a good standard document file format for converting to PDF.

When your work is done and saved in MS Word format, use Sonic PDF to convert it to PDF. Just open your Word file in Sonic using the Create PDF From File… option in the File menu. Once converted, the PDF will be automatically opened in Sonic.

Format Your Content

Depending on the nature of your eBook, one creative option you might want to try with Sonic is the Create Handout feature. Sometimes PDF pages displayed side by side will work better for certain content. For instance, if diagrams and text are separated by a page break or if it’s a children’s book with a lot of pictures in it, fixing the layout can dramatically improve your reader’s viewing experience.

To do this with Sonic, go to Tools> Create Handout… For an eBook, you’ll want to get 2 pages on a single PDF page at most. Any more than that and your pages will be hard to read as a book.

There are a few major options you’ll need to set. You’ll first need to set the Paper Orientation to Landscape. Then in the first part of the Layout section (seen above), select “custom” in the drop down menu, then set Rows to 1 and Columns to 2. This will give you 2 pages across on one page, making it look like a real book that’s been opened.

We actually covered this feature before in our post, Investintech How-To Tip: Create A Handout From A PDF Document. So feel free to use it as a handy reference sheet for details on setting margins, crop marks and other formatting elements.

Add Bookmarks

Bookmarks are a must for any eBook of significant length. They provide a compact bird’s eye view of your content. Without them, you can turn your readers off as they search and scroll through the pages.

To add bookmarks in Sonic, go to the Tools menu and select Add Bookmarks…

Click on New bookmark
Select Go to Page from the drop down box (this is the default option)
In the Label field, type in the name of the bookmark
Enter the PDF page number for the bookmark (Page 1 of your document is usually converted to Page 1 in your PDF)
Click on Save Item. Repeat steps 1-5 for any additional bookmarks you want to create
Once all bookmarks are set, click on Apply

Once you’re done, turn on the Bookmark Window option in the View menu to see your bookmarks.

Add Footers and Headers

Footers and headers can do a couple of things to give your eBook a polished touch. You can use these for adding page numbers and add a consistent branding element throughout your book. Using the title of your book, your name as author or the titles of each chapter, you can add the same finishing touch you see in regular books.

Go into the Format menu and select Header and Footer. . . In the dialog box, enter the information you want displayed in either the header or footer section. Set the font, margins and page range. Then click on OK.

Keeping Your eBook Safe

Shy about other people reading your work? Don’t want others stealing your ideas? Sending it to a single editor or colleague for review? No problem. Sonic PDF Creator can lock that eBook down for you.

Sonic’s security features let you protect your PDF from unauthorized users or viewers. From the Tools menu, select Set Password (note: you can also set up security options when you first create your PDF with the Create Secure PDF from file. . . option from the File menu).

To let a single reader or a select few read your work, you can add a password so no one else has access to it but them. For an eBook you’re sharing more publicly, you can still restrict user access by focusing more on the Permissions section that will let you decide how you want others handling your eBook.

Another option to warn users that your eBook is for their eyes only is to add a watermark. You can do this by stamping text on the title page. From the Format menu, select Stamp Text. . .

Add your text and customize where and how you want it displayed. Once you’re all set, click on OK.

These features are just a sampling of what you can do with Sonic PDF Creator. Getting e-published doesn’t have to be hard or even on a large scale. You can do it yourself–for yourself, at even the most basic level. So give these tips a try and see how they work out for your PDF.

If you know of a few other handy Sonic tips we missed, let us know. We’d love to hear them!

Adobe Begins The Year With Software Updates

Thursday, January 12. 2012

If you’re just getting back into the routine after the holidays, you may want to start off by updating your Adobe software. In PDF news this week, Adobe has released its quarterly updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat for six serious flaws.

Of the six flaws, two are the vulnerabilities that were promised update patches in December when emergency fixes for Acrobat and Reader X (10.1.1) and for Unix and Mac OSX were delayed. The other security bugs being patched this month can make the application crash and allow a malicious user to take over your system.

In addition, alongside these new updates come a couple of new feature updates, too. One includes new admin options allowing users to Lockdown JavaScript execution and add trusted locations. Also, according to Jason Lemkin from the Acrobat Blog, Adobe Reader will be getting more integration with e-signatures via Adobe EchoSign.

