Linklok from Vibralogix, Adobe® Acrobat® X Suite and LCD Scratch Repair
By Howard Berenbon
Linklok Script from Vibralogix
Linklok is a must have script for any online merchant selling products for download (like ebooks or applications). It interfaces with several popular online shopping carts using PHP (already installed on most servers) to insure payment has been processed before the download link is released to the buyer. Once the script verifies payment (either through Paylal or your online merchant account payment processor), it e-mails an encrypted link to access the online storage location. On setup, you can select a time limit so that the link to your download location will expire (hours to days) to prevent any further downloads from that link.
Linklok is easy to install, that is for a Website application, if you’re experienced in installing programs to run from your Website. If not, you will need help from someone experienced. If you’re a computer guy, it’s a snap to install. You’ll find more than enough help from their excellent 73-page instruction manual, in PDF format, to guide you through installation and use. All you need to do is setup your admin and security variables in your linklok.php file, and then add your products, one per line, with prices, before you upload just two files to your server. Then you add those products to your shopping card for download. Without any other help, l had the script installed and running on my Website in about a half hour. It even has a test mode so you can test each product link to insure it’s working correctly. Their default installation will work for most applications, but it can be customized if you want more features. My test went well first try, and I received my e-mail with a link to download my software.
LinkLok from Vibralogix sell for $29.95 (in various formats) and will work in most Linux or Windows servers, either shared or dedicated IP. You can download a demo, and the complete PDF manual to try before you buy. For information, visit http://vibralogix.com/linklok/
Adobe® Acrobat® X Suite
If you’re a seasoned Internet user, or happen to be new to the world of the World Wide Web, you will know about Adobe Acrobat Reader, it’s impossible not to know. It’s an industry standard for exchanging documents of all kinds: graphics, text and multi-media files, now covering mobile devices like cell phones and Apple Ipods, and it works just great. For business users, Adobe has the Acrobat Professional version that allows you to create files in that format, not just view them. The latest version is Acrobat X Pro (version 10) and is now offered in a suite of related applications as Acrobat X Suite. It includes Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Captivate 5 (allows you to combine multimedia files), Adobe Presenter 7 (for PDF presentations), Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2 (their form creator) and Adobe Media Encoder CS5 (convert video for playback in PDF files).
With just the right tools, Acrobat X Suite lets you create up to date business documents and media presentations using photo images enhanced with Photoshop CS5, video and audio clips, narrations and fillable forms. All your documents and multimedia will be combined in one PDF Portfolio for distribution and use.
Installation was quick and easy and in no time (at least in my new Lenovo desktop), all programs were present and ready to use. When you run Adobe Acrobat Pro, the main screen opens with all the familiar icons: at the very top you’ll see File, Edit, View, Window and Help. Directly below is the Create icon and access to functions and tools. In the center of the screen you can Open a Recent File or under Getting Started, Create PDF, Create PDF Portfolio, Combine Files into PDF and Share Files Using SendNow Online. Back to the top right you’ll see menu buttons for Tools (access all Acrobat tools), Comment (to view or add comments) and Share (quickly send your files via e-mail or through Adobe SendNow).
Adobe® Acrobat® X Pro
This latest version of Acrobat Professional has more features and a lot of improvements over Acrobat 9 Pro. That’s because Adobe just can’t stop improving their products. They listen to their users and take those recommendations seriously through their Adobe Product Improvement Program. Acrobat X Pro has all the new features from Acrobat 9 Pro and then some. The most important feature since the introduction of Acrobat 9 (in August 2008) is the ability to combine all your separate files into one PDF file called a Portfolio. Acrobat Pro is all about combining documents, Web pages, e-mail, images, spreadsheets, forms and video and audio into a single editable file making it highly portable and transportable over the Internet. It’s your perfect business partner to help with presentations, proposals, marketing plans, technical documents, legal briefs, government intelligence briefs, digital archives, design reviews and much more. The portfolios can be opened and edited without the original documents, and may be password protected for security. They offer an extensive online Help feature with step-by-step guides, but if you’re like me, a video does it better. So, Adobe TV offers just that, with lots of step-by-step instruction on various topics from their talented experts online at http://tv.adobe.com/product/acrobat .
What’s New & Improved
Create PDF files with a single click from within Microsoft Office 2010 applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access, as well as from specialized applications such as Microsoft Project and Visio.
