PDF-XChange Viewer

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GET THIS!

This is actually what I and many others think is THE BEST PDF VIEWER available now.  Sure, it's not as fast loading or as small in size and memory consumption as Foxit, but it's good enough, packs more features and renders better than Foxit, and still way better than Adobe.

DOWNLOAD THIS NOW AND UNINSTALL ADOBE ACROBAT READER!!!

Enough said. :-D
12:51 PM

Foxit Reader

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DO NOT USE ADOBE ACROBAT READER!!!  Unless you have no choice, like when you're work you may have company policies that restrict the use of other software but Adobe's free reader.

Adobe's reader actually is not free.  Monetarily yes it is free but...  Read the reviews, ladies and gentlemen, it is BLOATED.  When you download the latest Adobe reader now, it's like a 70 zillion bytes bloated.  It installs Acrobat.com, which you most likely will not use, and so on.  Plus when you actually use it, it eats up a lot of memory space.

Adobe's reader loads fast...  But if you were tech-savvy enough you would have noticed that it pre-loads itself when you start your computer!  It's not really fast.  But yeah sure, that pre-loading helps get PDFs opened faster.  But...  it also helps use up some of your memory which you could really use for something more useful.

Oops, this is not about Adobe's free Acrobat Reader for viewing PDFs.  This is about the very simple, very light Foxit Reader.

The top two PDF readers out there as alternatives to Adobe's (and are actually getting better reviews) is Foxit Reader and that other one I'll describe later.

Download Foxit Reader because it just loads faster, consumes less memory, and is just very simply for plain PDF viewing!

I must tell you though that Foxit has some issues with "rendering" PDFs, that is, how PDFs are shown on screen.  There are some tweaks you can do (like select "Optimize for LCD screens" in the Options menu), but if you want something that has good rendering, and yet still has that faster loading time and less memory consumption than Adobe's reader, then try the other PDF reader we are reviewing here...
12:49 PM

Ninite

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Pick, download, and install together your freeware software essentials! Visit http://ninite.com/


"The easiest way to get apps:
  1. Pick the apps you want.
  2. Start your customized installer.
  3. You're done!
Ninite runs on Windows XP/Vista/7 and works in the background 100% hands-free.  It installs apps with default settings and say "no" to browser toolbars and other junk.  All it does is install the latest versions of the apps you choose. Not even Ninite is installed. Want to see how it works? Read a step-by-step walkthrough at How-To Geek or Simple Help.  NOTE: When it was in private beta, Ninite was called Volery."

Me, I included the following software essentials in my Ninite downloader:

  • Microsoft .NET 
  • Google Chrome (I'm not installing Safari or Firefox anymore only because my laptop is slow!)
  • Java and Flash for all web browsers including Flash for Internet Explorer 
  • Skype 
  • Yahoo! Messenger 
  • WinRAR
  • VLC 
  • uTorrent 
  • FileZilla 
  • iTunes 
  • Foxit Reader (alternative to the bloated Adobe Acrobat Reader, though I really wanted PDF-XChange Viewer instead)
  • CutePDF (I really wanted PDF995 with PS2PDF995 and PDFedit995)
  • Google Earth 
  • AVG Antivirus
Not included in the above is Windows Media Player 11 or the latest Internet Explorer, so I guess you can just download them from Microsoft.  By the way, I use VLC to watch videos, Windows Media Player 11 to play audio, and iTunes to organize my music collection, download podcasts, and listen to internet radio.
7:57 AM