For more details, be sure to visit Adobe’s Security Bulletin to download the updates or use the Adobe Update Manager itself.

Adobe’s next scheduled update is in April, so be prepared for that time in between and ensure that you have another PDF Reader on hand.

The Best Of Investintech 2011—Thanks To Our Supporters!

Tuesday, January 3. 2012

It’s a brand new year and we hope you’re all having a good one so far! We have a lot to look forward to in 2012 as we have some great things in store for you. We can only hope to top last year, which might be a challenge as 2011 was certainly an amazing year.

Looking back at 2011 and what we’ve done thus far, we can only say that it was a great year for us. We made some awesome progress on the web in 2011. From gaining new users to launching a handful of online tools, we had a very busy year that was full of achievements.

For one thing, we created a few new ways for you guys to check in with us. Hopefully, getting in touch with us on Tumblr, YouTube, and G+ is a lot easier now.

We also welcomed a ton of new users to the fold, hitting some great milestones along the way. We reached more than 17, 000 fans on Facebook and gained over 1,000 followers on Twitter so far.

However, the good stuff didn’t stop there. We also made a few conversion tools easily accessible online. With our Facebook giveaways, PDF Converter Apps, and WordPress Converter Widgets, we wanted to give you a taste of what our software has to offer. And we hoped you enjoyed it!

We also made some great friends with a number of bloggers and writers in 2011. Having a couple of our tools mentioned on PCMag.com or having our Able2Doc Giveaway blogged about was an amazing stepping stone for us.

All of this couldn’t have happened by itself, of course. It was only possible with the help of an amazing support team made up of Investintech users, fans, and friends. Thank you to everyone for constantly encouraging us and reminding us why we do this in the first place!

However, the year can’t officially end–or start, without acknowledging the help we’ve recently had from our Investintech community. So here’s our spotlight on December’s roster.

First off, a big shout out in thanks goes to Kyle Judkins over at LostInTechnology.com for letting us publish 6 Awesome Web Tools For Creating Digital Flashcards For Free for his readers. We were grateful for being able to put together a resource that was both helpful and well-received by a tech savvy crowd.

As you know, every month we catch some of the best Tweeters out there and December was no exception. A big thank you goes out to those who tweeted a link to our resources. We’re glad you guys thought they were helpful enough to share!:

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/antonyx1986/status/151330731321344001

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/agonirena/status/149161374738685952

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/XLCalibre/status/148163427012059137

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/vhotraining/status/144745714583486464

And really, we can’t ask for anything more when you guys recommend our software to others yourself. Mentioning us is one of the simplest, but most powerful ways in which anyone can show their support. So thank you to all the tweeters who did so–we appreciate the kind words! If you missed it in our stream, you can check out the tweets here:

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/SamChisman/status/146935260893024256

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/biochembelle/status/146691962618122240

Source: https://twitter.com/#!/susan_watt/status/142437135218253824

To top it off, a couple of our Facebook fans took it upon themselves to post up their own testimonials on our Wall. We always love getting feedback from our users. It lets us know if we’re on the right path or not. So it just makes our day when we hear how much you love the software. Thank you!:

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Able2Extract/posts/326134287399011

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Able2Extract/posts/323396887672751

It has certainly been a great year for trying new things to further develop our software and improve on how we connect with you guys. The great part about it is that we can only aim to build upon that and everything else we’ve achieved this year. So stay tuned as we look forward to even bigger and better things in 2012!

Happy New Year!

The Smartphone Survival Guide To Christmas Shopping

Monday, December 19. 2011

Thinking about Christmas usually evokes thoughts of family and quality time with loved ones. However, it also conjures up images of Christmas shopping: overloaded shopping carts, long check-out lines, crowded malls, crowded parking lots, and Santa-capped employees.

The hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping marks it as one of the most stressful holidays of the year. Whether it’s about hunting down the best deal or finding that one gift in a million, Christmas shopping usually requires a lot of energy, patience, and planning. It’s a ripe formula for stress should any one of those fail you—which will, undoubtedly, happen.

How about taking that stress down a notch this season? There are a few iPhone and Android apps that can help you survive each step of the shopping process and make it easier. Some are paid apps, but rest assured, for the amount of stress they save you, they’re well worth it.