Improved scanning results
Search and reuse document content. Scan and convert paper documents and forms to PDF. Enjoy improved optical character recognition (OCR), up to 50% smaller file sizes, greater image fidelity, and automatic color detection.
Customizing PDF Portfolios
Quickly assemble content into PDF Portfolios using the new PDF Portfolio Wizard. Customize using new layouts, visual themes, and color palettes. Import custom PDF Portfolio layouts and themes developed by third-party developers and designers.
Action Wizard
Automate routine, multistep tasks into a guided Action. Create, manage, execute, and share a sequence of frequently used steps that can be applied to a single PDF or batches of files.
Quick Tools
Quickly access the tools you use most — from your favorite PDF document editing tools to your most-often used comment and markup tools — by adding them to the Quick Tools area.
Integration with Microsoft SharePoint
Work seamlessly with PDF files in Microsoft SharePoint. Access SharePoint from any Acrobat Open or Save dialog box. Open PDF files from SharePoint for viewing. Check them out for editing, and then check them back in (Windows only).
Commenting tool pane
Access markup tools and view comments from a single, unified tool pane. View all comments in a searchable list that can be filtered and sorted by page, author, and date.
Optimized viewing mode
Maximize your screen for optimal reading and presentation of PDF files with the new Reading Mode. Menus and panels disappear, and a transparent floating toolbar appears, to help you navigate PDF files more easily.
Online file sharing
Use Adobe SendNow online services from within Acrobat to send, share, and track large files without the headaches of email size restrictions, FTP sites, and costly overnight services.
Improved web experience
Open and view online PDF documents from within websites with a streamlined loading and viewing experience.
Adobe Photoshop® CS5
Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 is the premiere photo editing software of all time, and of course, constantly evolving and improving (CS5.5 was recently introduced). It’s the best and most widely used photo manipulation program available for professional photographers, graphic designers, Website programmers an even amateur photographers.
What's new in Photoshop
Complex selections made easy
Select specific areas within an image in fewer clicks. Easily select intricate image elements, such as hair; eliminate background color around selection edges; and automatically vary selection edges and perfect masks using new refinement tools.
Content-Aware Fill
Remove any image detail or object and watch as Content-Aware Fill magically fills in the space left behind. This breakthrough technology matches lighting, tone, and noise so it looks as if the removed content never existed.
Superior HDR imaging
Create photo-realistic or surreal HDR images with unprecedented speed, control, and accuracy. Get better-than-ever results thanks to automatic ghost removal and greater control with tone mapping and adjustments, and even give single-exposure photos the look of HDR.
Mobile Integration
Use Photoshop CS5 directly with creativity- and productivity-boosting mobile apps as they become available for devices like the iPod.
Adobe Captivate ® 5
Adobe Captive ® 5 allows you to add software demonstrations, interactive simulations, branching scenarios and quizzes to your eLearning courseware without programming knowledge.
Adobe Presenter 7
Adobe Presenter 7 allows you to create professional looking presentations within PowerPoint using Adobe Flash media. You can easily add narration, animations, audio and video (in any format), interactivity, quizzes and software simulations to eLearning courses, then publish all of it in PDF format.
Adobe LiveCycle® Designer ES2
With Adobe® LiveCycle® Designer ES2 software, you can create form and document templates that combine dynamic presentation with sophisticated XML data handling. Documents and forms adjust when merged with data to accommodate the content and volume by including or excluding design elements. It lets you easily create and use templates without the need to write script software.
Adobe Media Encoder CS5
Lets you easily combine screen recordings, audio, video, slides, narration, mouse movement and keyboard activity (and onscreen actions) for business presentations and training courses to help you design professional content.
Adobe® Acrobat® X Suite is available for the PC and sells for just under $921 through Amazon. System Requirements: IBM PC or compatible, 1.3 GHz or faster processor running Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 with 2 GB RAM, 4.9 GB hard disk space, 1024x768 display, DVD-ROM drive and Internet Explorer 7 or 8; Firefox 3.5 or 3.6. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.
LCD Scratch Repair
I discovered an easy way to remove a scratch from an LCD video display, that may work for you if you have an annoying scratch on your LCD monitor or TV screen. It's detailed in my youtube video, or you can read all about the fix at http://www.cyber-reviews.com/fix-scratched-lcd-video-monitor-screen.html/.
Software Companies Mentioned
Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
URL: www.adobe.com
Phone:
800-833-6687
Vibralogix
Adrian Jones
Essex, CM11 2LY
GB
Tel. +44.7092033206
http://vibralogix.com/linklok/
