create

Tools for creating PDF documents tend to fall somewhere between do-it-all packages with big names (and price tags to match) and freeware stripped down to the basics. But simple is good, which is why PDF tools that install themselves as print drivers may be our favorite of all. That's how PDFCreator from Pdforge works, though that's not all it does.

PDFCreator's optional server installation mode can act as a network printer, but we chose the standard installation, which includes some optional downloads such as Images2PDF and PDFArchitect, plus some sample files and our choice of language and … Read more

If you are a designer or developer and are constantly trying to find the perfect hue, or adjust for small changes in the design of a Web site, banner, or brochure, you know how hard it can be to find a useful tool on the go. That's why an app like 3Colors Mixer can be so helpful. It's free and immediately allows you to adjust and test different saturation levels of all three primary colors to determine the right hex value for your current project.

3ColorsMixer is very easy to use. It has three sliders -- one for … Read more

Few dance trends have risen to the top of the online charts as fast or as inexplicably as the Harlem Shake. What makes it all the more unique is that the Harlem Shake is more than just a dance trend. It is a video trend. The song, itself, is a simple beat with almost no lyrics. The videos, however, are anything but. According to Harlem Shake - Create Your Own Shake! a video is described as a 15-second video of people going about their business while one person dances in a mask or helmet, followed by another 15-second clip of … Read more

Adobe Systems is hosting a free online event on December 11 where it may reveal the new Retina edition of its flagship Photoshop program.

One of the topics of the Create Now Live event invites participants to "See what's next in Adobe Photoshop." And a YouTube video promoting the Photoshop presentation appears to show someone using the software on a Retina Display MacBook Pro.

That video clip has led Japanese blog site Macotakara and others to speculate that Adobe will show off a new update of Photoshop CS6 designed to support the high-resolution display on the 13-inch … Read more

"Cursors, foiled again!" There's no need to swirl your cape and twirl your mustache, if you have Aha-soft's ArtCursors program. This shareware cursor creator and manager lets you design your own cursors for Windows. You can build and edit whole libraries of cursors with it. A simple wizard-type process makes it so that almost anyone can use ArtCursors to customize a computer's cursors, and in ways that maybe you haven't even thought of yet!

From ArtCursors' installer we chose between the registered version and the trial version, which is free for 30 days and … Read more

There are any number of utilities out there that can quickly and easily convert a variety of file formats into PDFs, so there's no reason to settle for one that doesn't quite meet your needs. DeskPDF Pro combines an efficient drag-and-drop interface with some useful features, but the limitations of the trial version are significant, and there are free programs with many of the same features.

Once installed, DeskPDF Pro appears as an icon in the Windows system tray; clicking it brings up a small interface onto which users can drag files for conversion. This launches a window … Read more

It's one thing to burn a DVD disc and another to create a DVD that anyone can pop into a tray and play. For making DVDs out of your videos, Xilisoft's AVI to DVD Converter is a good place to start. It converts not just AVI files but also MPEG, MPG, M2V, VOB, and DAT to DVD disc, DVD folder, or ISO file. The flexible output options mean you can create DVD disc images that you can store on your hard drive yet play like regular DVDs (with a disc-mounting tool). But AVI to DVD Converter does much … Read more

Loan Amortization Schedule for Excel is, no surprise, an XLS file that has loan amortization formulas embedded in it. Distributed as a ZIP file with the XLS sheet and a couple of text files (release notes and license agreement), there's no installation process to follow. Just open the XLS file with Excel (or compatible program) and you're good to go.

The layout of the first sheet is simple: space at the top for loan mount, interest rate, term, and a few other details like payment frequency and compounding period. You just enter your information to see the monthly … Read more

Pinnacle's premium video suites offer pro-level editing and production tools. Pinnacle VideoSpin is a free video suite that offers similar capabilities but in a simpler package. It's specifically designed to make it easy enough for beginners to create high-quality videos and slideshows to save, burn to disk, or post online.

VideoSpin lacks Pinnacle Studio's SmartMovie feature, DVD burner, and advanced audio tools. You can open your VideoSpin projects in Pinnacle Studio, but not vice versa, and once something's been opened in Studio, it won't open anymore in VideoSpin. You must register to download VideoSpin, but … Read more