Make A Gift List

The first step in any Christmas shopping campaign is to make your list. It determines your entire shopping trip. If you want to stay on budget and on the ball, do a bit of work on your list before you hit the stores.

For this you’ll want to go beyond the old pencil and paper list. Go digital. It’ll be more efficient and save you time in so many ways.

For Android users there’s Free Christmas List, a straight forward and simple gift tracking app. It helps you organize your gift list and your shopping progress by tracking the gifts by person, recording gift details, and keeping a tally of all costs. A handy app for keeping you focused and on task in the midst of the shopping madness.

The Christmas List is a similar app which iPhone users can use. It can accomplish the same task, and let you stay on top of how much you’ve spent, the status of gifts you bought, and how many more days you have until Christmas. So pace yourself, plan out your shopping trip, and make sure you follow your list!

Go In Prepared

After that’s done, it’s time for the fun part: shopping. However, we all know that it’s also the most stressful part. How many times have you gotten lost in the mall looking for a store? Forgot where you parked your car? Well, this year your smartphone ensures that you know what—or where, you’re getting yourself into.

It’s true. An app like Fastmall charts out the layout of more than 1250 malls in 31 countries and takes the concept of preparation to a whole new level. For example, it can optimize your shopping route, remind you where you parked, and make wish lists on the fly. You can even read or add reviews on the stores you visit, giving Fastmall users a heads up for their next visit.

Fastmall is great for cutting down on the time wasted wandering around and lets you spend it on the shopping you need to do.

Shop Around

Of course, the shopping itself can be unpredictable. Stuff happens: the flat screen you wanted is sold out or the last Hawaiian Barbie just got snatched up. Looking for alternative gifts on the fly will make you wonder if you can get it cheaper somewhere else. Now wouldn’t it be great if you could shop around without going anywhere?

Some apps like Save Benjis+ on your iPhone will actually let you compare prices online and right on the spot based on a scan of a barcode. For Android users, RedLaser also performs the same function, but will also let you scan QR, EAN codes and a bit more. With these apps, you can always check to see if you can score a better deal without having to go anywhere.

You’ll also want to check out Google Shopper, which is free for both iPhone and Android platforms. Google Shopper is a shopping app that can find you the best prices, give you detailed stats and reviews on products and even drum up a list of special offers available in your location.

Shopping for bulk items (rolls of gift wrapping paper or items packaged in sets) can also be an obstacle when it comes to comparing prices. In such cases, there are apps like Compare Me (iPhone) or Price Compare (Android). These apps will quickly break the pricing down and quickly show you which one really is the better deal.

Check-Out Time

Once you’re all set and in the check-out line, all you need to do is pay. And yes, your smartphone can help you do that, too. With the right app, you can ditch all the plastic and save even more money.

If you have a ton of loyalty store cards, try KeyRing. The dozens of cards you have for gaining points, air miles, and free stuff, can be hard to keep track of or take along with you. With KeyRing, all you need to do is scan them in on your phone and you can access them right up at the cash register.

Another app, The Coupons App (Android and iPhone), can actually save you money while in a store. Just scan the barcode or type in a product name and you can find out if there are any deals or discounts for it which you can redeem. Have this one running during your shopping spree and you can easily save big bucks. Indeed, not a bad way to end your Christmas shopping trip for the year.

So are you ready to shop smarter this holiday season? How did you survive the annual Christmas shopping trip before there were smartphones?

More Than One Reason To Be Thankful—Looking Back On November

Monday, December 5. 2011

November is officially over and now we can all look forward to the holiday season, which is just around the corner. But even though the Thanksgiving holiday is long gone, we still have our own reasons to be thankful for that month.

Some of the great things we were able to be thankful for in November?

First, there were the new blogging friends we’ve been making online. There’s Paul Andrew from graphic design blog, Speckyboy.com, whom we’d like to thank for allowing us to write Essential Networks for Freelance Graphic Designers for the site. It was great working with him. Thank you to all the Speckboy.com readers out there, as well, for tweeting and sharing the tip offs. The huge amount of support in tweets coming from the graphic design niche was great.

Bilal Ahmad from tech blog, Techmaish.com, was also extremely supportive in publishing a guest post we wrote on 6 Time Saving Tips for Dealing with PDFs. We hope the tips helped all the readers who took the time to tweet, digg and share the article. If you’d like to add a few new tricks to your own toolbox, go ahead and check out the post. And don’t forget to give Bilal a quick hello from us!

