Switched Download: Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit PDF Reader
What it does:
Foxit is a replacement for that unfortunate staple of every computer user's life: Adobe Reader. Foxit reads and even edits PDFs -- those files that look exactly like original documents -- without the slowdown and crashes associated with Adobe's product.
What we like about it:
Foxit is about as close to perfect as a piece software can get: it opens and operates faster than Adobe's Reader, uses much less RAM, and packs more features into a download about a tenth the size.
In addition to reading PDFs, Foxit can perform basic editing tasks and lets you add notes to documents -- features Adobe charges several hundred dollars for in its Acrobat platform. Foxit even has some features that Adobe's professional application lacks, such as tabs for opening several PDFs in one window, and support for multimedia so you can actually play back audio and video in multimedia e-books.
What we don't like:
Our only problem with Foxit is that the latest versions are Windows-only. Mac and Linux users need love too.
Bottom line:
The existence of the fast, stable, and user-friendly Foxit makes you wonder why anyone would continue to use Adobe's bloated, crash-prone program. Get Foxit now and clicking links to PDF files will no longer prompt panic and cursing.
Download Foxit PDF Reader
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
StrangeBum @ May 9th 2008 12:27PM
Sweet! I like this article a lot. It would be nice to see more like it. I love it when people's eyes are opened to more open-source software that essentially does the same thing as it's commercial counterpart. But either it does it free, or it does it better.
Let's also see:
Firefox (I can't imagine life without it now)
Gimp (lovely alternative to PShop, just a little clunky interface)
OpenOffice.org (no reason to buy MS Office with this badboy)
Blender (not many people need 3D modeling, but I love this program)
Avira Anti-vir ... or ... AVG Free (whichever, I think Avira is better though)
Ed @ May 9th 2008 4:25PM
Foxit is not open source. Neither is AVG. Both are free though.