For a while, PDF creation was controlled pretty exclusively by Adobe. Somewhat recently other programs have come about that will convert an existing file into a PDF. If you don’t need any of the bells and whistles that Adobe Acrobat offers and just want to convert a file, Neevia Technology has the answer.

The Document Converter eXPress is easy to use and requires nothing more than an internet connection and a file to be converted. You simply choose from a few settings options, browse for your file and upload it, and decide if you want the converted file to be sent to you via email or open up in a new browser window where you can read or save it. The image below shows the online converter interface.

As you can see converting to PDF has never been simpler. Not only that, but the converter will turn files into various other formats as well, so you’re not limited only to PDF’s. There’s a number of times when something like this can come in handy, even if you have Acrobat or another software program, so it might be a good idea to keep this site in mind.

Recently, I found another site that offers free software downloads. It’s called Giveaway of the Day and everyday it showcases a particular software program that can be downloaded for free. Not quite open source, but you can still find some great programs.

Normally the programs cost money, but for a 24 hour period Giveaway of the Day provides a link to download the full version of the application 100% free. After the 24 hours are up, the free download link disappears, and a new product is featured. You can still get the original program, but now you’ll have to pay full price.

One of the things I really like about Giveaway of the Day is the variety of software you can find. There are photo/audio/video editing programs, spyware removal programs, backup software and more.

Even though I know it’s unrealistic to think I or anyone else will visit Giveaway of the Day every single day, it might not be a bad idea to try. There’s no upcoming software announcements, so you don’t know when the product you might really find useful will pop up.

Visit Giveaway of the Day for more on this very cool site, or check the widget below to see what today’s giveaway product is.

At first I thought it sounded kind of silly and couldn’t see a practical use for it. But after thinking it over a bit and reading some of the public entries, I realized how this website could be a really useful goal-setting tool. I then wrote a one year goal recap to myself. In it I stated the things I hoped to have accomplished by the time the email was sent to me. I was actually pretty surprised at how well I had done.

If you read the public entries you’ll also see many more types of emails; from humorous to sad to scary. You really can use it in a number of different ways. Your email doesn’t have to be public either. You can keep it unlisted which allows you to be specific (i.e. using names and places). I went that route and made my goals as specific as possible.

Of course you don’t have to use FutureMe to set goals for yourself. You could just write them down on a piece of paper, like they used to do in the stone age, but who wants to do something so old fashioned? I will admit that it is a fun surprise to see your message in the inbox months or years after you wrote it. If you’re like me you forgot what you wrote the minute you hit send, so the email serves as a nice reminder of what you intended to achieve that year.

If you’re looking for fonts that will help you add some flair to your creations, I’ve listed some of my favorite font sites all of which offer FREE font downloads. Some are very, very cool and some are a little weird, but with thousands to choose from, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a few you like.

As always the comment section is open for you to share some of your favorites.

(Windows Users: to download and use the fonts you have to open and unzip the folder. Drag the font file into your ‘fonts’ folder (c:/ drive > WINDOWS > fonts) and you’re done! You can now use the font in any of the programs on your computer.

Mac Users: read these step-by-step instructions.)

DAFONT.com – this is my favorite free font site. At the time of this writing there are 8,200 fonts listed on their site. So far I haven’t found one that wasn’t free. They are easily categorized and have large examples so you can quickly browse through. The organization on this site is what I like best about it. If there’s a particular theme I’m going for, I can see what’s available right away.

They’ve got some pretty cool font management tools that they link to as well. Most of them cost some money, but there are a few that are free. Those seem to be a bit outdated, so use them at your own discretion. I haven’t tried any of them out yet.

1001FREEFONTS.com - I like the set-up of this site. It’s very similar to dafont.com in how it’s presented, and there are some fonts listed on both. However, there are enough unique fonts to make it worthwhile to check both out.

The cool thing about this site, which I thought was a pretty good idea, is that you can pay $19.95 (USD) and have all 10,000 fonts downloaded at one time. If you’re planning to download them all anyway, that may not be a bad thing to do. It will probably save you hours.

At the bottom of the homepage they list a number of font related articles and news. I know what you’re thinking. There’s news about fonts? Well aparently there is and 1001FreeFonts found them.

URBANFONTS.com – Don’t let the name fool you. This site isn’t only graffiti type fonts. There are over 8,000 different fonts here. They are broken down very carefully into similar types and themes and the choices are extensive. I have seen a few of the same fonts on this site as are on 1001 and dafont, but I guess that’s to be expected when you start dealing with that many styles.

The best part of this site is the selection of Dingbats they have available. For those who don’t know, dingbats are different shapes, symbols and pictures. Many of them are things we see routinely, like the symbol for recycling or a smiley face. You may not use them often, but when you do you’ll be amazed at how helpful they are.

There’s also an UrbanFonts Blog and Forum that you might find useful.

Another site that I think is pretty cool, but doesn’t offer free font downloads is the What The Font Forum. There you’ll find an open forum where you can enter images that contain a font you’re trying to identify. This can be very useful for a number of different reasons. It may take some time for your question to be answered, though, currently there are about 85,000 unsolved cases. Just in case, the site does have some other font-related content for you to check out while you wait.

New and exciting fonts are not only for graphic designers. Anyone who uses the computer for any type of word processing can enjoy the benefits of the look of a new font. They’re very easy to install and can give you so much creative flexibility. If you’re not currently using fonts that don’t come with Windows, I suggest to try it. If you already are, then I encourage you to use the sites I’ve listed. You won’t be disappointed.