A big shout out in thanks to everyone on Twitter, as well. This month we reached a big milestone as we passed the 1,000 Follower mark! We hope you guys are finding the tweets helpful and are enjoying the cool links and retweets we come across each day.

The awesome mentions we catch online are what help to keep us going, and we want to let everyone know that we’re listening and we appreciate you guys, too. Some of our best Twitter supporters out there:

: Source: http://twitter.com/#!/bernardshuford/status/138673538415599617

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/g__d/status/137577925091393538

: Source: http://twitter.com/#!/MohammedFatih/status/136701883153780736

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/ronnienlx/status/134376181926600704

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/adamseward/status/134212930815275008

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/SteelLink/status/134669959522557952

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/WendyFry/status/134305384323223552

And our Facebook fans aren’t far behind those Tweeters in their support either. The feedback we get on our Wall is a great compliment and reminder of what we’re trying to accomplish with our PDF converters. Thanks for letting us know that we are, indeed, on the right track. Every little comment helps.

Now that we’ve had our say, it’s your turn. Looking back on November, what were you thankful for?

Top 6 PowerPoint Search Engines Right At Your Fingertips

Monday, November 21. 2011

PowerPoint files are a great tool for presenting ideas. With the right PowerPoint templates, your presentation can be effective, eye catching, and informative all at the same time. Whether it’s for teaching a class, presenting at a conference, or finding inspiration, the right PowerPoint file can make all the difference.

But have you ever tried searching for a PowerPoint presentation online? It can be tough. And when you can’t find what you’re looking for on Google by the sixth page, you know it’s time to try something else. You’d be better off with a search engine dedicated to finding digital documents.

If you’re looking specifically for PPT files, here’s a list of dedicated PowerPoint search engines you’ll need. They’ve got large databases that are bound to have the PowerPoint presentation you’re looking for.

1. SlideWorld.com

With its database of more than 5 million PowerPoint presentations, SlideWorld.com is bound to be a one stop search in your hunt for that one PPT file. You can explore through a wide range of categories or narrow your search quickly via tag, popularity rating, number of downloads, and date added.

2. SlideFinder.net

SlideFinder is just what its name says it is. When you search for a PowerPoint file it will present you with a URL and a thumbnail of a relevant slide from that presentation. Selecting one of the results will give you thumbnails of all the slides within the presentation for a quick preview before you download the entire file.

3. JPowerPoint.com

With JPowerPoint you get a straightforward search engine that offers you a bit of help with 1,000 of the most recent searches made by other visitors. When you select one, JPowerPoint will take you to an embedded viewer in your browser where you can sift through the PowerPoint presentation after which you can download to your computer if you like.

4. PPTFinder.net

If you’re familiar with Google, then you can easily find your way around this search engine. This search-and-find tool gives you the URL, thumbnail, a brief description snippet, and the option to download each result it finds. Clicking on a result will let you view it directly within GoogleDocs where you can search the file, save it to your account, download the original, or print it as a PDF.

5. PPTsearch365.com

Although PPTsearch365.com is in beta, it’s still a powerful search engine that can dig up the most relevant PowerPoint files on the web. Type in a keyword and you get results with a brief description and the URL to the PowerPoint’s location. Unfortunately, there aren’t any options to view the file first, so clicking on a result will automatically start downloading the file to your computer.

6. SlideWorld.org

Developed by SlideWorld.com, SlideWorld.org is user-friendly site dedicated to indexing PowerPoint files on medical research and health and well being topics. Searching by category, patient topics, and even by conference, you’ll be able to find PowerPoint presentations on issues like nutrition, alternative medicine, cancer, psychiatry, and more.

Manage Your PDFs Like A Pro: Qiqqa

Tuesday, November 8. 2011

Need a more efficient way of working with your PDF documents? Creating all-in-one digital filing cabinet you can keep organized and efficient seems like a far-fetched productivity goal. And it doesn’t get any easier when you’re using those same PDFs for research.

A lot of users are under the impression that there are just too many PDF files to do it properly. But, in reality, it’s about the tools you use.

If you’re looking to manage PDF files more efficiently, here’s a power user tool you might want to check out: Qiqqa. This free application is a digital document management system for those who need some heavy duty organization for PDFs.

