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Is it a coincidence that I read that Adobe is losing the grip on PDF just a few days after I read Job's "Thoughts on Flash", essentially dumping Flash from iPhones/iPads, and burning it at a stake? Or is Adobe's strategy really failing spectacularly before our own eyes?

I should've seen it coming -- I haven't used Acrobat Reader for years. PDF Xchange Viewer is my current favorite, though Foxit was my first off-Adobe alternative, back when.

Another alternative to Adobe Reader and Foxit Reader is PDF-XChange Viewer:

http://www.docu-track.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer

It behaves like Adobe Reader in that it shows you a warning, unlike Foxit. Given this fact I recommend switching to it from Foxit (at least for the time being).

It's lightweight, fast, and has lots of nice features. It even allows you to save filled forms!

What about PDFXViewer. Besides being highly convenient for editing PDF doc's, could also be a way to prevent hijacks? (I don't know, I'm asking.)

On Windows? Foxit Reader or PDF Xchange viewer ( http://www.docu-track.com/ ). Unlike Acrobat Reader, both have tabbed interfaces, can remember which docs were open and reopen them automatically.

I think PDF Xchange also will track where you were in each opened document and will take you right
back to the page you were reading when reopened.

I agree that 7-zip is a good archiver, and can also un-archive RAR files. For some reason I find trial versions of Winrar rampant on business computers. Failing special requirements, most users have no need to create RAR files.

For PDF, print-to-pdf programs are a dime a dozen. I also like PDF-Xchange viewer as a viewer. It gives free annoitation tools: http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/PDF-XChange_Tools/pdfx_viewer/ I also like PDFTK/PDFTKBuilder to help combine, rearrange PDFs: http://www.angusj.com/pdftkb/#pdftkbuilder

On MSE, from their EULA: http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/eula.aspx#mainNav

# INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.

* Use. You may install and use any number of copies of the software on your devices in your household for use by people who reside there or for use in your home-based small business.

...are the scum of the earth. I can't stand that! Take separate notes! Respect the text for future users! And they always write stupid crap in'em, too.

I more or less agree with that, but only in the case when the book is not of your property (e.g., form a library). I almost never write in any of my dead tree books, however I can understand that sometimes it good to write some "afterthought" you got from reading a paragraph (which makes it easier to understand), that way, the next time you read it, you just have to glance at your previous writings.

Now, I like this snippet from the summary:

bookmarks, highlights, page-tearing, sticky notes and other marks representing the importance of certain passages â"

That is one of the reasons why I still print all the papers (I do research) I obtain.

There is no reader program (even in standard PC) that allows you to handle a document the way the dead-tree format allows you. For example, there's no way to "bookmark" a specific place in a PDF (there are "bookmark" fields, but they used for the "table of contents". Writing annotations is cumbersome and underlying is impossible unless you get a paid version (and is an awkward process).

So far, I have tested FoxitPDF viewer, adobe reader and these days I have started to use PDF-XChange

, this one I like because I can have several documents open in one window (tabbed-interface); this way I can have different PDF windows open with different research "themes".

Besides, they should've given'em to some real college students, like engineering majors. I'd love to stop carrying a pile 8 inches thick of textbooks around the campus every freakin' day. I mean, that can't be good for your back.

The free PDF Viewer from Tracker Software is a wonderfully fast PDF reader, and comes with annotation capability right out of the box. They are very developer friendly, and their PDF XChange printer drivers produce PDF's that are tighter and better optimized than Adobe themselves. Great company to work with, and a great free PDF viewer.

I used to use Foxit, but got a little tired of its adware nature (banner ad, browser toolbar, tons of buttons that only exist to remind you what the free version doesn't have, etc.). So I switched to Sumatra (GPL and much more minimalistic than Foxit). Later, I started taking notes in class using PDF comments. I tried using Foxit again, but commenting is restricted to the Pro version. Plus it crashed every second time I tried to comment the DRM'd lecture notes (that was difficult to figure out since Foxit doesn't indicate if DRM is present). So I switched to PDF-XChange Viewer since it can handle DRM and allows comments. It's similar to Foxit in that it's adware and feature-rich, but it does it with a bit more class IMHO. E.g. there's an option to hide the "Professional" features. Plus, there's a portable version.

I just installed Okular. On first start it crashed, the 'Send Message to Microsoft' dialog coming up.

Sumatra can't open Ubuntu PocketGuide - Just happened to be trying that when I was associating applications after a fresh install the other day - Oh how ironic.

On this form forget Yap.

I like Foxit and VisageSoft ... and PDF-XChange.

One great feature of Okular is that it allows smooth scrolling, rather than jumping to the top of the next page with no indication you've got to the bottom of the preceeding page. So thanks FSFE, I'd never heard of this reader before.

Bla bla.

You said it didn't work - that is a lie, it does.

But its too slow, try this one instead - also free:
http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/PDF-XChange_Tools/pdfx_viewer

I recommend http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/pdfx_viewer/ (PDF Xchange Viewer). It's also lean, but you can even edit pdfs with marks, textboxes and comments without any advert tagging for free. I have no connection to this corporation, I just use this product for myself and my clients.