The interesting part about this application is that, in addition to being a PDF management tool, it acts as a multi-functional PDF utility that lets you work with those documents, as well.

Sound like something you could use? If so, here’s a run down of the handiest features you’ll love.

PDF File Management and Search

Focused on keeping your PDF files organized and easy to find, Qiqqa makes it as easy as dragging and dropping your PDFs–or the hyperlink to the PDF, into your Library. From the toolbar, you can add entire folders, import documents from other programs (Endnote, BibTeX, Zotero, Mendeley), and add PDFs to and from other libraries.

Searching among all your PDF files is made even easier with a tag explorer that gives you a quick tabbed visual of your tags in the sidebar similar to a table of contents of a PDF file.

The built in PDF viewer also offers some perks. Qiqqa provides you with keyword cloud that will highlight the keywords you’re looking for in your PDF. In addition, you also have the ability to take a screen shot of one section of your PDF for copying and pasting into a different application

Cloud Storage

It’s common to have more than one computer or place where you do your research. So for added convenience, if you sign up for an account with Qiqqa, you can store PDFs online for easy access. From the application you can sync your PDFs across different computers. The annotations and tags you added to the PDF are also synced as well and you won’t lose anything from one machine to the next. As to storage space, with free accounts, you get 200 MB. For more space, there are different pricing plans you can check out.

PDF Annotation

For meticulous research that requires analysis, you may be used to highlighting and jotting down quick notes in the margins. With Qiqqa you can achieve the same effect with the annotation features available: highlighting, text selection, and digital sticky notes.

One added bonus is the ability to get a report of all your annotations. In other words, if you’re taking notes and highlighting, you can get them in one document for more concise notes or focused summaries. However, your additions are only viewable in Qiqqa, so your original PDF is untouched.

Reference, Collaboration, and Browsing

Even though Qiqqa is a desktop application, it can connect you to the resources and people you need. For instance, you can share one of your Libraries with other Qiqqa users with a single invitation, or simply bundle a few PDFs together and share them with non-Qiqqa users via email. Not only that, but Qiqqa also comes equipped with an integrated web browser, one click access to Dictionary.com, and integration with Google Scholar. You can even search for and add bibliographic metadata to your PDF files to make resource citations easier.

Brainstorming

Another handy feature: Qiqqa can also be used as a mind mapping tool. The application has a Brainstorm feature that lets you create road maps for visualizing ideas or mapping out research. You can even add web links and PDFs to your brainstorm if you want.

If you need more convincing, you can check out Qiqqa in action via the screencasts from their site.

Thanks Investintech Users—Your Support Continues To Rock! [October Recap]

Friday, October 28. 2011

As you know, each month we like to take a few moments to thank our users for the support they’ve shown. And it’s always interesting to see how our user community rallies behind us each time.

Monitoring the best tweets and posts online, it’s safe to say that our free software got the spotlight this month. People have been sharing, buzzing, and standing behind our free tools and we’d like to give a big shout out in thanks to everyone vouching for them.

To start, one source of support for this month came from our friends over at Guidingtech.com where our free resource tools were given a feature spotlight in their posting, Get Some Useful Free PDF and Conversion Tools at Investintech Free Tools. A big shout goes to them for letting their readers know!

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/stnmoon/status/127123233173544960

Over at Trick2Share, it was our Able2Doc Giveaway that was featured. Their posting, Able2Doc PDF to Word Converter 6 Full For Free [Investintech Giveaway], was especially notable due to the fact that our PDF to Word converter giveaway went offline for a few days due to some Facebook policy changes. So keeping our giveaway out there was definitely a huge help.

Despite the technical difficulties, our Facebook fan base still climbed in numbers. Once we got the giveaway up and working again, persistent users were finally rewarded for their patience and were able to get their free copies without a hitch.

http://twitter.com/#!/SimoBlog/status/128087057561174016

A big thank you goes out to them. Where a malfunction like that would’ve ordinarily slowed a giveaway down to a standstill, the determination kept the momentum going. Because of support like that, our Facebook community is now almost 15,000 fans strong!

On Twitter, we found a lot of encouraging mentions floating around. Some recommended our free conversion tools, some shared our articles, and there were some who just expressed their reaction to our free online converter tools. The tweets speak for themselves: